Are wifi boosters any good?

Pauliedragon

A couple of months ago we got eir fibre installed. The new router was moved from the hall to a box room about 10 metres away. My bedroom is directly above where it was originally and connection was fine. Now since the installation it's really slow and constantly drops out. It's a standard 3 bed semi so it's not a massive change in distance from the bedroom. I looked up boosters but a lot of info online says they're useless.

NotShero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058415805/are-wifi-boosters-any-good

They are good for people who just need a cheap way of getting some kind of of connection somewhere they didn’t have it before. But I wouldn’t have too high of an expectation on the speed you’ll get as it should be at most half if there is no dedicated backhaul band.

You can get a mesh setup that does kind of the same thing but will be more seamless for your devices switching from one to the other. You can just remove the eir router altogether and connect it to the ONT.

https://amzn.eu/d/0Nm0bKU

https://amzn.eu/d/4YzTnYq

Whereas if you were just to add an extender and want to have it have the same SSID as your eir router then you wouldn’t be guaranteed that your devices will switch from one to the other automatically.

Eir have their own extenders that you could ask for and they should handover your devices to each other well but again the speed would be around half at best. They are €60 to buy but ask eir and see would they maybe give you one, I know Sky just send theirs out for free if someone enquires.

https://www.eir.ie/smartwifi

https://eir-store.ie/eir-smart-wifi-hub

You could try powerline also, where you connect one unit to the router and plug another in the room you need it and it uses your electrical wiring. The max speed you’ll get usually on powerline is 150Mb/s but the latency should be good. It can depend on how old the house wiring is and it is hit and miss for some people.

maik3n

Wifi boosters and powerline adapters are generally useless I'm afraid.

Is there any chance that you could run a cable yourself, from box room to bedroom and put router back where it was to begin with?

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123532448#Comment_123532448

I agree - they have their place. I use one in a hall before a bedroom to boost the signal for that bedroom as I can't get a cable out to it. It's placed just inside the edge of the transmission limit of the main AP.

It's fine and they work ok as a stepping-stone to get onto the main network.

GerardKeating

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058415805/are-wifi-boosters-any-good

Best option is CAT-6 cable to the router if that is practical.

Some form of Mesh WiFi is next best. Some even incorporate Powerline adaptors to link the various nodes together.

Powerline adaptors also work.

Cordell

For a standard 3 bed semi you don't need a booster/mesh or anything complicated, you just need a good wireless router placed ideally somewhere in the middle of your house. Put the Eir router in modem mode, run a cable to a more suitable location, place your router there. Don't get the cheapest, it's an investment, you will keep it for years even if you change the provider.

Medium priced router: https://www.currys.ie/products/asus-tufax3000-v2-wifi-router-ax-3000-dualband-10250023.html

NotShero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123579902#Comment_123579902

I have that exact router but you just won’t get proper coverage around a house with just one access point. You’ll get some kind of connection but you’d be better off with one more somewhere, preferably hard wired. The eir router can be replaced altogether and you can just connect your own device to the ONT.

Cordell

I get proper coverage all around the house, garden, utility room etc with a single wireless router, Nighthawk RAX20 (older model). Indeed you won't get the full bandwidth further away but still it should be more than enough to get the full provider bandwidth i.e. 1Gbps.

NotShero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123579957#Comment_123579957

You won’t get 1Gb or 500Mb all around a house with one access point.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123579957#Comment_123579957

Didn't work for me. Mesh worked best.

Cordell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123580020#Comment_123580020

There may be a corner or two where it drops down to 100Mbps (still good enough) but in all the rooms I do get 500Mbps. I know because I tested it when I placed the router.

I'm not saying that mesh isn't better, I'm just saying that for a standard 3 or 4 bedroom house a good router properly placed can be good enough. Properly placed meaning as central as possible, in all directions including height.

Flinty997

Didn't work for me, I suspect the girder in our kitchen killed the signal.

Power line adapters had been sensitive to noise and electrical loops. Mesh works perfectly.