Homeplug with wifi

pm.

Hi All

This question has probably been ask a lot, but I have the upc horizon box and find that the wifi signal is ****e upstairs in the house. I changed the channel to 6 and this made a bit of an improvement but not much.

I bought a wifi extender and tbh its crap, what homeplug would you recommend with wifi built in for streaming hd movies etc. ? what speeds could I expect ? im on the 200mb bb

colm_mcm

UPC recommends NETGEAR XWNB5201


Haven't got one myself though.

PC world were doing them for €50 a few weeks ago, they're back to €120 now

pm.

Ok thanks, any idea what speeds could i expect with a homeplug cabled and wireless ?

Dermot McDonnell

I don't know your router, however, may I suggest setting WiFi to 'n only' and 40Mhz channel width if you have not already done so. To get away with that all WiFi devices need to support 802.11 mode n. On the router mode n brings the MIMO 2x2 antennae into play {2 x tx and 2 x RX), that should roughly double throughput.

Also lie the router on it's face n see if signal improves upstairs. Many ISP supplied routers do not have omni directional antennae. The antennae are either on the circuit board and radiate perpendicular to it (e.g. Eircom's F1000), or the antennae are separate from the circuit board and radiate parallel to it (e.g. Vodafone's HG658c). Pointing the antennae where you need signal is always a good idea.

pm.

Hi Dermot

This http://www.upc.ie/horizontv/installation-and-support/set-top-box/ is the horizon box upc supply it also doubles up as a router

Dermot McDonnell

pm. wrote: »

Hi Dermot

This ...

Well UPC are a mine of info, not. It's a Samsung box. Which model? It should be on the label. Can you configure the router from your browser? Look at the network settings, can you set the wireless mode "n only"?

I cannot find any images for the device out of it's case so I cannot tell anything about the wifi antennae array.

major deegan

Dermot McDonnell wrote: »

I don't know your router, however, may I suggest setting WiFi to 'n only' and 40Mhz channel width if you have not already done so. To get away with that all WiFi devices need to support 802.11 mode n. On the router mode n brings the MIMO 2x2 antennae into play {2 x tx and 2 x RX), that should roughly double throughput.

Also lie the router on it's face n see if signal improves upstairs. Many ISP supplied routers do not have omni directional antennae. The antennae are either on the circuit board and radiate perpendicular to it (e.g. Eircom's F1000), or the antennae are separate from the circuit board and radiate parallel to it (e.g. Vodafone's HG658c). Pointing the antennae where you need signal is always a good idea.

Have the same problem with the eircomF1000..minimal signal to upstairs and none to rooms down the hall downstairs... Must try lying it on its face just to see... May have to go for the homeplugs if they're any good!

x43r0

I got this recently and it's perfect. 2mins setup and no problems so far

major deegan

x43r0 wrote: »

I got this recently and it's perfect. 2mins setup and no problems so far

You use the eircom homeplug? Also, is one plug enough to draw signal to opposite end of house? Cheers

Dermot McDonnell

major deegan wrote: »

Have the same problem with the eircomF1000..minimal signal to upstairs and none to rooms down the hall downstairs... Must try lying it on its face just to see... May have to go for the homeplugs if they're any good!

You can certainly set the F1000 to wifi mode N only and 40MHz channel width. That's a must if your wifi devices will do mode n. Point the 'face' or 'back' of the F1000 at the target area. Powerline adaptors can cause noise that will impact VDSL sync rates.

x43r0

major deegan wrote: »

You use the eircom homeplug? Also, is one plug enough to draw signal to opposite end of house? Cheers

No that's the only wifi plug I've used. I have a couple of wired plugs around the house for plugging in things like Xboxes in different rooms, tv box, tv, computer

For the wifi plug, it needs to be in range of the main router signal in order to extend. Think of two circles in a venn diagram

major deegan

Yeah,see what you sayin there...problem is the 'eircom technican' relocated new router from it's central position to one side of house?? When you say wired plugs,do you mean wired back to router location?

pm.

Dermot McDonnell wrote: »

Well UPC are a mine of info, not. It's a Samsung box. Which model? It should be on the label. Can you configure the router from your browser? Look at the network settings, can you set the wireless mode "n only"?

I cannot find any images for the device out of it's case so I cannot tell anything about the wifi antennae array.

Hi Dermot the model number is SMT-G7400/XEN

Dermot McDonnell

pm. wrote: »

Hi Dermot the model number is SMT-G7400/XEN

And can you configure it from your browser? I searches boards.ie and found confirmation that it support WiFi "n only". See how that goes. Legacy devices may not work.

x43r0

major deegan wrote: »

Yeah,see what you sayin there...problem is the 'eircom technican' relocated new router from it's central position to one side of house?? When you say wired plugs,do you mean wired back to router location?

No I mean the wired powerline adapters - essentially the non-wifi version of the plug I linked to above. They work using the power circuits in your house. Plug one into the wall near the router and connect with an ethernet cable then plug another in near your device and connect via ethernet. I use it for the devices above because I like to avoid using wifi for things like games consoles and tv boxes

I have the same situation in that my place is a long shape all on one floor and the router is at one end of the house. I have the wifi extender plugged in around the middle and it boosts the signal to the other end really well

Dermot McDonnell

I have a pair of power line adaptors on adverts. I won't use them myself.

major deegan

x43r0 wrote: »

No I mean the wired powerline adapters - essentially the non-wifi version of the plug I linked to above. They work using the power circuits in your house. Plug one into the wall near the router and connect with an ethernet cable then plug another in near your device and connect via ethernet. I use it for the devices above because I like to avoid using wifi for things like games consoles and tv boxes

I have the same situation in that my place is a long shape all on one floor and the router is at one end of the house. I have the wifi extender plugged in around the middle and it boosts the signal to the other end really well

Grand job,i'll try that. Thanks very much.

ThisRegard

I use this Devolo, http://www.devolo.com/en/Products/dLAN-500-AV-Wireless+/ in a home office that's separate from the house to connect to the router within the house itself.

It's an excellent product. Within the home office I've often got a laptop, internet radio, tablet or phone and either a chromecast or Xbox with Sky Go connected to the wireless plug simultaneously and it's faultless. .

major deegan

ThisRegard wrote: »

I use this Devolo, http://www.devolo.com/en/Products/dLAN-500-AV-Wireless+/ in a home office that's separate from the house to connect to the router within the house itself.

It's an excellent product. Within the home office I've often got a laptop, internet radio, tablet or phone and either a chromecast or Xbox with Sky Go connected to the wireless plug simultaneously and it's faultless. .

Any price on this?

pm.

major deegan wrote: »

Any price on this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Devolo-dLAN-500-Wireless-Starter/dp/B00A67I5EK/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1410540958&sr=1-1&keywords=Devolo+dLAN+500+AV+Wireless%2B+Starter+Kit

Thanks think ill buy it

ThisRegard

The price there on Amazon is the cheapest I've seen it there for a while. I bought it in store from Maplins as I needed it there and then for around €140 it or so I think.

pm.

ThisRegard wrote: »

The price there on Amazon is the cheapest I've seen it there for a while. I bought it in store from Maplins as I needed it there and then for around €140 it or so I think.

yeah i had a quick look on ebay and amazon but amazon was the cheapest by far, looking forward to getting it should arrive wednesday

pm.

Just received and setup the home plug and have to say the speeds and ping upstairs are brilliant the very same as being right beside the horizon box in the sitting room ... would definitely recommend one of these

deshar

The suggestion to lie the F1000 on its face worked well.

Dermot McDonnell

deshar wrote: »

The suggestion to lie the F1000 on its face worked well.

Delighted to hear that, IT solutions don't come much cheaper than that.