kevip6 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Hello All, My new house is a 400 year old cottage which is quite long and has thick walls. I have the standard Sky Broadband router and with this in the middle of the house the wifi doesn't extend anywhere near either end of the house and so I currently have 2 wifi extenders plugged in either direction to extend the coverage. I'd rather (if possible) use a single more powerful WiFi router plugged in via a network cable to the Sky Modem if it would then reach to the extents of the house. I've been doing research and there seems to be a lot of conflicting reviews on the main contenders (D-Link, TP-Link, Linksys, NetGear, Asus, etc...) so I'm looking for any real world experience on these. I'm not worried about absolute speed as my Broadband is only max 8Mbs but I want range Happy to spend up to £200 for the right equipment but want it to work or I will just stick to the extenders Cheers for any help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHew Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Just to throw you a curved googley: I gave up on wifi extenders a few years back. I now use Powerline adapters (from solwise: http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerline-av2-index.htm). They're 600mbps so well up to playing movies etc from my PC to TV, linking TV to internet and various other things simultaneously. They now do a 1200mbps version which should be lightning fast. I replaced the BT home hub 5 router with a tp link w8970 which has excellent wifi range. (but I still prefer to connect AV equipment via the homeplugs) Although we now live in a newish box we used the above gear very sucessfully in our 600 year old farmhouse in Cumbria previously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevip6 Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Thanks for the reply Craig, I should have mentioned there are 2 separate ring mains in the house and so the Powerline adapters are not an option I will take a look at the W8970 I'm currently leaning towards an Asus RT-AC68U or a D-Link DIR-880L at the moment but I'm happy to look at others if you've had a good wifi range from them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tisme Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I've used a Billion Bipac 7800N for the last few years - firstly when I had ADSL2 (so I could tweak the SNR ratio that made the most of my broadband speed) and now it acts as a "Fibre" EWAN router since our village was upgraded. Our cottage is stone and brick and I've found the wifi acceptable but after we had the house re-wired, I've used 600mps Poweline adapters and an old Netgear ADSL router acting as a wifi extender (I should have laid Cat5e but forgot !!). I like the Billion ADSL / Routers as they are quite customisable and appear to have good reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHew Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I should have mentioned there are 2 separate ring mains in the house and so the Powerline adapters are not an option I run mine across 2 ring mains too, no problem. If you're saying you've got 2 consumer units each with their own ring main then fair enough, they wouldn't see each other... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevip6 Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 I run mine across 2 ring mains too, no problem. If you're saying you've got 2 consumer units each with their own ring main then fair enough, they wouldn't see each other... Indeed yes, sorry, 2 Consumer Units each with their own ring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Only trying different routers will you find the best one that suits your house, it's as simple as that. You could also try a second router connected as relay wirelessly. If all that fails then it will have to network cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombanks Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 is it possible to use 2 sets of power lines one on each circuit oand use an Ethernet cable to connect them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinten Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 If you're happy to spend £200, why not spend it on wiring between several strategic points and put some wifi routers there to cover that area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue ass fly Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 You can use another router as a slave to your current one - it will pick up the signal and spread it further afield Theres info on it on google if you search poor wifi coverage Ive just bought a pair of av adaptors - ide not heard of them till ladt week They Work really well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Williams (Panda) - Joint Manchester AO Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 using ubiquity for a hotel we are kitting out they do a long range version fancy a chat pm me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 I've chopped and changed routers 7 or 8 times in the last 3 years or so - found PC World always willing to exchange a six month old unit for something different. I've been through Netgear (including Rangemax), TP Link, Asus and eventually settled on a Billion 7800N due to it's tweakability as mentioned above. But none of these had the range to cover the whole of our 1950s bungalow - so I also use Powerline adapters, both ethernet ones to stream video to 3 TVs and wifi broadcast ones to stream audio to 4 music systems. Works well. I tried wifi extenders in our old house and they were a real PITA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 I run mine across 2 ring mains too, no problem. If you're saying you've got 2 consumer units each with their own ring main then fair enough, they wouldn't see each other... I am not an electrical engineer but I had assumed that unless they are on separate phases or separated by some kind of filters, they would see each other. There will be a common incoming feed surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welly Jen Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Wifi is a bidirectional link between the router and laptop, tablet, phone, whatever it is communicating with. The strength of the transmitter in the gadget in your hand also has an influence on whether you get a reliable fast connection. With an old thick walled cottage you may not be able to do it with a single router in one location. Having repeaters as others here have described, connected by network cable, wifi, or over power lines may be the only way to go. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevip6 Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Thanks for all the replies guys, very helpful! I've bought an extender for now that is allowing access where I need it so I will see how that goes. I was hoping for a simple solution but it seems that might have been a touch optimistic! I may buy one at some point and see how far they reach out to and then send it back if it's not enough Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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