Choosing between mesh or extenders for the best WiFi coverage? This is what you need to consider.

With most of us spending more time than ever at home, WiFi has become an increasingly important part of our lives.

Personally, a strong WiFi connection is almost indispensable to me.

For starters, it ensures I can attend all my Zoom meetings with minimal interruptions. Which is great, because less time repeating “Can you hear me?”, means more work can be done, which hopefully keeps me employed.

A strong WiFi signal is also pivotal to my leisure life, given that I spend most of my free time watching Netflix and playing Dota 2 with my friends (I’m being socially responsible by staying at home).

But what actually makes a WiFi signal strong?

Well, there are actually quite a few factors.

Is it true that my family members are straining my WiFi?

If you’re having an important Zoom call with your boss and your video call begins to lag, look to your left and right, because the likely culprits are around you.

Every device connected to your home network is likely to decrease the available bandwidth to other devices on the same network.

This means if your family members are spending more time at home, you may find your internet connection getting increasingly slow.

In fact, if your family members are downloading videos, or other large files which require extra bandwidth, it can significantly strain your home WiFi.

If you’re like me, and regret introducing your parents to the wonderful world of Netflix, you’re probably not alone.

My router has two different WiFi bands. What’s the difference?

If you have a modern router (one that was released in the last few years), you may have chanced upon the terms 2.4GHz and 5GHz when trying to connect to your home WiFi.

But what do they actually mean?

These routers are known as dual-band routers: meaning you can have two separate WiFi frequencies with the same router.

In general, the higher the frequency, the faster the data transmission.

While both 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi frequencies have been around for quite some time, the latter was only introduced to consumer technology in recent years.

Hang on. If the higher frequency (5GHz) network is faster, why would I ever use the 2.4 GHz network?

Well, that’s because there are certain tradeoffs to the increased speed.

While a 5GHz network provides a faster signal, it cannot travel as far around your house.

On the other hand, while a 2.4GHz network may be slower, it boasts significantly longer range.

In short, if you’re going to be doing any activities that use more bandwidth (like gaming or streaming shows), it’s best that you use the 5GHz network, and stay as close as you can to your router.

Are WiFi extenders the best option to resolve “dead spots?”

If your house is large (think five-room HDBs or bigger), and you often experience “dead spots” in your house, or a weak WiFi signal in your bedroom or toilet, you may want to consider using a WiFi extender.

WiFi extenders work by rebroadcasting an existing WiFi signal, allowing you to significantly boost the range of your router.

It is particularly useful if your house has multiple floors, or have multiple walls in between the WiFi routers and the bedrooms.

However, for users who are mainly using mobile devices, a WiFi extender may be suboptimal.

This is because with WiFi extenders, you will typically see two network names: one offered by your router, and another offered by the extender.

For example, if your main router is in the living room, and you place a WiFi extender in your bedroom upstairs, you may still experience moments of having slow WiFi.

This is because you may have to switch back and forth between the two networks depending on where you are, and whether you are closer to the main router or the WiFi extender.

This can be a major pain, and is particularly frustrating if you are moving around the house a lot.

Consider using a mesh network instead

To avoid this, you may consider using a mesh network instead, such as StarHub Smart WiFi.

A mesh network utilises multiple devices that you can place throughout your home, which allows your mesh router to bounce the signal seamlessly through multiple rooms.

Best of all, you can just connect to the same network throughout, making this option way less complicated than a traditional router and extender combo.

Through the mesh network technology, StarHub Smart WiFi is able to monitor congestion, interference and signal strength of your WiFi connection.

It can also automatically switch between WiFi channels and frequencies, in order to provide you with the best WiFi coverage in your house.

Setting up is also really easy: simply scan a QR code on a mobile device, and you’re well on your way to blazing fast WiFi, anywhere in your house.

StarHub’s Smart WiFi has truly worked wonders in my household. WiFi dead spots are a thing of the past, and I can watch videos on my phone even in the most remote toilet in my house without the video needing to buffer.

Life is good.

StarHub is currently offering 1Gbps Fibre Broadband for only S$39.90 per month, which comes with free StarHub Smart WiFi worth S$199.

This is an online exclusive price, and customers will save S$72 over a 24-month period when purchasing the plan online.

This sponsored post by StarHub made the writer realise that he does not have to put up with WiFi dead spots in his house.

Top photo from StarHub.