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After testing some of the best Wi-Fi extenders on the market, my advice? Don’t buy one. It’s not that Wi-Fi extenders don’t work but that they don’t work well. There are many more-effective ways to improve your Wi-Fi, and I’ll dig into a few later on, but first I want to explain the issues I have with extenders—also sometimes called Wi-Fi range boosters or repeaters.

If you still want to try one, I have a few options for you to consider. Also, check out our other networking guides, including the Best Routers, Best Mesh Routers, and Best VPNs.

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As the name suggests, Wi-Fi extenders pick up the Wi-Fi signal from your router and extend it. They use the same frequency band as your main router and repeat the signal. They are designed to boost signal strength in the immediate area but will not increase speed. In fact, they will reduce it. Here's what I've come across in my testing:

Slower speeds: The theoretical maximum speed an extender can provide is 50 percent of the speed you get from your main router, because it connects to your router via Wi-Fi (backhaul) and broadcasts its own separate network for devices. Realistically, the speed you get from an extender will always be lower than 50 percent, depending on various factors such as distance, interference, and obstacles.