I have a weak WiFi signal in the area where my driveway Ring device is located. Would a WiFi extender work well enough, or should I hardwire a new access point? This would be just for the Ring device since my other devices in the house have no issues. I’ve heard WiFi extenders can sometimes be unreliable and might affect other devices. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.
Yes and no. Extenders grab the existing signal and relay it to the device while sending data back to the hub. They don’t amplify the signal; they just extend it. If your signal is weak, the extender will push the weak signal further, but it won’t improve the signal strength itself.
I’ve used extenders and haven’t noticed interference with other devices. It can take 12-48 hours for them to fully integrate with all Ring devices. My advice: buy one, test it for a week, and return it if it doesn’t work well. Also, consider a good mesh network setup if you want to avoid hardwiring.
I had a similar problem with my garage Ring camera losing WiFi. I used a Ring extender and Ring Bridge plugged into the garage wall sockets. It worked perfectly, and I haven’t had issues since. The Ring Chime Pro can also act as an extender.
I recently installed a WiFi extender for the same reason: poor signal to my outdoor Ring cameras. My floodlight and doorbell cameras had RSSI ratings between 65-75, which is poor. I put a TP-Link extender in the garage, and both cameras improved to RSSI ratings of 40-55 after rebooting. The streams load faster, and the video quality has improved.
My advice: try an extender, but ensure it’s refundable. Also, stick to the same brand for your router and extender for compatibility. I use a TP-Link Archer router and got a TP-Link RE450 extender, which has a OneMesh feature for better communication between devices.
I use a TP-Link extender. My signal went from 65-70 RSSI to around 48-50. It works great for me.