How to improve broadband throughout house?

bonsai_73 · 14-01-2021 2:17pm #1

Hi, hoping someone can advise here, as I'm completely clueless when it comes to this stuff. Just had SIRO 1gb installed, 3 bed semi. Getting 4-500mbps in the room with the router and the two bedrooms above it. But I'm getting a max so far on the other side of the house of about 70mbps, but as low as 10-20.

The house is about 1000sq ft, so not in any way large, and I'm only stepping a few feet from one door to the next room. Is there anything I can do to improve this, or can anyone recommend a specific device I can buy to try to improve this in the slower side of the house? As I said, I'm completely clueless with how to improve this, so would appreciate any and all help, thanks.

ED E · 14-01-2021 3:50pm

bonsai_73 wrote: »

as I'm completely clueless when it comes to this stuff ....... Just had SIRO 1gb installed

Why?

Fixing your coverage is a legit concern but why are people pissing away money *monthly* for zero benefit.

bonsai_73 · 14-01-2021 4:57pm

ED E wrote: »

Why?

Fixing your coverage is a legit concern but why are people pissing away money *monthly* for zero benefit.

Not sure I understand exactly what you're asking or what the relevance of the two pieces of information from my post that you quoted was...

But why did I have SIRO installed? Because I wanted better internet speed than the 0-5mpbs average I was getting. As to why am I paying for broadband - because it's not free??

smuggler.ie · 15-01-2021 9:51am

i guess key word is 1GB

higster · 15-01-2021 9:58am

bonsai_73 wrote: »

Hi, hoping someone can advise here, as I'm completely clueless when it comes to this stuff. Just had SIRO 1gb installed, 3 bed semi. Getting 4-500mbps in the room with the router and the two bedrooms above it. But I'm getting a max so far on the other side of the house of about 70mbps, but as low as 10-20.

The house is about 1000sq ft, so not in any way large, and I'm only stepping a few feet from one door to the next room. Is there anything I can do to improve this, or can anyone recommend a specific device I can buy to try to improve this in the slower side of the house? As I said, I'm completely clueless with how to improve this, so would appreciate any and all help, thanks.

Google “mesh WiFi network” (probably your best bet), WiFi extenders (wasn’t really effective for me) or (expensive) ubiquity networks.

MBSnr · 15-01-2021 10:52am

bonsai_73 wrote: »

Not sure I understand exactly what you're asking or what the relevance of the two pieces of information from my post that you quoted was...

But why did I have SIRO installed? Because I wanted better internet speed than the 0-5mpbs average I was getting. As to why am I paying for broadband - because it's not free??

He's basically saying "why did you get 1Gb installed when you are at best only able to use 50% of the speed".

The best way to test is via a LAN cable from a laptop or PC (with 1Gb network card). That way you'll know if you are getting the advertised speed you are supposed to. Any test over wifi can give variable results as you have found out. Once you know the speed is correct over a wired cable you can look to improve the wifi coverage. If the speed over a wired cable isn't what you expect (in the 900Mbps+ range) then there's a possible issue with your install.

bonsai_73 · 15-01-2021 11:17am

MBSnr wrote: »

He's basically saying "why did you get 1Gb installed when you are at best only able to use 50% of the speed".

Thanks for your help in clarifying. Well basically the reason I got 1gb installed was that in my location, I had the option of sticking with the "up to 10mbps" speed that I was on (and getting about 2mbps), or get the 1gb SIRO. There were no other options, nothing in between. I didn't get it because I expected/wanted to get 1gb of speed, I was just happy that there was finally an alternative here. And in terms of price, it's cheaper per month than what I was paying before.

Anyway, I'm sorry if it seemed in my post that I was complaining of not receiving the 1gb speed, that wasn't my intention. Again, I know I don't need 1gb, and I did know that the advertised speed was what's available through a cable and not over wifi.

My issue was that I was getting much lower speeds on one side of the house and wondered what (if anything) I could do to improve it there. I will do as suggested above and google "mesh networks", but if anyone can recommend something in particular, I'd be very grateful. Thanks.

carq · 15-01-2021 11:23am

mesh wifi
plenty of options

Turn off wifi on your router
plug one mesh box into your router
One a bit further away
and another a bit further away again

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/mesh-wifi/

bonsai_73 · 15-01-2021 1:22pm

carq wrote: »

mesh wifi
plenty of options

Turn off wifi on your router
plug one mesh box into your router
One a bit further away
and another a bit further away again

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/mesh-wifi/

Thanks very much for the link, very helpful. Looking at the Deco M4 on Amazon now, so will check that out in more detail. Thanks

johnnyboy08 · 15-01-2021 1:38pm

bonsai_73 wrote: »

Thanks very much for the link, very helpful. Looking at the Deco M4 on Amazon now, so will check that out in more detail. Thanks

Looking at the M5 to boost a Sky Hub signal myself. A triple Deco M5 pack is 169 on komplett.ie at the moment, double is 129 I think. These get some decent reviews and seem to be easier to get up and running than Google WiFi.

bonsai_73 · 15-01-2021 1:43pm

johnnyboy08 wrote: »

Looking at the M5 to boost a Sky Hub signal myself. A triple Deco M5 pack is 169 on komplett.ie at the moment, double is 129 I think. These get some decent reviews and seem to be easier to get up and running than Google WiFi.

Thanks. The M4 is about 115 for the triple pack. Do you think it would be worth paying the extra for the M5 or would the M4 do pretty much the same job?

carq · 15-01-2021 2:14pm

Mesh works best if the current router is in a central location in the house.

In my case the access point in a semi D was right in the corner which is not ideal - first box plugs in there.
Second box needs to be close enough to still have a good signal to the first one ( but far enough to extend the network). Line of sight is best.
Third box should be again close enough to second to ensure signal but far enough to get all blackspots.

My setup below works well , all 3 boxes are downstairs.

X router
.
.
.
X..............X

bonsai_73 · 15-01-2021 2:51pm

carq wrote: »

Mesh works best if the current router is in a central location in the house.

In my case the access point in a semi D was right in the corner which is not ideal - first box plugs in there.
Second box needs to be close enough to still have a good signal to the first one ( but far enough to extend the network). Line of sight is best.
Third box should be again close enough to second to ensure signal but far enough to get all blackspots.

My setup below works well , all 3 boxes are downstairs.

X router
.
.
.
X..............X

Thanks, mine would be similar in that the router is in a corner. Found an image that has a similar layout to my house. So in this image below, my router is in the corner at the top right of pic. To keep line of sight, I'd have to add the second one in the same room. The next available socket is in the utility, which is where the hallway is marked in this pic. Would one of those work? And would you recommend all 3 downstairs, or put one upstairs? The far corner of the upstairs seems to be a fairly dead spot (so above the bottom left corner of pic). Thanks

carq · 15-01-2021 4:05pm

Can be trial and error.
Most systems come with an app during install which will give feedback if stations are too far.

In my case I tried a box upstairs but was communication was too weak between boxes.
each house is difference / less walls etc between boxes the better.

bonsai_73 · 15-01-2021 4:29pm

carq wrote: »

Can be trial and error.
Most systems come with an app during install which will give feedback if stations are too far.

In my case I tried a box upstairs but was communication was too weak between boxes.
each house is difference / less walls etc between boxes the better.

I'll pick something up and give it a try so. Thanks a million for all your help.

johnnyboy08 · 15-01-2021 4:29pm

bonsai_73 wrote: »

Thanks. The M4 is about 115 for the triple pack. Do you think it would be worth paying the extra for the M5 or would the M4 do pretty much the same job?

No idea to be honest, just looking at getting up to speed on these too. All I can say is read as many reviews as you can and check if the differences between the M4 and M5 are worth the price hike. If they're not then you might as well save a few quid and go with the M4.

cruizer101 · 15-01-2021 5:08pm

M5 look nicer I think, ideally would like to have something like that ceiling or wall mounted which would suit the M5 much better.

Nonoperational · 16-01-2021 4:05pm

I’d highly recommend the Netgear Orbi RBK53. I have it in a A rated new house which was a mess before I got it and I get 500Mbit in every corner of the house now. I do have 3 satellites but its worth it because once its set up and sorted its outstanding.

Its about 400 quid on Amazon though. But with such good broadband its worth it.

Glebee · 21-01-2021 12:01pm

Silly question time. Will a mesh setup extend the 5ghz wifi signal or just the 2.4ghz? Only just figured out that the 5ghz is faster after ignoring it for years:o

dodzy · 23-01-2021 7:36am

bonsai_73 wrote: »

Thanks very much for the link, very helpful. Looking at the Deco M4 on Amazon now, so will check that out in more detail. Thanks

You won’t go wrong with the M4. Setup is a sinch . Rock solid performance. I actually gave power city my 120€ - was going with amazon but savings were negligible. If you’re having issues with patchy BB, Assuming you can get a good signal on a WiFi test while close to the modem/router, then the m4 is the job.

dodzy · 23-01-2021 7:41am

bonsai_73 wrote: »

Thanks, mine would be similar in that the router is in a corner. Found an image that has a similar layout to my house. So in this image below, my router is in the corner at the top right of pic. To keep line of sight, I'd have to add the second one in the same room. The next available socket is in the utility, which is where the hallway is marked in this pic. Would one of those work? And would you recommend all 3 downstairs, or put one upstairs? The far corner of the upstairs seems to be a fairly dead spot (so above the bottom left corner of pic). Thanks

Line of sight in a regular 3/4 bed 2 storey house is nonsense & simply not achievable in Pretty much all regular scenarios. I’ve one m4 in the sitting room corner, by the VM supplied equipment, one by the back door and one on the landing. They could not be further apart. Perfect.

This should be fine:

cubatahavana · 23-01-2021 7:50am

4 bed, 3 floors. 1 Gb Virgin broadband in the ground floor (exterior corner). One M4 there, one in the first floor office, one in the second floor main bedroom.

250 mb at the top of the house. Could it be better if I tinker around with the locations? Maybe. Am I bothered? No

Love it. Not going back

Tabby McTat · 23-01-2021 8:44am

As others have said line of sight between the mesh units is definitely not necessary unless you have steel plated walls.

I have the Linksys Velop mesh system and it has been a complete game changer.

I think they will all have 2.4ghz and 5ghz networks. These are known as dual band systems. Tri band systems have a separate 2.4ghz channel (I think) for the individual units to communicate with each other.

dubrov · 23-01-2021 8:54am

Options are in order of best results

1) Run a Cat6 cable from your router to the other side of the house and install an access point
2) Wifi Mesh System
3) Move router to more central location if possible
4) Upgrade router to one with bigger range
5) Use Homeplugs and access point

Only 1 and 2 will definitely work well.

BeepBeep67 · 23-01-2021 9:17am

I have Tenda Nova 3 node set up and then added another to the sun room to extend wifi to the shed.
Generally works very well, every now and then I need to power cycle my sh1tty Eircom modem.
Also my home office (spare bedroom) is directly above the room with the primary node so I ran a cable directly to my PC dock.
Also placed one of the nodes behind the main TV an run a small powered switch off that and hardwired the tv etc (not sure if that's overkill).

bonsai_73 · 23-01-2021 5:16pm

Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice and suggestions. Ended up picking up the M4 and set it up similar to the pic attached from dodzy (with the unit on the left in an upstairs room). Speeds much improved and no deadspots. Highly recommend the M4 to others based on my limited experience of it now!

dodzy wrote: »

TheDriver · 23-01-2021 5:27pm

I have the M4 and they do the job very well. Depends on the device but there's a good 200-300 on wifi in most of the ground floor.
Don't get the E4, they only have 100 ports on the back so pointless yokes

To Ed E, I got the 1Gig because it was the cheap package being peddled by PURE at the time. No 500 options. If 500 was a fiver cheaper, I'd have gone for that. But I am not throwing money away a month, in fact I'm paying less than I was for VDSL which was on a cheaper offer anyways.

PeeJayIEee · 26-01-2021 12:41pm

Another option would be a powerline system. From what you say it would seem that the Wi-Fi is being heavily attenuated by the physical obstructions, powerline would would get around this issue. Even the latest technology used by Mesh systems suffers from Wi-Fi signal obstruction issues - it's just the physics of EM radiation.

Powerline systems used to provide much less than promised, but technology has moved along with these devices too, so some are now a reasonable workaround option. The TP-Link TL-PA9020P KIT is one example of a good high speed option.

BronsonTB · 26-01-2021 12:46pm

I've also used powerline wifi boosters & they've worked well for me.
(Both wired & wifi connections)

j14 · 26-01-2021 2:26pm

Also if buying from Amazon don't forget to include the additional VAT and import fees.

How to improve broadband throughout house?

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