As we spend more time locked away at home, a great WiFi connection is vital to stay connected to the outer world, and as anyone who’s tried to have a garden party knows, not having a reliable WiFi connection outdoors can be infuriating. This is where a WiFi extender can help you out! This handy piece of tech can extend your WiFi coverage past what your wireless hub/router can provide. There are thousands of these extenders on Amazon, and it can be very difficult to pick the best one for your needs. We at TechEngage have sifted through the various options on Amazon.com to find the 7 Best Long Range Outdoor Wifi Extenders for 2021.
1. TP-Link Omada EAP225-Outdoor AC1200 Wireless Gigabit Indoor/Outdoor Access Point
Perfect for: Power users, parties, and businesses
Jumping into the deep end with our first pick from the networking giants TP-LINK, the Omada EAP225-Outdoor Wireless Access Point is a heavy-duty outdoor wireless extender to ensure that all your guests or customers have a perfect wireless connection. This dual-band WAP features a 5.8GHz connection to reduce network congestion and interference.
This Wireless Access Point connects through Gigabit ethernet and supports speeds up to 1200MBits/s. On the 2.4Ghz band, you can expect a reliable internet connection at 60m or 200ft upwards of 400Mbit/s. The extender features 6KV Lightning Protection, and 15KV ESD Protection is fully waterproof. The Omada app can be used to manage multiple wireless access points centrally. If you’re looking to provide coverage for a large complex like a school or campus, multiple Omada EAP225’s can be used in a mesh network to provide excellent coverage everywhere.
Coming in at just under $75, the Omada EAP225 is a professional grade piece of kit for a modest price. If you’re looking for an extender for your business, or if you’re looking to have a festival in your backyard, this is a worthy contender for your pick of WiFi WAP.
2. NETGEAR WiFi Range Extender EX6120
Perfect for: full house coverage and gardens
Coming in at $40, the Netgear EX1620 offers some brilliant value for a WiFi extender. Whilst the TP-LINK Omada is a Wireless Access Point, and the DIGITNOW represents the top of the line for a different subsection of the WiFi extender market: the wireless repeater. Instead of requiring a direct ethernet connection to function, a wireless receiver like this one connects to your existing wireless network and ‘repeats’ it to improve the range. It’s as easy as plugging it in and letting it do its job. This is perfect if you’re just looking to improve your home WiFi and if you don’t require the expert controls of WAPs.
The easy-to-use nature of this extender does not come at the cost of performance at all. You’re looking at up to 1200ft of coverage with up to 20 devices connected simultaneously. With two wireless antenna bands, you can expect to see up to 867Mbps down on the higher frequency 5GHz band. For most home networks, you won’t come anywhere near maxing this out. If you’re connecting a large property or a large outdoor space, given you can get power to it, you can purchase multiple extenders and daisy-chain them as a mesh network.
With support for the latest wireless standard, 802.11ac/a/b/g/n, this extender is both great value and offers fantastic performance.
3. TP-Link N300 WiFi Extender
Perfect for: connecting a small home on a budget
From the networking kings, TP-LINK comes their latest budget offering in the WiFi extender market, the TP-LINK N300. This range extender expands your router’s signal to provide strong and stable WiFi to your home. If you’re suffering from dead spots in your house, or if you want to get networking to your small garden, this is a great and affordable way to fix those issues. This mono-band extender offers up to 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, and as long as you don’t expect to connect a whole neighborhood’s worth of devices simultaneously, this extender will be just fine for everyday use. You can set bedtimes and schedules, turning off, for example, the WiFi in a kids bedroom at bedtime whilst still keeping on the WiFi downstairs. This extender doesn’t have mesh network compatibility, and so you can’t daisy-chain multiple receivers. All extenders on a network must have a connection to the central node of the network, in most cases, your wireless hub.
At under $20, this extender is an absolute steal if you’re looking for a simple, no-frills WiFi extender to ensure WiFi coverage in all rooms in your home, and depending on placement, your garden.
4. Amazon eero Pro 6 WiFi Extender
The ‘Smart’ Option but comes at a cost.
The brand new premium WiFi extender from Amazon, the eero Pro bills itself as the one-size-fits-all king of WiFi extenders. In its sleek and stylish body, the eero Pro packs a Tri-band connectivity system aiming to give 160 sq.m of fast, reliable WiFi and up to gigabit speeds with WiFi 6 support.
The eeroPro connects instantly to your modem, and through Alexa integration, you can easily configure its settings to get the best connection possible. You can use Alexa to, for example, turn off the WiFi for a user, or limit their speeds. You can use this to enforce bedtimes all through an Echo smart speaker.
The eero Pro is the option if you’re super deep into the Amazon Alexa echo-system, as the extender automatically downloads security patches that bring improved performance and new features. eero’s TrueMesh technology intelligently routes traffic to avoid congestion, buffering, and loss of connection.
The eeroPro starts at just under $200 and therefore is on the pricey side. I would only recommend this if you’re looking for longevity and smart home integration over pure performance, as you can get the same speeds and range from receivers at a fraction of the price.
5. Rockspace 1200Mbps WiFi Range Extender
Perfect for: the all-rounder, price to performance
The Rockspace WiFi Range extender is another affordable WiFi signal repeater, offering some fantastic performance at a great price. Dual external antennas enable signals to be covered as wide as 360° by up to 1292 sq. Ft. This extender uses dual-band technology to provide connections on both the 2.4GHz band and the 5Ghz band, resulting in a combined bandwidth ceiling of 1200Mbps. Being universally compatible, this wifi range extender works with all 802.11n/g/b/ac standard routers or gateway in the market.
This WiFi extender has an Ethernet port on the bottom that can be used as an AP port. If you use this port to connect to your router, this extender can be converted into a WAP.
The Rockspace WiFi range extender is another great option for home use, with a great range. If you’re looking to extend your WiFi to the garden or a balcony, this WiFi Extender will suit you well.
6. WAVLINK AC1200 High Power Outdoor WiFi Range Extender
Perfect for: Heavy Duty Usage, Insanely Long Range, Businesses, and Professionals
For our final pick on this list, meet the WAVLINK WL-WN572HG3, a high-power behemoth of a wireless access point. With a quad antenna setup providing omnidirectional transmission, using one of these bad boys can net you a reliable WiFi signal from up to 300 yards away! These are perfect for connecting your large property, school, or office. This WAP could provide coverage for a small forest!
WAVLINK didn’t skimp on build quality either, with an IP-65 rated enclosure that ensures continued operation through harsh outdoor climates like storms, snow, or even lightning. With its dual-band repeater, it can transmit high-speed 5GHz connections of up to 867Mbps. How about a Livestream from your back garden?
The main use case scenario for this piece of kit is to provide ‘Wireless Marketing’ like free WiFi on high streets or shopping centers. The 1kW transmitting power may be overkill for everyday use at home, but if you’ve got a 12-acre estate, it might not be that bad of a shout. It connects through gigabit ethernet, so you’ll need to route your cable to the outside before using it. But, once you’ve got this extender, spotty internet connections will truly be a thing of the past… and at $130, it’s even cheaper than Amazon’s tiny Alexa-enabled WAP.
Conclusion
This list rounds up six fantastic picks at various different price points, and as you can see, which is best for you is dependant on your personal use case scenario. If you’ve got a small garden you need wireless coverage in, plugging in a repeater like the TP-LINK N300 should sort you out just fine, as long as you don’t need gigabit speeds. If you’re a business that needs a reliable internet connection for your clients or employees, then dedicated WAPs like the TP-LINK Omada is great for connecting dozens of devices simultaneously. The WAVLINK is your best bet if you’re trying to connect dozens of devices up to 300 yards away, like if you’re covering a university campus, office complex, or street.
Compared to the rest of the choices on this list, the Amazon eero Pro represents the least value for money. Alexa integration may be a compelling feature, but even with that, it still is very steep for the connectivity you get. Though, if the cost is not a problem for you and you are really deep in the smart home lifestyle or are looking for the utmost future-proofing with WiFi 6 support, the eero may be suitable.
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