I’m having trouble getting signal in 2 locations, already have one repeater installed, it does the job where it is. Looking for good low cost solution for 2 other locations please. Preferably something i can plug into a power outlet and walk away from, I’m NOT computer savvy and just need a simple easy fix please. Router is 2 years old, has dual band thingy and repeater is inexpensive Chinese brand that works where it is but needed a hard ethernet connection, so i’m looking to avoid that this time around.
Idealy you would run network cable to access points. That requires some knowledge about how to get access points to form one mesh and…
The best “in between” option would be to get powerline ethernet adapters with integrated wifi. That way you are not amplifying a degraded/weak signal.
One big problem of powerline adapters is that they heavily depend on the wireing in your house.
I had acceptable results with TP-Link devices.
2 Likes
Yes, the main repeater has that and works 100%. I need to boost the signal in my bedroom and a corner room of the house. I just want a “booster” for those two areas, any suggestions?
Like this? https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/range-extender/tl-wa850re/
You should look into wifi mesh networks. It functions like a repeater but is much stronger
Home plugs have worked better for me than range extenders. They use the electrical wiring to transport you internet connection, and a lot of them give you the option to the use a cable or wifi.
Couldn’t find the one I use but it’s something like this.
1 Like
Just make sure they are on the same breaker otherwise you might get poor or iffy performance
That’s what I was told, but I’ve never had a problem using them on separate groups. I’m sure there’s some degradation and in some cases it might not work at all, but I’ve never had two of them installed in the same group and I’ve never had any problems (always made sure I could return them if necessary though).
1 Like
boosters and extenders are absolute garbage…deploy proper access points.
in short, boosters and extenders use twice bandwidth as they send / receive at the same time no matter what you’re doing, so you lose half you transmission speed, which could cause issues if you’re streaming music / video or transferring a lot of data.
you could try getting one very powerful solution and put it in a central location…something like the Ubuiquiti UAP-AC-LR or Pro.
3 Likes
This is a very nice system but may be a bit extreme for getting the max out of my 75mbps network service, which i’ve already noticed is throttled down to about half regularly, I’ve had the verizon service technicians at the house 2x and spent many hours over the phone with Verizon arguing about this. The throttle down is standard procedure by verizon towards most home-owners In my region and they flat out will lie about it to your face, I’m tired of arguing over it.
Thank you for taking time to provide links they are much appreciated!
1 Like
hey NM, while your internet may only be 75Mbps…your network is likely gigabit so streaming video / music from online sources won’t need the bandwidth…but if are running multiple streams at the same time via different family members, a boost / extender will throttle and cause lag / stutter / delay.
Also. doing it right the first time means you won’t have additional frustrations or costs later that would end up being more than a proper access point now. My fav brand for this stuff is Ubiquiti, but you can go with any option from the likes of Cisco / LInksys / Dlink/ Netgear / TP-Link etc. Just make sure you choose a device with AC as that is what gives you the range you’re looking for.
1 Like
It’s just me and the GF. She uses her phone for most of her instagram and her tablet has its own internet.
I really just need More signal in my bedroom so i don’t drop calls and same on my screen porch Where i drink coffee now that the warm weather is here.
I will honestly look at all the links and info you guys provided, i just want to make sure i dont drop $3K on a system that won’t give me anything more than i already have. My televisions, and computers are all plugged direct into the walls so all that stuff doesnt need ability to stream. Just my tablet and phone and they work fine most places in the house.
$3K? the AP shouldn’t be more than $200…but you may have to buy a power injector which will be good to let you run up to 100m of cable before the power fades out.
I have a UBNT setup at my place…a USG as my router / gateway, which is connected to a US-8-60w Gb switch with 4x PoE ports that I have my VOIP phones, CloudKey controller and UAP-AC-Lite plugged into. that cost me about $500 CAD a year ago, but I went that way since I work from home and want a secure network I can control.
Hmm, i thought i had to buy ALL the pieces it recommended, the one thingy was like $400 and then add the other 2 parts which came out to another $1k. Mybe i was looking at the wrong one or something too much for my needs…
Do i JUST need an access point or 2?
hey Nick, it might be better to consider their Amplifi setup which is for home users.
they are a bit more, but it’s pro-sumer networking gear and when you compare it against the options from a few others, the price is very similar in the end.
how big is your place? sqft? how many stories / floors? where is the modem and can it be moved to a different spot, if needed?
2 Likes
5500 sq. ft., 3 stories. Prefer not to move Router, allows me to plug my office set-up directly to it which gives top performance for my music and work needs currently. Location is on top floor centrally located in house. I will look into this option, the others were a bit too much for my needs. Thank you for keeping at it, very much appreciated! 
what is your sqft per floor? realistically you need a proper solution that gives you a router / swtich and then one AP per floor. I would look to using a system from the same brand so the configuration / management is all from the same web portal.
1 Like
If you mix and match you have the potential to make your life hell lol
1 Like
My house swears by Ubiquiti APs
1 Like
Could also do that with MikroTik gear.
The cAP Lite for example is a nice cheap 2.4GHz AP.
I have used two of them together with a RB3011UiAS-RM to provide wired and wireless network at a 100 attendee LAN at Uni.
The wireless mesh is not super easy to set up, but you only do that once or twice.
1 Like