Consistent Wifi within a large house - same Access Point possible?

Associate
Joined
7 Nov 2011
Posts
12
Hi all

I'm experiencing inconsistent wifi / possible contention within my house and looking for a bit of advice. I'll summarise my current setup:

-- Fibre service comes into my cellar, modem (Openreach) located there, as if my router (Netgear Nighthawk). Router transmits 2 networks - 2.4 and 5g with different names (lets call them Network1 and Network2). Would be tricky to move router to a higher floor.

-- Modem connected to a gigabit switch, with Cat6 cabling coming out of it and distributed throughout my 4 storey house. Various gigabit switches dotted around house and connected to devices to provide fastest connection possible

-- Apple Airport in kitchen fed with Cat6 wired connection - transmits a different network name (Network 3).

-- Bedroom in loft struggled to get the wifi from the ground floor (Networks 1, 2 or 3), so using a netgear extender, transmitting a different network (Network 4).

It's a bit of a mishmash, but it kind of works. What's my issue then?

-- As we move thru the house, constantly need to change network on devices
-- Devices - when switched on - sometimes connect to the network with the worst signal, ie: you're on the ground floor and your phone connects to Network 4 in the loft
-- I have Sonos and it has dropouts in the loft
-- Recently bought Philips Hue bulbs that performance very inconsistently. Apparently they create their own Mesh network but suspect there's interference. Hue Hub connected to wired connection

Questions:

-- Is it possible to have the same network name throughout the house? Would devices find this confusing when connecting
-- How can I diagnose potential channel conflicts?
-- Any suggestions for fixing my Hue issues?
-- Should I dump the Netgear Nighthawk and get something else?

Sorry for the long post - tried to be brief!

Thanks
 
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