With WiFi- the antenna is everything. It is the interface between the electrical signal on a motherboard, and being thrust out into the air.
Whether it be built in to the wireless access point, a small stubby external antenna, a large replacement antenna with gain, or a directional antenna, the goal is to concentrate the little bit of RF your router can transmit onto the area where all your devices are. Improving the antenna helps BOTH transmission AND reception. It sends your signal in one direction, and it hears better from that same direction.
So that may mean using a flat panel antenna, a vertical with gain, or a directional dish or yagi antenna. A small investment can pay huge dividends in the reliability of your signal.
Higher gain vertical antennas:
https://amzn.to/2QhO8su
Dual Band Yagi:
https://amzn.to/2CTRgZc
Small Patch/Panel Antenna:
https://amzn.to/2NGu8l7
High Gain Parabolic Antenna:
https://amzn.to/2NF0L2e
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