WiFI Range Extender

[IATM]

Hi All,

Really looking for some advise on the poor wifi signal in my house.
I currently have a BT home hub 5 and the signal across the house is not the best, especially going towards the corner of the house.

We used to have the Home hub 4 (I think) and that was generally much better for wifi signal but was unreliable.

The main I have is my bedroom is in the corner of the house and I have lots of gadgets/tech that needs wifi connectivity.

Tv, Sky, Amazon Fire TV, 2 iPads (thats just off the top of my head)

I have a powerline plug thing that I used for the PC but thats just ethernet.

I need firstly recommendations for an excellent replacement for the BT home Hub 5

AND

A wifi range extender to go into my room. (I have tried to use a TP link one in the past but it was very poor and didnt work very well at all, dropping the signal all the time.

I would be very grateful for any experiences and recommendations for what tech to use.

Thanks

[IATM]

I was tempted to get something like these two items

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-RT-N66U-Wireless-stre...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Linksys-Universal-Extender...

[IATM]

Tonsko said:

First thing to check would be to see if your home hub is 2.4 or 5GHz. If so, try setting it at 2.4GHz - it's slower (but not that bad really) and has better range than the 5GHz signal.

Extending wireless is notoriously tricky, and it often doesn't play nicely. The only way I've got it to work reliably is to cable a second AP to the first AP and set up a network with a different SSID - your device should automatically switch to the stronger signal. I tried 'repeating' the signal with recommended hardware (same make as my main router) but it really didn't work. However, this was with Billion hardware - other makes may play better, but that's a lot of investment for me right now, so cabling it is. YMMV.

But anyway - check if you can force it to 2.4. It's a free test

If I remember correctly I think I have both set up, but generally have it connected to the 2.4 one becuase as you said it gives a wider area of signal.

[IATM]

eltawater said:

I have tried and failed miserably to use wireless extenders/repeaters in a house which appears to have significant signal deadspots.

For the past few years, I have quite happily employed a combination of powerline adapters and wireless accept points instead.

My arrangement is currently:

Office (NW corner, floor 2):
Old Netgear ADSL wireless router
=> Gigabit switch
==> local pc and NAS
==> Powerline adapter

Main Bedroom (SE corner, floor 2):
Powerline adapter
=> TP link Wireless access point, configured with same SSID on different frequency channel

Lounge (SW corner, floor 1):
Powerline adapter
=> Buffalo wireless router/switch, configured as an access point with same SSID on different frequency channel
==> Sky box
==> Other ethernet devices

Dining room (NE corner, ground floor):
Powerline adapter
=> TP link Wireless access point, configured with same SSID on different frequency channel


So the general principle has been to use a powerline adapter with a wireless access point to avoid transmission issues through walls.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply, It looks like the general view is that these wifi extenders are not that great, or maybe its more of a hit and miss depending on your house/set up/area etc

Just so I understand this correctly are you saying you have a main modem/router and to extend the signal you use the poweline plugs at the main router to take the signal to say two bedrooms and then in the two bedrooms you connect a wireless hub to the powerline plugs via an ethernet cable?

[IATM]

THink I am going to try this item out to sort out the internet for the TV, Amazon Fire box and sky box.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B007I3G3J...