Say you have a smart home or use many smart appliances, you’ll want a Wi-Fi system that has enough speed and bandwidth. When purchasing your own router, consider what exactly you’ll be using it for. Often, phone services don’t offer routers with the best or most up-to-date technology, so you end up paying more for an inferior product. While many people opt for a router and modem system offered by their phone service provider, it’s often cheaper to buy one of your own, and it can provide you with better, more powerful Wi-Fi.
If that’s the case, invest in an extender (or mesh system with satellites) to fill in any dead spots. Also be aware that while your square footage may fall within your router’s reach, the construction of your house-if it involves things like thick stone walls-can prevent the signal from extending throughout the whole home. Many manufacturers will rate their Wi-Fi router to cover a certain square footage, so be sure to cross reference that with your living space. But you’ll want one for large homes or connecting many devices to your internet at a time. If you’re connecting across only a small apartment, you may not need a particularly powerful router. When it comes to Wi-Fi routers, the biggest thing to account for is the size of the space in which it will be used. Get high-speed internet without paying extra for unnecessary coverage.