wifi signal booster....

[mistercomputerman]

Be advise that single band repeaters cut signal strength by 50%.


All WiFi repeaters have some speed loss, but some are much worse than others. WiFi repeaters work by receiving wireless signal and rebroadcasting it, but single band repeaters have to receive, then retransmit each packet of data using the same radio on the same channel. This can cost single band repeaters 50% of their bandwidth.
Dual band repeaters get around this by connecting to the router on one band and outputting a WiFi signal on the other. The Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 Dual Band WiFi extender uses FastLane technology to improve performance using both WiFi bands. A fast processor also really helps (the Nighthawk has a Dual core 1GHz processor) by enabling maximum WiFi throughput.
One final feature that helps reduce speed loss is dual radios. If the device has dual radios, it can speak to the main router on lower channels, and then rebroadcast on higher channels. The Hawking Smart WiFi Repeater Pro uses two Wi-Fi radios. One Wi-Fi radio receives the signal and the other radio rebroadcasts the boosted signal. This clever design allows the boosted signal to utilize a different WiFi channel, which greatly increases performance compared to single radio repeaters. The Smart Repeater Pro also has a very powerful high gain antenna that can pick up even very weak WiFi signals, and it rebroadcasts that signal on two powerful 3dBi omni-directional antennas.

https://www.repeaterstore.com/pages/wifi-booster-repeater-extender-differences

 

[DaleM]

If the device has dual radios, it can speak to the main router on lower channels, and then rebroadcast on higher channels.

Good points. I've messed around with leveraging the 5G side of a router to create the back-haul while still using the 2.4G side as the end point side. Worked ok but was cumbersome/limiting to set up depending on the gear. We installed Ruckus gear in a marina and the dynamic beam-forming stuff was awesome. The more people, the more back-haul and the more antennas that get allocated to handle the load. A little overkill for home

 

[Lazy Daze]

Thanks Dale and Cliff! The Netgear thingy arrived today. Easy setup and does what I was hoping for. I really don't have a need for anything too fancy since my family doesn't use too much bandwidth at one time. However, it's good to know that there are other options out there if I ever do have the need.