Our old router was a little black plastic cased thing that looked like a toy but I could get a signal in my shop 250 foot away. They upgraded everyone’s router a couple of years ago with a big fancy looking thing with three antennas. Now I can’t get a signal in my shop.
Yep, bait and switch is a real thing. They absolutely knew that would be the case. Cuts down on bandwidth commitments and promises. Make it look like a Corvette and make it run like a Sunbird. Plausible deniability. “I has three antennas! So it is your equipment!”.
No... I’m not an idiot...
Make sure you have the router elevated up. They higher the better. Then make sure that you play with the antennae where it’s not just the 3 pointing up. Aim one horizontal and play with different directions. Best to also make sure nothing is blocking the signal. Then take you cell phone and download a Wi-Fi signal app and start walking towards your shop. See how far you get before the signal drops. Then mess with the antennas again and see if the signal doesn’t improve.