Best way to improve Wi-Fi signal at home??

Worth noting that the vast majority of routers can be used as access points. So if you have an old one e you could use that plugged in to a powerline adapter.
 
Actually found an old Linksys router and managed to set it to "bridge mode" that seems to have worked - although at the moment it's a separate network so I have to choose which to connect to!

Is it literally as simple as giving the additional router the same SSID and they should show as a single network?
 
Which Linksys model is it? Ideally you want to turn off DHCP on it, set it a different IP from the first router, and set the gateway details to the main router so devices connected to the Linksys router can still see devices on the rest of the network.

And yes, just set the wireless to the same name, but make sure it's on a different channel, about 5 channels above or below. For example if the main router is on channel 1, the second wireless would be on channel 6 so they don't overlap with each other: http://i.imgur.com/sXUtRK9.png
 
Sorry for the late reply - I've still not sorted anything more than trying to wire up my spare router (Linksys WAG160N) and it sort of works I guess!

It's plugged into my top room powerline adapter and then the PC plugged in to one of the ethernet ports.

The issue is I've not changed the SSID and so it's showing up as a separate network rather than just an "extension" of the main TP Link one! - Is it literally just a case of calling it the same name as the main TP Link network and making sure the channels are suitably apart? (I assume then it will show as a single network rather than two??)
 
StevieP said:
Sorry for the late reply - I've still not sorted anything more than trying to wire up my spare router (Linksys WAG160N) and it sort of works I guess!

It's plugged into my top room powerline adapter and then the PC plugged in to one of the ethernet ports.

The issue is I've not changed the SSID and so it's showing up as a separate network rather than just an "extension" of the main TP Link one! - Is it literally just a case of calling it the same name as the main TP Link network and making sure the channels are suitably apart? (I assume then it will show as a single network rather than two??)
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Yes. That way your devices can freely roam from one router to the other depending on which is the strongest signal.
 
OK, the wireless on my TP Link has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz and both channels are set to "Auto" (as is the "channel width) - do I need to make sure these aren't overlapping too? (and does it matter what numbers I select - are some better than others??)

Also, I assume I need to assign the same WiFi password to both?
 
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StevieP said:
OK, the wireless on my TP Link has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz and both channels are set to "Auto" (as is the "channel width) - do I need to make sure these aren't overlapping too? (and does it matter what numbers I select - are some better than others??)

Also, I assume I need to assign the same WiFi password to both?
Click to expand...

Set the 2.4GHz to a manual channel, so it will never overlap with the Linksys. If the Linksys does not have 5GHz then you can leave this alone. Then yes, make sure both router's wireless name, password and security type are the same, only difference being a different channel.

It doesn't matter what channel you use, but using a non-congested one is ideal for maximum coverage/performance. Wifi Analyzer as suggested above is a good app to check, but for Android only.
 
Managed to rename the Linksys network SSID to the same as the TP Link one, manually set the channels apart and it seems to have done the trick! (well only a single network is showing now anyway!)

I tried streaming a TV show to my new Shield K1 tablet whilst 2 feet from the Linksys signal and it worked perfectly whereas it stuttered and failed last night while I was on the middle floor! (streaming from the main router downstairs)

The acid test will be tonight when I stream the same thing while on the middle floor - hopefully the signal from the upstairs Linksys router provides a stronger signal than the one from the TP link router downstairs!
 
Hmmm, while I think the signal has improved in the bedroom, but I'm still getting the odd stutter while streaming full HD content!

I'm wondering whether I could get one of these and plus it straight into the wall socket in the bedroom to benefit from the WiFi "hotspot"??

Would a Devolo powerline plug play nicely with my existing TP Link ones do we think?
 
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