Extending wifi range

Eurofighter · 1 Jul 2015 at 12:33

At my parents house they have thick walls and the router is in the loft as they only get 2mb and that's where the phone socket is.

The wifi doesn't go downstairs or in the garden. I am guessing they need a wifi range extender but they seem to pick the wifi up and rebroadcast it. That's no good as the wifi hardly gets downstairs at all and I would like the device to be downstairs.

They have an ethernet cable running downstairs for the TV so I was thinking plug something into there and make a wireless network.

For this do they need a wireless router or a wireless repeater as repeaters don't seem to have WAN ports on them which would be needed for the connection to the ADSL router.

Also what do OCUK sell that would do this?

Thanks.

EDIT: After looking more I think they need a wifi access point or do thse pcik up the wifi and enable you to plug things in and not the other way around. please confirm.

bledd · 1 Jul 2015 at 12:59

Wireless access points.

This is what you need. Connect each on to your router/switch using a network cable.

If you're not using network cables between them, I wouldn't bother.

Eurofighter · 1 Jul 2015 at 13:52

Thanks. I will get my dad to buy an access point.

Zefan · 1 Jul 2015 at 14:05

Bledd, would a suitable alternative to network cables be powerline technology in this case? Costly maybe, but it saves running cables through old houses, which I know can be difficult.

bledd · 1 Jul 2015 at 15:01

It is, but powerline really isn't a good solution, it's flakey at best. It's drops out too often, adding that in with a wifi connection, it could drive you insane. As the wifi could still be dishing out wifi signal, with no internet on it.

When it's connected via ethernet, you know it's 100% uptime.

Plan the network cable route carefully, can usually find a good path around/through things.

I really don't like powerline.