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Wireless (Wi-Fi) Repeater

What is a wireless repeater? Also known as a Wi-Fi repeater, booster, Wi-Fi range extender etc…


In its simplest form, a wireless repeater is used to extend the range of a Wi-Fi signal from an internet router.

When should I use a wireless repeater?


We would only recommend using a repeater if it is not possible to use any of the following alternatives.

  • Hard wire your device directly.
  • Install a Wireless Access Point (WAP) directly wired to your router.
  • Use a Powerline.


These options are in order of stability and ease of use and are dealt with separately.

If you only have a Wireless Access Point at your premises, with no network socket available (Apartment, Flat with landlord provided Wi-Fi) then a wireless repeater is your only option.

Signal strength and speed both drop with range and obstructions

Apart from the distance between the Router and the Laptop – there are 3 walls between them. Each wall reduces both the signal strength and internet speed. At this point, the Laptop would be struggling to get any Signal or useable Speed.

If you have a Wi-Fi dead spot or a location on your premises (as in the above pic) with a very weak Wi-Fi signal, then you may be able to use a repeater to pick up the existing Wi-Fi signal and send it into the Wi-Fi dead spot.

Signal strength is boosted so the laptop should get a better network speed

Here we can see that the signal from the Router is picked up by the Repeater so the laptop now has a better Wi-Fi signal strength.

PLEASE NOTE The repeater will NOT pick up the full speed of your internet. This is because there is a some distance between the repeater and the router as well as a wall.

For example, your Router may be receiving 100Mb internet and its wireless may be transmitting at 95Mb, a loss of 5%. Wireless speeds will always be less than connecting your device directly by network cable to your router plus the Wi-Fi circuit in the router will need some headroom.

Now let’s say that the wall cuts the signal strength down by 50% and also cuts your speed down by 50%. This means that the repeater is getting a speed of half the 95Mb = 47.5Mb. Now the repeater also needs 5% headroom leaving a transmitted speed of 45.125Mb.

Next, the new transmitted signal has to go through 2 walls losing 50% each. After wall 1 the speed becomes 22.5625Mb and after the 2nd wall this becomes half again 11.28125Mb.

Remember this illustration is an example only – your individual physical obstacles and range will be different and obviously, everything that’s affects your Wi-Fi, makes it worse.

Connecting your device by network cable to your router will have a tiny speed loss.

Connecting your device to the internet using a WAP in the same room as your device will result in a loss of speed of about 10% to 40% (depending on type of WAP, and other factors).

Connecting your device to the internet using a powerline will cause a slightly higher loss than using a hard wired WAP, depending on range.

How can I set up a repeater?


Instructions varies for different models but basically, these are the most common methods.

  • Use the WPS button. Switch both router and repeater on and levee them for about 2 minutes to fully start up. Press the WPS button on your router and the repeater within 60 seconds of each other (duration varies between models).
  • Use the mobile phone app specific to your repeater.


There are also some very good videos on line, showing you how to set up most models of repeater.

What is MESH?


If you have multiple Wi-Fi access points (Router, repeater, Wireless Access Points etc), on your network, it is possible to have them join together to improve performance and resilience. Check if your network devices can handle MESH and configure it appropriately. There are too many variations of MESH devices to explain them further here.

Should I upgrade the firmware of my repeater?


If you can, you should. Also, if the device appears to be operating below par, you should check if there is a firmware upgrade and install it.

Repeaters we install will have their firmware updated to the current version.

What sort of repeater should I get?


There is a correlation between price, range, and speed but ultimately, you should get the repeater which can handle the performance of your internet router (not the internet speed).

If you have a Wi-Fi 6 router then you should get a Wi-Fi 6 repeater(s).

If you use a TP-Link router, you should use TP-Link repeaters. This should help installation, especially if you are using MESH mode.

Most manufactures will have a range of repeaters from low cost low performance to high cost with high performance.

Which repeater would Megganet recommend?

While the makes and models are really not that important, we prefer TP-Link because the range of network products cover domestic to professional users and the pricing is better for equivalent devices from other manufacturers.


  • The budget one is the TP-Link TL-WA850RE Low cost single band repeater. Typically about £20.
  • The budget one is the TP-Link RE200 Mesh Wi-Fi Extender. Uses both 2.4GHZ and 5GHZ bands and typically costs around £25.
  • TP-Link AC1200 is a popular repeater, with good performance characteristics. It also has Adaptive path selection, so it connects to the router at its highest possible speed. Typical cost around £40.
  • TP-Link AC1750 is the their top of the range domestic repeater and costs about £60.


All these devices have WPS for passwordless connecting to your router. They also have a network socket so you can use a network cable so that they can be connected directly to your device (improving performance). Useful if you have a TV or games console to connect!

Setting up


If you don’t get a repeater from Megganet, you should find the instructions are relatively straightforward to follow. You mar will require your mobile device to configure it (if your source Wi-Fi doesn’t have a WPS button).

We do not usually carry out the installation but if you order a repeater from us and ask us to install it, we will show you how it works and how to set it up. We sell the devices at the same price as most popular retailers and installation would be priced at our normal callout and time fee.


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