Terry Everall Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 I am interested to know what is the best solution for improving the WiFi signal throughout my house as somme places are a long way from the router. Ideas and costs please ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Calling @Blatman to the forums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHew Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 TP-link ac1200. £32 from amazon prime. Great little bit of kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 These assuming both plug sockets on the same ring main. Can add more than one WiFi plug to cover different areas https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-WPA4220KIT-Powerline-Broadband-Configuration-UK/dp/B01LXOZ4EN/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&hvadid=80401854582588&hvbmt=be&hvdev=m&hvqmt=e&keywords=tplink+powerline+adapter&qid=1599499558&sr=8-3&tag=hydrukspm-21 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onliest Smeg David Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Started looking into Nesh WiFi, found plug in extenders not very good. Depends on electrical circuits as Stuart said. These were recommended by an IT pro... https://shop.bt.com/products/bt-premium-whole-home-wi-fi-four-discs-101549-FG7V.html Also recommended Ubiquiti networks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arm Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 I've tried various without complete success. Eventually repositioned homehub within house and a higher position. Now covers all rooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 3 hours ago, Captain Colonial said: Calling @Blatman to the forums You rang? 3 hours ago, Stuart said: These assuming both plug sockets on the same ring main. I've had success where this is not the case so different consumer boards in the same residence is not necessarily a deal breaker. Any new Homeplug set should fit the bill. I've had great success with TP LInk but everyone has their favourites. 24 minutes ago, Arm said: I've tried various without complete success. That's because you are A) old and B) a mech eng ... Oh, and hello dad Yes that was edited for comedy effect... Position and transmit power of the router (or hub in BT parlance) has a little to do with whether wifi works or not but the issue is much more about the user device. At full power a router/hub or (more accurately) a wifi access point (ap) can transmit at a maximum of 100Mw, or 1/10th of one watt. The tablet or phone being used to connect to that router/hub/ap likely has less than half the transmit power, so whilst the device can "see" the router, it doesn't follow that the router can "see" the device, and when that happens EVERYONE blames the router/hub/ap or the hapless network engineer that no-one ever listens to until it's too late. But I digress... ALL wifi transmission are basically two way radios. They both have to be in range of each other to work, and the closer they are the faster they are. Modern devices generally prefer the 5.0Ghz frequency which has slightly lower range than the "old" (but still available) 2.4Ghz frequency. In new houses with plasterboard walls this is less of an inconvenience. In a house with brick walls the signal plain won't make it through the wall very well, if at all. The above reasons are why it is generally better to put a wifi access point in each room that requires wifi coverage, and Homeplugs are usually the easiest and most efficient way of accomplishing that. Homeplugs place the wifi signal in the room and them immediately transwfer it to wired connections which are both reliable and full duplex with ZERO interference in most normal cases. Just keep the patch cables away from transformers for lighting etc, including strip light cables. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 2 hours ago, Dave (OnliestSmeg) - Manchester AO said: Also recommended Ubiquiti networks. Possibly the worst wifi I have ever used. Their software is mis-described and their best practice options in that software make things worse. For less money there are MUCH better options available. Mesh wifi? You mean wifi to wifi extenders without cables? I'm not up to speed with the latest but have they got around the half-duplex issue where each wireless hop halves the available bandwidth? And even if they have the signal can still be attenuated so placement of each mesh extender needs to be carefully planned. I'm betting in a reasonably sized suburban house the occupants might well need more wifi extenders than they imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 20 minutes ago, Blatman said: Possibly the worst wifi I have ever used. Their software is mis-described and their best practice options in that software make things worse. For less money there are MUCH better options available. Scarily, it’s got worse recently, too! Seeing massive connectivity issues with Ubiquiti gear in the field that we come across, since recent firmware updates. It’s not a proper roaming network either, and I see a lot of people having issues with phones and tablets staying stuck on AP’s with barely usable Signal levels, and stubbornly not transferring to the next Ubiquiti AP that’s in the same room, less than 10 metres away. Oh, and just because you may have stud walls and plasterboard, don’t assume you’ll get great wi fi coverage. Increasing use of foil backed plasterboard, along with foil covered insulation, like Kingspan, behind it, has seen a noticeable affect on range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenstreak-Andy D Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 I am no expert but have my isp, Zen, who supplied a Fritz box router. Initially all ok, but with 2 teenage girls and a soon to be teen Xbox fan, it too started to creak. Now I have a Fritz mesh extender, a power line (for my office) and a netgear wifi extender to hard wire the smart tv in the lounge. Seems to be holding up, but having 2g and 5g plus the ‘ext’ there are now 4 logins (all same code) with devices looking for strongest signal. Complex, to me it is. So long as kids give me a break!!😂 Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyIoM Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 I personally would recommend Ubiquiti kit - works perfectly for me! Our house has extremely dense brick internal walls, so I use 3 wireless access points with CAT 6 cable backhaul to the switch / router - mesh doesn't work at all well with dense walls 😐 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyonspride Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 5 hours ago, Stuart said: These assuming both plug sockets on the same ring main. Can add more than one WiFi plug to cover different areas https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-WPA4220KIT-Powerline-Broadband-Configuration-UK/dp/B01LXOZ4EN/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&hvadid=80401854582588&hvbmt=be&hvdev=m&hvqmt=e&keywords=tplink+powerline+adapter&qid=1599499558&sr=8-3&tag=hydrukspm-21 I use these, they actually do a grand job at putting a WiFi AP at the back of my house, i'd planned on doing cat 5/6 under the living room carpet to the back of the house, but it just wasn't worth it for what I actually needed back there. They can be a little unstable speed wise if we're running the washing machine or tumble dryer. 38 minutes ago, AndyIoM said: I personally would recommend Ubiquiti kit - works perfectly for me! Our house has extremely dense brick internal walls, so I use 3 wireless access points with CAT 6 cable backhaul to the switch / router - mesh doesn't work at all well with dense walls 😐 It all boils down to how much Iron oxide is in the bricks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 14 hours ago, Greenstreak-Andy D said: Seems to be holding up, but having 2g and 5g plus the ‘ext’ there are now 4 logins (all same code) If you can change them, then change them. If they all have the same SSID and password you should get half decent roaming. Roaming has been built in to the IEEE802.11 protocols since 802.11N. 802.11AC and the soon to be everywhere 802.11X have enhancements to roaming that have been designed with input from Apple so that even those awful walled-garden "do-it-our-way" devices will work just like everything else, which is to say, well. Pin pulled... 14 hours ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said: Oh, and just because you may have stud walls and plasterboard, don’t assume you’ll get great wi fi coverage. Increasing use of foil backed plasterboard, along with foil covered insulation, like Kingspan, behind it, has seen a noticeable affect on range. Good point. I assume these days that all rooms have some sort of signal attenuating lining in them. Makes wifi design easy though. If the requirement is wifi, put an AP in the room... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6carjon Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 I bought these TP-Link TL-WPA4220T KIT. My router is on the upper floor and at one end of my house due to the first telephone point necessitating the position. On the ground floor in the end of the house the wifi was patchy. This solved it for me. My wifi signal went from 1bar to 3 bar on the little icon. My vodafone speed checker confirmed this more accurately to be an improvement from 2mb to 36 mb against a maximun of 40 mb next to the router. Hope this helps you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHew Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 22 hours ago, Dave (OnliestSmeg) - Manchester AO said: Started looking into Nesh WiFi, @Dave (OnliestSmeg) - Manchester AO Do you mean it's cold? Or r u talking mesh ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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