Say Goodbye To Spotty Wi-Fi With This $19 Smart Home Upgrade

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Your Wi-Fi network is basically the beating heart of your smart home. And just like a real heart thrives on good food and exercise, your home network performs best when you optimize a few key variables. The biggest factor? Having a solid router. Sure, your internet provider will happily rent you a modem-router combo, but buying your own gear not only saves you those monthly rental fees — it also gives you the freedom to pick a router that actually delivers the speed and coverage you need.

Routers, though, can get pricey fast. If you're working with a budget, one smart move is to grab a reliable mid-tier router and then pair it with a Wi-Fi extender. That combo keeps costs down while still boosting performance. We've gone over the best Wi-Fi range extenders before, and one standout deal right now is the TP-Link RE315 AC1200 Wi-Fi Extender.

With a 4.2-star rating on Amazon from over 37,000 reviews, it's a solid choice for both new setups and existing networks. Bonus: it's a lifesaver if your home has those annoying Wi-Fi dead zones. In a glowing write-up of the AC1200, one Amazon user said, "[I]t's great for our space. Highly recommend for a strong signal 40 feet away from your access point." Offering similar praise, another Amazon reviewer said, "If you have dead zones or a building outside your home that needs coverage, this is a fantastic, affordable solution."

The TP-Link AC1200 supports dual-band speeds up to 1,200Mbps, and its Adaptive Path Selection feature automatically picks the best Wi-Fi band for your devices. That's a huge plus if your home or office is packed with phones, laptops, smart TVs, and other connected gear (the AC1200 supports up to 30 connected devices). TP-Link also includes a smart signal indicator, making it easier to find the sweet spot for maximum coverage.

Setup involves downloading the TP-Link Tether app and following the setup wizard. Once it's paired with your router, the AC1200 can act as a dedicated access point for all your wireless devices — and thanks to its Gigabit Ethernet port, wired devices can get a speed boost too. Unlike mesh systems that rely on primary and satellite nodes to blanket your space, range extenders like the AC1200 simply grab your router's signal and rebroadcast it, filling in those pesky dead zones without overcomplicating your network. Range extenders are usually less expensive than investing in a mesh system, too — even though the former is typically the better option if you're building a Wi-Fi network from the ground up.

And adding a Wi-Fi extender isn't the only thing you can do to improve Wi-Fi speeds for your home or business. To help eradicate dead spots, simple fixes like relocating your router or allocating certain devices to specific Wi-Fi bands can make a big difference in network performance, too.