Home > Blog > Router, repeater, powerline, mesh : What are the differences ?

Router, repeater, powerline, mesh : What are the differences ?

Do I need to buy a repeater, a router or a Mesh ? To improve your Wi-Fi issues at home, we selected a solution for each type of Wi-Fi issue.

When looking for ways to improve  Wi-Fi at home, we often fall in the trap of confusing the different type of problems linked to the Wi-Fi network. Indeed, it can be linked to the operator, to the size of the house, placement of the walls, multi-connexions at the same time and so on. All these different problems require different specific solutions. To be most effective, it is ideal to choose the accurate product. We share you for each need how to improve daily connectivity.

Do I have to buy a new router?

If you want to improve the coverage, it’s not necessary because the output power of Wi-Fi devices is normalized by regulation. Further the Wi-Fi propagation at 2,4GHz or 5 GHz only depends on your house architecture.

But if you want to improve the performance and connectivity, you should by a new one. New routers have a faster and stronger processor, which can manage more Wi-Fi devices at the same time. Make sure that it is an 802.11ac Router dual band for a better performance.

> 5GROUTER AX3000, 4GROUTER350, 4G ROUTER 350M, Mobile broadband router
> Router750, Router1200S, home router

Do I have to add a repeater?

The basic usage of a repeater is to improve the coverage. If you want to enhance the performance and connectivity, it’s not needed. With a repeater you divide the bandwidth by 2 because the repeater must connect to the modem/router on one side and to client devices on the other side. Moreover, all your Wi-Fi devices share the available Wi-Fi bandwidth of your modem/router through the Wi-Fi repeater.

> Repeater AX3000, Reapeater AX1800, Repeater750, Repeater300

What about a dedicated Powerline Wi-Fi?

A powerline is dedicated to get a better locally coverage, that can be used in the room and the surroundings in which you have connected the powerline Wi-Fi device. That’s a good solution to cover specific places of the house such as a basement, garden, or loft. The performance will only be improved for devices which are connected to the powerline Wi-Fi network. Then, only devices connected to the new Wi-Fi network created with the Powerline Wi-Fi device can reach a better connectivity.

> Powerline1000Mini, Powerline600Mini, Powerline2000, Powerline1200

Is a Wi-Fi Mesh the best solution?

To improve coverage, performance, and connectivity with one product – YES.

You can adjust the number of access points according to the architecture and to the size of your house. Each access point is an 802.11ac dual band device with the latest generation of processor and connected by “Mesh” technology. Your wireless and wired connected devices are shared between the multiple access points.

> Mesh AX3000, Mesh1200, Mesh2100

Summary

1
Router : Improve performance & connectivity
2
Repeater : Improve coverage
3
Powerline : Better coverage locally
4
Mesh : Improve coverage, performance & connectivity