I've been struggling with my home Wi-Fi for a while now. I had a TP-Link AV200 extender that worked really well for over a year, covering my entire two-bedroom flat, including the kitchen. Then suddenly, it just stopped working as well. After a friend pressed the WPS pairing button instead of just doing a router restart, the range has significantly decreased. Now, I can only get a decent connection in the living room and have lost coverage in the kitchen. I've read that extenders can fail, but I'm wondering if this is a common issue or if there could be some technical problems at play. I've re-paired it, but I haven't yet tried a hard reset. Any advice on what might be happening?
3 Answers
Sounds like your extender might have switched bands, which can affect coverage. If it's set to auto, it might have moved to the 5GHz band, which is faster but has a shorter range. I'd suggest connecting to the extender's settings and manually adjusting the bandwidth and channel. Check the manual for guidance on accessing these settings; it might help restore some of that lost coverage.
Pressing WPS requires the button to be activated on both the router and the extender. If only one was pressed, it may have disrupted the connection. It sounds like the extender is still connected but isn't performing well, which could indeed suggest it's failing. You'll want to check everything again and maybe try a total reset to see if it can get back to its full potential.
Factory resetting the extender could help, but keep in mind that internal issues may have already occurred. Sometimes, the Wi-Fi radio inside the extender fails over time, especially if it gets too hot. If it's already struggling to cover even one room, there might not be a setting that can fix it, and it could simply be on its way out. Also, consider if your main router is capable of covering your flat effectively—sometimes the router's location or power can be the problem.
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