Do wifi extenders reduce throughput for devices connected directly through router AP?

[BD2003]

Just wondering whether the speed reduction applies only to devices actually connecting through the extender, or whether it cuts all throughput regardless of which AP the device is using.

Also, my extender doesn't seem to agree with the WDS implementation on my router with tomato firmware. It seems to be working fine in non-WDS mode, but is this a feature worth having?

 

[JackMDS]

The reduction is only passed the Repeater (extender), devices that are connected to the actual Wireless source (or cable connected APs) would be OK.

WDS needs good support in the Wireless' chipset devices. Many entry level devices do not support it.

Entry level Repeaters/WDS etc. can provide Wireless relieve but they do not go together with the term Speed.

Relatively good results can be achieved with this line of hardware.

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-UniFi...G5GT16R7521M1J





P.S. People thinks that everything that appears in words in Hardware Menus has to be real or have any significant use.

I can easily add to the source of the firmware a Menu entry that would give a choice of "Free Gold Production" that would Not mean that the Wireless using it would actually produce Gold. :biggrin:

 

[BD2003]

The reduction is only passed the Repeater (extender), devices that are connected to the actual Wireless source (or cable connected APs) would be OK.

WDS needs good support in the Wireless' chipset devices. Many entry level devices do not support it.

Entry level Repeaters/WDS etc. can provide Wireless relieve but they do not go together with the term Speed.

Relatively good results can be achieved with this line of hardware.

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-UniFi...G5GT16R7521M1J





P.S. People thinks that everything that appears in words in Hardware Menus has to be real or have any significant use.

I can easily add to the source of the firmware a Menu entry that would give a choice of "Free Gold Production" that would Not mean that the Wireless using it would actually produce Gold. :biggrin:

Fair enough. I figured WDS was just a protocol, not something that needed chipset support. The router I use (Linksys E3000) is fine throughout the house, it just doesnt make it all the way to my yard. As long as all the devices within the house arent on a bandwidth diet because I occasionally need wifi outside, I can live with the limitations of the $20 extender.

 

[azazel1024]

Correction, only if the repeater is not in active use. If the repeater is in active use, it'll reduce throughput just like any other device connected to your base station. Possibly worse if the client and repeater are close enough to the client device that is connected to the main basestation as it is going to hear all of the chatter from both the other client and base station.

Wireless repeaters are in general a very bad idea on only as a last resort when it wouldn't ever be possible to run a wire to another access point or use some other method of connecting your other access point to the router (such as powerline or MoCA).

 

[JackMDS]

Yeah, the repeater just like any other Wireless device will take it share of the general Bandwidth. However, it will Not Reduce the devices that do not use it to half of the bandwidth as is does to its own output.

That said share the notion that the repeaters are the solution of last resort.