How can i improve my WiFi?

D1craig

D1craig

D1craig

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28 Aug 2014
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The WiFi in my house is pretty bad. It only has a usable connection in the room the router is in. How can I improve my signal without having to sign into other network adaptors? I've tried them plugin things and they are not very useful as I have to sign into them and they are not really that good once you do sign into them. The signal is good enough to connect to but not good enough to do anything with so it's a bit of a fuss signing into the separate adaptors.

Is there a way I can just make the WiFi signal better. Not having to sign into other adaptors etc. The house does need a rewire, is there anything you can do with that that improves WiFi signal?
 
Put a decent Access Point on the ceiling upstairs centrally, unless you have a large house it should be fine, I get 4-500 Mbps around most of the house.
 
chroniclard said:
Just get a mesh system. TP-Link do some reasonable 2 or 3 unit systems,
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So if I set one of them mesh network things up it won't have to select any of them throughout the house?

The last adaptor I bought made me think I wouldn't have to connect to it manually everytime I wanted to use it.
 
A good mesh system will communicate and take on the same name meaning you won't have to sign in from one to another. A really good system will steer your device towards the unit with the strongest signal.

This whole sign out of one and into another is a bit of a load of wotsit anyway, I connect to my mothers wifi at her house, when I walk in my device connects automatically, having multiple repeaters with different details is no different, your device would move between them, just not very well and will generally grip on for dear life to the AP it has unless steered away or loses connection.

Modern mesh systems are pretty decent and it would feel like a single large coverage area, probably best if you don't want to get all over the top with hadwired AP's etc.
 
Mesh is only as good as the backhaul, you want hard wired mesh nodes in an ideal world. If you’re going to be doing that I would be looking at a Ubiquiti Unifi set-up if it were me, but as long as the AP’s or nodes are hard wired, they’ll give similar results.
 
D1craig said:
Could you recommend a good one?
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Depends on the size of your house and the construction of it (wall types etc). You may need multiple APs. However in general something like a Ubiquiti U6 Lite would be pretty decent (around £95-110 delivered) - assuming you don't live in a mansion.

When you say your house needs a rewire, do you mean you actually plan on having your electrics rewired sometime soon? If so you should definitely plan to have Cat6 wired across your home if you wasn't already planning on it.
 
What router do you have? First step IMO is to get a decent WiFi router to start with. If you're using your ISP's there's probably a lot to be gained from a cheapish replacement.
 
LuckyBenski said:
What router do you have? First step IMO is to get a decent WiFi router to start with. If you're using your ISP's there's probably a lot to be gained from a cheapish replacement.
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Not always the case, they are all bound by the same laws that govern wireless communication. The main issue is often they’re at the corner of a house which is the absolute worst place for coverage.
 
ChrisD. said:
Not always the case, they are all bound by the same laws that govern wireless communication. The main issue is often they’re at the corner of a house which is the absolute worst place for coverage.
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Absolutely, what your current router can always do is tell you the topology of the house. Dead spots, bad corners, doors that block a surprising amount of signal, etc.
 
I cant really describe my house very well. It's a 70s mid terrace house. My router is in the same place most people seem to put their router, under/behind the TV. On an outside wall. I am planning on moving my pc but I can't see a place the router could go that won't look a bit silly. Them mesh things sound good but then getting an ethernet cable to them might looks as bad as my router being in the open.
 
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D1craig said:
I cant really describe my house very well. It's a 70s mid terrace house. My router is in the same place most people seem to put their router, under/behind the TV. On an outside wall. I am planning on moving my pc but I can't see a place the router could go that won't look a bit silly. Them mesh things sound good but then getting an eternal cable to them might looks as bad as my router being in the open.
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By most people, you mean people who don't grasp that external walls and big RF shielded screens are horrible for wifi? Those people are choosing to have poor wifi because they clearly don't know better or care. Don't be one of those 'people'.
 
Avalon said:
By most people, you mean people who don't grasp that external walls and big RF shielded screens are horrible for wifi? Those people are choosing to have poor wifi because they clearly don't know better or care. Don't be one of those 'people'.
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Yes lol. I know it isn't the ideal location but I am mostly using ethernet cable for my pc and I have plenty of data to be able to do anything in the house. Every house I have been to has their router in the same place as me. They always moan about bad Internet (I know they mean WiFi) in their houses and I tell them it could be because of where the router is. When the tv guy comes in and puts the Internet aswell that's the exact location they always place the router aswell.
I will strive to get it into the middle of the house, in the hallway near the stairs and a little bit raised but if I can get better signal an easier way in the mean time I would like to.
 
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