Extending wifi - what's worked for you?

stolzy

stolzy

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I have a mixed system including half a dozen TP=Link Powerline adapters and a Netgear orbi Mesh system.

When trying to add some more TP-LINK devices, I'm told that they 'conflict' with each other and therefore can't be configured. Pity as it was quite a pragmatic, if inelegant, solution. Many of these devices have been installed by my security firm for cameras, alarms, access systems etc and can't easily be removed,

The Orbi system is great since it harmonies the access names and passwords. But it is expensive for what you get. I'm thinking of 3-4 new access points (garage, flat, garden etc) in places where the reception is currently poor.

What's worked for you?

We also have periodic outages in internet (Resolving Host). These happen once or twice a day lasting 1-5 mins each. It'd be nice to fix them too, but my hopes are not high.
 
best ring him we used his solution for a number of high profile accounts we service and he's been spot on...!
 
I had real problems with Wifi previously as the standard Virgin router would be lucky to cover 2 rooms in the house, Using 4 x Amazon Eero pro's I can not only stream movies over wifi but have total coverage over the house in the garden - even the car connects to the wifi when in the drive for update and that is notoriously sensitive to signal strength
 
Lo-IQ said:
best ring him we used his solution for a number of high profile accounts we service and he's been spot on...!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip, but it was hardware recommendations I was looking for. The installation and configuration is generally straightforward enough.
 
Nothing,

I have 4 Virgin gigabit powerline hubs for the big stuff, the lappy is fine on 2.5ghz slow speed ;)
 
Some form of mesh Wifi system.

I have the BT "Whole Home" white discs and they have been extremely reliable. We have a rambling old Victorian house with very thick wall, a detached garage with the kid's "den" above it and the wifi has been brilliant throughout the house and garden since I put the system in.

Previously, over the years I have tried power line, various types of routers and extenders and this is hands down the best so far.

The only downside is that it is limited to sustained throughput of about 500Mbps.....but in reality that shouldn't be a problem for anyone. These discs are a few years old now.

Probably best to search to find out who makes the best of the current crop of mesh network kit.
 
Ask one of those Super chaps that land on that beach near you. They will know as they are all well qualified in something :D

|Failing that i use the Sky mesh system and its been good as many bits of the house seem to be electrically shielded and defeat normal routers
 
I use the Ubiquiti UniFi access points in a combination of wired and meshed solutions. Range and speed very good and have them installed in a few properties including large farmhouse with very thick walls and in steel clad workshops and barns.
 
I’m using a Fritzbox and it’s been superb. Considering we have granite walls it pretty much covers the whole house.
I have some Devolo extenders but they’re largely redundant since we got the Fritzbox.
 
Ubiquiti Unifi as per previous post. Superb performance no idea how it’s all done as I paid for installation.
 
Tenda nova mesh network cubes.

Wish I’d bought them ages ago. Two mins to install and they completely transformed the WiFi coverage in our old barn conversion.

I bought the mw3 model (with three cubes) and I think I only paid £50.

I’ve recommended them to a few family and friends and everyone has loved them.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I went mesh with Google Wifi which I’ve had for a couple of years now, the 3 picks give me enough coverage around the house, garage and garden. It’s a little long in the tooth now Google WiFi so I may upgrade to a Google Nest or other brand.
 
stolzy said:
Thanks for the tip, but it was hardware recommendations I was looking for. The installation and configuration is generally straightforward enough.
Click to expand...

Had a similar setup as you mention, re powerlink all over the place, extenders etc.

After switching broadband supplier, I then installed BT whole home Wi-Fi, even using a power line Ethernet switch some 50m away and connecting another bit disc there to extend the home Wi-Fi.

Throughput and speeds seem consistent, no drop outs and we have plenty of devices on the network here, it’s not going to be the gold standard for speed, but considering the cost it’s worked out better than I expected. I’d recommend looking into it.
 
Ubiquiti Unifi UAP-AP-Lite, or if you likely techy stuff, the new Mikrotik Audience kit with three radios so you can use one 5GHz channel for the mesh and still have both 2.4GHz and 5GHz free for clients
 
I got the latest BT AX3700 Mesh disks (£300 for 3 but got "refurbished" off eBay for £180 and just like new). The newer ones use a different channel for back-traffic so work faster. The BT WiFI app works well for set up and management; e.g. you can allow guests online without compromising your network key.

We have ironstone walls which make every room a Faraday cage, but careful positioning made it work well, even far into the garden.

HTH

A
 
Just installed a 3 access point Ubiquiti system that I am very happy with. Cat 6 wiring to each unit. Ethernet over power is quick fix solution as is whole home wifi. Installing Cat 6 or Cat 5e will allow you to run gigabit ethernet. I went for the AC-PRO as it can handle multiple devices at once. Also my setup allows me to run one network for the whole house and garden. As I move around the access point with the strongest signal picks up the mobile device. Not a problem for most people but gigabit broadband is being rolled out in the UK. Most homes in the UK get below 100mbs. Investing in a good setup now will allow you to maximise speed over 100mbs. I have 65mb coming into the router and I am getting 64mb to my phone. In my old setup I was getting 65mb into the router and 30mb to the phone. The setup was about £400 for the equipment. As we were renovating a room in the centre of the house I had easy access to floor boards to run the cables to the ground and first floor. On the first day I got a warning that one of my AP was broadcasting on an airplane landing frequency which the unit quickly changed! I also replaced any old switches with 1gb ethernet as I have wiring in different parts of the house. PM me if you need any more help.
 
Mucky Helmet said:
I use the Ubiquiti UniFi access points in a combination of wired and meshed solutions. Range and speed very good and have them installed in a few properties including large farmhouse with very thick walls and in steel clad workshops and barns.
Click to expand...

+1 for Ubiquiti - very good
 
andysdad said:
I got the latest BT AX3700 Mesh disks (£300 for 3 but got "refurbished" off eBay for £180 and just like new). The newer ones use a different channel for back-traffic so work faster. The BT WiFI app works well for set up and management; e.g. you can allow guests online without compromising your network key.

We have ironstone walls which make every room a Faraday cage, but careful positioning made it work well, even far into the garden.

HTH

A
Click to expand...

I think I'll try them too.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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