Bridge LAN + wifi help

luismenendez

luismenendez

luismenendez

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Joined
11 Dec 2005
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Brighton
Hi guys,

I bridged my ethernet port (goes through electricity mains to the dual-band Vodafone router) and wifi using some basic instructions from the internet but the performance was very low especially for the upload speed so I wonder if someone with experience could guide me to do it properly?

I am not looking for extra speed, what I want is a more reliable connection to be able to play online as the LAN alone sometimes lose connection, and using only the wifi the signal is weak (so sometimes also lose connection) as there are 2 stories between the router and the PC.

Windows 10 home 20H2 and the motherboard is the Phantom X 570 of my signature which has dual-band. The router is from Vodafone also with dual-band.

Any guidance would be much appreciated :)
 
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By “bridging” your ethernet like this you’re probably slowing your system down to whatever the slowest speed connection is.

Your best option is to run a cable from wherever the Vodafone hub is located to your PC.

Any other solution is just rearranging the deckchairs on the titanic.
 
the hub is on the ground floor and the PC on the 2nd floor so a direct cable is out of question. I have connected the LAN by cable using the electrical cables of the house.

I am not looking for a combined speed, just for a more reliable connection to avoid drops when I am playing online.

Thanks
 
luismenendez said:
the hub is on the ground floor and the PC on the 2nd floor so a direct cable is out of question.
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What makes that out of the question?

luismenendez said:
I have connected the LAN by cable using the electrical cables of the house.

I am not looking for a combined speed, just for a more reliable connection to avoid drops when I am playing online.
Click to expand...

Powerline/Homeplug networking (i.e. over electric cables) is hit and miss - it works fine for some people and for others like yourself not very well. This is likely due to the quality/structure of your electrical circuits.

The only thing worth checking is that you haven't plugged the homeplugs into either extension leads or surge protectors - Ideally they should be plugged directly into wall sockets at both ends.

To ensure reliability in all situations you need a cabled connection, neither Powerline or Wifi can guarantee this (and often it's outside your control e.g. interference from neighbours etc)
 
luismenendez said:
the hub is on the ground floor and the PC on the 2nd floor so a direct cable is out of question. I have connected the LAN by cable using the electrical cables of the house.

I am not looking for a combined speed, just for a more reliable connection to avoid drops when I am playing online.

Thanks
Click to expand...

As I said, by doing this dual-link you will be running both lines slower than the fastest of the two individual lines.

Don't kid yourself that you've done anything clever by using the mains cables to move your data. It's a massively compromised system and it's pretty crap.

You don't say what powerline adapters you have but most of them are awful. Many are limited by 100Mbps ethernet ports on the adapters themselves so you need to shop carefully for ones that are advertised as VERY fast and then they won't run at anything like that speed, but they will run faster. I personally swear by the Mikrotik C5 Powerline Pro PL7510Gi adapters. Remember you'll need at least 2. So they're not cheap at about £120 the pair. They are pretty good though (for Powerlines) So they're still pretty crap compared to an ethernet cable.

As @Armageus has asked, why does having the Vodafone box on one floor and the PC on another rule out a wired connection? If both have nearby external walls it's two 8mm holes, a couple of cable noses and (ideally) a couple of surface mount boxes. If you get the right kind of cable you don't even need trunking. Just tack the cable(s) to the wall. Or, go CAT5e and run the cable along the skirting boards, under or over door frames - whatever it needs. BT Openreach engineers almost never drill holes when they run telephone extensions inside houses. And it needn't look hideous. White CAT5e soon blends into the top of the skirting board. And you'll thank yourself for doing it when you have a fast, rock-solid connection to the internet for whatever purpose you need it for.
 
I have 3 TP-Link 500mbs (so medium speed), one on each floor (3 floors in total).

I don't know much about networking so I thought that a bridge would increase the speed by combining both ports but after my experience confirming that it is not the case, I have removed the bridge.

The Hub is in the south of the ground floor and the office in the north of the second floor so it would be like wholes in 2 floors + 15 meters of cable which is not worthy as I lose connection for a few seconds just 3 or 4 times in a week out of 100 hours of use.

Thanks for your help guys, much appreciated
 
So assuming they are like every other TP-Link 500Mbps units then they have 10/100Mbps ethernet ports and so they'll never run faster than 100Mbps. And then you have to allow for the losses in the Ethernet over Powerline protocol, so maybe 70% of that at best? So very much low speed. How do they get away with such blatant false advertising? No idea, but they all do it.

You'll probably find that when you lose connection is the same time the fridge door is opened just as it starts the compressor and it send a lot of current through the mains, or the cooker is switched on at the same time as something else. Powerline is pretty crappy.

Yes, you'd need to drill some holes and run the cable but even in Brighton a TV installer wouldn't charge more than £150 for each floor to run you a couple of cables. And it would just work. All the time, at full 1000Mbps line speed.

Just pointing out the truth...
 
Just to provide an alternative viewpoint, I use powerline adapters myself and have found them to provide very reliable connections. I use Tplink AV1200 ones which have better tech than the 500 version so it may be worth upgrading to newer powerline plugs. The Mikrotek ones mentioned by WJA96 would be on my shopping list. If you live in a fairly modern home then you should be ok (c.20 years old or newer) but the electrical wiring quality does matter so you’ll suffer if it’s an old house you live in.
 
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