Ethertronics wants to ‘steer’ Wi-Fi to extend range

Heading over to the far end of your house and finding that the Wi-Fi signal is insanely poor is a terrible experience. Many devices, like range extenders or systems like Eero, are available to solve that problem, but it still means you have to buy new equipment. Ethertronics believes it has a solution that can be built into Wi-Fi routers from the get-go.

The San Diego-based startup believes that its new ‘active antenna’  EtherChip, originally designed for use in mobile phones, can extend the range of your router’s signal without needing to buy any boosters or range extenders. It’ll be built into routers and boost the signal by using ‘active steering algorithms’.

This means that the EtherChip will create multiple signals around the router’s antenna and choose the best one for each device to connect to. Ethertronics claims that this system will lead to a 20 to 45 per cent increase in signal strength, and if you have a new 802.11ac router it’ll work even better thanks to their multiple antennae. On top of that, GiaCom claims that it means Wi-Fi signal will be accessible through thick walls and ceilings, which is always handy.

The chip isn’t available in any devices just yet, but if it can do what Ethertronics claims that it should definitely start popping up soon. We can never have too much Wi-Fi signal, can we?

Featured Image: Brenderous via Flickr