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One of the biggest downsides of Wi-Fi is limited range. Theoretically, Wi-Fi has a range of 50-60 feet when using the 5GHz frequency band indoors. But when you factor in the things inside your home that interfere with Wi-Fi , such as cordless phones, your neighbor's Wi-Fi, and thick walls, the effective range can drop considerably. So, somewhere in your home, if it's big enough, you might find yourself in an area where Wi-Fi goes to die — a dead zone. Wi-Fi extenders help eliminate dead zones and are also quite affordable. However, they tend to slow down internet speeds and increase latency and network congestion.

There are other solutions for creating a direct, reliable, fast, and less congested wired internet backbone through your home. Affordable ways to get internet from the router to the dead zones are longer Ethernet cables, powerline adapters, and Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) adapters.…