5 Cheap Networking Gadgets You Should Always Have at Home

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If you want to set up Wi-Fi in your home, all you need to know is how a modem and router actually work. These two devices are essential components of any Wi-Fi network, and many Internet service providers will provide them to you. But if you want your Internet connection to be fast, reliable, and robust, there are other network gadgets you should always have at home. And luckily, they can all be purchased cheaply.

We’ve compiled a list of five networking gadgets that can help you get the most out of your Internet service plan. We haven’t included any routers or modems in our list – that goes without saying. Instead, we wanted to recommend a few essential accessories that will take your existing Wi-Fi network to the next level. Each item we recommend below costs less than $20, meaning you can buy them all and give your network a meaningful upgrade for less than $100. A full explanation of how we chose these products is included at the end of this article.

An Ethernet cable is a cord that connects a device such as a computer or video game console directly to the router. Ethernet is more reliable than Wi-Fi because the signals travel directly over the wire; With Wi-Fi, signals travel through the air and can be blocked, dropped, or interrupted. The Ugreen Cat8 Ethernet Cable is a solid choice at a reasonable price. You can get a 6-foot cable for $6.99 or a 15-foot cable for $15.99. Sizes go up to 65 feet, with the price increasing accordingly.

If you only have the budget for one Ethernet cable, don’t worry; that alone is enough to dramatically improve your Wi-Fi experience. Connect your most important or most-used device directly to a LAN port on your router via an Ethernet cable to ensure it always has a fast, reliable connection. In the meantime, this frees up wireless bandwidth on the network so that all the other internet-connected devices in your home have a little more room to breathe.

The “Cat8” label refers to the technology standard used in the cable. Cat8 is the latest innovation, with the ability to transfer data at a speed of 40 gigabits per second. This is incredibly fast and is overkill for most home uses. If you spot a good deal on Cat7 or even Cat6 cables, don’t hesitate to opt for those instead.

Not all modern devices have an Ethernet port. For example, many laptops do not have an Ethernet port so they can maintain an ultra-thin form factor. If you are using such a device and want a superior internet connection, the TP-Link UE300C USB to Ethernet Adapter can be your saving grace. The USB-C 3.0 adapter costs $13.99, but TP-Link also offers versions compatible with USB-A ports. Make sure you know how to identify what type of USB ports you have so you can purchase the right adapter.

Another reason you may want an Ethernet adapter for your laptop is so you can use it as a second router. This is one of the cool things you didn’t know Ethernet ports could do: On your Ethernet-connected laptop, look for Internet Sharing or Mobile Hotspot options in the device settings. Then other devices can connect to the Internet from the laptop rather than from the main router, which may be too far away to provide a strong signal. This turns purchasing a cheap Ethernet accessory into a major quality of life improvement in certain scenarios.

The TP-Link RE105 N300 Wi-Fi Extender is a simple gadget that plugs into a power outlet and repeats the signal from your router to the area around it. This makes it very well suited to eliminating certain “Wi-Fi dead zones” in your home where you just wouldn’t seem to get a good signal otherwise. And for the price of $19.99, it’s a prudent way to solve the problem without spending too much on an expensive whole-home solution.

Of course, if you compare Wi-Fi mesh networks and range extenders, the mesh system is the one that will provide better coverage throughout your home. Indeed, a mesh network is made up of several nodes which each operate as an independent router. But this also means that setting up a mesh costs a lot more. Keep an eye out for signs that you should buy a Wi-Fi extender instead, and you can improve your network for a fraction of the cost.

If you want to connect many devices to the Internet via a wired connection, that’s when you need to know what an Ethernet switch is. It’s a gadget that can connect to your Internet hotspot or router, and it has multiple LAN ports that other devices can connect to. The Netgear GS305 Ethernet Switch costs $15.99 and has five ports, but Netgear also sells other variants with up to 48 ports. That’s plenty of devices you can connect to the Internet with a reliable, high-speed connection.

There are also other ways to use network switches. When you connect devices directly to each other via Ethernet, you can move files between them over a fast and reliable connection. With a network switch, you can create a local network of multiple computers or servers that can share data without even needing to connect to the Internet. This is useful for working on large-scale development projects or accessing a personal collection of films and other media.

The Tesmen TLP-123A Network Cable Tester is an Ethernet cable tester that you can buy for $12.99. If you are experiencing connectivity issues with your wired Internet and are having trouble isolating the problematic component, this tester will help you find and replace cables that are no longer working properly. The performance of an Ethernet cable may decrease due to damage or wear, but it is difficult to identify these problems during daily use. An Ethernet cable testing device can quickly assess wired connections and help you resolve cable damage.

Here’s what a network cable tester like the TLP-123A actually does: It sends a signal from the main unit, through the individual wires of the cable, to the remote unit. The tester checks whether the signals successfully traveled end-to-end and whether they arrived in the correct order. This process reveals if there are any broken wires, cross connections, or shorts in the Ethernet cable.

In our mission to find affordable ways to improve your home network setup, we wanted to isolate some gadgets that are genuinely useful and cheap enough to buy for under $20. Don’t let the word “cheap” affect your opinion; These are accessories that can make a noticeable difference in your network over a long period of use. These are products that will speed up a device’s Internet connection, increase the number of devices that can connect simultaneously, or help improve the longevity of your network equipment.

Every item we’ve recommended in this list has at least a 4-star customer rating on Amazon at the time of writing. We checked user reviews to make sure none of these products had any commonly reported defects that could affect your experience. In cases where multiple devices performing the same task appeared in our search, we gave preference to those backed by a more reputable brand.