Five of the best

The best gadgets for improving your home network

1 Aple AirPort Extreme $199 apple.com

> The AirPort Extreme is very easy to use, but it’s only an 802.11ac Wave 1 router, so we hope for a Wave 2 model soon. You also have the option of buying a version with a hard drive included, called Time Capsule, which can be used for wireless Time Machine backups from all the Macs in your home.

2 Zyxel AV 2000 HomePlug PLA5456 $85 zyxel.com

> This is a really well-priced powerline package to help your internet reach the Wi-Fi “not-spots” in your house, at speeds of up to 1800Mbps. It offers two Ethernet ports for connecting wired devices, and has MIMO technology for keeping the streams flowing even for multiple demanding uses.

3 TP-link AC1200 wi-fi range extender RE355 $60 tp-link.com

> If you want to extend the range of your wireless signal, this repeater is excellent value and a great performer, offering 802.11ac Wi-Fi dualband connectivity in a much bigger area than your router alone can manage. TP-Link has several nearly identically named products – make sure you get the right one.

4 D-Link dir-879 AC1900 EXO router $150 dlink.com

> The AC1900’s big, fat antennas look really clunky, but they have special signal amplifiers to ensure the maximum possible range and speed for your Wi-Fi. It has dual-band 802.11ac too, and features such as QoS to prioritize gaming and video, and a guest network that visitors can join.

5 Netgear Nighthawk AC2600 X4S R7800 $270 netgear.com

> This router looks as cumbersome as its name sounds, but it’s seriously fast, designed for gaming and streaming video. It’s pretty expensive, but it crams in all the latest “Wave 2” features, including dualband 802.11ac, MU-MIMO and data transfer speeds of up to 2.53Gbps.