Author Topic: Wifi extender, boosters, etc, etc, etc...  (Read 2203 times)

HudsonHawk

  • Administrator
  • High Order of the Ferret
  • *****
  • Posts: 42689
  • Gentleman About Town
    • View Profile
Wifi extender, boosters, etc, etc, etc...
« on: May 08, 2019, 09:22:53 am »
So I live in a dumb house, built decades before LANs, the internet, and Wifi.  Last year I got fiber optic internet, with the megaspeed, 1,000 Mbps, blah, blah, blah.  It works great (though nowhere near 1,000 Mbps...but I'm told that's mostly device limited), but because of the router placement, it doesn't reach very well across the entire house...upstairs, downstairs, outside on the patio, etc.  I have tried a mesh network, which works great when connected, but it will not stay connected.  It drops the connection after about 30 minutes.  Every time.  I've spent hours on the phone with Linksys, and they've been very patient and tried to be helpful, but it just doesn't work.  I'm considering an "old fashioned" wifi extender, or installing LAN ports in various places.  I don't really want to do the latter, though powerline adapters may skin that cat.  Do range extenders or boosters or whatever do the job?  Are they reliable?  I realize you can get anyone's opinion on anything from Yahoo, but for some odd reason, I trust you yahoos' judgement more.

Thoughts?  Complaints?
The rules of distinction were thrown out with the baseball cap.  It does not lend itself to protocol.  It is found today on youth in homes, classrooms, even in fine restaurants.  Regardless of its other consequences, this is a breach against civility.  A civilized man should avoid this mania.

Col. Sphinx Drummond

  • Fantasy Team Owner
  • Illuminati
  • Posts: 16760
  • art is a bulwark against the irrationality of man
    • View Profile
Re: Wifi extender, boosters, etc, etc, etc...
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2019, 09:37:49 am »
This little booger works good for me. I can pick up my signal in my detached garage and in my tool shed/workshop. I plugged it into the outlet in the shed and synced it to my main router. Works perfect. You can spend more money if you just want to.
Everyone's talking, few of them know
The rest are pretending, they put on a show
And if there's a message I guess this is it
Truth isn't easy, the easy part's shit

Astros Fan in Big D

  • Double Super Secret Pope
  • Posts: 10331
    • View Profile
Re: Wifi extender, boosters, etc, etc, etc...
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2019, 09:53:37 am »
I use the Google mesh device.

Excellent coverage.

HudsonHawk

  • Administrator
  • High Order of the Ferret
  • *****
  • Posts: 42689
  • Gentleman About Town
    • View Profile
Re: Wifi extender, boosters, etc, etc, etc...
« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2019, 10:07:55 am »
I use the Google mesh device.

Excellent coverage.

Are there any problems with it staying connected?  The Velop mesh has great coverage and features, it just won't stay connected. 
The rules of distinction were thrown out with the baseball cap.  It does not lend itself to protocol.  It is found today on youth in homes, classrooms, even in fine restaurants.  Regardless of its other consequences, this is a breach against civility.  A civilized man should avoid this mania.

Waldo

  • Administrator
  • Pope
  • Posts: 6506
    • View Profile
    • http://www.ashrubbery.com/
Re: Wifi extender, boosters, etc, etc, etc...
« Reply #4 on: May 08, 2019, 11:19:58 am »
So I live in a dumb house, built decades before LANs, the internet, and Wifi.  Last year I got fiber optic internet, with the megaspeed, 1,000 Mbps, blah, blah, blah.  It works great (though nowhere near 1,000 Mbps...but I'm told that's mostly device limited),

Any wired Ethernet device should get within about 10% of gigabit speed on the Internet, give or take the bandwidth you share with other people on your ISP's node (this is why they advertise speeds "up to" gigabit).  However, there isn't a wifi device on this planet (yet) that can pull anywhere close to that - 400Mbps under the very best circumstances, usually 100-200Mbps.

Quote
but because of the router placement, it doesn't reach very well across the entire house...upstairs, downstairs, outside on the patio, etc.  I have tried a mesh network, which works great when connected, but it will not stay connected.  It drops the connection after about 30 minutes.  Every time.  I've spent hours on the phone with Linksys, and they've been very patient and tried to be helpful, but it just doesn't work.  I'm considering an "old fashioned" wifi extender, or installing LAN ports in various places.  I don't really want to do the latter, though powerline adapters may skin that cat.  Do range extenders or boosters or whatever do the job?  Are they reliable?  I realize you can get anyone's opinion on anything from Yahoo, but for some odd reason, I trust you yahoos' judgement more.

Thoughts?  Complaints?

Do the remote stations have low signal strength, or do they show good signal and simply stop working?  Do you know if they're running at 2.4GHz or 5GHz?  2.4GHz is the more crowded spectrum and so is more prone to interference, but 5GHz has shorter range, so either one of those could be giving you fits.  Or it's just shitty consumer wifi products, which is rampant in the market.

If you have attic access at all, or if you don't mind running cables on the outside of your house, then running at least one Cat5e/Cat6 from your router to another point in your house and putting in an access point is really the best way to go.  The cable/jacks/plates are cheap, the connections are easy to terminate (you'll need a 110 punchdown tool for keystone jacks, and/or an RJ-45 crimper if you're just putting connectors on the ends), and it'll be much more reliable.  You shouldn't ever have to mess with the cabling again unless something burns or chews through it.  FYI, wifi naturally broadcasts downward and outward, so the higher and more centrally located you can get your broadcasting device(s), the better.

You may or may not have success with a product like Sphinx posted.  I don't like repeaters because consumer wifi can already be too fussy and there are too many factors (distance, obstructions, interference) that can interrupt the signal.  However, if you're going down that route or the mesh route, I'd recommend Ubiquiti for features and reliability.  I only have personal experience with their enterprise access points, and they're probably too complicated for the non-IT user to set up, but their AmpliFi mesh system is consumer-oriented and has very good reviews.  Google's has good reviews too, but I don't have any personal experience with that either, and Google is a bit too flaky with their hardware products for my taste.

I personally would only go powerline Ethernet as a last resort.

gleach

  • Prime Time Player
  • Posts: 543
    • View Profile
    • Allison's Page
Re: Wifi extender, boosters, etc, etc, etc...
« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2019, 11:26:23 am »
My house has plaster walls and we've had trouble with wifi throughout the house. I can't run new data ports because I don't want to have to replace a whole stupid wall. I put the Google wifi in this weekend and my problems seem to have gone away. The normal unit comes with three pods, but I put in 6 because I was mad. So far, so good. It hasn't dropped out once.
I love Geoff Leach.  Every day. 

HudsonHawk

  • Administrator
  • High Order of the Ferret
  • *****
  • Posts: 42689
  • Gentleman About Town
    • View Profile
Re: Wifi extender, boosters, etc, etc, etc...
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2019, 12:38:35 pm »
Any wired Ethernet device should get within about 10% of gigabit speed on the Internet, give or take the bandwidth you share with other people on your ISP's node (this is why they advertise speeds "up to" gigabit).  However, there isn't a wifi device on this planet (yet) that can pull anywhere close to that - 400Mbps under the very best circumstances, usually 100-200Mbps.

All of my devices get 300-400 Mbps when in close range of the router.  Wired I get about 800.  I'm happy with the speed, it's the coverage of the router. 

Quote
Do the remote stations have low signal strength, or do they show good signal and simply stop working?  Do you know if they're running at 2.4GHz or 5GHz?  2.4GHz is the more crowded spectrum and so is more prone to interference, but 5GHz has shorter range, so either one of those could be giving you fits.  Or it's just shitty consumer wifi products, which is rampant in the market.

They simply stop working.  I've tried both 2.4 and 5 GHz, and went through all sorts of compatibility, interference, protocol, etc, etc exercises with Linksys.  We've tried all sorts of things, and it simply will not stay connected. 

Quote
If you have attic access at all, or if you don't mind running cables on the outside of your house, then running at least one Cat5e/Cat6 from your router to another point in your house and putting in an access point is really the best way to go.  The cable/jacks/plates are cheap, the connections are easy to terminate (you'll need a 110 punchdown tool for keystone jacks, and/or an RJ-45 crimper if you're just putting connectors on the ends), and it'll be much more reliable.  You shouldn't ever have to mess with the cabling again unless something burns or chews through it.  FYI, wifi naturally broadcasts downward and outward, so the higher and more centrally located you can get your broadcasting device(s), the better.

I have access, the problem is running it from upstairs to downstairs.  The only common walls are the exterior walls, and I'd have to deal with load bearing features, top plates, etc. Don't really want to drill through the brick and all that to come in from the outside.   I can do it, it's just a pain in the ass. 

Quote
I personally would only go powerline Ethernet as a last resort.

And the problem with powerline adapters is I understand they work and play well with surge protectors, so that may be an issue as well.  I may just have to play around with it, or live with slow connection in certain corners of the house.  Just looking at all my options. 
The rules of distinction were thrown out with the baseball cap.  It does not lend itself to protocol.  It is found today on youth in homes, classrooms, even in fine restaurants.  Regardless of its other consequences, this is a breach against civility.  A civilized man should avoid this mania.

HudsonHawk

  • Administrator
  • High Order of the Ferret
  • *****
  • Posts: 42689
  • Gentleman About Town
    • View Profile
Re: Wifi extender, boosters, etc, etc, etc...
« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2019, 12:40:01 pm »
My house has plaster walls and we've had trouble with wifi throughout the house. I can't run new data ports because I don't want to have to replace a whole stupid wall. I put the Google wifi in this weekend and my problems seem to have gone away. The normal unit comes with three pods, but I put in 6 because I was mad. So far, so good. It hasn't dropped out once.

Crappy product is probably my issue, but I'm not mad enough to re-purchase something else.  Yet. 
The rules of distinction were thrown out with the baseball cap.  It does not lend itself to protocol.  It is found today on youth in homes, classrooms, even in fine restaurants.  Regardless of its other consequences, this is a breach against civility.  A civilized man should avoid this mania.

Limey

  • Contributor
  • High Order of the Ferret
  • *****
  • Posts: 32079
  • Tally Ho!
    • View Profile
Re: Wifi extender, boosters, etc, etc, etc...
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2019, 12:43:10 pm »
Do you have Verizon 5G available in your area?  I have no experience of it, and I'm no fan of Verizon*, but something like that - wifi without needing an in-home router - might be a solution.

* Fuckers dug up two sections of my front lawn to lay their cabling for the 5G nodes, in October, so it's only just now properly come back.  They also drilled through the water main about 5 times.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2019, 12:45:54 pm by Limey »
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.