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Apologies in advance, i know the same wifi related questions come up over and over again on here, i have asked one myself, and i know the standard answer is 'get a mesh network'. that is not the answer here however...
i have a network cable down to my workshop from my router, and a want the thing which plugs into a mains socket and the rj45 of the network cable and gives me wifi in the workshop.
is this just called a wifi repeater?
(only doubting this as to me that suggests it pics up the network over wifi and amplfies it)
i dont care that it will be seperate network from upstairs as i'm always fiddling with my phone etc and moving around ie i will change networks myself.
I think what you need is called an access point. You CAN get mesh systems that will alow you to run with a wired connection too
As @nbt says what you are describing is properly called an access point.
any old Wi-Fi router will do though. Put it in bridge mode and depending on the separation of your workshop from the rest of your Wi-Fi give it the same SSID or a different one.
better would be a MESH network using the cable as backhaul.
a Wi-Fi repeater picks up your existing Wi-Fi signal and rebroadcasts it, usually using a different SSID. They are worthless bandwidth wasters.
Using an old router is the best idea.
I am using a Netgear d6220 in modem only mode for exactly this, it takes all the DNS etc from the main modem and just broadcasts, its really good, I'm getting very strong signal from it.
also lots of routers can be flashed with dd-wrt to work brilliantly as bridges.
check here which ones work well.
https://dd-wrt.com/support/router-database/
Bm
thanks folks, that reminds me i have an old router (we mean wireless router here i take it) but no power supply for it andsetting it up look beyond my abilities, having watched a couple of vids.
so if i want an off the peg plug-and-play option i search wifi access point?
It'll be worth asking on your local freegle / facebook group if anyone has an old router. If you're anywhere near marple I have one...
You might be after a powerline adaptors that have wifi built into them, I use these TP Link adaptors to get wired internet upstairs but they also have a wifi access point built into them.
Buy this https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/39575-netgear-r6850-100uks/
Follow these instructions, its fool proof man, I mean you logged on here and typed a message, its no harder than that.
https://kb.netgear.com/20831/How-to-set-up-Bridge-mode-on-R6300-R6250-R6200
This will do it for £25
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-WA901N-Wireless-Injector-Ethernet/dp/B087MSF7BR
I got fed up with how rubbish my Wi-Fi was with everyone at home and me having to zoom teach from the garage, so I got work to buy me a Google mesh wifi thing.
It's ded good
Although I worry it's listening to me mutter when the mic is off.
oldtennisshoes idea is better than mine, get that.
Yup, buy that TP link that oldtennishoes put up. I've got 2 in the house plugged in so I get wifi in the garage and the far end of the house. Really simple and easy plug and play.
Actually I'm going to jump on this to ask advice for my own situation. The main phone socket is up in the attic, where the previous owner of the house had his home office. We ran an extension down to the ground floor lounge where we had the router. After increasing issues with broadband dropping out, we moved the router to the main socket to prove that the problem was external to our house. Unfortunately, the broadband since then has been rock solid, showing the problem is in our extension socket. It looks like we've had squirrels in the non-office part of the attic and they've possibly chewed through the cable.
We've got cat5 cables through the house so moving the router has not affected the main pc, but i had to get a wireless extender so our Ring doorbell would connect. In the lounge though we often connect the chromebook / tablet to the weak signal from the main router rather than use the extender as the throughput is so slow, as the op suggested may be an issue.
I DO have an old router that i can plug in to a network cable in the lounge to hopefully improve wi-fi down here. Question is, can i use the other network ports in the second router to hard wire other devices?
I'd imagine so, I've got stuff hardwired off my 3rd mesh disc, which is really the same idea. As long as it's got an active connection, you can use ethernet no worries.
Question is, can i use the other network ports in the second router to hard wire other devices?
What nobeer said, yes, but I’d still buy that £25 unit rather than use an old router.
I used to get perhaps 5mb but more likely about 1mb connecting via the wifi repeater - I've got the old router set up and working and connecting via that, speed test is showng 10mb. which is perfect. We don't have a MASSIVE house so I'm happy for the moment, I've just saved £100 not buying mesh wifi
Just to confirm, hard wired through the ap is working great.
I got this to the exact thing you’re talking about:
This is connected via BT mini link mains connectors.
Works absolutely brilliantly for what I want which was wifi in the garage and further down the garden.
37mbps download & 18.5mbps upload. I have a BT you view box connected by Ethernet cable and an LG connected by wifi. The wifi is good enough to run Netflix and prime through it without any glitches.