{"id":8189,"date":"2023-08-05T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-05T09:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routerctrl.com\/?p=8189"},"modified":"2023-11-22T15:12:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T15:12:12","slug":"powerline-wi-fi-extenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routerctrl.com\/powerline-wi-fi-extenders\/","title":{"rendered":"Powerline Wi-Fi Extenders – Are They Worth It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have a large home, the WiFi signal that you get from your main modem\/router might not be enough to cover every corner of your place with a strong and stable WiFi connection. <\/span><\/p>\n

While some <\/span>WiFi antenna hacks<\/span><\/a> could make your WiFi router\u2019s signal stronger or emit better in a certain direction, the most convenient way to spread your WiFi signal throughout your home equally is to use <\/span>WiFi extenders<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

WiFi extenders, to work properly, require a wired connection with the main router.<\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously, the best way to <\/span>connect your WiFi extenders with the router<\/span><\/a> would be using a regular <\/span>Ethernet cable<\/span><\/a>. However, when you can\u2019t do that, <\/span>powerline WiFi extenders<\/b> are <\/span>one of a few alternatives that you can use.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Powerline<\/p>\n

What Are Powerline WiFi Extenders And How Do They Work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Powerline WiFi extenders are essentially a kind of <\/span>powerline adapters<\/span><\/a> that can also work as <\/span>WiFi extenders<\/span><\/a>. They are usually sold in packs containing two units (nodes), one that feeds the internet signal into the powerline and the other that receives the signal from the powerline and acts as a WiFi extender (wireless access point).<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, the only difference between regular powerline adapters and powerline WiFi extenders is that the latter has a built-in WiFi access point feature and can act as a WiFi extender.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Does a Powerline WiFi Extender Work?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Powerline WiFi extenders work in a way that they use your existing electrical wiring to send the internet signal from your modem\/router to remote parts of your home. <\/span><\/p>\n

A basic powerline WiFi extender kit contains two nodes. Usually, the main node that connects to the modem\/router doesn’t have a WiFi access point feature. It is essentially designed to get the signal from your main router and feed it into the electrical wiring once plugged into the outlet. <\/span><\/p>\n

It connects to the router via a regular ethernet cable and then modulates and sends the internet signal into your home grid.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other node, which is designed to work as a WiFi access point, can be plugged into an electrical outlet in any part of your home that you want to cover with a WiFi signal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once plugged in, your receiving node (that works as a <\/span>WiFi extender<\/span><\/a>) will get paired with the main node and establish an <\/span>ethernet over powerline<\/b><\/a> connection. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"powerline<\/p>\n

So, essentially, a powerline WiFi extender kit utilizes your electrical wiring – it uses your wiring as a wired backbone when extending your WiFi coverage.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is possible because powerline adapters work in a way that they modulate the internet signal received from the main modem\/router and feed it into your home grid at higher frequencies than the frequency of electricity. Therefore, the internet signal and electrical current can still coexist and travel through the same wires simultaneously without interfering with each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

Essentially, powerline WiFi extenders are not much different from <\/span>regular WiFi extenders<\/span><\/a>, except that instead of <\/span>using a regular ethernet cable to connect to the main router<\/span><\/a>, powerline WiFi extenders use powerline wiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do I Really Need A Powerline WiFi Extender?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If powerline WiFi extenders are not much different from regular WiFi extenders, then why would you need one at all?<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a good question anyone should ask before buying a powerline WiFi extender kit because these devices are essentially built as an <\/span>alternative technology<\/b> and are meant only to be used when you can\u2019t use anything better.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, powerline WiFi extenders might come in handy when you cannot use regular WiFi extenders. If, for some reason, you cannot run an Ethernet cable from your modem\/router to the remote parts of your home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Powerline WiFi extenders should still perform better than any other WiFi extending devices that don\u2019t connect with the main internet signal source through a wire (like WiFi repeaters, for example). <\/span><\/p>\n

This is especially the case when you have thick concrete walls or other barriers in your home that block WiFi signals even at shorter distances. In cases like that, powerline WiFi extenders would be a good alternative to regular WiFi extenders or WiFi repeaters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Powerline WiFi Extenders vs. Regular WiFi Extenders vs WiFi Repeaters<\/b><\/h2>\n

To understand when using a powerline WiFi extender would make more sense, it is important to know how regular WiFi extenders and WiFi repeaters work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"WiFi<\/p>\n

The main difference between WiFi extenders and WiFi repeaters is how the nodes that spread the WiFi signal get the internet from the main modem\/router.<\/span><\/p>\n

WiFi repeaters do this by relying on the WiFi signal. So, let\u2019s say that you want to <\/span>extend your WiFi coverage<\/span><\/a> to two rooms on the upper floor of your home while your main router is placed on the ground floor, and you want to use two WiFi repeaters for this. The WiFi repeaters that you place in the rooms on the upper floor, given the way they are designed to work, can only get the signal from the main router over WiFi and then spread it (repeat it) to the entire room.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, given that WiFi performance and quality of the signal drops drastically as soon as it hits a physical barrier like a wall, concrete, or similar, WiFi repeaters are probably one of the least popular ways to spread your WiFi around your home. This is simply because a WiFi repeater can only repeat what it gets from the main router through WiFi. If the signal that they are getting is weakened as it travels through multiple walls, then the repeater will spread a weakened internet connection.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, WiFi extenders rather rely on a wired connection with the main router. Regular WiFi extenders connect to the main router through a regular ethernet cable. So, ethernet wiring acts as a backbone, meaning that WiFi extenders can spread a higher-quality WiFi signal through your home, compared to WiFi repeaters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another important thing to know about WiFi repeaters is that they are more likely to cause some interference in your WiFi network than other similar devices. This is because of the way they work – they repeat whatever they get from the main router, and given how WiFi signals work, this can cause some serious issues with your WiFi signal if the channels and frequencies are not managed properly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, <\/span>WiFi extenders are obviously going to give you way better performance than WiFi repeaters<\/b> just based on the way they work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Note, though, that there\u2019s one important thing to know regarding WiFi extenders – almost any WiFi extender can also be set up to work as a repeater. And this is one of the reasons why these devices are usually misused because they can do both – they can be set up to receive the internet signal through an ethernet cable or through WiFi.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, powerline WiFi extenders work similarly to regular WiFi extenders. However, instead of using an ethernet cable, they use powerline wiring to get the internet signal from the main router.<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, <\/span>powerline WiFi extenders<\/b>, similar to regular powerline adapters, <\/span>are an alternative<\/b> that you can use when you cannot have proper ethernet wiring and use regular WiFi extenders<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Powerline WiFi extenders <\/span>are not better<\/b> than regular WiFi extenders because the signal that travels through electrical wires is not as good as the internet signal sent through regular ethernet cables. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, powerline WiFi extenders should still perform way better than WiFi repeaters, especially in cases where you have thick walls and similar barriers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Powerline WiFi Extenders vs. MoCA WiFi Access Points<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you have coaxial wiring in your home, you could consider <\/span>using the coaxial cables<\/span><\/a> combined with some <\/span>MoCA adapters<\/span><\/a> to extend your WiFi range rather than using powerline WiFi adapters.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"MoCA<\/p>\n

Essentially, MoCA technology works in a similar way as powerline adapters but, unlike powerline adapters that use electrical wiring to transfer the internet signal, MoCA adapters use coaxial cables. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, similar to powerline WiFi extenders, there are so-called <\/span>MoCA WiFi access point<\/span><\/i> devices that do the same job as WiFi extenders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"MoCA<\/p>\n

The main advantage of using MoCA WiFi access points instead of powerline WiFi extenders is the speed and the overall quality of the data transfer that you get with MoCA technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Generally speaking, MoCA devices outperform powerline adapters greatly because coaxial cables are designed to carry internet signals while electrical wires are not.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is the Difference Between Powerline WiFi Extenders and Powerline Adapters?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s put it this way – all powerline WiFi extenders are powerline adapters, but not all powerline adapters are WiFi extenders.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, in other words, powerline WiFi extenders are just a version of powerline adapters that also has the <\/span>WiFi feature<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Difference<\/p>\n

Most powerline WiFi extenders can be still used as regular powerline adapters – they usually have one or two RJ-45 ports that you can use to connect your devices directly to the adapter using an ethernet cable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being familiar with <\/span>the terminology<\/b>, in this case, might help you find a faster and better device when considering buying powerline WiFi extenders. For example, some high-speed powerline adapters with a built-in WiFi feature are still sold under the name of \u201cpowerline adapters\u201d while they are practically powerline WiFi extenders, at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of terminology, there is slight confusion on the market regarding the names of various devices designed to spread WiFi signals. We decided to stick with the definition of WiFi extenders that describes them as devices that spread WiFi signal and preferably connect to the main modem\/router through a wired connection (ethernet cable, powerline, or coax) rather than through WiFi as some <\/span>WiFi mesh systems<\/span><\/a> or WiFi repeaters would do. <\/span><\/p>\n

Powerline WiFi Extenders vs. WiFi Mesh<\/b><\/h2>\n

The main difference between WiFi extenders and WiFi mesh systems is in the way they form the WiFi signal coverage throughout your home and how they broadcast it back to the source.<\/span><\/p>\n

Each WiFi extender basically creates a separate WiFi network with a different name (this can be changed though) while, on the other hand, WiFi mesh works as a single WiFi connection even though it can consist of multiple nodes that spread the signal around the home.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Powerline<\/p>\n

Essentially, WiFi extenders do not have advanced control over managing separate access points and joining them, so they behave as separate WiFi networks. On the other hand, WiFi mesh systems do have such technology, and they also have improved control over how WiFi band channels are used.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are WiFi mesh systems better than powerline WiFi extenders?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Well, in most cases, a decent WiFi mesh system would be a better choice if you can have a <\/span>wired backhaul<\/b>, like using an ethernet cable, to connect the nodes. Even without a wired backhaul, some WiFi mesh systems can perform well in certain situations.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, using a WiFi mesh without a wired backhaul might not be the greatest experience in a home with thick walls and other physical barriers that are more likely to block the WiFi signal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, in such circumstances, a decent set of powerline WiFi extenders should still work better than a WiFi mesh system.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is <\/span>important<\/b> to point out that there are also \u201chybrid\u201d powerline WiFi mesh systems designed to use electrical wiring as a backhaul, similarly to powerline WiFi extenders. It\u2019s still a new thing on the market but might be worth trying.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Powerline WiFi Mesh?<\/b><\/h2>\n

When talking about powerline WiFi extenders, it would be unfair to avoid mentioning that, as of recently, there\u2019s a new thing on the market – <\/span>powerline WiFi mesh systems<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Powerline<\/p>\n

Even though they are not just regular extenders, these devices still fall into the category of technology that extends the range of your WiFi using powerline; therefore, we decided to include some details about this fairly new technology as we believe this could be a good replacement for regular powerline WiFi extenders.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s great about this technology is that you actually get all of the cool features of a WiFi mesh system (as described above), and you can still use it when you need to use your home grid wiring instead of regular ethernet cables.<\/span><\/p>\n

Powerline WiFi mesh devices might theoretically be the best solution you can get when extending your WiFi coverage while relying on powerline wiring. This is because these devices work so that they can pick the strongest source of the signal from the router at any given moment (whether it be a WiFi signal or signal sent through electrical wires). <\/span><\/p>\n

So, essentially, the powerline, in this case, works as a backhaul giving more flexibility to how these devices pick up the signal from the main router. <\/span><\/p>\n

TP-Link Deco P9 Powerline Mesh Wi-Fi System<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n