TP Link WiFi Extenders
Discussion
I tried them and whilst the can work, they are rather weak, and each "Hop" from one to the next eats half the bandwidth as they not only have to serve you with the internet/lan, they have to serve themselves the same data from the source, so you lose a touch more than half - and it soon has an effect as that half is already piss poor.
One hop in my place (28Mb internet) and I could not stream tv on my tablet in the bath.
I went mesh and all is grand. Mesh has it's own backhaul so you don't lose the bandwidth. Well, almost all do.
They do have their place - wifi extenders, and are dirt cheap.
One hop in my place (28Mb internet) and I could not stream tv on my tablet in the bath.
I went mesh and all is grand. Mesh has it's own backhaul so you don't lose the bandwidth. Well, almost all do.
They do have their place - wifi extenders, and are dirt cheap.
I tried to solve my WiFi coverage issues with a Draytek access point (Router is also Draytek). This was never very successful so I sprang for a 3 node TP Link Deco mesh set. This improved coverage massively. The router functionality is limited compared to the Draytek so I’ve kept the Draytek router with WiFi switched off and I use the Decos just as access points.
I have this problem too. My lad constantly moans and goes mad on a nightly basis because of the terrible lag he experiences on his xbox when gaming!
The ubiquiti access point didnt work too well and can't get it wired up where it was going to go. I've noticed Virgin do these Wi-Fi pods, which i assume are something similar to BTs mesh system. Its going to be something i ring up about in the morning, although i'm not paying the £5 a month extra they want for them!
The ubiquiti access point didnt work too well and can't get it wired up where it was going to go. I've noticed Virgin do these Wi-Fi pods, which i assume are something similar to BTs mesh system. Its going to be something i ring up about in the morning, although i'm not paying the £5 a month extra they want for them!
James_N said:
I have this problem too. My lad constantly moans and goes mad on a nightly basis because of the terrible lag he experiences on his xbox when gaming!
The ubiquiti access point didnt work too well and can't get it wired up where it was going to go. I've noticed Virgin do these Wi-Fi pods, which i assume are something similar to BTs mesh system. Its going to be something i ring up about in the morning, although i'm not paying the £5 a month extra they want for them!
You are still dependant on the Superhub if you have a SH3 you may get a 4. They will alter the firmware to some extentThe ubiquiti access point didnt work too well and can't get it wired up where it was going to go. I've noticed Virgin do these Wi-Fi pods, which i assume are something similar to BTs mesh system. Its going to be something i ring up about in the morning, although i'm not paying the £5 a month extra they want for them!
You are better off just getting your own mesh system
anonymoususer said:
You are better off just getting your own mesh system
I'm on Virgin Media and I'd agree. The VM Hub's wifi coverage seems poor to me.2 GKC said:
I have 4 of them and they work pretty well in the rooms in which they are placed. I can’t move around the house on a WiFi call though as the WiFi isn’t seemless
Do you mean you have 4 access points or 4 mesh nodes? The whole point of mesh AIUI is that your device will connect seamlessly to the node with the best signal without dropping the connection.James_N said:
I have this problem too. My lad constantly moans and goes mad on a nightly basis because of the terrible lag he experiences on his xbox when gaming!
The ubiquiti access point didnt work too well and can't get it wired up where it was going to go. I've noticed Virgin do these Wi-Fi pods, which i assume are something similar to BTs mesh system. Its going to be something i ring up about in the morning, although i'm not paying the £5 a month extra they want for them!
Multiple access points (Ubiquiti or other brands) are usually the best way to go, if you can get cables to them all . The ubiquiti access point didnt work too well and can't get it wired up where it was going to go. I've noticed Virgin do these Wi-Fi pods, which i assume are something similar to BTs mesh system. Its going to be something i ring up about in the morning, although i'm not paying the £5 a month extra they want for them!
Assuming you can't get cable out to APs, then Mesh is the next best thing. If you're going with Mesh, look for a tri-band system as dual-band will use one of the bands for backhaul, reducing the overall bandwidth available for your devices. I'd also look at a Wifi 6 system if you can - this is the latest Wifi spec and great for handling more devices than previous versions.
I went with the TP Link "plug in" type wifi extenders to improve signal with my Virgin Media system, but ultimately, performance was poor. I now have the TP Link Deco mesh system, and the difference is beyond night and day. Huge coverage and incredible performance, even without any wired backhaul.
I still use one of the plug in extenders in the garden via a socket in the shed to keep my Ring Floodlight Cam and some Wifi activated Garden lighting happy (which is does just fine), but in terms of anything data hungry like gaming or streaming HD TV, its a complete no go. It couldn't even really sustain my Teams calls when I started WFH, which ultimately led to me investing in the mesh.
I still use one of the plug in extenders in the garden via a socket in the shed to keep my Ring Floodlight Cam and some Wifi activated Garden lighting happy (which is does just fine), but in terms of anything data hungry like gaming or streaming HD TV, its a complete no go. It couldn't even really sustain my Teams calls when I started WFH, which ultimately led to me investing in the mesh.
Yazza54 said:
Might have to look into this mesh system idea. I bought a TP link WiFi extender off Amazon last week and to be fair it has done the job of giving us a good signal in the back bedroom but it's picking our virgin WiFi up at 110mbps and throwing it out at like 15mbps...
Just checking, you know to put it roughly half way between the router and where you want the better signal?Amateurish said:
In my experience they are rubbish. A "mesh" system such as Deco is so much better.
True. Depends on people's financial situation as well though. An extender is ~£20 and if you just need to boost relatively slow 8 Mbit/sec ADSL in a couple of rooms then it's a good fit, especially if you're on a budget.If you've got fast broadband and a large house with a lot of clients then a mesh or APs with a wired backhaul is a better choice, but you're also more likely to be in the position where the £100+ cost is easily affordable,
xeny said:
Yazza54 said:
Might have to look into this mesh system idea. I bought a TP link WiFi extender off Amazon last week and to be fair it has done the job of giving us a good signal in the back bedroom but it's picking our virgin WiFi up at 110mbps and throwing it out at like 15mbps...
Just checking, you know to put it roughly half way between the router and where you want the better signal?Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff