Most of us today have high-speed broadband connections at home and office. And we use multiple devices right desktop computers to laptops, smartphones and tablets to connect to internet using Wi-Fi. But let s face it, a poor setup or lack of sufficient wireless coverage throughout your home could completely ruin your experience. A wireless range extender in such a case would be a good solution to boost the existing Wi-Fi network. Also Read - Oppo patents phone with support for Li-Fi technology
Also Read - Qualcomm launches new Wi-Fi 6E enabled chips for smartphones and routersIn my case, the Wi-Fi router is placed in my bedroom, as I spend most of my time in my room. However, as I move towards the kitchen, the signal bars drop to half, and as soon as I am in the hall, to watch TV or so, the Wi-Fi network is completely lost. There are also other dead zones in the house with poor Wi-Fi coverage. I tried switching to mobile hotspots (Mi-Fi devices) and dongles. The coverage is good when the devices are placed in the balcony, but loses stream as soon as you move in the house. Also Read - Xiaomi AX1800 WiFi 6 router launched with a quad-core Qualcomm chip and built-in NPU
In such scenarios, a range extender is a good tool to boost the Wi-Fi coverage in your house, and bring those dead spots alive. Sure, one of the older ways to boost wireless network was to run endless meters of network cable around your house and then have a different Wi-Fi router placed in the other room. But thanks to Wi-Fi range extenders, boosting the home network is now very easy. ALSO READ: How to sell your old gadgets online in India
I recently used the Cadyce CA-RE300 Wi-Fi range extender for review and I m quite happy with the performance. It costs Rs 2,700, is easy to setup and use. I installed the range extender in the kitchen, and now I get good internet connectivity when sitting in the hall.
Cadyce CA-RE300 design
The Cadyce CA-RE300 comes with a simple design. It is made from tough plastic with glossy surface. On the front, you have the Cadyce logo on the upper half, and a WPS button in the lower half, surrounded with circular LED lights. Here you have indicators for Ethernet, power, wireless connectivity, and WPS. ALSO READ: 4 reasons why you should use VPN for private web browsing
On the side, you also have the Wi-FI signal bar indicator. Along the bottom, you have an RJ45 LAN port for Ethernet connectivity and a small circular pin hole for reset button. Along the back you have the connector for wall mounted power outlet. ALSO READ: 8 Google Chrome extensions that will improve your internet browsing experience
How to setup Cadyce CA-RE300 to extend your Wi-Fi network range
The setup process is very simple, just a few clicks and you should be good to go. To begin with, turn on your existing Wi-Fi, and if it features a WPS Pairing button push it and follow the below instructions. ALSO READ: How to save web pages on Android for offline viewing
Step One: Plug in your Cadyce CA-RE300 in the wall mounted power outlet. If your laptop has a LAN port, connect one end of RJ 45 cable to the laptop and other to the range extender.
In my case, I m using a MacBook Air which does not have a LAN port, so I connected to the default open Wi-Fi network (Cadyce). Once connected, open web browser and type 10.0.0.2 in the address bar. You will be asked to enter the credentials where user name and password both are admin. Enter it and then click on login button. ALSO READ: How to turn any pair of wired headphones wireless
Step Two: Here, you will see two options AP mode and Repeater. Click on the radio button of repeater mode and then click on site survey option. It will scan for active Wi-Fi connections in the range.
Step Three: Click on the radio button of the Wi-Fi network from the list (the network range that you want to extend). Now, add an SSID Name in my case, the home Wi-Fi network name is bendre so I will name the extender as bendre ext just to be able to differentiate which one is which.
Next, it will automatically pick up the password, but it is better to re-enter again. Once done, click on apply and save at the bottom. Now, the WLAN mode will be modified and system will reboot in about 40 seconds. Disconnect the LAN cable, in case you used it, and then connect to the newly created Wi-Fi network. If you ve followed all steps correctly, your newly configured internet connection should be up and ready to go.
Besides Cadyce, you can also go for other options such as TP-Link RE200 which costs about Rs 2,500, Xiaomi s Mi Wi-Fi Repeater 2 for Rs 1,199 which is powered by USB port, and Netgear s Ex2700 for Rs 2,400 among others.
