If this is your situation, you need one of the best long-range routers to help you enjoy smooth online performance no matter where you are in your home. Whether that’s streaming Netflix, hanging out with friends and family on Zoom, playing games, or just surfing the web, there’s something here for everyone. Below, you’ll find plenty of router options for every type of home, family, and budget. The sleek, low-profile design of the RT-AX88U means it won’t look too out of place in your home, and the four antennas give it enough range to cover a typical four to five-bedroom house, depending on where you place it. You’ll also find a collection of eight wired ports on the back for connecting devices that need top performance or simply don’t have Wi-Fi. We’ll be honest, the web interface is a bit daunting—it’s designed more for power users who want to do a lot of tweaking—but fortunately, Asus also has a mobile app for iPhone and Android. There’s no shortage of advanced features here, but they’re tucked away, so you won’t need to worry about them unless you want to dig in deeper. Wireless Spec: 802.11ax | Security: AiProtection, WPA3, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access | Standard/Speed: AX6000 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 8 While the Archer C80 doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the more expensive routers on our list, it delivers where it counts, punching out a surprisingly powerful signal to reach the far corners of your home. This router packs in a surprising amount of performance-boosting technology for a router in its price range. While this means TP-Link had to cut a few corners on some of the advanced features, it still manages to handle the important things like basic parental controls and a quick and easy setup through its mobile app.  The only downside is that it struggles with multiple devices streaming and gaming at once. So if you have a busy family, this probably isn’t the router for you. Wireless Spec: 802.11ac | Security: WPA2, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access | Standard/Speed: AC1900 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 4 Need even more coverage? You can buy additional Orbi satellite units to spread an even wider net of coverage throughout your home. Best of all, as we explain in our full review, this one is really easy to set up and provides great features like sophisticated parental controls and lots of room for connecting your wired devices, too. Wireless Spec: 802.11ac | Security: NETGEAR Armor, WPA2, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access | Standard/Speed: AC2200 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports:4 (per unit) Like other Asus routers, this one is packed with features, but it tucks them away for those who just want to quickly get up and running with the basics. As a gaming router, however, it also has a bunch of special tricks up its sleeve to give you the fastest performance, and while you can read all the details in our full review, suffice it to say this is a router that will truly help you up your game. Wireless Spec: 802.11ax | Security: AiProtection, WPA3, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access | Standard/Speed: AX11000 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 5 Despite the more affordable price, Linksys isn’t cutting any corners here on performance. This Velop Wi-Fi 6 system provides the best range of any mesh system in its class, with three units able to handle homes of up to 8,100 square feet. It’s also a cinch to set up, thanks to Linksys’ mobile app. Like most mesh Wi-Fi systems, you’ll drop the Velop units in key areas around your home to give you the best coverage where you need it. You also get plenty of wired ports on each unit for hooking up devices that don’t have Wi-Fi, and even a USB port so you can conveniently pop in a flash drive with your favorite photos so everyone in your home can access them. Wireless Spec: 802.11ax | Security: WPA3, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access | Standard/Speed: AX4200 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 4 (per unit) This offers the same great coverage as the classic Orbi system but significantly boosts the speed and the number of devices it can handle. You’ll get the best performance out of newer Wi-Fi 6 devices, but it handles the much more common Wi-Fi 5 devices really well too. This means you get great performance today that will get even better as you upgrade to the latest smartphones, tablets, and laptops, nearly all of which come with Wi-Fi 6 built-in. It’s also ready for the fastest multi-gigabit internet plans, as it’s built from the ground up to deliver raw speed to wired and wireless devices throughout your home. Our testing showed that even a single Wi-Fi 6 Orbi station could cover a moderately sized home well enough on its own, so a standard two-pack means you’ll likely never have to worry about dead zones. Wireless Spec: 802.11ax | Security: NETGEAR Armor, WPA3, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access | Standard/Speed: AX6000 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 4 (per unit) What makes the Archer AX6000 really stand out is the free lifetime access to the company’s HomeCare security suite. While many other router makers charge you a monthly subscription fee if you want to access their best parental controls and other security features, TP-Link is throwing these in for the price of the router, and it’s not skimping on them either. You’ll be able to block websites by age categories, set up time limits for internet access, and see which websites your kids are visiting and how much time they’re spending there. Wireless Spec: 802.11ax | Security: HomeCare, WPA3, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access | Standard/Speed: AX6000 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 8 Unlike the spidery look of traditional long-range routers, the RAX120 hides its eight antennas inside those sweeping wings for a much classier look, but they’re still ready to punch out a strong signal that can cover your entire home. An impressive set of wired ports around the back gives you plenty of room for wired devices, and there’s even a high-speed one should you need that for gaming or connecting other high-performance systems. Netgear also offers some of the best security and parental controls available, although sadly, you’ll have to pay an extra subscription fee to take advantage. Wireless Spec: 802.11ax | Security: NETGEAR Armor, WPA3, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access | Standard/Speed: AX6000 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 5 In practical terms, this means that the Amplifi HD can deliver up to 20,000 square feet of wireless coverage. At longer distances, this will likely be enough only for casual web surfing and checking your messages. Still, it provides a basic connection long after most other routers have given up. Wireless Spec: 802.11ac | Security: WPA2, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access | Standard/Speed: AC1750 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 4

Signals in the 2.4GHz frequency range travel farther, so you usually won’t have a problem with these on any router, but if you want the maximum speeds in the far corners of your home, you’ll need a router that can punch through a strong 5GHz signal too.

Security

High-end, long-range routers often come equipped with advanced security features such as firewalls and current encryption standards such as WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) that block suspicious activity on your network. Other security features to look for include support for router-level VPN implementations. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and when you use one, your data is sent through a secure, encrypted connection that obscures your identity from prying eyes. 

MU-MIMO and Beamforming

MIMO (multiple in, multiple out) is a method for coordinating multiple radio antennas in a wireless network. MU-MIMO (the MU stands for Multi-user) is a variation of MIMO designed for 5GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi networks. It improves the performance of connections made using it. Essentially, MU-MIMO is a technology that improves the performance of long-range routers. Beamforming is another technology designed to improve performance in routers. Put simply, traditional routers are omnidirectional, casting a signal over a wide area, diluting the signal. In the case of routers with beamforming, the signal is directed to devices that connect to the router in a concentrated beam that improves signal strength.  For this reason, your new long-range router is likely to have an array of antennae. Rather than send equal signals in all directions, these antennas can be aimed towards areas of the house that are most in need of extra signal strength.

About Our Trusted Experts

Jesse Hollington has over three decades of experience in information technology and networking and has installed, tested, and configured just about every type and brand of router, firewall, wireless access point, and network extender. Before upgrading to a newer and more powerful router, it’s important to have a basic understanding of the technology involved. One way to help find the best router for your needs is to use a network analyzer such as Netspot, a free tool that can help you get a map of what your Wi-Fi coverage looks like. This can help you identify where the wireless signals are weakest in your house, along with dead spots or areas prone to interference.  These networks have the main router directly connected to the modem and a series of satellite routers that act as extensions of the main router, all with the same SSID (network identifier) and password. These will have faster speeds than traditional Wi-Fi extenders since they’re designed to work together for maximum performance. They also allow for future expansion if necessary. An advantage of mesh networks is that they can cover larger areas than any single router. A disadvantage is that all those connected routers make for a more expensive system.  Jeremy Laukkonen is an experienced tech journalist with a background in automotive repair that has taught him the importance of breaking down complex technical subjects in understandable ways. He specializes in VPNs, antivirus, and home electronics. Bill Thomas is a New York-based freelance writer who covers technology, music, film, and gaming. They reviewed the Netgear Orbi Whole Home Wi-Fi System on this list. Erika Rawes has written for Digital Trends, USA Today, Cheatsheet.com, and more. Her areas of expertise include consumer technology, such as long-range routers.