The best router for most homes isn't a router

Chances are, your network is already using a router and modem combination; that's how most home networks are configured these days.

But what happens when the internet doesn't reach far enough throughout your home, or into the garden, or your garage?

Most folks assume the correct answer is an extender, or maybe even another router to boost the signal along. But what you really need is a different type of access point.

Home network problems don't always boil down to the router

Sometimes, it's coverage instead

When the Wi-Fi doesn't quite reach the spare bedroom or drops out in the garden, it's easy to assume the router isn't powerful enough. That's understandable; it's the networking box, so surely buying a better networking box fixes the problem, right?

The issue, though, is that while the router typically provides most of your home Wi-Fi coverage, broadcasting Wi-Fi is only one part of a router's job. Its primary role is managing the connection between your home network and the internet, NAT, DHCP, and the WAN link, not moving traffic around inside the house. Wi-Fi is the visible part of that job, not the whole of it.

In that, extending your existing network to those hard-to-reach corners is better achieved with an access point rather than another router or extender.

Rather than creating another private network with its own settings, IP addresses, and so on, a well-placed access point just broadcasts the same network further around your home. It means instead of having to program devices to work on two networks and hope they all play nicely, you're extending the existing one.

But isn't an access point just a router anyway?

There is some confusing language to cut through

Yes, a router is an access point, in the sense that a consumer router has an access point built into it, the Wi-Fi radio serving your house. That's a separate thing from the router's other job, managing the connection between your house and the internet.

The better definition is that an access point describes hardware whose job is expanding Wi-Fi coverage, not routing traffic to the internet, even though most routers do both under one roof. Which is also why the terminology gets muddled: you can take a second router and use only its access point half, switching off the routing half entirely.

Most modern routers usually feature something called AP Mode that turns off DHCP and NAT and leaves the Wi-Fi radio running. This is good news: if you've already bought a secondary router to extend your network, you haven't wasted your money. Far from it, in fact. You're potentially already a step closer to extending your network by turning that second router into an access point.

Setting the second router to AP Mode is a vital part of the process, mind, otherwise you'll end up with two networks running in your house. If both routers are attempting to compete for the same traffic, you may create what's known as a double NAT, which can cause compatibility issues. In fairness, most network traffic won't care that much, but apps and services that require port forwarding, NAS, VoIP services, and self-hosted services are more likely to protest the network configuration.

AP Mode is also what you'll find powering most mesh Wi-Fi networks, which typically use a single, central router, with satellite access points to extend the range — a perfect illustration of why APs are what you need to extend your home network.

Extenders work, but introduce a different set of problems

You can create different network issues

Wi-Fi extenders and repeaters are aimed at the same dead-zone complaint, but they get there differently, and worse.

Instead of a wired connection back to the network, most extenders and repeaters receive the existing Wi-Fi signal and retransmit it, which means every packet gets received once and sent again on the same radio. That halves your available bandwidth on a single-radio extender, before you've accounted for whatever distance and interference it's fighting in the first place.

Powerline Wi-Fi extender kits do solve this problem

I would be remiss if I didn't mention powerline adapters with built-in Wi-Fi extenders.

While many extenders or repeaters attempt to pick up and rebroadcast your Wi-Fi signal, a proper powerline adapter kit can solve this problem by plugging directly into your home's electrical cabling, receiving the signal from a router plugged into a power outlet at the other end. That cuts out one of the big problems with other Wi-Fi extenders.

I've long used powerline adapters in my home, and receive an excellent wired Ethernet signal in my office from the router downstairs. But I'm also one of the luckier ones, as there are plenty of ways powerline adapters can also go wrong.

Your router might already support adding access points or a mesh Wi-Fi mode

I'm not suggesting everyone ditch their existing setup for a modem-router-AP combo. It just won't suit some folks. Living in a single-bed apartment? Your existing Wi-Fi router setup probably does the job nicely. Just remember to watch out for interloping Wi-Fi channels slowing your network down.

There is also the other consideration: does your router already support a mesh Wi-Fi/access point broadcast mode?

Many modern routers come with a specific mode that makes adding an access point relatively simple, provided you have the corresponding hardware. For example, ASUS calls its version AiMesh, TP-Link has OneMesh and its Deco line, and Netgear and other manufacturers all offer similar features, but you'll typically need matching hardware from the same brand.

That means you may already have most of the parts needed to add another access point to your network in place — you just need to find the right settings to enable.