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As COVID-19 continues to ravage the nation, many people are still working remotely from home. If you’re one of these people, we guess that you’re experiencing slow or no internet connection in some areas around the house- perhaps a home office. Hence, the reason you’re looking for a viable solution on how to extend Verizon Fios WiFi range at a minimum or no cost.
Of course, it’s not all the users who happen to suffer from poor internet strength. Verizon is, after all, the best network here in the U.S., both for the phone and home internet service. The latter’s where we now have Fios internet service, which brings you both wired and wireless (WiFi) connections. But again, is the home internet bundle worth it?
A Little about the Verizon Fios Internet Bundle
Technically, T-Mobile and Verizon and AT&T are now the major network providers we have. Sprint finally joined with T-Mobile, but even then, the conglomerate business is yet to reach certain levels of its two counterparts. Why?
At the time of writing, T-Mobile is still providing home internet service through the 5G infrastructure that its cellular phones use. However, Verizon and AT&T are already into fiber optic home internet service. Thus, bringing you speedier browsing speeds for better gameplay, Ultra-HD streaming, and less to no throttling.
With Verizon, the fiber optic internet connection is under the sub-brand Verizon Fios (sometimes called Fios by Verizon). The internet bundle has three different packages to choose from, including the 200Mbps, 400Mbps, and Gigabit Connection.
Despite the varying internet speeds, all the Verizon Fios internet bundles offer fast and reliable internet. You can also share with multiple users, plus stream and download movies or shows in 4K quality, something you definitely can’t achieve with either Verizon Go Unlimited or Start Unlimited cellular entertainment plans.
If you’re planning to share your home internet with more people and many devices, you may want to choose the Fios Gigabit. The internet bundle usually offers up to 940 Mbps download speeds and 880 Mbps upload speeds. Thus, you can enjoy seamless entertainment with even more users and devices.
Even better, the Verizon Fios Gigabit includes an exclusive Whole-Home WiFi package, whereby you get your router with one WiFi range extender.
Well, this now brings us to the better part of our discussion, where we’ll look at the various ways to extend your Verizon Fios WiFi range. We’ve put together five different hacks to be exact. So, it’s up to you to assess and decide the method that will work best for your current situation.
The 5 Ways You Solve Your Slow Verizon Fios WiFi At Home or Workplace
To begin with, all routers send out wired and wireless internet connections at varying speeds. A wired (LAN) connection usually has the strongest internet signal, with faster browsing speeds compared to the Wireless (WAN) Backhaul.
Nonetheless, internet routers usually have limited LAN ports (four in the case of a Fios Home Router). Also, a wireless connection helps eliminate the need for wiring, plus devices like smartphones and tablets don’t have a local connection port.
Regardless, a wireless WiFi connection isn’t perfect either. It does have its drawbacks as well, with the most common one being degraded signal for the areas further from the router.
If this feels like your situation right now, you can use either of the following methods to fix the spotty connection. Each method has its pros and cons. So, you might want to go through all first and weigh their effectiveness before you can choose.
The various methods include:
How to Extend Verizon Fios WiFi Range with Proper Placement
Overall, this method is the easiest and most affordable of all. The idea to extend your WiFi range is to move your Fios router from the current location to a new location. Your new location can be either a central spot of the house or farther away from obstructions and competing interferences. That’s electronics like microwaves, water heaters, air ducts, and structures like a closed cabinet.
However, your router has to remain connected to the Coax or Ethernet outlet to continue working.
How to Extend Verizon Fios WiFi Range with an Upgrade
A WiFi router is yet another piece of tech, just like your phone or laptop. So, both the software and hardware it runs on can become outdated over time, which will then cause issues like reduced internet speeds. A good example is the sixth generation of WiFi, WiFi 6, which brings you faster 2.4GHz and 5GHz internet speeds than WiFi 5 routers.
Therefore, our next hack to take your Verizon Fios WiFi coverage to the next level is with upgrading to the latest router. A good example is the Fios Home Router G3100, which comes with WiFi 6 Technology and tri-band frequencies. So, you can enjoy superfast WiFi speeds with multiple devices at the same time without them interfering with each other.
Apart from the latest router, you can also extend your WiFi range by upgrading to a faster Fios internet plan. As was mentioned earlier, Verizon usually offers three different plans, namely the 200Mbps plan, 400 Mbps, and Gigabit plan.
The Fios Gigabit plan is the superior of all, whereby you can get up to 980/880 Mbps in wired connections. That’s a speed the Verizon/Fios G3100 Home Router can handle perfectly well.
How to Extend Verizon Fios WiFi Range with a WiFi Repeater
A WiFi Booster is one of the most effective solutions when you want to extend your wireless internet to dead zones in your home. The WiFi repeater is one of these boosters, but many people tend to confuse it with an extender, yet the two are totally different. How?
In a WiFi repeater, the hardware itself has two built-in wireless technologies or rather routers. The first router has the antenna to receive the signal coming from your existing Fios WiFi signal. Then, the second “router” will now distribute that signal to where you want it. So, in a nutshell, the device is just rebroadcasting the signal over the previously WiFi dead zones.
Before it can rebroadcast that signal, a WiFi repeater will first have to connect with your primary router wirelessly. So, you’ll have to configure it with your home network (like those WiFi security cameras) while using a laptop. As part of the setup, the repeater will create a new wireless network, which you’ll now use to connect devices on the dead zones.
Yeah, the WiFi signal will now be reaching these spots. But, sadly, you’ll notice your devices are getting reduced bandwidth- by up to 50%. An easy reason for this is because the two routers (for receiving and transmitting) of a repeater operate by splitting the bandwidth available.
It’s worth noting that WiFi repeaters will also be susceptible to interference from thick/ walls, microwaves, stereos, and other electronic devices.
Also, some models like the NETGEAR Ex5000 can only extend your WiFi range up to 1500 sq. ft area. So, the method might be ineffective if your goal was to push your internet to the rooms upstairs.
How to Extend Verizon Fios WiFi Range with a WiFi Extender
A WiFi extender is another type of signal booster that you can consider to improve your internet connection in dead zones. It’s the most common with Verizon Fios internet service as it’s more effective, convenient, and reliable.
Unlike repeaters, a WiFi extender grabs the network signal from your home router and pushes farther without negatively impacting the overall bandwidth. This is so as the primary router is connecting to the extender via a coaxial or Ethernet cable. So, the idea is more like installing another router in the WiFi dead zone. And considering it’s using a wired backhaul, you won’t need to worry about signal interference or obstruction.
In other words, a WiFi extender is one of the best options to extend your Verizon Fios WiFi range on a two-story house. However, the piece of hardware tends to be a bit pricey than WiFi repeaters. Then, there’s the issue of compatibility, whereby the device will need to support the network technology of the router.
Note, some extenders like the Verizon Fios E3200 can connect to your Verizon Fios WiFi router wirelessly or via a cable. So, you can easily and successfully customize the setup based on your house setting.
How to Extend Verizon Fios WiFi Range with a Mesh Wi-Fi System
Last but not least, you can extend your Fios WiFi coverage with a good mesh WiFi system. Yes, it’s very possible and even Verizon approves if you want to create a “unified network that covers every room” of your house.
Different from the WiFi extender and repeaters, a mesh system makes use of multiple devices (also called nodes). The devices usually work harmoniously with your latest router while broadcasting the same network name. That’s not all.
All the nodes that make up your WiFi mesh system will be running on the same software, then the built-in access points are aware of each other. So, they’ll be able to forward traffic around the network ecosystem (wirelessly) at all times.
In the event one of the mesh devices fails, the remaining pieces will still be able to reroute traffic of your fastest network band. Thus, you’ll remain connected to your network, regardless of which room you’re in. It’s more like with roaming feature in cellphones, whereby you can still access the internet while outside the U.S.
Despite the high effectiveness and efficiency, extending your Fios WiFi range with a Mesh WiFi System will be a bit expensive.
For instance, a 4-pack kit of the Eero Mesh WiFi system (bestseller on Amazon) goes about $278 on regular days. But then, you’ll be able to extend your 350 Mbps internet throughout a 5000 sq. ft. house super-quick and easy.
Final Thoughts:
As for now, these are the best methods you can use to extend your Verizon Fios WiFi range to other rooms with weak or no signal. While each will be effective to some degree, it’s not all that will work out for your current situation. Each of us has a different home design/ layout, types of routers, and the Fios internet plan.
If you have enough budget at hand but fewer users and devices to share the WiFi, we’d recommend setting up the extender. It’s slightly cheaper than the WiFi mesh system but still delivers stronger signal coverage without weakening the bandwidth.
Alternatively, you can invest in a good mesh system. Not only will you improve your WiFi range to a greater extent, but also you can roam around the house with a strong connection, all the time. The best part, you won’t even need to manually connect your device to the nearest WiFi node as with the repeaters and extenders. Your wireless device will be connecting automatically.