Internet extending into garage.

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Firstly I'm a complete noob where internetty and computer stuff is concerned, so apologies for asking a question that has been asked before.

 

I have a garage built onto the side of the house. With all the insulation wifi doesn't quite reach into the depths of the garage. It does make it to near the door. So I fitted one of these extenders.

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/british-general-2g-13a-sp-switched-wi-fi-extender-socket-2-1a-1-outlet-usb-charger-white/8865v

 

Now the signal strength is better from 1 bar up to 4/5 bars but the speed is dreadful. I usually stream internet radio to a soundbar but the extender just doesn't have the speed to cope. Is it the 300mbps or the 2.4ghz or something else?

 

Can you suggest a better alternative? Was looking at a powerline kit or maybe a better wifi extender?  I would it to be wifi in the garage rather than wired.

[Kingster]

I’ve previously used a power line thing and then added another WiFi router to that. Been a while since I needed it though and can’t recall exactly what was needed. I’m better at software than hardware it has to be said 😁

[Steve (sdh2903)]

14 minutes ago, Chris King - Webmaster and Joint North East AO said:

I’m better at software than hardware it has to be said 😁

 

I'm crap at both 

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Would this be a better extender as its dual band and a faster potential speed?  

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/tp-link-re200-ac750-dual-band-wi-fi-range-extender/5059p

[Blatman]

As Chris says, Powerline extenders are where it's at.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-WPA4220KIT-Powerline-Broadband-Configuration-UK/dp/B01LXOZ4EN/ref=sr_1_3?crid=Q44TNV5JZQOL&keywords=powerline+wifi+extender&qid=1561889185&s=gateway&sprefix=powerline%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-3

 

Plug the small one in next to your broadband router and connect it to the router with the supplied CAT5 patch cable.

Plug the big one in to the garage and it will broadcast wifi.

The plugs will use your 240 volt electrical cables in the house as "pseudo" ethernet cables. They work well.

 

The item above uses only the 2.4Ghz frequency. If you are using modern phones or PC's you will want a device that uses the 5.0Ghz frequency so this fits the bill:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-WPA4220KIT-Powerline-Broadband-Configuration-UK/dp/B0723C86CX/ref=sr_1_3?crid=Q44TNV5JZQOL&keywords=powerline%2Bwifi%2Bextender&qid=1561889185&s=gateway&sprefix=powerline%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-3&th=1

 

With regards to speed, you'll never see 300Mb/s  on 2.4Ghz wifi. It's a VERY long and slightly complicated set of reasons. Basically ignore the headline speed on the sales blurb for both 2.4 and 5.0Ghz frequencies. It's only attainable in very specific circumstances to do with channel width and number of antennas on both the device and the wireless access point.

 

If you have "fibre internet" at home with speeds anywhere between 20 and 70Mb/s then you should be able to match this over the wireless on both 2.4 and 5.0Ghz frequencies.

 

Finally both those say "plug and play" and they are BUT if you take a moment to set up the wifi plug to match the rest of your wifi (IE set the same SSID and password on the plug) then it will work seamlessly when you move into and out of the garage. 

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Perfect thanks @Blatman only other question is my sky q hub router is a wireless '802.11ac' router. The adapter in the second link is a b, g and n. I have no idea what these mean but should I look for an 802.11 ac spec adapter?

 

I'm not after mega performance just a steady enough connection to stream radio and music with maybe a bit of internet browsing.

[Blatman]

802.11ac is the latest wifi standard and includes things like MIMO. Most modern devices will prefer the 5.0Ghz frequency which promises more throughput (speed) at the expense of range, but in a house range is mostly moot unless the house is very large.

MIMO is only really worth it if the host device (phone/tablet/pc) has more than one antenna for it's wifi or there are several wifi devices in the home and communicating with the hub at the same time. Then MIMO has a benefit.

 

802.11n is backwards compatible with AC so don't get too bogged down in the standards alphabet soup!

 

I have no idea if the Sky Q hub router (a hub is not the same thing as a router technically speaking). Google it...

 

[Lyonspride]

If it has to be WiFi then get a TP-LINK TL-WPA4220T powerline kit, I used one in my old garage for years.

You wire the smaller adaptor direct to your router and plug in the larger adaptor in the remote location, it basically sends wired ethernet down your mains wiring to the remote unit, which then acts as a WiFi access point.