How to Use a Wi-Fi Booster Without an Ethernet Cable

Wi-Fi extenders help you get full Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home. They eliminate areas that hardly get any Wi-Fi signal. They can also help you get Wi-Fi in other hard to reach places, like the basement, your backyard or garage.

You can set up Wi-Fi extenders with an Ethernet cable or wirelessly. While a wired setup is reliable every time, there’s no doubt that a wireless Wi-Fi extender is more convenient. But keep reading to see if wireless or wired is the best option for you.

How to use Wireless Wi-Fi Extenders

• Biggest pro of a wireless Wi-Fi extender:
• Biggest con of a wireless Wi-Fi extender: Signal interference.

Essentially, to use wireless extenders you need to get the devices, pair them with your router and watch your Wi-Fi range improve. Well, in an ideal world that’s how smoothly it would go.

When you set up a wireless Wi-Fi extender, placement is everything. This is because anything wireless is susceptible to obstructions and interferences. You have to make sure that your extender is in line with your router but also near a power outlet (the same can be said when you use a cable, however you know your connection is going to work).

Likewise, wireless extenders often have antennas that need to be in direct line of your router to send and receive the signal.

The advantage of a wireless extender is that you can pretty much place it anywhere (given the few restrictions above). Which is great, because to work well, a wireless Wi-Fi extender needs to be close enough to your router to grab the signal and far enough away to re-broadcast it to the problem areas in your home.

So, while wireless may seem like the way to go, there is something to be said about sticking to the Ethernet cable.

Why you still might consider Ethernet cable set up:

• Biggest pro of a wired/Ethernet Wi-Fi extender: Reliable connection.
• Biggest con of a wired/Ethernet Wi-Fi extender: Limited placement options.

With the convenience of wireless comes a price: signal interference. With wireless Wi-Fi extenders the connection is not always reliable.

However, with an Ethernet connection, you know that you are getting a solid Wi-Fi connection every time because it is a direct connection between router and extender. No need to worry about slow speeds, lag or sketchy signals.

Wired extender options like powerline adapters, MoCA network adapters or MoCA Wi-Fi extenders utilize the electrical cabling that already exists in your walls.

MoCA Wi-Fi Extenders are the best of both worlds.

The reason that MoCA technology is the best of both worlds is because it gives you that wired connection with a bit of the wireless feel. We’ll explain:

MoCA devices like the network adapters only require one “exposed” wire: Ethernet cable. When people hear “wired connection,” their minds go to “mess of wires” to clutter their home. This simply isn’t the case. Since these devices use your electrical cabling, everything is hidden behind your walls.

All you have to do with this adapter kit is plug one adapter into the outlet near your router and the other near the device you are using. Then take an Ethernet cable to connect your device to the adapter not hooked up to your router. This will give you the solid internet connection you’re looking for.

A more likely scenario is hooking up your personal or work laptop or your gaming console, all of which require you to be stationary for periods of time. A small price to pay for strong Wi-Fi? We think so.

Check out ScreenBeam’s Complete Guide to MoCA to learn more about MoCA Network Adapters and how MoCA technology it works. For more Wi-Fi news, tips and tricks, head to ScreenBeam’s blog.