Wifi range extender

[jamiez]

Hi all

Anyone had any experiences of using these to extend the wifi signal?
I get 30+ Mbps in the house but the signal doesn't reach some parts reliably.

I'm on bt super fast and I know they offer a device for 35 quid. Just wondering what others have done on here?

Cheers
Jamie

 

[Stuart Truman]

Just be aware that they will cut the effective speed by half. (Signal from router to repeater, re-radiate and the same in reverse)

Unless you have something that is latency sensitive (sonos is a good example) then I'd use the Ethernet over powder blocks either with wifi built in (Devolo) or hang an access point off of one.

If your router has the capability, and all of the devices also, see how 5Ghz performs in the house. Also check to ensure you're not on the same channel as a near neighbour as this will slow down performance. (Imagine being in a crowded room all talking over the top of each other)

 

[pvr]

I found that 5Ghz reduced the reach of the signal significantly though, so instead I created 5 access points from the points that I could reach by cable, or ethernet over power units to get to an outbuilding.

Forget about range extenders as they do what Stuart said.

 

[PerryGunn]

Also check to ensure you're not on the same channel as a near neighbour as this will slow down performance. (Imagine being in a crowded room all talking over the top of each other)

There are tools available to do this - my go-to is inSSIDer on a tablet.... full version is overkill for home use, but there's a freeware version that does everything you're likely to need

 

[dr_john]

I use a great BT device which sets up a new wifi hotspot and transmits the signal to it from your main router over the mains cabling.

Its called a BT wifi home hotspot and costs about £50 I think. I use it in the summer house in my garden, the distance from the router is about 70m and it works perfectly with no appreciable speed loss. We regularly use 2 IPads on it at the same time.

 

[Stuart Truman]

There are tools available to do this - my go-to is inSSIDer on a tablet.... full version is overkill for home use, but there's a freeware version that does everything you're likely to need

+1 on inssider. Wifi analyser is also good on android

 

[RedLine]

Most WiFi speeds are good enough to support quite a few devices unless you're streaming several HD or UHD streams simultaneously. I have dozens of devices registered with my router. Unless you're on mega broadband speed your WiFi is likely to be higher than your broadband speed, so, any speed issues are likely to be on your broadband when all is set up properly. WiFi extenders over the WiFi itself will reduce the overall speed by half, but I've been using an old router at 802.3g (54MB/s) bridged to my main one to reach the back of the house for some time. It's more than adequate for most use including streamed HD tv. I am however about to swap it out for a poweline unit with built in wifi with which I expect to get 300mbit/s back to the main router. The reason is simply to get rid of all the cabling. Not cheap - from £50 for two devices. you do also lose a plug socket unless you get the more expensive ones that also have a mains through socket in too.

Some good advice from Stuart earlier - if you have a good router, it should auto scan the WiFi and select a little used channel. Several mobile apps that will show WiFi channel usage. You may however have to manually select a little used channel though. Lots of routers don't have this facility and all sit on channel 6 I think it is.
Also, place your router /WiFi away from noisy sources (cordless phones, strip lights, anything with motors in) - they are all likely to reduce your WiFi throughput and reduce effective coverage. Also, place it as high up as possible and as close to the centre of the house. Unfortunately, most broadband connections are right at the front of your house. Your WiFi probably covers more of the street outside than your house.

 

[bluestreak56]

I've had the stand alone small extenders and they are pants. I recommend if you have an existing old wifi router, just set it up as a wifi repeater using the same SSID and it works much better.

It does help if you can feed a wired connection to it though. I presently have our main router ground floor front of house and the 2nd router in the loft..

 

[jamiez]

Just be aware that they will cut the effective speed by half. (Signal from router to repeater, re-radiate and the same in reverse)

Unless you have something that is latency sensitive (sonos is a good example) then I'd use the Ethernet over powder blocks either with wifi built in (Devolo) or hang an access point off of one.

If your router has the capability, and all of the devices also, see how 5Ghz performs in the house. Also check to ensure you're not on the same channel as a near neighbour as this will slow down performance. (Imagine being in a crowded room all talking over the top of each other)

Thanks for the feedback Stuart - some good info i didn't know in regards to the repeaters halving the speeds.

In terms of latency, im not a mega avid online gamer - but do play ps4 games online, so certainly don't want them to be laggy. My current average speed is 31 mbps and ping is between 10 and 20 so pretty good!

Ive got a BT home hub 5 and believe its already running in 5ghz mode. I understand 5ghz has less range than typical 2.4? Plus i dont have many people around me to be worried about "traffic" - so should be good there.

I would prefer a neat install where possible and the Devolo looks good....

 

[jamiez]

I use a great BT device which sets up a new wifi hotspot and transmits the signal to it from your main router over the mains cabling.

Its called a BT wifi home hotspot and costs about £50 I think. I use it in the summer house in my garden, the distance from the router is about 70m and it works perfectly with no appreciable speed loss. We regularly use 2 IPads on it at the same time.

Thanks - is this the one you have? http://www.shop.bt.com/products/bt-wi-fi-home-hotspot-500-kit-9BRT.html

How can i tell the difference between an extender / repeater versus the plug in hotspot types...?

 

[jamiez]

Most WiFi speeds are good enough to support quite a few devices unless you're streaming several HD or UHD streams simultaneously. I have dozens of devices registered with my router. Unless you're on mega broadband speed your WiFi is likely to be higher than your broadband speed, so, any speed issues are likely to be on your broadband when all is set up properly. WiFi extenders over the WiFi itself will reduce the overall speed by half, but I've been using an old router at 802.3g (54MB/s) bridged to my main one to reach the back of the house for some time. It's more than adequate for most use including streamed HD tv. I am however about to swap it out for a poweline unit with built in wifi with which I expect to get 300mbit/s back to the main router. The reason is simply to get rid of all the cabling. Not cheap - from £50 for two devices. you do also lose a plug socket unless you get the more expensive ones that also have a mains through socket in too.

Some good advice from Stuart earlier - if you have a good router, it should auto scan the WiFi and select a little used channel. Several mobile apps that will show WiFi channel usage. You may however have to manually select a little used channel though. Lots of routers don't have this facility and all sit on channel 6 I think it is.
Also, place your router /WiFi away from noisy sources (cordless phones, strip lights, anything with motors in) - they are all likely to reduce your WiFi throughput and reduce effective coverage. Also, place it as high up as possible and as close to the centre of the house. Unfortunately, most broadband connections are right at the front of your house. Your WiFi probably covers more of the street outside than your house.

Thanks for the info here!
Yep the home hub 5 has this switching feature built in, so should be good in that respect.

I do find that when nearest the router and i do a speed test, i am seeing around 25-30 mbps.
When i go to the point furthest away, the speed drops to around 10-15 - and the wifi signal is either on the lowest bar or drops out - both on my iphone or ps4 -

 

[jimbo1958]

I'm using this TP-Link http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-TL-...8397655&sr=8-2&keywords=tp+link+wifi+extender one which has worked flawlessy giving me Wifi in the garden which was previously flakey. I just unplug it from the kitchen when not in use and have only needed to carry out the initial setup once. Brilliant bit of kit.

 

[sp3ctre]

There are pros and cons for these things. I have been looking at doing something similar in our house as we have a couple of black spots. I have also extended the signal into the garage.

I chose to use ethernet to do i, as I have ethernet to the garage and to the attic. The problem is the router in the garage has to have its own SSID. If I walk to the garage I lose the signal from the house and it picks up the one in the garage. If I then walk back it will occasionally keep the connection to the garage "just", so my connection is rubbish unless I manually connect to the house again. Wifi does not automatically connect to the strongest signal.

Enterprise solutions have systems where they all broadcast the same SSID and you can walk between them. There will be a short drop as you go between access points but it is all the same SSID so it's not too bad. Not sure about setting that up in a consumer setting though.

I also echo the comment above about signal halving not being the end of the world. If your Wifi is 300mbps, that is 150mbps when halved (ideal conditions, I guess), but that is probably much faster than your internet speed anyway, so you won't really notice.

If anyone knows of a good way of extending a wi-fi networking using ethernet between points, and broadcasting the same SSID I'd love to know, as using a different SSID is messy.

 

[dr_john]

I use a great BT device which sets up a new wifi hotspot and transmits the signal to it from your main router over the mains cabling.

Its called a BT wifi home hotspot and costs about £50 I think. I use it in the summer house in my garden, the distance from the router is about 70m and it works perfectly with no appreciable speed loss. We regularly use 2 IPads on it at the same time.

Thanks - is this the one you have? http://www.shop.bt.com/products/bt-wi-fi-home-hotspot-500-kit-9BRT.html

How can i tell the difference between an extender / repeater versus the plug in hotspot types...?

Yep, that's the very fellow. Pure simplicity, does exactly what it says on the box. Plug the master into the mains socket and your router, plug the second one into the mains where you want the wifi hotspot, job done.

Not sure about your second question, I think the main point is that BT 500 creates an entirely new wifi hotspot rather than extending the range of the main router. You can then connect as many devices as you like wirelessly at the new hotspot.

 

[jamiez]

I use a great BT device which sets up a new wifi hotspot and transmits the signal to it from your main router over the mains cabling.

Its called a BT wifi home hotspot and costs about £50 I think. I use it in the summer house in my garden, the distance from the router is about 70m and it works perfectly with no appreciable speed loss. We regularly use 2 IPads on it at the same time.

Thanks - is this the one you have? http://www.shop.bt.com/products/bt-wi-fi-home-hotspot-500-kit-9BRT.html

How can i tell the difference between an extender / repeater versus the plug in hotspot types...?

Yep, that's the very fellow. Pure simplicity, does exactly what it says on the box. Plug the master into the mains socket and your router, plug the second one into the mains where you want the wifi hotspot, job done.

Not sure about your second question, I think the main point is that BT 500 creates an entirely new wifi hotspot rather than extending the range of the main router. You can then connect as many devices as you like wirelessly at the new hotspot.

Super - thanks! Looks like it can be setup to be seen as a separate access point (SSID) or mimic the same - how is yours setup? Clearly everything being named the same makes it easiest!

 

[bluestreak56]

sp3ctre Ive done this, two different routers (different manufacturers) and extend the same existing SSID.

Its very easy, you just need to have the ability to set one up as an extender. I can rummage through my instructions again if you need help.

 

[dr_john]

Super - thanks! Looks like it can be setup to be seen as a separate access point (SSID) or mimic the same - how is yours setup? Clearly everything being named the same makes it easiest!

I didn't know about mimicking the SSID, it comes with it's own SSID and wireless key, I used those.

 

[PerryGunn]

sp3ctre Ive done this, two different routers (different manufacturers) and extend the same existing SSID.

Its very easy, you just need to have the ability to set one up as an extender. I can rummage through my instructions again if you need help.

It's not difficult to give different routers/access points the same SSID - the problem is one of handoff, as, when you transition between coverage areas, you don't connect to the next AP unless you lose connection with the old one. As long as your device thinks that it has a strong enough wlan signal it doesn't switch to a different access point regardless of the difference in signal strength between APs

This is an inherent issue when devices follow the standards as they only have to check for signal strength at the point of connection to a network - sharing a SSID between APs can work well enough but devices will often cling on to a weak/slow connection to an AP when there's a much stronger signal available and, at times, you have to force the connection to the stronger AP by disabling & re-enabling WiFi

There are a number of commercial solutions that cope with the handoff issue and allow seamless roaming between APs with the devices automatically transitioned to the strongest AP - we use two different ones in our offices (Cisco and BlueSecure) - but most of them are fairly expensive and require either server-side software or a dedicated appliance. I haven't tried it myself, but the only AP range I'm aware of that claims to do proper handoff and is still cheap enough for home use is the Ubiquiti kit running UniFi

 

[sp3ctre]

sp3ctre Ive done this, two different routers (different manufacturers) and extend the same existing SSID.

Its very easy, you just need to have the ability to set one up as an extender. I can rummage through my instructions again if you need help.

It's not difficult to give different routers/access points the same SSID - the problem is one of handoff, as, when you transition between coverage areas, you don't connect to the next AP unless you lose connection with the old one. As long as your device thinks that it has a strong enough wlan signal it doesn't switch to a different access point regardless of the difference in signal strength between APs

This is an inherent issue when devices follow the standards as they only have to check for signal strength at the point of connection to a network - sharing a SSID between APs can work well enough but devices will often cling on to a weak/slow connection to an AP when there's a much stronger signal available and, at times, you have to force the connection to the stronger AP by disabling & re-enabling WiFi

There are a number of commercial solutions that cope with the handoff issue and allow seamless roaming between APs with the devices automatically transitioned to the strongest AP - we use two different ones in our offices (Cisco and BlueSecure) - but most of them are fairly expensive and require either server-side software or a dedicated appliance. I haven't tried it myself, but the only AP range I'm aware of that claims to do proper handoff and is still cheap enough for home use is the Ubiquiti kit running UniFi

That's pretty much my experience too... currently playing with different locations for the router to see if I can avoid having to do it. Ironically I might end up trying to reduce the coverage from the unit in the garage so it definitely covers none of the house, that way handoff won't be an issue.

 

[Stuart Truman]

Wifi does not automatically connect to the strongest signal.

It "should". Mine hops flawlessly. fairly standard setup, gateway with wifi, Ethernet over power to the upstairs rear part of the house and another access point wih same ssid and password.