Looking for a long range router for your home is not always going to be straightforward. After all, you will certainly not want the first one you find.
In order to find the best router for a 2 story house, you will need to do a little more research.
Homes that are multi-level need to find routers that can actually meet the space needs of the modern home network.
Wireless signals have to travel through walls to reach their destination. Every wall it passes through makes it even slower.
This includes looking at range, speed, and other features. Here's what you need to know when looking for the best router for a 2000 sq ft, 2500 sq ft, 3000 sq ft or 4000 sq ft house.
Factors To Consider When Choosing A Router For 2 Story House
House Size (Square Footage)
The first consideration that you will need to make when it comes to finding the best router for 2 story house is the size of the house.
Some houses are tall and narrow, while others are spread out further. The signal can only travel as far as it is capable of travelling, so knowing the size of your house will make it much easier to find the right coverage for your network.
The best router for a 2500 sq ft house will be different than the best router for a 3500 sq ft house.
Wireless Range & Number Of Bands (2.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz)
Another consideration that you should make when looking at routers is the amount of bands that are available. While the 2.4 GHz band has the heaviest traffic and has been around longer, its wave lengths can travel a great deal better than the 5 GHz.
5 GHz is better for devices that are nearby so it can reach them. What you are doing online will make a difference to which band you should be using.
Antennas
A feature that you might not have thought about with your wireless router is how many antennas does it have? You need your router to have internal or external antennas to help lengthen the read of the signal even further.
External antennas can always be pointed in the direction that you need them the most. The amount of antennas you are looking for might depend on the size of the network and how many devices need a more direct signal.
QoS and MU-MIMO Features
Finally, you should also look at whether the wireless router that you are shopping for has QoS and MU-MIMO. QoS is the feature that allows you to identify which devices should have uninterrupted bandwidth time.
This allows you to not experience any lags if someone else hops on your network. MU-MIMO technology allows more than one device to stream at the same time, which is so important for the modern home.
9 Best Routers For 2 Story House (2022)
Device | Speed | Coverage | Rating | Check Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Gryphon AC3000 Editor's Choice | 3000 Mbps | 3000 Sq Ft | 100% | |
2. Google WiFi System High Performance | 2400 Mbps | 4500 Sq Ft | 99% | |
3. Motorola MR2600 Budget Friendly | 2600 Mbps | 2000 Ports | 94% | |
4. Netgear RAX120 Newest Technology | 6000 Mbps | 3500 Sq Ft | 97% | |
5. Netgear C7500 Modem Router | 3200 Mbps | 3000 Sq Ft | 96% | |
6. Eero Mesh WiFi | 2000 Mbps | 4500 Sq Ft | 98% | |
7. TP-Link Deco | 2000 Mbps | 5500 Sq Ft | 96% | |
8. Netgear Orbi 750 DOCSIS 3.1 Mesh | 4200 Mbps | 5000 Sq Ft | 98% | |
9. Asus ZenWiFi XD4 | 1800 Mbps | 4800 Sq Ft | 95% |
1. Gryphon Mesh WiFi Router AC3000
Best Router For A 2 Story House (Editor's Choice)
The best router for a 2 story house is the Gryphon AC3000. This is a high performance router that has incredible range.
Design
The Gryphon router has a unique design. Instead of the traditional black, horizontal router, this one is tall and white. In fact, it looks a little bit like a piece of modern art, while still being able to help you with your connectivity. Internally, there are six high-powered antennas to extend the reach of your network.
There is some parental control that comes with this router, including an easy smartphone app that can even let you filter control, screen allowed time, and even times of day that it will be available to get onto.
Keep in mind that it does not allow you to block specific access, so if you needed to block certain types of content, you will not be able to.
Performance
To begin with, the Gryphon system has incredible coverage, reaching up to 3,000 square feet. It also works like a mesh system, so you can add extra points to further increase the size of your coverage if you needed to, though the amount that it comes with should be more than adequate for the average network.
The throughput for the Gryphon router is 3Gbps. As long as your internet package can handle these speeds, it should not disappoint you. It also has simultaneous tri-band radios, which are a 2.4 GHz band and two 5 GHz bands.
It also has 4x4 MU-MIMO and antenna Beamforming, which improves the overall coverage. It can manage more than one device streaming at the same time without any lag or trouble.
2. Google WiFi Mesh System
High Performance
The best router for a 4000 Sq Ft house that also offers a high level of performance is the Google Mesh Wi-Fi System. This is by far one of the most powerful router systems that you can get and it’s an extended coverage, mesh system to boot.
Design
The design of the Google Wi-Fi System has no external antennas, so it is easier to conceal. It is also physically smaller than a regular router. This can be really beneficial if you need to add on points as you go, making it easy to hide as many as possible.
The system comes with three individual Wi-Fi points. These are there to eliminate dead spots throughout your network. What’s great about this system is that you can purchase additional points if you need to extend your coverage even further, making this ideal for large spaces or awkward spaces.
There have been reports that it is hard for the signal to reach multiple stories, but this can be eliminated with multiple access points.
Performance
The Google Wi-Fi system can cover up to 1,500 square feet without dead spots per point, but if the 3 points are all configured correctly, you can actually get coverage up to 4,500 square feet. It will need to be configured right to get across more than one story.
Each of the three points has its own LAN port as well as being a Wi-Fi point, so you gain two Gigabit Ethernet ports in each point. The Google router system has network assist technology giving you a strong signal from point to point, which will extend when you add more points.
3. Motorola MR2600 WiFi Smart Router
Budget Friendly
When you are on a tight budget, there are still great routers out there that can extend across more than one story. For a budget friendly router, we recommend the Motorola MR2600.
Design
Even though this is a less expensive router than others made for 4K streaming, the AC2600 also will give you a USB3.0 port, Smart QoS support, a fire wall, parental controls, as well as other features. The four Gigabit LAN ports that come with this router ensure that you can connect the devices that you need to, however, which is always a nice feature to have in a router.
The MR2600 is a horizontal route and cannot be stood up, even if you wanted to. This router also comes with four adjustable external antennas. The antennas provide concurrent performance across both the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands. This is not the easiest router to set up, so we suggest a lot of patience to get to the great outcome.
Performance
The MR2600 router has QoS to keep the devices that you don’t want to be interrupted running strong, even when another device hops on your network and tries to steal your bandwidth. You do not want to be buffering in the middle of a game because someone else starts streaming a movie in another room.
The MR2600 has the Wave 2 MU-MIMO technology that any streaming network should have. The implicit and explicit Beamforming also help this. Beamforming is like a signal boost in the direction the antennas are pointing and, as a result, you will have lightning quick speed and awesome range. The range should even work across several floors as long as it’s centrally located.
4. Netgear Nighthawk RAX120 WiFi Router
Newest Technology
If you are looking for the latest technology for routers on the market, we suggest the Netgear Nighthawk RAX120. This is by far one of the most versatile routers on the market that has all the latest tech on board.
Design
The RAX120 has a modern design. Instead of the traditional external antennas, the RAX120 has two fins that act has high powered antennas. You will also be happy with the guest network, the firewall, and the built-in VPN. All of these features make the router easy to use and keeps your network as accessible as you want it to be.
This router comes with not just one 3.0 USB port, but two 3.0 USB ports. It even has one 2.5/5G Ethernet port. All of this connectivity capability will allow you to really connect any device that you want to and get that uninterrupted coverage that you really want. It also does have built-in parental controls if you need.
Performance
If you are looking for a router that can really deliver on performance, this is it. The RAX120 supports 12 simultaneous streams, which has more capacity to support many Wi-Fi devices at the same time.
Looking at the router’s speeds, you will find that it can reach up to 4.8 Gbps. While most ISPs cannot support this speed, it is still going to go as fast as your internet package will let you go.
It also comes with Beamforming+ to get that extended range that you need. You will also be happy with the MU-MIMO technology that allows easy streaming for more than one user at a time.
5. Netgear Nighthawk C7500 Modem Router
Modem Router Combo
If you are looking for a router that is a modem/router combination, we suggest the Netgear Nighthawk C7500. This is a power combination device that aims to please anyone who has a cable connection and needs the latest technology.
Design
The design of the C7500 is a little bit clunky when compared to other modern routers. It is boxy and flat. The four high gain antennas are also a bit of an eye sore, but they are incredibly powerful.
You will see that this combo unit has four 1-Gigabit ports, so you will be able to wire in anything that you need to, whether it is a gaming system, storage drive, or even just a standard PC. There are 2 USB ports that will help with printers and other network devices as well.
Performance
The performance of the C7500 is excellent. The device can support up to 45 different devices, connected at the same time. That makes it a great choice for the modern home as we see the shift toward smart homes become a bigger reality.
The modem technology on board with this device includes 24x8 channel bonding and DOCSIS 3.0, so it is up to date and powerful.
Looking at the C7500’s speed, you see that it offers speeds up to 3200 Mbps, using the AC3200 router. The coverage is also listed to be about 3,000 square feet. That should solve the concern between having a connection travel well between floors. Remember that this is a cable modem as well, so it will only work if you have cable internet.
6. Eero Mesh WiFi System
Eero mesh system is an excellent choice for a 2-story house. Not only does this system have excellent coverage, but it also can be extended as far as you need it to go.
Design
The design of the eero system is small and slim. They are easily concealable with your household décor, so that is a plus. The mesh system comes with three points to work with as well. Each point comes to 2 auto-sensing Gigabit ports for WAN or LAN connectivity as well, so you can wire-in whatever you need to.
The setup for the eero system is fast and easy. You should be up and going within 10 minutes. You just have to download the eero app and follow eeros instructions for getting setup.
Performance
The performance of the eero system is excellent, with speeds up to 250 Mbps. It has dual-band radios as well as 2x2 MU-MIMO and beamforming to help keep it flowing without interruption, no matter how many people are trying to stream at the same time.
The eero system also has TrueMesh technology that will intelligently route traffic in order to avoid congestion, buffering, and drop-offs. It also works with Alexa. If you already have an Echo Dot, this will work well with your system. It is a mesh system, so you can add on new points to further extend the coverage as well.
7. TP-Link Deco M5 Mesh WiFi Router
Another excellent choice for a 2-story house is the TP-Link Deco M5. This is a modern mesh system that will give you the longest WiFi reach possible through the use of several WiFi points.
Design
Looking at the design, the Deco M5 is trendy and modern. The WiFi access points are shaped like small disks. Since they are white and slim, they are likely to blend in with many homes, making it easier to conceal them.
The design of the M5 also includes parental controls with profiles. These will let you set time limits and control which websites can be accessed by which devices, which is important for a parent in the modern world.
Performance
The M5’s performance is impressive. The package comes with three WiFi access points to work with. With only those three points, you can get 5500 square feet in coverage. Since it’s a mesh system, you can extend it by adding more points. The system is made to support more than 100 connected devices at a time as well.
Because of its mesh setup, you can easily roam from space to space throughout your home, without the fear of losing signal. As long as you are in range of one of the access points, you will be able to maintain a steady connection, regardless of whether you are simply walking from room to room.
8. Netgear Orbi CBR750 Modem Router
DOCSIS 3.1 Mesh System
The best DOCSIS 3.1 mesh system for a 2-story house is the Netgear Orbi CBR750. This system works alone, or you can add on other points to utilize its mesh functionality, allowing you to have as much range as you need.
Design
Starting with its design, the Netgear OrbiCBR750 is white and grey instead of the standard black. It also can sit up vertically, so it is a space saver as well. The device is easy to setup and manage as well, so you will not need to worry about a learning curve stopping you from getting it up and going.
The Orbi CBR750 has four Gigabit Ethernet ports to allow you to plug in anything that needs a secure connection, like your HDTV or gaming console. Additional points will get you additional ports. It supports guest network access, VPN, firewalls, and comes with other security protocols.
Performance
Moving onto its performance, the Netgear Orbi CBR750 can cover up to 2,500 square feet by itself, but since it is a mesh system, it can be extended as far as you need it to go by adding on more points.
Speed-wise, the system can reach 4.2 Gbps speeds, ensuring that you are really making use of all of the available speeds in your network.
As a bonus to the mesh system, you can hook up over 40 devices a time to this network. That should be plenty for the average home network, even if you are moving to having smart appliances. Finally, the setup of the device is quick and easy, which is really nice with a mesh system.
9. Asus ZenWiFi XD4 Mesh WiFi
Another mesh system that is a great option for a two story house is the Asus ZenWiFi XD4 mesh system.
This setup has excellent coverage, can support many devices, and should have all of the security protocols that you could want.
Design
Let’s start off with the design of the XD4. It comes with three WiFi points that are a square shape with a black casing. The antennas of the device are internal, so you will not see any poking out anywhere. The points are relatively small in size, so you will have no trouble hiding them if you wanted to.
The system has parental controls, including a URL filter and scheduling, which will allow you to protect your family members from overusing the internet or accessing inappropriate content.
Each point comes with Ethernet ports so you can plug in any device directly into a point for better coverage. It also has a 2.5 GB port that can be used for whatever traffic you need it to be.
Performance
The mesh system can cover up to 4800 square feet, using the points that come with the setup. It offers speeds up to 1800 Mbps as well, so it should make good use of your internet speed package without too much trouble as well, but you are still at the mercy of the speeds you pay for.
The router setup will allow more than 25 connected devices at a time, which should cover most of your home needs. It is simple to setup as well, but be warned that getting help troubleshooting is not straightforward or easy to find if you do run into trouble.
Where To Place The Wireless Router In Your 2 Story House For The Best Coverage
It is important to choose a reliable router for your needs, but once you had one picked out, it needs to be setup in the best location. Here are some considerations about router placement in a two story home.
- Keep it central: It is important for the wireless router to be in the middle of all of the devices that will use it. Then the strength of the signal will be equal around it.
- Put it high: Next, it is important that the router be placed as high up as possible. This will improve the signal disbursement throughout the network.
- Put it on the right floor: In a 2 story house, you will want the router as close to the ceiling as possible on the lowest level. In a 3 story house, it should be located in the middle of the second floor.
- Don’t have obstacles: Try to keep the amount of walls that the signal has to travel through as few as possible. Fewer walls means the signal can travel further.
- Don’t put it away: It is tempting to put a router in a cabinet, but do not do this. Not only are you adding an obstacle, but you’ll make the router hot as well.
Final Words
When it comes down to it, the best router for a 2 story home (3000 sq ft or 4000 sq ft) is the Gryphon router. This is a modern router that can act like a mesh system if you want it to go beyond the already impressive coverage it offers.
If you have a lot of walls to work through or even more stories, a second unit might be a good idea for you and it’s nice that it’s an option.
If you do want extended coverage and some more power, we recommend the Google Wi-Fi Mesh System. You can add all of the access points that you need with this system, further growing the range and not losing out on any performance.
Regardless, we still say that the Gryphon router is the best choice that you can get for a multi-story home, simply based on its features and capability. You will not be disappointed.
Hey, it’s James here. I’m the founder and editor here at RiverstoneNet.com. I’m a network engineer during the day and a blogger at night. Let me know if I can help you with choosing a new modem/router or troubleshooting your Internet connection.