Idiot question about extending wifi
Discussion
Road2Ruin said:
So said:
Road2Ruin said:
Powerline Wi-Fi extender would make more sense. 1Gbps versions available now. Probably only get about 100-200Mbs but still very good.
Yes but which one?I am sitting looking at a TP-Link with a red light on it. It may have lasted a year. We want a better one with an RJ45 outlet plus wifi.
Any suggestions?
[/hijack]
RogerDodger said:
I set mine to match my main router and my devices switch to the strongest signal automatically
They don't. They'll switch if you lose signal entirely but not before. If you still have good signal to the first AP, then you won't notice, but then what's the point of the second AP if your'e still getting data via the first.https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.techadvisor.co....
A good review that gives you and idea of what to get and speeds expected.
A good review that gives you and idea of what to get and speeds expected.
paulrockliffe said:
RogerDodger said:
I set mine to match my main router and my devices switch to the strongest signal automatically
They don't. They'll switch if you lose signal entirely but not before. If you still have good signal to the first AP, then you won't notice, but then what's the point of the second AP if your'e still getting data via the first.paulrockliffe said:
RogerDodger said:
I set mine to match my main router and my devices switch to the strongest signal automatically
They don't. They'll switch if you lose signal entirely but not before. If you still have good signal to the first AP, then you won't notice, but then what's the point of the second AP if your'e still getting data via the first.My phone switches to the next AP when the signal is low, granted, but that's the point.
I have one in my lounge - main router.
One in my spare room - which covers kitchen and bathroom (I watch TV on my tab in the bath - nice image for you)
One in my workshop which is across a quad from my front door.
In the lounge and bedroom 1 the main router serves me.
Wander into the kitchen and the main router wifi drops off in the corridoor (usable but 2 bars), as you enter the kitchen the bedroom router takes over.
Wander back to the lounge half of the flat and that one takes over.
Wander across to my workshop and that takes over. No dea dspots in between.
Never do I find my phone latched onto a weak signal from a furthur router. Perhaps its becuase the weakest places are places I dont' ever spend any time.
p.s. TP-Link offer outstanding value. Only problem I've had with TP-Link so far was some early Powerline adapters failing after 2 years due to a capacitor failing. Everything I've bought from them since is still running great.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 6th December 17:12
Powerline extenders have their place. I also use those at home. I use a pair to get lan to my spare bedroom. From there it feeds a router (that extends my wifi) and also a printer.
It has pros and cons.
Pros
No cabling required. My spare room is a nightmare to get cable to.
Cheap
Easy to set up
Cons
Poor speed in comparison to Lan, and even poor compared to good wifi.
Reliant on house wiring - luck of the draw if they'll work and how "fast" they'll work
Much more complicated than a simple cable. So, for example, I have to unplug and replug one of mine every few months or it sticks. Nothing to go wrong with a cable.
Quoted speeds are nonsense. Even in ideal conditions. I have two "200Mb" ones only one room apart. Speed tests give around 4Mb from devices on the end of the bedroom one, whereas I get my max VDSL speed of 24Mb on the source end. I have had similar experiences in other houses.
They are, in my mind, a useful bodge. If you are just browsing and emailing at the end of one, they'll seem , and be, perfect for you.
It has pros and cons.
Pros
No cabling required. My spare room is a nightmare to get cable to.
Cheap
Easy to set up
Cons
Poor speed in comparison to Lan, and even poor compared to good wifi.
Reliant on house wiring - luck of the draw if they'll work and how "fast" they'll work
Much more complicated than a simple cable. So, for example, I have to unplug and replug one of mine every few months or it sticks. Nothing to go wrong with a cable.
Quoted speeds are nonsense. Even in ideal conditions. I have two "200Mb" ones only one room apart. Speed tests give around 4Mb from devices on the end of the bedroom one, whereas I get my max VDSL speed of 24Mb on the source end. I have had similar experiences in other houses.
They are, in my mind, a useful bodge. If you are just browsing and emailing at the end of one, they'll seem , and be, perfect for you.
ash73 said:
RogerDodger said:
Powerline extenders have their place.
In the bin.If you also look at the review of the new Devolo ones they are getting 400Mbps over them, as tested. Doesn't seem bad to me
Road2Ruin said:
ash73 said:
Road2Ruin said:
Powerline Wi-Fi extender would make more sense.
In what universe?ArsE82 said:
Road2Ruin said:
ash73 said:
Road2Ruin said:
Powerline Wi-Fi extender would make more sense.
In what universe?Leave the drill alone and do it in 1 minute as opposed to 30 minutes plus and potentially making a mess of your house.
Road2Ruin said:
ash73 said:
RogerDodger said:
Powerline extenders have their place.
In the bin.If you also look at the review of the new Devolo ones they are getting 400Mbps over them, as tested. Doesn't seem bad to me
"Reliant on house wiring - luck of the draw if they'll work and how "fast" they'll work"
.. covers that.
Of course they work fast in some circumstances. They'd never get away with the speed claims otherwise. But in my last two houses the barely achieved 10mb. One was an Edwardian house. This one is grade 2 listed. So it's safe to say quite old wiring in both .
And yes, I know how to use them. You plug them in.
I'm also an ex it director and spent many years building and configuring large networks.
Having the odd person that gets good speeds doesn't make a great product . You only need around 15mb to stream 4k. Try a proper Lan speed test and see what you are getting.
The point is, they are a compromise, and chipping in with "mine works great" doesn't change that.
RogerDodger said:
Road2Ruin said:
ash73 said:
RogerDodger said:
Powerline extenders have their place.
In the bin.If you also look at the review of the new Devolo ones they are getting 400Mbps over them, as tested. Doesn't seem bad to me
"Reliant on house wiring - luck of the draw if they'll work and how "fast" they'll work"
.. covers that.
Of course they work fast in some circumstances. They'd never get away with the speed claims otherwise. But in my last two houses the barely achieved 10mb. One was an Edwardian house. This one is grade 2 listed. So it's safe to say quite old wiring in both .
And yes, I know how to use them. You plug them in.
I'm also an ex it director and spent many years building and configuring large networks.
Having the odd person that gets good speeds doesn't make a great product . You only need around 15mb to stream 4k. Try a proper Lan speed test and see what you are getting.
The point is, they are a compromise, and chipping in with "mine works great" doesn't change that.
I'd suggest using the mains around your house rather than drilling.
My wife is currently watching Strictly over this piggy back system much to my chagrin wish I had never mentioned it.
Lets face it though for £14 and no drilling just get a 20m run of cat 5. Will even get to your shed to watch those special german movies when everyone has gone to bed.
My wife is currently watching Strictly over this piggy back system much to my chagrin wish I had never mentioned it.
Lets face it though for £14 and no drilling just get a 20m run of cat 5. Will even get to your shed to watch those special german movies when everyone has gone to bed.
RogerDodger said:
Road2Ruin said:
ash73 said:
RogerDodger said:
Powerline extenders have their place.
In the bin.If you also look at the review of the new Devolo ones they are getting 400Mbps over them, as tested. Doesn't seem bad to me
"Reliant on house wiring - luck of the draw if they'll work and how "fast" they'll work"
.. covers that.
Of course they work fast in some circumstances. They'd never get away with the speed claims otherwise. But in my last two houses the barely achieved 10mb. One was an Edwardian house. This one is grade 2 listed. So it's safe to say quite old wiring in both .
And yes, I know how to use them. You plug them in.
I'm also an ex it director and spent many years building and configuring large networks.
Having the odd person that gets good speeds doesn't make a great product . You only need around 15mb to stream 4k. Try a proper Lan speed test and see what you are getting.
The point is, they are a compromise, and chipping in with "mine works great" doesn't change that.
You're the sort of person who would complain wireless 5G is no good because you live in the middle of the vault at Fort Knoxx.
PS if it was a s
t product it would have died a death by now. But it hasn't. Edited by Gandahar on Saturday 7th December 19:33
paulrockliffe said:
RogerDodger said:
Road2Ruin said:
ash73 said:
RogerDodger said:
Powerline extenders have their place.
In the bin.If you also look at the review of the new Devolo ones they are getting 400Mbps over them, as tested. Doesn't seem bad to me
"Reliant on house wiring - luck of the draw if they'll work and how "fast" they'll work"
.. covers that.
Of course they work fast in some circumstances. They'd never get away with the speed claims otherwise. But in my last two houses the barely achieved 10mb. One was an Edwardian house. This one is grade 2 listed. So it's safe to say quite old wiring in both .
And yes, I know how to use them. You plug them in.
I'm also an ex it director and spent many years building and configuring large networks.
Having the odd person that gets good speeds doesn't make a great product . You only need around 15mb to stream 4k. Try a proper Lan speed test and see what you are getting.
The point is, they are a compromise, and chipping in with "mine works great" doesn't change that.
The 100m in itself seems suspicious, why such a round number? Does anyones house actually have this and be big enough to fit a dab radio in the same room 100m away?
Some proof please ....
Gandahar said:
Having listened to my dab radio next to our system for the last 3 years and not head any issues with it I am calling you out.
The 100m in itself seems suspicious, why such a round number? Does anyones house actually have this and be big enough to fit a dab radio in the same room 100m away?
Some proof please ....
Calling me out? Are you 12?The 100m in itself seems suspicious, why such a round number? Does anyones house actually have this and be big enough to fit a dab radio in the same room 100m away?
Some proof please ....
Christ.
Hopefully the children have finished squabbling now...
OP: You state you want Wi-fi coverage in an adjoining room that presumably doesn't get coverage now.
You can either drill a hole and ethernet cable to a new Wireless Access Point
or
you can run a powerlines unit (some have wi-fi too) although you're at the mercy of your internal wiring, plus (in my experience) annoying dropouts at random intervals.
or
Try a Mesh system.
Which is like a networked series of wi-fi hubs (these also have either 1 or 2 ethernet ports built in to each) one of the advantages of the mesh system is 'no holes in walls' you also get wi-fi coverage in more than 1 room (should you need it) my 3 bedroom home has 3 of these placed sensibly and I now have full speed wi-fi on my 110 Mbps Virgin connection in my whole house and most of the garden. Which is nice because the VM Hub is a load of ste for Wireless and I had several parts of the house with no or poor signal. I could have just got a decent wireless router and put the Hub into modem mode but you're still in the position that the source is radiating out from a single point whereas with mesh you can have as many as 10 broadcasting points rather than just one central one (although once you get past 5 or so, you get a weaker signal, albeit with more sources of signal broadcast)
Plus having extra ethernet ports now in that room(s) built into the mesh hub it gives you the ability to have future expansion if you should need it there, perhaps a PC, or security camera, maybe a Smart TV or something else that works best with ethernet.
Trying to think of a downside, all I can think is that these type of systems tend to be administered via phone apps, although that's typically just for setup and then it just 'works'
Pick one of the above options, and good luck.
OP: You state you want Wi-fi coverage in an adjoining room that presumably doesn't get coverage now.
You can either drill a hole and ethernet cable to a new Wireless Access Point
or
you can run a powerlines unit (some have wi-fi too) although you're at the mercy of your internal wiring, plus (in my experience) annoying dropouts at random intervals.
or
Try a Mesh system.
Which is like a networked series of wi-fi hubs (these also have either 1 or 2 ethernet ports built in to each) one of the advantages of the mesh system is 'no holes in walls' you also get wi-fi coverage in more than 1 room (should you need it) my 3 bedroom home has 3 of these placed sensibly and I now have full speed wi-fi on my 110 Mbps Virgin connection in my whole house and most of the garden. Which is nice because the VM Hub is a load of s
te for Wireless and I had several parts of the house with no or poor signal. I could have just got a decent wireless router and put the Hub into modem mode but you're still in the position that the source is radiating out from a single point whereas with mesh you can have as many as 10 broadcasting points rather than just one central one (although once you get past 5 or so, you get a weaker signal, albeit with more sources of signal broadcast)Plus having extra ethernet ports now in that room(s) built into the mesh hub it gives you the ability to have future expansion if you should need it there, perhaps a PC, or security camera, maybe a Smart TV or something else that works best with ethernet.
Trying to think of a downside, all I can think is that these type of systems tend to be administered via phone apps, although that's typically just for setup and then it just 'works'
Pick one of the above options, and good luck.
Edited by techguyone on Sunday 8th December 06:15
techguyone said:
Hopefully the children have finished squabbling now...
OP: You state you want Wi-fi coverage in an adjoining room that presumably doesn't get coverage now.
You can either drill a hole and ethernet cable to a new Wireless Access Point
or
you can run a powerlines unit (some have wi-fi too) although you're at the mercy of your internal wiring, plus (in my experience) annoying dropouts at random intervals.
or
Try a Mesh system.
Which is like a networked series of wi-fi hubs (these also have either 1 or 2 ethernet ports built in to each) one of the advantages of the mesh system is 'no holes in walls' you also get wi-fi coverage in more than 1 room (should you need it) my 3 bedroom home has 3 of these placed sensibly and I now have full speed wi-fi on my 110 Mbps Virgin connection in my whole house and most of the garden. Which is nice because the VM Hub is a load of ste for Wireless and I had several parts of the house with no or poor signal. I could have just got a decent wireless router and put the Hub into modem mode but you're still in the position that the source is radiating out from a single point whereas with mesh you can have as many as 10 broadcasting points rather than just one central one (although once you get past 5 or so, you get a weaker signal, albeit with more sources of signal broadcast)
Plus having extra ethernet ports now in that room(s) built into the mesh hub it gives you the ability to have future expansion if you should need it there, perhaps a PC, or security camera, maybe a Smart TV or something else that works best with ethernet.
Trying to think of a downside, all I can think is that these type of systems tend to be administered via phone apps, although that's typically just for setup and then it just 'works'
Pick one of the above options, and good luck.
Which mesh system? The BT ones look like good value. Which perhaps should tell me something.OP: You state you want Wi-fi coverage in an adjoining room that presumably doesn't get coverage now.
You can either drill a hole and ethernet cable to a new Wireless Access Point
or
you can run a powerlines unit (some have wi-fi too) although you're at the mercy of your internal wiring, plus (in my experience) annoying dropouts at random intervals.
or
Try a Mesh system.
Which is like a networked series of wi-fi hubs (these also have either 1 or 2 ethernet ports built in to each) one of the advantages of the mesh system is 'no holes in walls' you also get wi-fi coverage in more than 1 room (should you need it) my 3 bedroom home has 3 of these placed sensibly and I now have full speed wi-fi on my 110 Mbps Virgin connection in my whole house and most of the garden. Which is nice because the VM Hub is a load of s
te for Wireless and I had several parts of the house with no or poor signal. I could have just got a decent wireless router and put the Hub into modem mode but you're still in the position that the source is radiating out from a single point whereas with mesh you can have as many as 10 broadcasting points rather than just one central one (although once you get past 5 or so, you get a weaker signal, albeit with more sources of signal broadcast)Plus having extra ethernet ports now in that room(s) built into the mesh hub it gives you the ability to have future expansion if you should need it there, perhaps a PC, or security camera, maybe a Smart TV or something else that works best with ethernet.
Trying to think of a downside, all I can think is that these type of systems tend to be administered via phone apps, although that's typically just for setup and then it just 'works'
Pick one of the above options, and good luck.
Edited by techguyone on Sunday 8th December 06:15
So said:
techguyone said:
Hopefully the children have finished squabbling now...
OP: You state you want Wi-fi coverage in an adjoining room that presumably doesn't get coverage now.
You can either drill a hole and ethernet cable to a new Wireless Access Point
or
you can run a powerlines unit (some have wi-fi too) although you're at the mercy of your internal wiring, plus (in my experience) annoying dropouts at random intervals.
or
Try a Mesh system.
Which is like a networked series of wi-fi hubs (these also have either 1 or 2 ethernet ports built in to each) one of the advantages of the mesh system is 'no holes in walls' you also get wi-fi coverage in more than 1 room (should you need it) my 3 bedroom home has 3 of these placed sensibly and I now have full speed wi-fi on my 110 Mbps Virgin connection in my whole house and most of the garden. Which is nice because the VM Hub is a load of ste for Wireless and I had several parts of the house with no or poor signal. I could have just got a decent wireless router and put the Hub into modem mode but you're still in the position that the source is radiating out from a single point whereas with mesh you can have as many as 10 broadcasting points rather than just one central one (although once you get past 5 or so, you get a weaker signal, albeit with more sources of signal broadcast)
Plus having extra ethernet ports now in that room(s) built into the mesh hub it gives you the ability to have future expansion if you should need it there, perhaps a PC, or security camera, maybe a Smart TV or something else that works best with ethernet.
Trying to think of a downside, all I can think is that these type of systems tend to be administered via phone apps, although that's typically just for setup and then it just 'works'
Pick one of the above options, and good luck.
Which mesh system? The BT ones look like good value. Which perhaps should tell me something.OP: You state you want Wi-fi coverage in an adjoining room that presumably doesn't get coverage now.
You can either drill a hole and ethernet cable to a new Wireless Access Point
or
you can run a powerlines unit (some have wi-fi too) although you're at the mercy of your internal wiring, plus (in my experience) annoying dropouts at random intervals.
or
Try a Mesh system.
Which is like a networked series of wi-fi hubs (these also have either 1 or 2 ethernet ports built in to each) one of the advantages of the mesh system is 'no holes in walls' you also get wi-fi coverage in more than 1 room (should you need it) my 3 bedroom home has 3 of these placed sensibly and I now have full speed wi-fi on my 110 Mbps Virgin connection in my whole house and most of the garden. Which is nice because the VM Hub is a load of s
te for Wireless and I had several parts of the house with no or poor signal. I could have just got a decent wireless router and put the Hub into modem mode but you're still in the position that the source is radiating out from a single point whereas with mesh you can have as many as 10 broadcasting points rather than just one central one (although once you get past 5 or so, you get a weaker signal, albeit with more sources of signal broadcast)Plus having extra ethernet ports now in that room(s) built into the mesh hub it gives you the ability to have future expansion if you should need it there, perhaps a PC, or security camera, maybe a Smart TV or something else that works best with ethernet.
Trying to think of a downside, all I can think is that these type of systems tend to be administered via phone apps, although that's typically just for setup and then it just 'works'
Pick one of the above options, and good luck.
Edited by techguyone on Sunday 8th December 06:15
There's quite a few systems out there. BT do one that's well respected plus they use it for their home broadband customers. Google do one too, but I felt that to be overpriced.
In the end (for my usage) I went with this.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B071241G3R
TP-Link Deco M5 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi System, Up to 5500 sq ft Coverage, Compatible with Amazon Echo/Alexa, Antivirus Security Protection and Parental Controls, Pack of 3
I personally, have had no problems with tp-link equipment, I know other posters have expressed issues.
If I had more funds at the time I may have gone to the M9 system which is better but more expensive.
I felt the system I got offered some degree of future proofness and would cope with all my equipment I have now plus future additions, so fat it's been faultless.
I'm running 2 Pc's, one EE signal box, 1 security camera, 2 smart Tv's , 1 android box on Ethernet. & some 8 or so mobile devices on the Wi-Fi side, I think there's a practical limit of 64 devices in total you can have per hub so it's unlikely anyone will fall foul of that limit anytime soon.
Issues I found:
I turned off the VM hub wi-fi entirely (not modem mode) as it got confusing for devices switching between networks and I connected EVERYTHING through the M5 as when I had some things on the VM ethernet, and others on the M5 it caused issues with things like Chromecast devices as they were not necessarily on the same network as where the files were stored and unavailable.
Switching everything to the one network resolved everything. Setup itself was a doddle taking about 5 mins per hub.
Hope this helps.
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