The halfway rule — and why it's only a starting point
The standard advice says: place the extender halfway between the router and the dead zone. It's directionally right — an extender can only rebroadcast what it receives, so it needs to sit where signal is still strong. But "halfway" assumes signal fades evenly with distance, and real homes don't work that way. A halfway point behind a brick chimney or a bathroom wall can be far worse than a spot two metres to the left.
What actually determines the right spot
- Received signal at the extender. You want the extender sitting in solid coverage — roughly -50 to -65 dBm. Much weaker and it repeats a degraded signal; much stronger and it's too close to add reach.
- Line of sight to the dead zone. From its outlet, the extender should reach the problem area through as few walls as possible.
- Height and obstructions. Waist height or above, not behind the sofa or a metal appliance.
Find the exact outlet with a heatmap
Instead of trial-and-error over days, measure once:
- Run a quick walk survey in HeatFi — floor plan in, walk each room, tap Take Sample.
- On the heatmap, find where strong colour fades along the path from router to dead zone. That fading edge is your placement zone.
- Pick the outlet inside that zone with the clearest line to the dead area. That's the spot.
- Plug in the extender, re-survey the dead zone, and confirm the map turned warm. If it didn't, the map shows how far off you are — move one outlet at a time.
When an extender is the wrong tool
If your survey shows multiple weak areas in different directions, one extender won't fix them — that's mesh territory. Compare honestly in mesh WiFi vs extenders. And if the whole house is mediocre, the router itself is misplaced: start with router placement before spending money.
Quick answers
Should a WiFi extender be placed near the router or the dead zone?
Neither — it belongs at the edge of the router's strong coverage, on the path toward the dead zone. A heatmap survey shows that edge precisely; as a rough check, the extender should still receive around -50 to -65 dBm from the router.
Why is my WiFi extender not helping?
Most often it's placed inside the weak zone, so it rebroadcasts an already-degraded signal. Move it one room closer to the router, at the boundary where coverage is still strong, and re-test.
How do I know my extender placement worked?
Run a walk survey before and after. If the dead zone changes colour on the heatmap, it worked; bars and speed tests at one spot can mislead, a map can't.
See your WiFi instead of guessing
HeatFi turns your phone into a WiFi survey tool. Draw your floor plan, walk each room, and get a colour-coded heatmap in minutes. Free — no account needed.
