A WLAN repeater extends the range of a wireless network by regenerating weakened signals from devices beyond the original router’s location. It optimizes signals to maintain signal integrity and acts as a two-way relay station. However, communication problems may persist if different device models are mixed or if the signal is too weak.
A wireless local area network (WLAN) repeater is an electronic device used to extend the distance that radio signals generated within a wireless network can reach. The function of a WLAN repeater is to regenerate signals in order to maintain signal integrity as it moves away from the original wireless router that allowed access to the network. This is why a WLAN repeater is sometimes also referred to as a range extender or WLAN optimizer.
Wireless signals, like signals generated within wired networks, lose their strength as they travel away from the radio device that generated them. This causes users who are outside the ideal range of signal strength to be unable to communicate efficiently with the network or lose communication altogether. When a signal loses strength, it loses integrity; signals could be thought of as data that needs to be communicated from one device on the network to another. These signals are a type of language that every device needs to “hear” clearly enough to understand the message and respond accordingly.
Network administrators might use a WLAN repeater whenever there is a loss of signal integrity due to distance. The WLAN repeater receives signals that have been weakened or would be distorted by devices beyond the repeater’s location. The repeater then optimizes the signals to resemble the original signals sent by the radio device as closely as possible. After the signals are optimized or regenerated, they are forcefully sent to their destinations.
The destinations of the signals regenerated by the WLAN repeater can then respond appropriately as if they had received the information directly from the original sender device. A WLAN repeater is often described as a two-way relay station, because the same process goes into sending signals from an off-network device to the original router. Destinations send their responses, which travel over the waves of the network until they begin to lose integrity. Then they arrive at the strategically placed WLAN repeater, where they are regenerated, after which they are sent on their way.
Some network communication problems may persist even with the use of a WLAN repeater. If radio devices of different makes or models are mixed on a network, regeneration may not occur, leaving users physically far from the original router unable to connect. Repeaters also need to receive a signal that is at least strong enough to interpret to regenerate properly.
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