 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I am having issues with getting the WiFi and internet around the house.
We have a router in the front room under the TV. It's a fancy upgraded talk talk thing that's meant to send the WiFi around better.
Part of the house is an extension built into the side of the existing house so the wall is extremely thick.
I'm struggling to get a decent signal upstairs into the bedrooms and especially the extension bedroom furthest away from the router.
I've tried a WiFi extender on the landing but it doesn't work.
I've also tried powerline adaptors and they work in the old house side but not the newer extension side as the wiring is different.
My lad is driving the wife nuts complaining the WiFi is laggy and he can't play his Xbox.
What can I do without breaking the bank.
Watching with interest. My BT WIFi is terrible, but when I use BT-FON on our BT account instead, it is perfect! So next doors router must be working. But apparently there is nothing wrong with out Internet line.
Get your boy to connect his Xbox by cat5 cable. Or confiscate the Xbox until he learns to be more appreciative of what you provide for him 😆
Mesh.
Or if you can run a cable from the router to the problem area then add another wireless access point. That’s what I had to do, works well and is a lot cheaper than mesh, but mesh would be better.
Simplest solution is powerline adapter plugged into the router, and another one plugged into the x-box using ethernet. Cheap, reliable, low latency, fairly high bandwidth. For example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-PA7010PKIT-Passthrough-Powerline-Streaming-Configuration/dp/B06VW1WCCD/ref=sr_1_6
Mesh will work but is not ideal for gaming unless he's close to the router due to the latency doubling up/bandwidth halving on every hop.
Less flippant answer, have a read here. It mostly boils down to get the box central and high, and the most struggling connection will drag everything else down to its level.
Everyone expects the earth out of wifi... it's ok for browsing etc but for gaming, esp through walls you need a cable. Run a CAT5 or CAT6 cable outside the house (or inside if feasible) into the room - you can get faceplates, cable etc from Screwfix, and no, I don't work for Screfix đŸ™‚
Mesh or an ASUS/Netgear Nighthawk gaming router.
I have full strength WiFi in places I only had one bar with an ASUS gaming router.
You can get flat cat5/6 cable that's handy for running under the carpet. Ours runs to a gigabit switch in my son's room then another cable into daughter's (both gaming and my sone has a Pi cluster). Wifi is then for laptops/TV etc. Upgraded to mesh to get a good wifi connection into my garage though.
I'd agree with running a Cat 5e cable to the X-box, if you can. I've just been running cable around my house and if you're inventive you can keep it mostly hidden. Along the top of skirting, inside built-in wardrobe, inside airing cupboard, etc.
But the under the TV is probably not the best place for a WiFi router. You want the least obstruction, physically and electromagnetically, between the router and device connecting to it. I have the router on the wall about 1.5m up - it's also TalkTalk, shaped like a book with the spine uppermost, I just threaded a cord through it and hung it on a hook.
A point to beware is foil backed underlay for laminate floors. As I expected, and despite what the manufacturer says, it blocks WiFi.