12 Wireless Router Antenna Distance Coverage Comparison

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If you are having problems with wifi coverage in your ‘big’ house, there are 2 solutions to your problem. Either you upgrade the antenna to a high gain antenna or purchase a range extender. The best solution is to upgrade the antenna and use a range extender, alternatively, you can optimize your router via this simple 6 tips on getting 5x better Wifi signal and speed, a simple hack such as aluminum foil and changing the position of the router will greatly boost the overall coverage.

See More ▼ 5 Wireless Wifi 802.11 a,b,g,n Router Range and Distance Comparison

12 Wireless Router Antenna Distance Coverage Comparison

01 – Difference Between Directional vs. Omni Antennas

omni vs directional antenna

Directional Antenna – A directional antenna is one that radiates its energy more effectively in one (or some) direction than others. Typically, these antennas have one main lobe and several minor lobes. Examples of directional antennas are patches and dishes.

Omni Antenna – An omnidirectional antenna is an antenna that has a non-directional pattern (circular pattern) in a given plane with a directional pattern in any orthogonal plane. Examples of omnidirectional antennas are dipoles and collinear antennas. Omni Antenna is widely used in most routers.

02 – Approximate Range of Various 802.11 Protocol

As shown in the table below, the latest wireless 802.11 standard has the best coverage in term of distance. However, it doesn’t eliminate blind spots (dead zones) when it comes to internet sharing between a very long distance.

ProtocolFreq (GHz)Bandwidth (MHz)Indoor RangeOutdoor RangeMax Linkrate

802.11

2.42020 m / 66 ft100 m / 330 ft

802.11a

[ Wi-Fi 2 ]
3.7/ 52035 m / 115 ft120 m / 390 ft1.5 to 54 Mbit/s

802.11b

[ Wi-Fi 1 ]
2.42035 m / 115 ft140 m / 460 ft1 to 11 Mbit/s

802.11g

[ Wi-Fi 3 ]
2.42038 m / 125 ft140 m / 460 ft3–54 Mbit/s

802.11n

[ Wi-Fi 4 ]
2.4/520 - 4070 m / 230 ft250 m / 820 ft72–600 Mbit/s

802.11ac

[ Wi-Fi 5 ]
520/40/80/16035 m / 115 ft433–6933 Mbit/s

802.11ad

602,16060 m / 200 ft100 m / 300 ft

802.11ah

0.9

802.11aj

45/60

802.11ax

[ Wi-Fi 6 ]
2.4/5 and 1/62/80 MHz600–9608 Mbit/s

802.11ay

60800060 m / 200 ft1000 m / 3000 ft

03 – Approximate Range of Various Antennas

Below is the approximate range for various brand and type of antenna. Do understand that the range of the signal depends heavily on the position of the router, number of antenna, types of antenna and many more.

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EnvironmentGainTypeApproximate Range

TP-Link
TL-ANT2409A

Indoor Outdoor9 dBiDirectional1.77km/1km/140m
(1/11/54Mbps)

TP-Link
TL-ANT2424B

Outdoor24 dBiGrid Parabolic56km/31.5km/4.44km
(1/11/54Mbps)

TP-Link
TL-ANT2405C

Indoor5 dBiOmni-directionaln/a

TP-Link
TL-ANT2415D

Outdoor15 dBiOmni-directionaln/a

D-Link
ANT24-0700

Indoor7 dBiOmni-directionaln/a

D-Link Xtreme N
ANT24-0230

Indoorn/aOmni-directionaln/a

C Crane
US3 Super USB

Indoor Outdoor4.5 dBiOmni-directional90 meters (with corners)
1.6km (line of sight)

Amped
Wireless WA12

Indoor12 dBiOmni-directionaln/a

Amped
Wireless A8EX

Outdoor8 dBiOmni-directional1.6km (line of sight)

Hawking
HAI15SC

Indoor15 dBiDirectional Cornern/a

Hawking
HAO15SIP

Outdoor15 dBiOmni-directionaln/a

Hawking
HAO9SIP

Outdoor9 dBiOmni-directional2.4km

04 – 2dBi vs. 5dBi vs. 9dBi Omni Antennas

What is the difference between 5 dBi, 7dBi, 12 dBi and 15 dBi antennas? Well, the higher the dbi, the wider the coverage. Based on my own limited understanding, the higher the dBi, the weaker the signal. The signal will fluctuate as it covers more areas. As for TP-Link’s claim on achieving 56km, it is almost impossible unless you have a clear line of sight.

It is a better idea to buy a Range Extender, you can read more about range extender. As shown in the image below, an antenna with low dBi has 360 degrees coverage whereas a high gain antenna has more distance. It will be a good idea to purchase 1 high gain 9dBi antenna for your router.

Stock Antenna vs High Gain Antenna

05 – Differences between 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wireless

The primary difference between the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz wireless frequencies is range as the 2.4GHz frequency is able to reach farther than the 5GHz frequency. This is a result of the basic characteristics that waves attenuate much faster at higher frequencies. So if you are more concerned with the coverage, you should select 2.4GHz rather than 5GHz.

The second difference is the number of devices on the frequencies. 2.4GHz suffers more interference than 5GHz.

  • The older 11g standard only uses the 2.4GHz frequency, the majority of the world is on it. 2.4 GHz has fewer channel options with only three of them non-overlapping, while 5GHz has 23 non-overlapping channels.
  • A lot of other devices are also on the 2.4 GHz frequencies, the biggest offenders are microwaves and cordless phones. These devices add noise to the medium that can further decrease the speed of wireless networks.
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In both aspects, choosing to deploy on the 5GHz frequency is the much better option as you have more channels to use to isolate yourself from other networks and there are far fewer interference sources.

But the radar and military frequency is also 5GHz, so 5GHz wireless may also have some interference, and many countries require that wireless devices working on 5GHz should support DFS(Dynamic Frequency Selection) and TPC(Transmitting Power Control). Summary:

  • 5GHz has a shorter range compared with 2.4GHz.
  • The 2.4GHz frequency is way more crowded than 5GHz, devices on 2.4GHz suffer much more interference than the ones on 5GHz.
  • 5GHz is ideal for those living in a high density area, such as Condominiums where every house has a wifi device.
  • Fewer devices, especially older devices are not capable of using the 5GHz channel than the 2.4GHz channel.

06 – Want Faster Wifi? Here Are 5 Weirdly Easy Tips

We’ve been putting their routers in the wrong place this whole time. Wifi signals are made of radio waves that have a shorter wavelength than AM radio and cell phones but longer than satellite tv. How can I make my wifi faster? There are several things you can do to make your wifi faster without paying more, and they mostly have to do with the placement of your wifi router.

07 – DIY WiFi Antenna Booster

08 – Wireless Networking Performance of Various Router Brand

I am a big fan of Linksys (Cisco), my second favorite brand is Asus followed by D-link or TP-Link. Huawei, Netgear and Buffalo are equally good too. The rule of thumb is to always purchase quality brand over unreliable brands. These devices are meant to operate 24 hours every day until they are broken, thus a high quality product is important.

2.4ghz 802.11n Wireless Networking Performance of Various Router Brand

25 Comments

  1. Gravatar
    Harsh Singh [ Reply ]

    Most wireless routers contain a built-in radio antenna that broadcasts its Wi-Fi signal in all directions.

  2. Gravatar
    Bradley Mitchell [ Reply ]

    Upgrading the Wi-Fi Antenna on a Wireless Router? Which is the best?

  3. Gravatar
    Eric Geier [ Reply ]

    How to Extend Your Wi-Fi Network?

  4. Gravatar

    Ways to Boost a Router Signal?

  5. Gravatar

    How to Increase the Range of Your Wifi?

  6. Gravatar
    4G External Antenna [ Reply ]

    Installing aftermarket antennas on Wi-Fi equipment helps increase the devices’ effective range. However, because radio antennas only help concentrate and direct signals, the range of a Wi-Fi device is ultimately limited by the power of its radio transmitter rather than its antenna. For these reasons, signal boosting of a Wi-Fi network is sometimes necessary, normally accomplished by adding repeater devices that amplify and relay signals at intermediate points between network connections.

  7. Gravatar
    kundanjoshi [ Reply ]

    which wifi system is best to built up in my town to mobile user accessible internet

    longest range system

    how it setep
    cost of total system

    • Gravatar
      theboss [ Reply ]

      1. if you dont leave the name of the town how is anyone supposed to give you an answer
      2. longest range system is in the article
      for heavens sake this article is about long distance coverage you dumb
      3. setup what? the antenna? welp depends on what antenna you get
      4. you are an idiot. The price will vary depending on how much you can spend
      and what antenna you finally chose.

      in conclusion you are either dumb or lazy

  8. Gravatar

    These are a bit expensive for home usage, but for large network is good.

  9. Gravatar

    Perfect article. Thanks so much

  10. Gravatar
    Mansoor khan [ Reply ]

    Hello sir iwant to catch wifi for 1km far away from my house what thing ineed. Plz help

  11. Gravatar
    Anas ansari [ Reply ]

    Hi any one can suggest best wi fi extender wireless device to extend coverage area in a bungalow. It also should be economical.
    Pls revert with best solution i will be thankful.

    • Gravatar
      Ngan Tengyuen [ Reply ]

      I highly recommend Asus Wifi Range Extender. I’ve been using an Asus Router, almost 5 years and they still release firmware updates, this goes to show they are committed to fix bugs and cares about their customers.

    • Gravatar
      Awais Iqbal [ Reply ]

      I think TP Link RE200 /AC750 or any AC series is a good choice but it depends upon interference, no. of walls in between and distance also. Please Google before buying it. At least read it’s reviewd

  12. Gravatar

    For 1.5 km outside which antenna is best

    • Gravatar
      Ngan Tengyuen [ Reply ]

      For such a long distance, you probably need a clear line of sight for the signal to be stable. TP-Link 2.4GHz 24dBi Grid Parabolic Antenna
      TL-ANT2424B is probably your best bet.

  13. Gravatar

    hello everyone i want to use alpha awus036h + grid 15dbi to get internet from long distance is it possible that i have fast internet and download speed from example 7 klm ? please help me before i buy .. i wish to know what is the maximum klm to get fast wifi ??

    • Gravatar
      Ngan Tengyuen [ Reply ]

      Search for ‘Ubiquiti Networks’ products, they have some really power dish that can transmit really far.

  14. Gravatar
    David Loepp [ Reply ]

    Currently have a Linksys EA9500 Wireless Router. Excellent beast. Great coverage indoor and out. Want to boost the signal outside in front and back. Without any detachable antennas what options do I have without losing signal strength. Also have 500Mbps and would like to push that out as far as I can around my property as I can.

  15. Gravatar
    DFani rocket [ Reply ]

    For all those asking about cranking up their WiFi to extend to 1 kilometer or something stupid like that try learn about linear amplifiers and rig it up with modified CB antenna. Must warn they are illegal in some countries due to their ability to blow up electronic devices nearby like TVs and alike.

  16. Gravatar
    Taufeeq Ahmad [ Reply ]

    9dBi RP-SMA 2.4GHz 5GHZ High Gain WiFi Router Antenna for Wireless IP Camera
    Can this one is right for 300 meter range signel gain.

  17. Gravatar
    Pakistani [ Reply ]

    I also do like tp link but TP link cannot be used for commercial purpose as it is not that much advance in features. So I love other multi national companies like the two I mentioned above.

  18. Gravatar
    Sal G. [ Reply ]

    There are not only two solutions as presented. My “big” house (3,200sf, 3 floors) is covered nicely (always max bars) by a TP-LINK S4 mesh with three units. On top of that I am able to walk out the door and go at least 35m in any direction and still have at least good if not better connection/speed. This is reality not someone trying to extend their signal 1km+ and have it completely usable.

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