Extend your wireless router’s range

With almost every home and office having a broadband connection over a wireless network, a single Wi-Fi router is not enough. The lone wireless router usually sits in the corner of your living room, usually near the main door or a window. The little internet beaming device can just server the entire living room, the adjoining balcony and probably half of the bedroom or kitchen near it. The other rooms in your home are left in dead spots, restricting the usage range of your devices. What you need is a device that can amplify the primary routers network into far corners of the other rooms.

Linksys recently launched the RE4100W, a wireless range extender that promises to eliminate dead spots without sacrificing speed. The RE4100W is a tiny device as big as a conventional mosquito repellent. Incorporated with a built-in power adapter, it sits on the wall connected to the power socket. All you need to do it to find a suitable spot at the end of your primary router's outer range diameter and leave it powered on after configuring it once. The RE4100W extends the wireless coverage by repeating and redistributing the signal from the primary router to the far reaches of your home. To find a dead spot, Linksys has also provided an app that can help you find the exact spot where you can install the extender.

The RE4100W is a dual-band 2.4GHz + 5 GHz wireless range extender with transfer speeds of up to N300Mb/s + N300Mb/s. It also features an Ethernet port which allows you to connect a laptop, desktop, Smart TV and other Ethernet-ready wired devices. To make home networking even better, the little RE4100W has one more trick up its sleeve - it features a built-in digital audio streaming mode that allows you to connect speakers to the range extender to wirelessly stream music to other rooms. The RE4100W also features Crossband technology to maximise simultaneous use of both bands for high-speed data transfer and uninterrupted throughputs for gaming and streaming.

Setting up the extender is a breeze and all you need to do is power it up, connect your mobile/laptop/tablet/desktop to the Linksys's default Wi-Fi network, open a browser and enter the URL extender.linksys.com. Once connected, follow the instructions on the webpage, find your best spot for the extender and configure the RE4100W to start repeating it. The webpage has a complete step-by-step guide to help you configure the range extender. While it can take you just a few minutes to complete the setup on your own, you additionally get to take advantage of the Spot Finder technology which can help you locate dead spots on your primary router and the animation on the setup page will help you find the best spot for your range extender.

The Linksys RE4100W is a great accessory for homes and small businesses such as SOHO setups, restaurants, and educational institutes and alike. The Linksys RE4100W is supported with a 3-year warranty period and is available for a retail price of Rs 4,375.