How does a WiFi booster work?

Overview


If you’re struggling with the signal in your household, a WiFi mesh booster can help increase coverage.

A WiFi mesh booster is a device that expands your WiFi signal across your home. To spread your signal, a booster is placed in between a ‘dead zone’ (an area with a weak signal) and the router. The booster picks up this signal and spreads to more areas of your home, giving your devices a faster WiFi connection.

WiFi boosters offer the same level of security as your WiFi router (password and encryption) and use the same network.

You may have also heard of the term WiFi extender or repeater, this is slightly different to a mesh booster. Extenders create separate networks and re-broadcast the existing signal throughout the home. If you have a WiFi extender, you'll often have multiple networks within the home, and you'll connect your devices directly to the extender rather than your router.


Do WiFi boosters work?


WiFi mesh boosters do work but their effectiveness depends on some factors:

  • The speed of your internet: If your signal is weak in the room the router is located in, a booster won’t be able to fix this, and you may need a faster plan.

  • The distance from your router: Each booster will have a range it can extend to. If your home is particularly big you may need multiple boosters.

Alternatively, to WiFi boosters, there are devices called Wireless Access Points (WAPs) which are connected to your router via a wire. These aren’t portable but can offer reliability and fast speeds.

How to connect your WiFi booster


Your new WiFi mesh booster should come with instructions. They’re all different but you can usually set them up with your laptop or mobile phone. A lot of boosters have their own dedicated mobile app where you can see how many devices are connected and update the booster’s passwords.

If you’re a Vodafone customer with a Vodafone WiFi booster, you can follow our set up guide


Best Vodafone WiFi booster for home


If you’re looking to switch to Vodafone, our Pro II Broadband plan offers everything you need for the best coverage. Pro II offers the UK’s fastest WiFi technology throughout the home, powered by WiFi 6E which brings more bandwidth and faster speeds. Pro II comes with our Super WiFi 6E Booster which provides guaranteed coverage and reliability throughout the home – or you can leave your contract for free. Learn more about Pro II Broadband

Looking to learn more ways you can improve your internet speed? Read our article to learn more

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