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JeffKohler's avatar
JeffKohler
Aspirant
Nov 15, 2016
Solved

Why are WiFi Range Extenders specified in speed (Mbps) instead of distance (feet)

I have a Netgear Wireless N150 WNR1000 Router and I want to extend the range from my 2nd floor to my basement.  I don't understand why the Netgear WiFi Range Extenders specify ability to extend the WiFi network in speed (Mbps) instead of in distance (feet)?

  • TheEther's avatar
    TheEther
    Nov 23, 2016

    Wi-Fi is very complex.  There are so many parameters to work with:

    • Protocol (802.11 a/b/n/g/ac and the recently introduced ad)
    • Frequency (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 60 GHz)
    • Streams (Common configurations are 1x1, 2x2 and 3x3)
    • Internal vs External antennas
    • Transmit Power
    • Channel selection
    • and more

    All of these affect performance.  The industry uses speed as a way to simplify the decision, but it's misleading for many reasons, not the least of which is that the biggest number is always the best.  It's often the most expensive, too!  The reality is that the biggest number is not always the most suitable for one's needs.  For example, an AC5300 router cannot be fully leveraged by most people.  It supports up to 4x4 streams, which the vast of majority of devices don't support.

     

    To make an intelligent choice requires some knowledge of the above parameters.  How to explain it all to a layperson?  Very difficult.  I think the only real solution is to ask an expert.  The right choice will depend on the customer's environment, existing network and devices.  Maybe somebody can come up with a guide.

6 Replies

  • Radio wave propagation is greatly affected by environment such as weather, buidling material, terran, etc. At the best probably it can specify like under ideal condition upto xxx feet possible,   So I guess they don't say anything about range. It's a matter of case by case.

    • JeffKohler's avatar
      JeffKohler
      Aspirant

      Thank you for taking the time to reply.  I did know that Radio Waves are affected by Weather, Building Materials, etc so I was expecting the Netgear Range Extenders to be specified in a RANGE OF FEET.  The User would have to decide if, in their particular situation, more or less dense building materials were between the Extender and the Router so they could pick the appropriate Extender.  What I don't understand is why Netgear specifies Range Extenders in Speed (Mbps).  So how does a user decide which model of Netgear Range Extender is appropriate for their situation.

      • TheEther's avatar
        TheEther
        Guru

        The layperson is not going to understand that range is affected by building materials and interference.  Therefore, it would be risky for Netgear to advertise range in feet because many people will take these figures at face value.  Results may vary couldn't be more true with Wi-Fi.

         

        OTOH, speed ratings are different.  Netgear is abiding by common industry practice by advertising the maximum link speed.  Obviously, link speeds are a function of distance and intervening building materials as we discussed.  But there is also a very real difference between link speeds and throughput.  Throughput (i.e. the actual usable speed) is often only 30-50% of the link speed.

         

        So, link speeds are misleading, too, but they are debatably less risky to advertise than range expressed in feet.