Skip the extender for a second and zoom out: your “whole system” matters more than any single gadget.
1. Start with your layout strategy
Given you have upstairs + patio issues, think in zones:
- Zone 1: Router floor, near center of the house if possible
- Zone 2: Vertical coverage (upstairs) directly above or below the router
- Zone 3: Horizontal push toward the patio
One extender placed smartly usually covers either Zone 2 or Zone 3 well, not both. If those are on opposite sides, that is where a lot of “extenders suck” reviews come from. In that case, two nodes (mesh or router + wired AP) is far more realistic.
I slightly disagree with the idea that matching WiFi standard is always crucial. In practice, a well placed WiFi 5 extender on a WiFi 6 router can outperform a badly placed WiFi 6 extender. Position and backhaul beat protocol version most of the time.
2. Use tools, but treat results like hints, not laws
Both @mikeappsreviewer and @andarilhonoturno already mentioned surveying, and they are right. Where I’d extend that:
- Use something like NetSpot not only for signal strength but also for noise and overlapping networks. That tells you when 2.4 GHz is basically a parking lot jam and 5 GHz is the only sane lane.
- Do one quick survey with doors open and closed, especially for upstairs bedrooms and the door to the patio. Closed doors can block more than you expect.
Pros of NetSpot:
- Clear visualization of weak spots and interference
- Helps you pick extender / mesh node locations with actual data
- Makes it easy to compare “before” and “after” changes
Cons of NetSpot:
- More useful on a laptop than a phone, so a bit less convenient
- Can overwhelm beginners with all the metrics unless you stick to the basics (RSSI and noise)
You do not need to obsess over every graph. Use it to answer just two questions: “Where is the main dropoff?” and “Did my fix actually help?”
3. Choose between extender, wired AP, or mesh based on how you use the space
Instead of “what is the best device,” ask “what traffic lives where”:
- Mostly web browsing upstairs, streaming on patio: a single solid dual band extender placed between router and patio, vertically aligned for upstairs, can work.
- Gaming upstairs, video calls, and streaming on patio at the same time: that starts to argue for either
- a wired access point upstairs (if you can run cable) or
- a 2 or 3 node mesh.
A lot of people underestimate how bad “repeat over WiFi and share that same band with clients” can get when multiple devices are busy. That is where mesh with dedicated backhaul or a simple wired AP wins.
4. Avoid the trap of chasing “perfect roaming”
Both other posts touched on roaming features like 802.11k/v/r and brand matching. Helpful, yes, but here is the catch:
- Many phones still make poor roaming decisions even with those standards.
- For a typical house, the biggest jump in experience is going from “barely any signal in that room” to “decent signal,” not from “okay handoff” to “perfect handoff.”
So if extending coverage means you end up with two SSIDs (like “Home” and “Home_Upstairs”) and you need to occasionally flip manually, that might be a small price for solid speeds everywhere. Perfect roaming is nice, not mandatory.
5. Where I would put hardware in your scenario
If you keep a single router plus one add‑on:
- Router: as central and high as your wiring lets you. Avoid floor level and metal clutter.
- Add‑on device:
- Priority upstairs: place the device on the floor below, roughly under the central upper hallway or stair landing.
- Priority patio: place it near the wall that faces the patio, as close to the middle of that wall as your outlet and furniture allow.
If you catch yourself wanting to buy two cheap extenders, stop and price out an entry mesh kit instead. Even a budget mesh often outperforms a Frankenstein stack of extenders.
6. Mental checklist before you click Buy
- Do I know where my big weak spots are from a quick NetSpot pass, not just guessing?
- Can I move the router even a little closer to the center or higher up?
- Is one device supposed to fix two opposite directions (upstairs and far patio corner)? If yes, reconsider and maybe plan for two nodes instead of one extender.
- Am I okay with “good coverage everywhere” even if roaming is not perfect, or do I specifically care about walking around on calls?
@mikeappsreviewer and @andarilhonoturno already nailed the technical fundamentals. The extra win now is in treating your house like a small network design project: map it with NetSpot, decide which zones truly matter, then pick extender / AP / mesh based on how heavily you use those areas.