Wi-fi question

[CANARYKING 644]

Does anybody know anything about range extensions ? Just had to move the Smart Hub 2 to a different location and now have no internet in our conservatory? Seen one in the EE Shop on line , TP LINK RE220 AC750 for £26.47, is that what I need, cheers

[Herman 9,825]

Can you get one through your internet provider? Ours is through Virgin for a few extra quid a month and it works well.

[Google Bot 3,316]

I got a cheapy TP-Link AC1200 from Amazon to get to the summer house and it's worked great, so same thing as what you're looking at pretty much.

Thing is, with a third party extender you'll be on a different SSID (Wifi Name) to connect to it, even though it's still sharing your internet connection.

It doesn't sound much of a problem, but if you set devices to auto connect, sometimes you can find yourself in the house connected to the extender and thus getting a worse connection - so something to be mindful of.  I just don't set anything to auto connect to it, unless it's fixed out there.

As an alternative you can buy mesh extenders, but they have to be part of the same eco-system (Brand) and will extend your wifi network with the same name so it's more like a single, wider range that you end up with.

But mesh devices are more expensive.  BT call their Mesh products 'Discs' I believe?

That's about the only issue to be aware of, really.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Google Bot

[CANARYKING 644]

7 minutes ago, Google Bot said:

I got a cheapy TP-Link AC1200 from Amazon to get to the summer house and it's worked great, so same thing as what you're looking at pretty much.

Thing is, with a third party extender you'll be on a different SSID (Wifi Name) to connect to it, even though it's still sharing your internet connection.

It doesn't sound much of a problem, but if you set devices to auto connect, sometimes you can find yourself in the house connected to the extender and thus getting a worse connection - so something to be mindful of.  I just don't set anything to auto connect to it, unless it's fixed out there.

As an alternative you can buy mesh extenders, but they have to be part of the same eco-system (Brand) and will extend your wifi network with the same name so it's more like a single, wider range that you end up with.

But mesh devices are more expensive.  BT call their Mesh products 'Discs' I believe?

That's about the only issue to be aware of, really.

I’ve seen the discs, £100 each

[Google Bot 3,316]

2 minutes ago, CANARYKING said:

I’ve seen the discs, £100 each

Yeah it gets expensive, if you're ok with two SSIDs (Wifi Names) appearing, then a third party extender as you're looking at is fine in regards to useability and performance. 

For some people they prefer having the single network extended, and I get that.  It is a much more seamless experience.  This is why (as above) most people will just pay the extra few quid a month to the ISP provided solution.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Google Bot

[CANARYKING 644]

1 hour ago, Google Bot said:

Yeah it gets expensive, if you're ok with two SSIDs (Wifi Names) appearing, then a third party extender as you're looking at is fine in regards to useability and performance. 

For some people they prefer having the single network extended, and I get that.  It is a much more seamless experience.  This is why (as above) most people will just pay the extra few quid a month to the ISP provided solution.

By the “ ISP provided solution “ you mean BT and their discs ?

[Google Bot 3,316]

11 hours ago, CANARYKING said:

By the “ ISP provided solution “ you mean BT and their discs ?

Unfortunately yes, The add-on is called "Complete Wi-Fi" now and costs £10/month extra, and they provide the discs required and guarantee coverage.  That's quite a bit per month to get Wi-Fi back in a room where you already had it though.

It really comes down to whether you're happy with two Wi-Fi networks or want to pay the premium for a single continuous network across the property, really.

To give you an idea - If you go for something like the TP Link, It will create a second network with "_EXT" on the end, and normally carries across the same password as the BT box in an attempt to make setup easier.

And as I said before, the only downside is if you're using a phone/tablet/laptop on the _EXT network and move to another room where it's signal is not so great, you have to switch back to the Smart Hub's Wi-Fi network.

[Thumbbass 322]

I have a similar issue. 

For best results, in my experience, use a mesh system, I've tried single signal boosters too. I have a fairly inexpensive 3 unit mesh system that is positioned around the house and all rooms have excellent reception.

The main unit is connected to your router and creates a new network that is shared to the other units. It provides a far more consistent connection than a single signal booster.

[A Load of Squit 5,221]

Has anyone tried one of those systems that's uses the electric wiring?

 

[Google Bot 3,316]

10 minutes ago, A Load of Squit said:

Has anyone tried one of those systems that's uses the electric wiring?

Yeah they work ok if you're not loading the network up from each one.

Trouble is they can be quite slow if you want to transfer files internally, and have a habit of going out of sync so you have to power them down and resync.  For internet usage they're good.

Ones I have can go 6-12 months without issues, and then at other times they can crap out once and then again within a week - I think it depends on how 'clean' your power line is and what else is on the circuit.  I personally find the Wi-Fi repeaters to be more reliable.

Powerline does have lower latency though, Obviously something gamers prefer to have over wireless.

[CANARYKING 644]

2 hours ago, Thumbbass said:

I have a similar issue. 

For best results, in my experience, use a mesh system, I've tried single signal boosters too. I have a fairly inexpensive 3 unit mesh system that is positioned around the house and all rooms have excellent reception.

The main unit is connected to your router and creates a new network that is shared to the other units. It provides a far more consistent connection than a single signal booster.

Can you kindly provide more details of the mesh system please

[FenwayFrank 2,467]

Just now, CANARYKING said:

Can you kindly provide more details of the mesh system please

And your bank details 

[Thumbbass 322]

6 minutes ago, CANARYKING said:

Can you kindly provide more details of the mesh system please

Yeah - I have a Tenda Nova system - not sure on the model now. I've had it for 2-3 years and it has been stable, probably reset it 2-3 times in that period. I'm sure there are better systems, but I wanted to test at a more affordable price point and haven't needed to upgrade, it does what I need. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=tenda+mesh+wifi+system

[Google Bot 3,316]

3 hours ago, Thumbbass said:

For best results, in my experience, use a mesh system, I've tried single signal boosters too. I have a fairly inexpensive 3 unit mesh system that is positioned around the house and all rooms have excellent reception.

So I presume you disable the Wi-Fi on your router and instead run an ethernet cable from Router to the Nova system and use it's Mesh network entirely for Wi-Fi?

Certainly cheaper than BT, provides a similar Mesh setup AND you're in control of things yourself.... I think that's a smart approach, and a great price - I looked at these things a while back and they were all around £300-400. 

Tempted myself now. 

Do you stream any online video services through it, and how fast is your internet connection to get an idea of how well it's been for you?

[Thumbbass 322]

19 minutes ago, Google Bot said:

So I presume you disable the Wi-Fi on your router and instead run an ethernet cable from Router to the Nova system and use it's Mesh network entirely for Wi-Fi?

Certainly cheaper than BT, provides a similar Mesh setup AND you're in control of things yourself.... I think that's a smart approach, and a great price - I looked at these things a while back and they were all around £300-400. 

Tempted myself now. 

Do you stream any online video services through it, and how fast is your internet connection to get an idea of how well it's been for you?

TBH the router's network is also live in my house at the same time, but because of the reinforcing mesh in my walls it only works in the living room! 

Without giving too much personal information - I should have learned to keep it in my pants and have multiple kids all streaming youtube etc all at once on various devices. TBH it was the reason I went that route because I was sick of the whining. Even with the number of devices connected I have never experienced a noticeable drop in speed so haven't really paid a great deal of attention to the actual speed.

There are system monitoring tools on the mobile app but again - unless there was a problem I haven't actually looked at it other than when setting it all up.

[Herman 9,825]

Anybody else coming to the conclusion that our ISPs are ripping us off?

[littleyellowbirdie 2,595]

Assuming it's plasterboard walls inside?

Range extenders tend to be a bit disappointing in my opinion. They tend to work better if they transmit a distinct SSID rather than duplicating the same SSID as the router, but on the whole they're disappointing. 

There are ISP range extenders, but I'd recommend a set of TP-link decos, which are the best value of the brand mesh systems. Cheapest are the S7 3 pack at about 100 quid (£33 a unit) , but for an extra 60 you can get the X60s (just about £56 a unit) which are wifi 6, which is worth it if you're on fibre.

You do spend a little more on mesh systems compared to range extenders, but the smooth roaming between APs makes it worth it in my view. If you do then, find switch your ISP router into bridge mode and let the system do the routing, or switch the meshes into AP mode instead of router mode.

They all also support ethernet backhaul if you want to cable it, which can be useful if you're contending with thick stone walls.

Edited September 9, 2023 by littleyellowbirdie

[littleyellowbirdie 2,595]

16 hours ago, Herman said:

Anybody else coming to the conclusion that our ISPs are ripping us off?

The French communications market is way more competitive. You can get 300mbps fibre down and 300mbps fibre up for 20 euros a month. The French government has been massively subsidising the fibre rollout though.

Starlink is 40 euros a month against 75 quid a month in the UK.

Re additional hardware, yes they totally take advantage of the fact they're the first port of call for people who want to extend and don't understand the technology.

Edited September 9, 2023 by littleyellowbirdie