Extending wifi signal upstairs

[Lesleyfool]

Hi

My Dad is having problems with receiving a signal upstairs. He is not young and pretty deaf so that creates problems getting things sorted out.

What is the best option for him please?

His provider is Virgin.

Is there such a thing as an additional modem upstairs? Do these extenders really work?

His pc is upstairs as well and he has run a cable from the modem downstairs through the floor to upstairs so that works okay.

Sounds daft but could he plug his ipad into the pc and piggy back off that connection and if so how?

Can anyone help please?

[Urbandreamer]

There are many ways of doing this.

A lot of people are happy with mesh systems. Basically a modern extender system. But you can need a number of repeaters. The advantage is that it provides very good coverage.

A more traditional alternative is the powerline system, which is what I use.
An adapter at the modem communicates over the house wiring. Plug in devices provide a local WiFi signal or a wired Ethernet connection.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=powerline+ ... -doa-p_5_8

You can buy a starter kit and add more of the same standard as needed.

[BullDog]

Hi

My Dad is having problems with receiving a signal upstairs. He is not young and pretty deaf so that creates problems getting things sorted out.

What is the best option for him please?

His provider is Virgin.

Is there such a thing as an additional modem upstairs? Do these extenders really work?

His pc is upstairs as well and he has run a cable from the modem downstairs through the floor to upstairs so that works okay.

Sounds daft but could he plug his ipad into the pc and piggy back off that connection and if so how?

Can anyone help please?

Not the cheapest solution but probably the best available is by Devolo. One adapter plugs into the router and to a nearby mains socket, the other one plugs into a socket upstairs. It can be setup as a clone of the router so that the connection to the WiFi network downstairs or upstairs is seamless. In my experience, it's best to avoid cheaper brands if you want a quiet life. HTH.

https://www.devolo.co.uk/products/magic-powerline

[Nocton]

Yes, definitely the best solution.
We use Solwise Homeplugs (https://www.solwise.co.uk/solution-homeplug.htm and find them very reliable and easy to set up. Their speed is higher than WiFi, which is important if you have a fast broadband connection.

Hi

My Dad is having problems with receiving a signal upstairs. He is not young and pretty deaf so that creates problems getting things sorted out.

What is the best option for him please?

His provider is Virgin.

Is there such a thing as an additional modem upstairs? Do these extenders really work?

His pc is upstairs as well and he has run a cable from the modem downstairs through the floor to upstairs so that works okay.

Sounds daft but could he plug his ipad into the pc and piggy back off that connection and if so how?

Can anyone help please?

Not the cheapest solution but probably the best available is by Devolo. One adapter plugs into the router and to a nearby mains socket, the other one plugs into a socket upstairs. It can be setup as a clone of the router so that the connection to the WiFi network downstairs or upstairs is seamless. In my experience, it's best to avoid cheaper brands if you want a quiet life. HTH.

https://www.devolo.co.uk/products/magic-powerline

[BullDog]

Yes, definitely the best solution.
We use Solwise Homeplugs (https://www.solwise.co.uk/solution-homeplug.htm and find them very reliable and easy to set up. Their speed is higher than WiFi, which is important if you have a fast broadband connection.

Not the cheapest solution but probably the best available is by Devolo. One adapter plugs into the router and to a nearby mains socket, the other one plugs into a socket upstairs. It can be setup as a clone of the router so that the connection to the WiFi network downstairs or upstairs is seamless. In my experience, it's best to avoid cheaper brands if you want a quiet life. HTH.

https://www.devolo.co.uk/products/magic-powerline

Indeed. I haven't used Solwise but I considered them before buying the Devolo stuff. They have a good reputation. I have used two generations of Devolo. They're very reliable and never need a reboot. I am afraid I haven't had good experience with cheaper brands. They work fine until the day they don't. Including TP Link and others.

[bungeejumper]

Not the cheapest solution but probably the best available is by Devolo. One adapter plugs into the router and to a nearby mains socket, the other one plugs into a socket upstairs. It can be setup as a clone of the router so that the connection to the WiFi network downstairs or upstairs is seamless. In my experience, it's best to avoid cheaper brands if you want a quiet life. HTH.

https://www.devolo.co.uk/products/magic-powerline

Not the first time I've agreed with Bulldog on that one! Yes, my Devolo powerline set-up is much, much better than the cheaper tp-link system that I bought the first time round. It works for us, and we have two foot thick stone walls in this house!

BJ

[BullDog]

Not the cheapest solution but probably the best available is by Devolo. One adapter plugs into the router and to a nearby mains socket, the other one plugs into a socket upstairs. It can be setup as a clone of the router so that the connection to the WiFi network downstairs or upstairs is seamless. In my experience, it's best to avoid cheaper brands if you want a quiet life. HTH.

https://www.devolo.co.uk/products/magic-powerline

Not the first time I've agreed with Bulldog on that one! Yes, my Devolo powerline set-up is much, much better than the cheaper tp-link system that I bought the first time round. It works for us, and we have two foot thick stone walls in this house!

BJ

A very common experience. In the past I have used and got rid of TP Link, Belkin, Linksys, Sling and Netgear stuff.

Solwise looks OK too though as mentioned above.

[DrFfybes]

When we got the solar kit fitted into the garage there was no wifi.

We got a £15 TPlink extender from Argos or PC World (they're next to each other on the local retails park so I'd have used the place with one in stock)....
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1115138

Looks like they've gone up a quid, but it basically relays the BT router and uses the same password (although you need to re-enter it on the devices as the extender has a different ID).

If I go out of range of the Router, the laptop just switches to the extender.

We have powerline extenders for other areas, but they only output on a socket (not wifi) and the Solar system only has a wifi input, no RJ45 socket.

Paul

[NearlyThere]

If he's with Virgin, he may be eligible for one of their wifi boosters free of charge

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/how-to ... -wifi-pods

[Infrasonic]

Easiest solution - Powerline as already suggested. Get the plugs with ethernet sockets and WiFi capability for flexibility.

Other options.

Get an installer to run an ethernet cable (CAT 6a or better) from the modem/router up to the landing and ceiling mount a WAP (Wireless Access Point) which will look like a slightly bigger smoke detector. That will give you good coverage over the upstairs portion of the house.

If you have an older Virgin cable install you might have a load of coax sockets and cabling already in the house - in which case there is a solution similar to the Powerline one for that called MoCA...https://mocalliance.org/index.php

The advantage over Powerline is that you get pretty much line speed ethernet throughput, whereas with powerline you'll get around a third of the headline advertised rate at best due to the 'noise' issues around using mains cables as the transmission medium.

[Lesleyfool]

This sounds good. He already has a connection from his modem through the floorboards to his office upstairs and plugs his pc into this.

I think if I can get a computer IT person this would be the best option. No drawbacks?

[Infrasonic]

This sounds good. He already has a connection from his modem through the floorboards to his office upstairs and plugs his pc into this.

I think if I can get a computer IT person this would be the best option. No drawbacks?

If the cable/box in his office is ethernet to an RJ45 box then all you'd need would be a cheap 4 port ethernet switch (£10ish) and either the ceiling mounted WAP as above or a free standing WAP that could be moved around a bit to find the sweet spot.

The latter could easily be done DIY - you just plug the output from the upstairs RJ45 socket into the input of the switch and the office PC into one output of the switch and run another ethernet cable from another switch output socket to the WAP.

You can get flat ethernet cables to run under carpet or along the top of skirting boards.

[mc2fool]

Not the cheapest solution but probably the best available is by Devolo. One adapter plugs into the router and to a nearby mains socket, the other one plugs into a socket upstairs. It can be setup as a clone of the router so that the connection to the WiFi network downstairs or upstairs is seamless. In my experience, it's best to avoid cheaper brands if you want a quiet life. HTH.

https://www.devolo.co.uk/products/magic-powerline

Not the first time I've agreed with Bulldog on that one! Yes, my Devolo powerline set-up is much, much better than the cheaper tp-link system that I bought the first time round. It works for us, and we have two foot thick stone walls in this house!

BJ

At those prices I'd hope so!

But WiFi coverage aside, what sort of real world Ethernet<->Ethernet throughput do you get with these? At my current place I have a Gigabit Ethernet LAN, over which I do backups from my PCs to a NAS drive and that fair flies. But I'll be moving soon and the layout of the new place, along with where various devices will go, will make Ethernet cabling round it quite a faff, so I'm wondering how fast these Powerline devices can go in real life....?

[Infrasonic]

This sounds good. He already has a connection from his modem through the floorboards to his office upstairs and plugs his pc into this.

I think if I can get a computer IT person this would be the best option. No drawbacks?

If the cable/box in his office is ethernet to an RJ45 box then all you'd need would be a cheap 4 port ethernet switch (£10ish) and either the ceiling mounted WAP as above or a free standing WAP that could be moved around a bit to find the sweet spot.

The latter could easily be done DIY - you just plug the output from the upstairs RJ45 socket into the input of the switch and the office PC into one output of the switch and run another ethernet cable from another switch output socket to the WAP.

You can get flat ethernet cables to run under carpet or along the top of skirting boards.

Forgot to mention - if the ethernet switch has PoE capability (Power over Ethernet) then you could avoid having to plug the WAP into a mains source as well, it would get ethernet signal and power all over the one ethernet cable. PoE comes in various flavours. +, ++ etc. the more pluses the more power it provides.

[bungeejumper]

At those prices I'd hope so!

Ah well, my Devolo system is three years old, so it isn't the latest high-spec model. Cost me somewhere around £70 for the whole caboodle, including two main adaptors and a wifi. Does the job reliably - no dropouts on the TV, which was not the case with the tp-link. And the location of the wifi adaptor is less critical. Ours gets a good signal on both floors of the house.

But WiFi coverage aside, what sort of real world Ethernet<->Ethernet throughput do you get with these? At my current place I have a Gigabit Ethernet LAN, over which I do backups from my PCs to a NAS drive and that fair flies. But I'll be moving soon and the layout of the new place, along with where various devices will go, will make Ethernet cabling round it quite a faff, so I'm wondering how fast these Powerline devices can go in real life....?

Sorry, no fibre out here in the sticks, so we only get 30 mbits coming down the wires to start with. 130 mbps through my computer's antique Netgear adapter, which is fast enough for me. But then, I don't game or do video editing. Others may have more relevant info for you.

BJ

[Gerry557]

I think a mesh system is probably the easiest to use. I've had powerlines and mesh.

[pompeygazza]

I've got one of these. It's ace.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07RB743K8? ... ct_details

[Urbandreamer]

As I said, more options than you can shake a stick at.

However if he already HAS a Ethernet wire, then the solution really is a WiFi access point. As I understand it a Ethernet hub wont help with WiFi devices like phones or tablets. Despite being the "best" solution. Well technically you could plug a USB Ethernet adapter in then plug that into the hub, but it's a horrid solution.

I'd be tempted by something like this.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/GL-iNet-GL-SFT ... 2FMH5&th=1

Not the "best" solution. There will be better WiFi access points that support connections to many more devices at once. But you are not spec'ing a hotel or conference center. Such solutions don't cost a huge amount more, but are significantly more scary, as the assumption is that they will be professionally installed.

[mc2fool]

But WiFi coverage aside, what sort of real world Ethernet<->Ethernet throughput do you get with these? At my current place I have a Gigabit Ethernet LAN, over which I do backups from my PCs to a NAS drive and that fair flies. But I'll be moving soon and the layout of the new place, along with where various devices will go, will make Ethernet cabling round it quite a faff, so I'm wondering how fast these Powerline devices can go in real life....?

Sorry, no fibre out here in the sticks, so we only get 30 mbits coming down the wires to start with. 130 mbps through my computer's antique Netgear adapter, which is fast enough for me. But then, I don't game or do video editing. Others may have more relevant info for you.

BJ

Fibre or not fibre and your connection to the outside world is irrelevant to my question.

I'm asking about Ethernet<->Ethernet throughput through these Powerlines, i.e. the speed of your wired LAN (Local Area Network) between devices in your home when going through them.

If you have a PC downstairs and another PC (or a NAS or ...) upstairs and the path between them goes through Powerlines, how fast does a large file transfer go between them (assuming both ends have gigabit ethernet capability)?

[Urbandreamer]

Sorry, no fibre out here in the sticks, so we only get 30 mbits coming down the wires to start with. 130 mbps through my computer's antique Netgear adapter, which is fast enough for me. But then, I don't game or do video editing. Others may have more relevant info for you.

BJ

Fibre or not fibre and your connection to the outside world is irrelevant to my question.
...
If you have a PC downstairs and another PC (or a NAS or ...) upstairs and the path between them goes through Powerlines, how fast does a large file transfer go between them (assuming both ends have gigabit ethernet capability)?

How long is a piece of string?
If someone else is downloading over the powerline at the same time, less good.

It's fast enough for me to watch stuff on Prime or my wife to watch Eurosport on the FireStick, via WiFi. Our NAS is not fast, but is that the powerline or the NAS? I'm also not running the latest powerline stuff, but a set of secondhand TP-Link devices limited to 600Mbps (AV600) rather than 2000Mbps for a recent set.

Of course you could just watch youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb8jUqSZZxc