Consumer Reports: Boosting The Wi-Fi Signal In Your House
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Getting a good Wi-Fi signal in every room of your home can be tough, especially if you have a large house or lots of brick walls that block signals. But Consumer Reports just tested a new product that may help solve the problem.
The Eero is a new way of getting good Wi-Fi all over your home. It creates what's known as a mesh network, which is made up of multiple units that talk to each other wirelessly.
Consumer Reports tested the Eero the same way it tests wireless routers, and found that the Eero's signal was very impressive even at the farthest test spot. And set up is easy, too. You plug the first unit into your modem; the rest is done with an app on your phone.
But the Eero can be pretty pricey depending on how many units you need—$200 for one, $500 for three.
A Wi-Fi extender can be cheaper, but it's not as effective. Extenders cut your signal in half. They have only one Wi-Fi radio that's used to receive and send signals. The Eero signal is faster because it has two radios—one to send and another to receive.
If you have poor Wi-Fi in your house, it could be because your router is more than a few years old. If so, you might consider replacing your router. Consumer Reports recently tested 14 has these to recommend:
- Linksys AC2600 (EA8500) for $240 is top-rated.
- Asus AC-1200 (RT-AC55U) is a Consumer Reports Best Buy for $100.
- Netgear AC 1900 Nighthawk (R7000) for $170 is also recommended.
Complete Ratings and recommendations on all kinds of products, including appliances, cars & trucks, and electronic gear, are available on Consumer Reports' website. Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org.
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