Before you begin. This procedure is general reference information, not professional advice. Equipment varies by manufacturer, model, and year. Always follow the documentation supplied with your equipment — where it differs from this page, follow the manufacturer. Verify that you have the tools, the working conditions, and the ability to do this task safely. If anything is unclear, if the equipment is damaged, or if the task exceeds your experience, stop and use a qualified professional. You are responsible for your own safety and for the outcome. This site accepts no liability for any loss, damage, or injury arising from the use of this information.
Specifications marked unverified could not be traced to a manufacturer source. Do not rely on them — obtain the value from your equipment documentation.
Summary
Buying a range extender or a mesh node is the usual fix for a room the wifi does not reach, and it is also the step people get wrong most often. The instinct is to put the new device as far from the router as the cable or the outlet allows, on the idea that further away means more coverage. TP-Link's own instructions say the opposite: the device has to hear a strong signal from the router before it can rebroadcast one, so a spot too far away gives you a weak extension of a weak signal, or a mesh node that never syncs properly. This page measures the dead spot first, places the device where TP-Link or NETGEAR document that it belongs, reads the device's own signal indicator to confirm the spot is good enough, and then measures again so you have evidence the move helped rather than a guess.
This page gives placement rules published by TP-Link for its RE-series extenders and its Deco mesh system, and by NETGEAR for its Orbi mesh system. It does not give a number for every other brand — for those, it routes you to your own system's app or support site rather than guessing. It does not change any setting inside the router, the extender or the node; every source used here sends you to the device's own app or configuration page for that. It does not diagnose a slow internet connection itself, only a signal that fails to reach one part of the home.
Safety
MEASURE THE SIGNAL IN THE THREE ROOMS BEFORE YOU PLACE THE NEW DEVICE.
Without a first measurement, you cannot prove the change worked.
Necessary equipment
| Item | Note |
|---|---|
| A phone, tablet or laptop with wifi | Use the same device for every test. |
| A speed test app or website | Use the same speed test for every test. |
| Pen and paper | Write down each result. |
| A tape measure optional | Use this to measure the distance for a range extender. |
| The manufacturer's app for your mesh system optional | Needed for a mesh node. Use it to read the signal strength during placement. |
| A long Ethernet cable optional | Needed only if you connect the device to the router with a cable. |
Record the signal before you start
Estimated 8 min to 12 min
- Choose the room with the weakest wifi signal in your home.1mReport a problem with step 1, Record the signal before you start
- Call this room the target room.
- Choose a room close to the router.<1mReport a problem with step 2, Record the signal before you start
- Call this room the control room.
- A good control room must not get worse after the move.
- Choose a room roughly halfway between the router and the target room.1mReport a problem with step 3, Record the signal before you start
- Call this room the middle room.
- The new device will likely go near here.
- Do a speed test in the target room, the control room and the middle room.6mReport a problem with step 4, Record the signal before you start
- Use the same device and the same speed test app in each room.
- Microsoft recommends this method before any change to the network.
- Write down the result for each room.
Choose where to place the device
Estimated 14 min to 18 min
Source: How to Place Your TP-Link Wi-Fi Extender for the Best Signal and Performance · tier 1 · accessed 2026-08-04
Source: How to Place Your TP-Link Wi-Fi Extender for the Best Signal and Performance · tier 1 · accessed 2026-08-04
Source: How to Place Your TP-Link Wi-Fi Extender for the Best Signal and Performance · tier 1 · accessed 2026-08-04
Source: TP-Link Deco Range: Coverage Per Model, Placement Distance, and Tips to Improve Your Wi-Fi · tier 1 · accessed 2026-08-04
Source: Deco Placement Guide: Where to Place Your Deco Mesh Wi-Fi Units · tier 1 · accessed 2026-08-04
No tier-1 source was found for this value. Take it from the documentation supplied with your equipment.
No tier-1 source was found for this value. Take it from the documentation supplied with your equipment.
- Decide whether your new device is a range extender or a mesh node.<1mReport a problem with step 1, Choose where to place the device
- A range extender repeats the router's signal under the same wifi name.
- A mesh node is part of a system with its own app.
- If you have a range extender, choose a spot roughly halfway between the router and the target room.2mReport a problem with step 2, Choose where to place the device
- TP-Link gives this rule for a range extender.
- The spot must still get a strong signal from the router.
- Measure the distance from the router to that spot.2mReport a problem with step 3, Choose where to place the device
- TP-Link gives 25 to 40 feet for an extender with outside antennas.
- TP-Link gives 20 to 35 feet for an extender with antennas inside the case.
- Move the spot closer to the router if a wall is between them.
- Place the extender at about the same height as the router, near four feet above the floor.2mReport a problem with step 4, Choose where to place the device
- Do not place the extender on the floor or in a corner.
- A shelf, a desk or a bookcase works well.
- If your extender has outside antennas, set them to a vertical position.<1mReport a problem with step 5, Choose where to place the device
- Face the front of the extender toward the router.
- Do not place the extender near a mirror or a large metal surface.<1mReport a problem with step 6, Choose where to place the device
- TP-Link says these reflect the wifi signal.
- Do not place the extender near a microwave oven or a cordless telephone.<1mReport a problem with step 7, Choose where to place the device
- TP-Link also names a refrigerator and a baby monitor.
- These add interference to the wifi signal.
- If you have a mesh node, open the system's app.<1mReport a problem with step 8, Choose where to place the device
- Use the app's guided layout tool to choose a spot.2mReport a problem with step 9, Choose where to place the device
- TP-Link says the Deco app places a satellite node from the floor plan you choose.
- Do not place a mesh node near a fish tank or a metal shelf.<1mReport a problem with step 10, Choose where to place the device
- NETGEAR gives this list for an Orbi satellite.
- Do not place a mesh node near a microwave oven or another wireless device.<1mReport a problem with step 11, Choose where to place the device
- Do not place it inside a cabinet or another closed space.
- NETGEAR gives this rule for an Orbi satellite too.
- Place the mesh node at table height, near a power source.1mReport a problem with step 12, Choose where to place the device
- NETGEAR gives this placement for an Orbi satellite.
- Keep any two connected nodes no more than 50 feet apart.1mReport a problem with step 13, Choose where to place the device
- TP-Link gives this limit for a Deco system.
- A wired connection between nodes removes this limit.
Place and connect the device
Estimated 4 min to 6 min
- Connect the device to power at the chosen spot.<1mReport a problem with step 1, Place and connect the device
- Wait for the status lights to show a steady connection.3mReport a problem with step 2, Place and connect the device
- Allow several minutes for the device to join the network for the first time.
Make sure the connection is strong enough
Estimated 14 min to 22 min
- If you have a range extender, find its Signal LED.<1mReport a problem with step 1, Make sure the connection is strong enough
- TP-Link says a solid light in any color shows a good connection.
- Read the color or the number of lights on the Signal LED.<1mReport a problem with step 2, Make sure the connection is strong enough
- TP-Link says a red light means the signal from the router is weak.
- If the Signal LED shows a weak signal, move the extender closer to the router.3mReport a problem with step 3, Make sure the connection is strong enough
- Read the Signal LED again after you move it.
- If you have a mesh node, open the app.<1mReport a problem with step 4, Make sure the connection is strong enough
- Read the signal strength to the source unit.2mReport a problem with step 5, Make sure the connection is strong enough
- TP-Link's own target for this reading is 2 bars on the Deco app scale.
- If the reading is lower, move the node closer to the source unit.
- If you have an Orbi satellite, read its status LED color.<1mReport a problem with step 6, Make sure the connection is strong enough
- NETGEAR gives three colors for this light.
- A blue light means a good connection to the router.
- An amber light means the connection is only fair.
- A magenta light means the satellite failed to sync.
- If the status LED shows amber or magenta, move the satellite closer to the router.3mReport a problem with step 7, Make sure the connection is strong enough
- Read the status LED again after you move it.
- If wireless placement is not good enough, connect the device to the router with a cable instead.<1mReport a problem with step 8, Make sure the connection is strong enough
- TP-Link calls this Access Point mode for an extender.
- TP-Link says a wired connection between mesh nodes is more stable than a wireless connection.
DO NOT ROUTE THE ETHERNET CABLE ACROSS A WALKWAY OR A DOORWAY.
A person can trip on the cable and fall. A fall on a hard floor can cause a serious injury.
- Run the Ethernet cable along a wall or under a rug.4mReport a problem with step 9, Make sure the connection is strong enough
- Keep the cable away from a walkway and a doorway.
Prove the change worked
Estimated 12 min to 16 min
No tier-1 source was found for this value. Take it from the documentation supplied with your equipment.
- Do the same speed test again in the target room, the control room and the middle room.6mReport a problem with step 1, Prove the change worked
- Use the same device and the same speed test app as before.
- Write each new result next to the old result for that room.2mReport a problem with step 2, Prove the change worked
- Compare the new result to the old result in each room.2mReport a problem with step 3, Prove the change worked
- A higher result in the target room and the middle room shows the move helped.
- A lower result in the control room shows the new device reduces the router's signal.
- If the target room is still weak, choose a new spot for the device.1mReport a problem with step 4, Prove the change worked
- Read its signal indicator again after you move it.
- If the control room is worse, move the device further from the router or connect it with a cable.1mReport a problem with step 5, Prove the change worked
Terminology
This page uses one term for each item and holds it throughout, as ASD-STE100 requires. Equipment sellers and other guides use the names below for the same parts.
- range extender
- Also called: wifi extender, wifi booster, signal booster, repeater, extender
- mesh node
- Also called: mesh point, satellite, mesh unit, satellite router, add-on point
- dead zone
- Also called: dead spot, black spot, no wifi here, weak signal area, wifi doesn't reach the bedroom
- backhaul
- Also called: the link between nodes, node-to-node connection, the connection back to the router
- wireless hop
- Also called: extra hop, relay, double hop, range extender lag
When to use a professional
Stop before you change a setting inside the router, the extender or the node. Use the maker's own app or support site for that. This page only places the device.
Stop before you run a cable through a wall, a floor or a ceiling. That is work for a qualified person. Along a wall or under a rug is as far as this page goes.
Stop and call your internet provider if the router belongs to them. Ask before you add equipment to their network.
Stop and call your internet provider if a wired device at the router is also slow. A new extender or node cannot fix a slow connection from the provider.
Use the guided tool in your own system's app if you have a different brand. This page gives no distance figures for another make.
Common questions
Where should I put a wifi extender?
Roughly halfway between the router and the room it does not reach, not as far away as the outlet allows. TP-Link's own support page is explicit: place the extender about 25 to 40 feet from the router for a model with outside antennas, or 20 to 35 feet for one with antennas inside the case, and move it closer if a wall sits between the two. TP-Link also says to get it up off the floor, to around the same height as the router, roughly four feet up, and to keep it away from mirrors, large metal surfaces, microwaves, cordless phones, refrigerators and baby monitors. The pattern behind all of this is the same: the extender has to receive a strong signal before it can send one on.
Where should I put a mesh node or a satellite?
If it is a TP-Link Deco system, let the app's guided layout tool choose the spot from your home's floor plan, then use the app's own signal-strength check — TP-Link's target is 2 bars — before you settle on a location. If it is a NETGEAR Orbi system, keep the satellite away from a fish tank, a metal shelf, a microwave, other wireless devices and any cabinet, and use the satellite's status LED to fine-tune it: blue is good, amber means move it closer, and magenta means it failed to sync at all. NETGEAR does not publish a distance in feet for this, only diagrams by home size, so the LED is the figure to trust. For a different mesh system, its own app almost certainly has an equivalent placement tool and signal check; this page does not have the numbers for a brand it has not read documentation for.
My wifi booster isn't helping. What's wrong?
Almost always, it is too far from the router to receive a strong signal, which is the opposite of the instinct that put it there. TP-Link's own guidance for confirming a range extender's location is to read its Signal LED: a solid light of any color means it connected, but a red light or a low bar count means the signal from the router is weak, and the fix is to move the extender closer, not further. A mesh node shows the same problem differently, through the app's signal-strength reading between the node and the router. If moving it closer still does not help, the honest fallback is a wired connection, which TP-Link documents for both a range extender, as Access Point mode, and a Deco mesh node, as an Ethernet backhaul.
Why did my extender halve my internet speed?
TP-Link's own explanation is that a device connected through the extender goes through an extra wireless hop compared with a device connected straight to the router, and more hops mean less speed — TP-Link states this as a general effect and does not put a percentage or a fraction on it. There is one clean exception: TP-Link says a device wired directly into the extender sees no such speed loss, because it skips that extra wireless hop entirely. The same 'extra hop' logic is why TP-Link recommends wiring mesh units together when you can, rather than leaving every node on a wireless connection back to the router. If the drop feels far worse than that, the extender is very likely too far from the router — check its Signal LED before you blame the technology itself.
What is a dead spot, and how do I find mine?
A dead spot is simply a room where the wifi signal from the router has weakened past the point of being useful, usually because of distance, walls or interference. You find it the same way this page proves the fix worked: run the same speed test, on the same device, in every room you actually use, and write down every result. Microsoft's own guidance says to do exactly this before you change anything, then repeat it afterward to see what actually moved. A room with a noticeably lower result than the rest is your dead spot, and it is also the room a new extender or node needs to be near — not necessarily in.
Should I connect the extender or node with a cable instead of wifi?
If your home already has an Ethernet run to where you need coverage, yes — TP-Link documents a wired connection as more stable than a wireless one for both a range extender, in Access Point mode, and a Deco mesh node, over an Ethernet backhaul. A wired backhaul also removes the 50-foot wireless spacing guideline TP-Link gives for Deco units, since the units no longer need to hear each other over wifi at all. If running a new cable means going through a wall, a floor or a ceiling, that crosses into work for a qualified person, and a wireless placement that follows the rules on this page is the right next step instead.
Related procedures
- How to work out why my home wifi is so slow or keeps dropping out
- Where should I put my wifi router to get the best signal in the house
- How do I test my internet speed properly so my provider believes me when I say it is slow
- Where should I put smoke detectors, and how many do I need
- How to change the WiFi password and network name on a TP-Link Archer AX23 router
- Identify an Ethernet cable's category and decide whether it is limiting the connection
Sources
Every specification on this page is traced to one of these sources. Tier 1 is a manufacturer document, a published standard, or a government safety authority. See Standards for the full tiering rule.
- Tier 1How to Place Your TP-Link Wi-Fi Extender for the Best Signal and Performance
- Tier 1Is Your TP-Link Range Extender Working and in the Right Spot?
- Tier 1Why is my TP-Link Range Extender not getting the same speed as the main router?
- Tier 1Deco Placement Guide: Where to Place Your Deco Mesh Wi-Fi Units
- Tier 1TP-Link Deco Range: Coverage Per Model, Placement Distance, and Tips to Improve Your Wi-Fi
- Tier 1Where should I place my Orbi router and satellite?
- Tier 1Wi-Fi and your home layout
Revision history
Current version 1 · updated 2026-08-04 · next review due 2027-08-04
- v1 · 2026-08-04First draft. Built from six new tier-1 manufacturer documents, all fetched directly by curl on 2026-08-04 and read against the raw HTML rather than only a summary: TP-Link support FAQs 3103 (extender placement, updated 17 April 2026), 2692 (confirming an extender's connection and location, updated 7 May 2026), 3889 (why an extender is slower than the router, updated 12 January 2024), 1446 (Deco mesh placement guide, updated 17 April 2026) and 2716 (Deco range and placement distance, updated 8 May 2026), and NETGEAR knowledge base article 31029 (Orbi router and satellite placement, updated 13 November 2025). Also cites the already-registered mssupport-wifi-and-your-home-layout for the before/after speed-test method, reused rather than re-derived. Every numeric specification is quoted close to verbatim in the corresponding source's notes in data/sources-additions-place-a-mesh-node-or-range-extender.json. Two DELIBERATE NEGATIVE FINDINGS shape this record: NETGEAR's Orbi placement article gives four labelled diagrams by home size and no digit for distance anywhere on the page, so no NETGEAR distance figure is published — the record routes the reader to the diagrams and to the satellite's own status LED instead, and carries an unverified specification saying so explicitly rather than silently omitting NETGEAR's distance guidance. TP-Link's speed-comparison FAQ (3889) explains the extra-wireless-hop mechanism behind a slow extender but gives no percentage or fraction for the slowdown, so the record's FAQ answer to 'extender halved my speed' explains the mechanism and explicitly declines to publish a fraction, and the corresponding specification is unverified with no digit. The Deco app's '2 bars' signal-strength target (from FAQ 1446) is reported as prose inside a step substep rather than as a formal specification, because it is a value on the Deco app's own connection-quality scale and not a physical unit — folding it into the specification/spec_key machinery built for physical units risked exactly the unit-confusion failure mode this project has been burned by before (config.json plausibility_bounds treats the unit 'bar' as a pressure unit, which '2 bars' would silently and wrongly parse against). All five verified specifications carry no spec_key: data/specs.json is off-limits to this drafting session by design, so the registry entries must be written centrally at merge time, matching the precedent set by position-a-wifi-router. This page is deliberately not a duplicate of position-a-wifi-router: that page relocates the router itself and never mentions a second device, while this page places an added device relative to a router that does not move, uses each device's own signal indicator (LED or app) rather than only a whole-home speed test, and cites six sources none of which that page uses.
Corrections to this page are listed in the public corrections log. Reports that are credible and not yet verified are listed in the public errata register, and an open one renders above the step it concerns.
Comments and corrections
Found an error? A correction with a manufacturer source is applied and logged publicly. You can also write to corrections@fixchecklist.com.
Every step above carries its own report control, which tags the report with that step so a correction reaches the right place. For anything about the procedure as a whole — the order of the sections, a step that is missing, something that did not match your equipment — use this: report something about this whole procedure.