How to place your wireless Range Extender for optimal reception and performance

1.Distance

For the case that we almost got no obstacle and the Router’s signal is still good at 40 feet (like still supplying speed like 100Mbps in 5G or 50Mbps in 2.4G there), it’s recommended to put the RE with External Antenna in about 25 – 40 feet away; for the RE with Internal Antenna, better to place it 20 – 35 feet away, which is normally the proper place for the RE to stay.

For the case that there are walls or other obstacles in between the RE and main router, it’s better to place the RE like the Example we show at the end of this article.

2.Raise the Range Extender

Place the range extender at a similar height as the main router usually is about 4 feet high. The height will help the extender receiving a better signal from the main router, and ensure the mobile devices getting a better signal from the extender.

Try placing the router high on a bookcase, shelf, or other location with suitable height, instead of putting router on the floor or corner.

3.Put the Antenna Vertically:

Please put the Antenna up vertically with the ground, so that the extender can receive and transfer data at best status.

4. Avoid Obstacles

When picking your extender’s location, avoid objects that will either reflect the signal (like mirrors or large pieces of metal) or absorb it (walls, cabinets, or masonry supports). It's better if the router and the extender are in the line of sight.

Another big disruptor of Wi-Fi extenders is stray radio-frequency signals from other electronics. The prime culprits here are microwave ovens, cordless phones, refrigerators, or even baby monitors, which emit strong interference to the Wi-Fi signal.

5.Placing Direction

Place the extender facing towards the router as much as possible.

The front side of the extender face against the main router directly will be the best direction for the extender’s antennas to receive and broadcast the signal. And the behind clients can also get faster speed from the extender in this case.

6.Power Strip

At last, it’s better to put the RE into a Power Strip, so that you can easily adjust the RE’s height, antennas angle, direction or even the distance as the previous suggestions.

7.AP mode

When the obstacles cannot be avoided or the distance between the RE and router are too long to establish a stable wireless connection, you can also put the RE close to the place where the Wi-Fi signal is needed, run an Ethernet cable from the router to the RE, then turn the RE into AP mode following this FAQ1401, to ensure the devices in that place can also get a strong stable Wi-Fi signal.

Posture Example:

As the following picture showed, it’s recommended to place the RE facing towards the Router; It’s also better when there are fewer Obstacles; And also keep them at a height of 4 feet like on a normal desktop.

As the following picture showed, we may put the antenna up to get it Perpendicular to the Ground with the help of the Power Strip.

Error Case:

Position Example:

Main Router Only

With the block of the Wall and distance turns longer, we can only get 40Mbps in this room when we directly connect the Main Wi-Fi.

Router + RE

RE’s getting 150Mbps from Router in this place, then share the network to further place in the direction that it was placed.

Related Articles:

What should I do if my range extender does not extend the Wi-Fi coverage?