NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.

Forum Discussion

alexwaihi's avatar
alexwaihi
Aspirant
Nov 07, 2021

is it possible or advisable to connect two netgear mesh version 6 extenders on the same network ?

hi there as above - i am trying to connect two extenders to the same wifi network.

one for the house - and then one in the garage - 

is it possible and or practical ?

2 Replies

  • plemans's avatar
    plemans
    Guru - Experienced User
    Nov 08, 2021

    Is it possible? Sure.

    Depending how you set it up is it practical? Maybe?

     

    Reason I say that is extenders don't perform well when daisy chained.

    Daisy chain: Router======>extender======>extender

    Reason for this is that a standard single/dual band extender has to use the same chip to go router---extender  and then extender----devices. And they can't perform at the same time. so speeds (throughput) drops 50% of what they recieve. 

    Add in distance/obstructions/interference, your initiall extender could be operating at anywhere from 20-50% of what the router is broadcasting. 

    Now add in another extender at the end of that and its going to take that same speed hit but from the prior extender. so its speeds could be much much slower and it'll also have more latency. 

     

    so if you're going to do it, the way to do it is to try to set it up in a star configuration. 

    Star:  Extender<----------router---------->extender

     

    But something else to keep in mind, exterior walls tend to block wifi very well because they have increased thickness, materials that block wifi (foil lined insulation, brick, concrete, metal siding, concrete board, etc), hvac, and other things in them. And then you have the walls of the garage as well plus distance. Not sure how far away it is. Depending on all of that, many times we recommend people just buy some cheap underground ethernet wire and run a wire between the 2. Then they can hardwire in an extender in the garage. 

     

    So will it work with how you've described it? Maybe? Tough to know without more details of distance, garage/home materials makeup, interference. Etc. 

     

    What I usually tell people to try is set your router where it'd be broadcasting to the extender and walk to where you plan on puttnig the extender. Get a decent/usable signal on your phone (test the speeds)? If so, then you could put an extender there. If you don't, then the extender wouldn't either as they need a half decent signal to run off.