Weak Wifi Signal - what do I buy

techeng · 12-07-2015 10:35pm #1

Hi,

Apologies is if this has been asked before.

Just moved into newly refurbished house. Vodafone router is in the Utility and I am getting weak signals in a number of rooms in the house.

I have Cat5e points throughout the house and a switch with plenty of spare ports.

What bit of kit do I need to buy to boost the WiFi signal throughout the house

T

FSL · 13-07-2015 7:26pm

If you have cables throughout then just buy a wireless access point and situate it where you get best coverage. Depending on the size and construction of the house you may find you need more than one.

ozmo · 13-07-2015 7:35pm

Look for one that has bridge mode i think its called.

Means you can move seamlessly around house and phones pick best signal.

I used edimax br-632nL in one location- bit old now - but it worked very well.

ED E · 14-07-2015 12:40am

You dont need to bridge.

If you're gonna live there for a while you may as well invest in an .11AC unit, or a few. Its the new standard that will be defacto within 2yrs.

techeng · 14-07-2015 10:10pm

Thanks for the feedback

ED_D can you recommend a .11AC unit to buy. I am confused about exactly what I should buy. I see Wifi Routers, Range Extenders, Access Points, WiFi Bridges and Wireless Adapaptors. All very confusing

T

ozmo · 14-07-2015 10:33pm

Bridge worked for me well for me - what ED says is also supposed work and i did try this first- but i went with bridge since it was built in.

Just dont get a range extender- it increases the distance at the expense of wifi speed.

ED E · 15-07-2015 9:29am

Something like this will future proof you for a good while.

Curious Geroge · 11-08-2015 4:30pm

I'm in the same position as techeng. Knowing an access point is what I need, trying to get the most appropraite one without getting the wrong one. I see the following on amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00O4U8AC2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_4&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/367/dp/B008N7VD26/ref=sr_1_13?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1439306415&sr=1-13&keywords=Wireless+Access+Point

http://www.amazon.co.uk/367/dp/B00CFEBQIE/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

The last one seems like the best deal but wondered if it can be used as an access point ?

Cuddlesworth · 11-08-2015 9:09pm

Second and third are routers. You can use them as access points, but they would need to be configured as such. Until they are configured correctly, they can cause a lot of problems on the local network.

Czhornet · 18-08-2015 10:11am

Eircom have a plug in thingy that sends the wifi signal through the copper wires in the house. Are these any good? or should I go with a wifi repeater. Trying to set up an office in the attic of the house, and I have an Eircom grey router in the kitchen but the signal doesn't get that far (prob the hollowcore is blocking the signal)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

ED E · 18-08-2015 10:43am

Czhornet wrote: »

Eircom have a plug in thingy that sends the wifi signal through the copper wires in the house. Are these any good? or should I go with a wifi repeater. Trying to set up an office in the attic of the house, and I have an Eircom grey router in the kitchen but the signal doesn't get that far (prob the hollowcore is blocking the signal)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

That grey yoke is an ancient 2247. Unless you're like 6km from your exchange then you should upgrade it.

Do NOT use repeaters. The homeplugs theyre selling are ususally decent but depends from house to house.

Seesee · 08-09-2015 11:33am

Can I bump this thread and start with saying am very untechnical sorry!

I have the same problem in my house and need to buy something to boost wifi range to upstairs but without reducing quality overall if that's possible. I am confused about the difference between a powerline adapter kit and a wifi range extender. From posts above I see the wifi range extender reduces the overall speed. Is the Powerline adapter kit any good? Does this run the signal through the wiring in the house? This one is recommended by UPC:
http://www.theconnectedsolution.com/2014/
or this one - are they similar??
http://www.elara.ie/productdetail.aspx?productcode=JCENG-XAVB5221-100UKS

I'm with UPC on the 240MB package, not Horizon, have a Cisco router which is ok but an old house with thick walls but fairly decent electrical wiring (I think). I'm getting
Download Speed: 96935 kbps (12116.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 24750 kbps (3093.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
but that's from wifi downstairs and there's only me using it this morning, whereas there will be 5 of us using it later

Advice appreciated.

ozmo · 08-09-2015 12:44pm

Seesee wrote: »

... difference between a powerline adapter kit and a wifi range extender.

With the wifi extender - you make a request, and it retransmits the message to the far away switch - then the reply gets relayed back. An extra hop and frequently all done using the same single wifi radio channel to slow it all down more.

Some have good experiences with powerline - but personally I'd avoid both if possible and take the hit and run some ethernet cables.

It may be a bit of hassle to do invisibly but rarely impossible to do - but
* Its cheaper to run long term (powerline and extenders use a small amount of power)
* more secure (some powerline adapters; tp-links etc. have been hacked - can you be sure your powerline firmware will not be hackable by the guys next door next? LINK )
* and you end up with a much faster and more reliable system to boot.

ThisRegard · 08-09-2015 1:48pm

I wouldn't worry too much about powerline kits and their security, your neighbour can just as much hack your WiFi if they were that way inclined, all decent brands have built in and automatic encryption and security. Your average neighbour is not going to go to all that hassle to hack your network, they'd find easier ways.

And I think more people have had success with them than have had issues, they're the best alternative to re-wiring imo.

ozmo · 08-09-2015 3:14pm

ThisRegard wrote: »

I wouldn't worry too much about powerline kits and their security, your neighbour can just as much hack your WiFi .

You check the link I posted above? It shows the full exploit of several fairly recent powerline adapters that would have been commonly available.
I wouldn't be able to say for sure if the one he lists is in this list as there seem to be various rebrands of the same hardware - the article suggests with a bit more work he could crack many more.

WiFi is much harder currently (using a good password and WPA2(AES)) or no-one would use it.

ThisRegard · 08-09-2015 3:14pm

I did, and I still say it's not something your average neighbour if going to do.

Seesee · 08-09-2015 3:19pm

My neighbours are in their 70s so I think they'd be safe - they do have grandkids though

Seriously though in my case I am not concerned about hacking, the walls are so bloody thick between us (part of the problem in this instance).

So the powerline adapters would be a good bet?

ThisRegard · 08-09-2015 3:30pm

I find them excellent, but the footnote on these is that it depends on your house. My house was built in the last 15 years so would have relatively modern wiring, others with older housing may have issues.

Mine have wireless built in and I just ran a test over wireless and I got 52.57Mbps down, 23.31 up.

Might be worth just trying them out, either by borrowing a set or asking the store if you can return them if they don't work for you.

ozmo · 08-09-2015 3:30pm

ThisRegard wrote: »

I did, and I still say it's not something your average neighbour if going to do.

maybe not your average neighbour, Agreed - but the very thought that its possible, and so easy if you have the wrong one, would make up my mind anyway when there is a better, cheaper and faster option.

Weak Wifi Signal - what do I buy

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