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That's what I have and I'm very happy with it for around two years now.
WiFi router range extenders , recommendations ?
- Thread starter Lakewood90712
- Start date
That's what I have and I'm very happy with it for around two years now.
Masquernom
Full time employment: Posting here.
I finally got my order from Amazon. Set one up and it really works well. I don't get the full speed I get next to the modem, but it's a lot better than it was. I just ordered a second expansion unit for the basement. Thanks for the suggestion!
misanman
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FWIW - We received the Google Nest system (router plus 3 extension units on sale at Costco) and installed them. Great coverage. We used to have some issues switching from our old router to the access points but the switching appears to be seamless with the mesh system.
ocean view
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I need some troubleshooting help for boosting the wifi in DS’s bedroom (aka college classroom). He’s been taking his classes at the kitchen counter, but it’s a bit disruptive if anyone else needs to be in the room. So I am on a quest to improve the connectivity in his room.
On njhowie’s recommendation I got some powerline adapters. I then reconfigured an old (2008) AirPort Extreme to be an Access Point and plugged that into the PL adapter in DS’s room. On paper it works great. In actuality, the Mbs coming over the wifi are dismal. Less than 5 Mbs! Without the Airport, just PL adapter wired directly into my OLD laptop I can get 50-65Mbs. Our service is only 100, so not too bad; workable for zoom college classes. The problem is that DS uses a MacBook Air which has no Ethernet port, only USB-C ports, so he either needs WiFi or a dongle. My searches say dongles used for ethernet can drop your download speeds significantly. Does anyone have experience with this type of dongle?
Would new access point hardware make a difference? I checked the airport specs and it supports both 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz networks (802.11n).
How can I tell if the Airport is actually transmitting a wifi signal? The Airport does have a green light on the front and the Airport Utility says it’s connected, but when I check the network with the AT&T app, the devices in the room are all on the 2.4Ghz network, which makes me think they are connected to our main router on the other side of the house not the Airport access point 3 feet away.
Any suggestions?
Wired solutions always work better. I don’t know why you read an ethernet dongle would perform worse?
I use a wired ethernet connection to a macbook using a usb c/ethernet dongle and get close to gigabit speeds (I have gigabit internet). I think it’s a Belkin dongle.
Are you sure you’re connecting to the Airport?
You could try plugging in the Airport directly to the internet router/modem and see if that solves the performance issue. I’m also assuming you have a unique SSID for the Airport so you know what hotspot you’re connecting to?
OldShooter
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Re what is transmitting, I have a free Android app called WiFi Analyzer. It shows all the wifi signals (frequencies and SSIDs) that it hears both graphically and on a meter. I find it to be a very effective tool for troubleshooting.
I recently upgraded both our homes with LinkSys MR8300 WAP/Routers. At the lake, the signal was not reliable in the garage and out toward the road. The WAP was about 40-50' away from the outside kitchen wall/garage wall. I added a plug-in LinkSys Velop WHW01P mesh extender box plugged in on that wall and now the garage/driveway signal is solid 100' or more from the kitchen. In the city just now I speed tested our nominal 100bps Comcast cable connection via the WiFi and got 115bps on my Surface Pro 6 and 113bps on my Pixel 4a phone, both right next to the WAP. WiFi analyzer shows the new boxe signals to be close to 10db better than our old WAP/Router. I am very pleased with these new boxes.
I know nothing about the Airport or the powerline extenders but communications is an area where I have learned that multi-vendor solutions can be fraught.
Refurbs from LinkSys are pretty deeply discounted: https://www.linksys.com/us/special-deals-and-refurbished/c/Refurbished/ There's nothing really magic about LinkSys. I have also been happy with Netgear and other name brands.
I recently upgraded both our homes with LinkSys MR8300 WAP/Routers. At the lake, the signal was not reliable in the garage and out toward the road. The WAP was about 40-50' away from the outside kitchen wall/garage wall. I added a plug-in LinkSys Velop WHW01P mesh extender box plugged in on that wall and now the garage/driveway signal is solid 100' or more from the kitchen. In the city just now I speed tested our nominal 100bps Comcast cable connection via the WiFi and got 115bps on my Surface Pro 6 and 113bps on my Pixel 4a phone, both right next to the WAP. WiFi analyzer shows the new boxe signals to be close to 10db better than our old WAP/Router. I am very pleased with these new boxes.
I know nothing about the Airport or the powerline extenders but communications is an area where I have learned that multi-vendor solutions can be fraught.
Refurbs from LinkSys are pretty deeply discounted: https://www.linksys.com/us/special-deals-and-refurbished/c/Refurbished/ There's nothing really magic about LinkSys. I have also been happy with Netgear and other name brands.
If your Airport Extreme is that old, it's pretty old technology.
Does it allow you to set up a guest network? If not, it's first or second generation, and I would want to replace it with something newer. Even the 6th generation is 7 years old and has limitations compared to modern routers.
njhowie
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Sorry it didn't work out for you. Clearly the bottleneck in your configuration is the Airport, for one reason or another. Our setup is still working extremely well. Upgrade from 10 Mbs DSL to 200 Mbs cable over the summer also gave a nice boost.
DD has a MacBook and in her old two story apartment the modem was downstairs and she was not getting a good signal upstairs. We got her a TP-Link USB-ethernet dongle from Amazon for about $12 and a 50 foot cable and it worked extremely well. I don't have numbers, but she was taking her online college classes as well as teaching ballet classes over Zoom and it was fine. That along with 3 other college-age roommates simultaneously streaming and doing other things put a good load on the connection. TP-Link also makes a USB-C version which is about $15 at Amazon.
My suggestion (hopefully better than prior for your configuration) - for $15 you should just buy it and give it a try - I'm extremely confident that you'll get significantly better than 5 Mbs.
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Ethernet-UE300C-Compatible-2017-2020/dp/B08HQBC678
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mountainsoft
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A wired connection is going to give you faster and more reliable service if you have that option. My wife uses a USB3.1 Hub for her home office computer and obtains our full 80-100Mbps download speed. I don't see why a dedicated USB-C to ethernet adapter would work any different. Such as this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Adapter-uni-Thunderbolt-Compatible/dp/B077KXY71Q
If you need (or prefer) a wireless connection, you should probably buy a new Wi-Fi router that supports newer protocols and locate it as close to the center of your house as possible.
I bought this one last year and placed it in our attic in the center of the house. I removed all of the other access points to prevent conflicts and avoid having to switch WiFi points as I move through the house:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AC1900-Smart-WiFi-Router/dp/B07NF3K74H
I have been quite happy with it. I get 60-70Mbps in most places around the house, and around 30-40Mbps out in the back yard. It is much faster than my old Netgear router and D-Link access points ever were.
I had trouble in our house with Wifi access, due to walls etc. Downstairs was fine but upstairs bedrooms not so good. I tried a high end/high range single router with no great luck. I forget the model.
I ended up getting an Eero nest system with base unit and one satellite for the upstairs.
Works flawlessly. Easy setup and > 150MBPS download throughout the house.
I ended up getting an Eero nest system with base unit and one satellite for the upstairs.
Works flawlessly. Easy setup and > 150MBPS download throughout the house.
Car-Guy
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I use these to get to my "workshops" rather than wireless. Ethernet Power line adapters.. The workshop(s) are pretty far from my wireless AP located back in the house and the workshops are really metal barns so they are not so good for wireless signals anyway... ~$40 a pair...
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ocean view
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I'm glad to hear that my understanding of ethernet dongle performance is wrong. I am a novice in this area. I am literally looking up each term and acrynomyn, trying to teach myself how this all works together. It's entirely possible that I confused this with some other part of the system. Or read the wrong review on Amazon
No, I'm not sure that I'm connecting to the Airport when I'm in the back bedroom. I do know that the network sees the Airport as a wired device, as it is listed on the ATT Smart Home app as one of 10 devices using the network.
The Airport does NOT have its own SSID. If I understand correctly, this is because it is supposed to be acting as a wired access point. I may not have it configured correctly, hence my post.
This is the cNet article that lead me to try using the Airport as an Access Point in the first place.
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-turn-an-old-wi-fi-router-into-an-access-point/
ocean view
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This model is a 3rd generation. I hear what you are saying about the limitations of old tech. I'm not married to the idea of making it work, but the part of my dna that says re-purpose when possible (plus I'm frugal), said to give it a try.
target2019
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USB to Ethernet adapter could be USB 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0.
Ethernet support could be for 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps and/or 1 Gbps.
Ethernet cables support Categroy 1 through Category 7 or 8 possibly.
Another variable is the support for connections in the system given the chips and ports.
User's connection speed can change with any of the factors above. So there is no statement to make unless you know all of the specs in a given situation.
And then there's WiFi. OMG, how does anything work without a network admin?
Ethernet support could be for 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps and/or 1 Gbps.
Ethernet cables support Categroy 1 through Category 7 or 8 possibly.
Another variable is the support for connections in the system given the chips and ports.
User's connection speed can change with any of the factors above. So there is no statement to make unless you know all of the specs in a given situation.
And then there's WiFi. OMG, how does anything work without a network admin?
target2019
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
It may be possible to configure anything to work anywhere, given enough time and knowledge. But you're out in the wild with a 10-year old device, and a product line that died out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort_Extreme
The recommended tool to troubleshoot WiFi and wired is called WiFi Analyzer. It shows the signals in an area, their strength, and protection status. Documenting all of your network devices with model no. and specifications is also part of troubleshooting.
ocean view
Full time employment: Posting here.
For our situation a wireless solution is best because DS also would like his phone to get a respectable wifi connection. Connecting the laptop via ethernet cable does fix the primary concern, but would not help his phone connectivity problem.
Tell me more about replacing the router. The router we use is the one supplied by AT&T. It is Pace 5268AC. We also have VoIP phone service going through this router. I wouldn't begin to know how to select something different.
We might have to do some tests this afternoon with moving the router. We'd have to use the powerline adapters to do so, since we only have one wired connection into the house in my home office. DH is not keen on drilling holes to run wire above or below the house.
ocean view
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Old Shooter also recommended WiFi Analyzer but it looks like this is a Microsoft tool that does not run on MacOS or iOS. Any suggestions for a Mac compatible product? I've been looking in Apple store, but to be honest, this is all a foreign language to me. I downloaded one yesterday called Fing - Network Scanner, but I didn't know how to read the data it was giving me. Looking again at it today, I don't think it does signal strength scans, just speed tests.
I like an app called WiFi Scanner.
We've also had an Orbi mesh tri-band system for the past two years and are very happy with it. The new models have gotten very pricey though.
The "main unit" is upstairs in the office next to the modem, and the satellite is downstairs. Our house is about 2700 sqft. and we get good performance everywhere including the basement and about 80 ft. into the backyard. Both units have a couple of ethernet ports for wired connection. I have two 5-port switches attached to the main router unit and have DW's work computer, our main TV and a few other non-moveable items wired to it. I tried to wire anything I can to lessen the number of items on wi-fi to manage congestion. We have too many electronics in the house, especially with home automation.
In the mornings when I walk the dog, I listen to a morning talk radio show on my phone. I disable the wi-fi on my phone before I leave the house, otherwise the phone will hang onto the wi-fi for almost a block and the last several feet hangs up the program.
OldShooter
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
WiFi Analyzer is an Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en_US&gl=US I don't know if there is a iThings version or not. From the page I linked you can scroll through sample page displays and get an idea of what the tool does. It sees like a no-brainer that someone would offer a similar Apple capability.
I use Fing from time to time and it is a useful tool, but not for this kind of thing.
ocean view
Full time employment: Posting here.
After spending a good part of today learning more about wifi networks than I ever wanted to know, moving the router, running network scans (yes, the dBm rate in the back bedroom is really crappy) I've come to the conclusion that Target2019 is exactly right...How do we do this without a network admin? So the Airport Extreme is going to be retired to the E-waste pile and I'm ordering a TP-Link Access Point. I selected this brand because in a couple of review sites they are rated similarly to Netgear products but are a bit cheaper and offer a 2 yr vs 1 yr warranty. I don't know if this type of equipment fails within a year, but just in case. Also the powerline adapters that I ordered last week are TP-Link, so I'm trying to stay within the same product line for better compatibility.
Here's what I'm ordering: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wire...ectronics&sprefix=wired+access,aps,247&sr=1-2
thanks all for your help. I'll let you if this resolves it in a couple days.
target2019
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I've noticed several posts by forum users about POE working well. I've never used, but it seems practical and worth a small investment.
Sorry about mentioning WiFi Analyzer, which is a Windows and Android application. Someone mentioned an Apple analyzer that should help you.
If you're like me you'll get bored by the 5th page of the 50-page manual and start plugging in. But I think it is wise to read that manual once or twice before going at it.
OldShooter
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
+1
mountainsoft
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I'm no expert, but it would simply be a matter of selecting a new router, unplug everything from the old router, and plug them into the new one. New routers support faster wireless protocols, and have more antennas and other techniques to improve signal quality. In general, the more you pay the better the router is. The TP-Link router I chose was kind of middle ground. I suspect ANY new router will perform better than your old one.
If you can't move the router to a more central location, at least try to mount it higher up (on top of a bookshelf or something). Then the signal won't have to pass through all of the furniture and whatnot to reach your devices.
I started out by adding access points too. Unfortunately, this meant two different WiFi signals in the house. For instance, I would need to connect to the access point in our living room (stronger signal), and my main router on the other side of the house. Our newer cell phones handled the switch automatically, but our old tablets required us to manually choose a different WiFi connection when the signal got weak.
The solution I use is to disable the WiFi signal in my main router, so I could leave all of my current devices connected (it effectively just became an ethernet switch). Then I ran an ethernet cable from the old router to my new router for the WiFi signal. It works great, and prevents the two routers from competing over available WiFi channels.
As others mentioned, you could try a mesh network. Most people have good results with them, but for some reason they didn't work well in my home. I got a good connection everywhere but the speeds were quite slow. I get much better results with a single strong WiFi signal in the house.
