With your standard Wi-Fi connection, the signal goes from your router directly to your devices. When you replace your current router with a Wi-Fi mesh system, it adds access points around your home that help expand the range of your network. That may bring up concerns of a weakened signal as the access points get further and further away from the source of the wireless connection. With a weakened signal, your online gaming is sure to suffer.
Thankfully, just as they may have no benefit to the online experience, mesh systems also don’t have a negative impact. An item that would degrade the quality of your signal is a Wi-Fi extender. Whereas mesh systems use nodes throughout your home to simply distribute the original signal without reducing its strength, extenders take the signal, fraction it, create a secondary network profile, and send it through your home. The result is a weaker signal that can directly impact how your online games run.
Though Wi-Fi mesh systems are more efficient than extenders, they’re also significantly more expensive. One of the best Wi-Fi mesh system brands available is TP-Link, with prices that can run from around $300 or more for a whole-home system. Alternatively, you can grab TP-Link’s AC1200 Wi-Fi Extender for less than $50.
