HomeTechHacker: Add Wi-Fi 6 to your home without buying a new router

By Marlon Buchanan

Do you have slow or dead Wi-Fi spots in your home? Do you want to speed up your Wi-Fi and make sure you can take advantage of the speed your new laptop or mobile phone can handle? Have you waited to upgrade and improve your Wi-Fi because you don’t want to replace your Wi-Fi router? Maybe all you need is a Wi-Fi 6 access point!

What’s Wi-Fi 6?

Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, is the latest Wi-Fi standard. It is faster and more stable than its predecessors. Theoretical speeds for Wi-Fi 6 top out at 250% of the previous standard, Wi-Fi 5. As a bonus, Wi-Fi 6-certified devices come with WPA3, the latest Wi-Fi security standard. They also come with MU-MIMO, which helps Wi-Fi speeds when there are multiple devices connected.

What’s a Wi-Fi access point?

A Wi-Fi access point, sometimes called a wireless access point, connects to a router, switch, or hub via Ethernet and emits a Wi-Fi signal for connecting to your network. Wi-Fi access points are used for extending a wireless network.

You can add a Wi-Fi access point to your home network anywhere you have an Ethernet network connection. You don’t need to replace your router at all, as an access point can work with your Wi-Fi router. The best practice is to make the wireless access point Wi-Fi names and passwords the same as your router’s Wi-Fi networks to make it work seamlessly with your Wi-Fi devices.

Wireless access points can be really helpful if there’s a spot in your home that has a weak Wi-Fi signal. And, of course, you can use access points to add faster Wi-Fi standards like Wi-Fi 6 to your home.

Wi-Fi access point

Recommended Wi-Fi access points

There are lots of good Wi-Fi access points, but I generally recommend TP-Link access points for most people. I personally own the EAP 610 as it has a great combination of features and prices. If you want a Wi-Fi access point and want to save some money and aren’t interested in Wi-Fi 6, I generally recommend (and own) the TP-Link EAP 225.

Marlon Buchanan, HomeTechHacker

You can find more recommendations for Wi-Fi access points by using the HomeTechHacker Technology Advisor or by checking out my Buyer’s guide

Marlon Buchanan is a best-selling author, IT Director, and founder of HomeTechHacker.com, a website with free resources to help you make the most of your home technology.