topic Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders. in Tech Help - Software/Hardware etc

Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

thunderer — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 14:07:34 GMT

Hi.
Just wondering if anyone has bought any Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi extenders, if so how easy are they to set up?
Are they easy for a complete novice like me who has no idea about IP addresses etc to set up and use?
Do they setup using WPS so I can just press a button on the router & it and it sets itself up or does it require a load of inputs via a RJ45 Ethernet cable?
Your help & advice would be appreciated.

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

nanotm — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 14:14:15 GMT

I think you need a second home plug connected to your router for it to work,
the product page on billons website mentions it being a powerline unit, http://www.billion.com/product/wireless/bipac3100sn-Wireless-N-Wall-Plug-Ethernet-Access-Point.html
your best bet for any advice on the device and how simple or otherwise it is would be the dedicated forum http://billion.uk.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=11&sid=c28632b0a26df5db76d518e9d604e894

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

pwatson — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 14:33:10 GMT

(It's not Powerline, and doesn't say that it is...)
It's a wifi repeater and a bridge for wired devices. It does seem to require WDS support on the wireless hardware you want to connect it to though. What are you hoping to achieve?

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

nanotm — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 14:49:15 GMT

my mistake I was looking at more than one device on the website,
it would appear that (having looked at the product pages) the 3100sn can be used as a plug and play access point in WDS repeater mode (push the wps button on the router and the ap to join them and it does everything automatically) with an Ethernet connection to the router or you can use it in bridge mode to connect another pair of ap units to the router wirelessly

if your not keen on stringing a long Ethernet cable round you home you might be better off getting one of these
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=bipac+p106n&tag=mh0a9-21&index=aps&hvadid=3174951836&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_15erf971eg_e
or if you already have powerline plug units then http://www.amazon.co.uk/Billion-BiPAC-2073N-Wireless-N-HomePlug/dp/B002TOKGJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427640377&sr=8-1&keywords=bipac+2073n
assuming you require something made by billion as opposed to something cheaper
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=powerline+wifi+acess+point&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Apowerline+wifi+acess+point
* links to amazon because it was simpler and the stuff is probably available cheaper elsewhere

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

thunderer — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 15:20:33 GMT

Quote from: pwatson
(It's not Powerline, and doesn't say that it is...)
It's a wifi repeater and a bridge for wired devices. It does seem to require WDS support on the wireless hardware you want to connect it to though. What are you hoping to achieve?

Hi.
I'm just trying to get a better Wi-Fi signal downstairs for the Smart TV, Tablet and so on, as the house is nearly 600 years old and has some seriously thick walls in places and whereas the Draytek with its external aerials was slightly better & could get through them, the Billion is having some difficulty and the signal levels downstairs is very low indeed.

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

thunderer — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 15:23:15 GMT

Quote from: nanotm
my mistake I was looking at more than one device on the website,
it would appear that (having looked at the product pages) the 3100sn can be used as a plug and play access point in WDS repeater mode (push the wps button on the router and the ap to join them and it does everything automatically) with an Ethernet connection to the router or you can use it in bridge mode to connect another pair of ap units to the router wirelessly

if your not keen on stringing a long Ethernet cable round you home you might be better off getting one of these
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=bipac+p106n&tag=mh0a9-21&index=aps&hvadid=3174951836&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_15erf971eg_e
or if you already have powerline plug units then http://www.amazon.co.uk/Billion-BiPAC-2073N-Wireless-N-HomePlug/dp/B002TOKGJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427640377&sr=8-1&keywords=bipac+2073n
assuming you require something made by billion as opposed to something cheaper
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=powerline+wifi+acess+point&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Apowerline+wifi+acess+point
* links to amazon because it was simpler and the stuff is probably available cheaper elsewhere

Powerline stuff may not be best suited to our house as it has old wiring in it, we've only just gone from wired fuses to an MCB distribution board because the council said we'd have to to get planning permission for a small extension.

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

nanotm — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 15:31:33 GMT

you might find you need more than one of them in wds repeater mode,

of course it would depend on the age of your wires as to how good powerline av units would be, my last house was wired in the early 50's but had one of the new consumer unit rcd systems in it and I found homeplugs worked without to much signal loss,
the current house was wired up in 2010 complete with rcd's and we have decent connections across multiple rings
then again it might be a simpler cheaper option to drill a hole in the floor and push an Ethernet cable down to a switch and go fully wired connection to the router.
your best bet would be to buy a few cheap powerline units from somewhere like argos and if they prove no good for your place take them back within the 16 day period for your money back......

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

thunderer — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 15:47:21 GMT

Quote from: nanotm
you might find you need more than one of them in wds repeater mode,

of course it would depend on the age of your wires as to how good powerline av units would be, my last house was wired in the early 50's but had one of the new consumer unit rcd systems in it and I found homeplugs worked without to much signal loss,
the current house was wired up in 2010 complete with rcd's and we have decent connections across multiple rings
then again it might be a simpler cheaper option to drill a hole in the floor and push an Ethernet cable down to a switch and go fully wired connection to the router.
your best bet would be to buy a few cheap powerline units from somewhere like argos and if they prove no good for your place take them back within the 16 day period for your money back......

Drilling holes in floors & walls is not an option, It's a grade 2 listed building!
The 3100 would be about 10 feet away from the router on a landing at the top of the stairs down to the sitting room, the signal down to the dining room is pretty good as I'm directly above it.

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

nanotm — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 08:26:19 GMT

this would probably do the job just as well but for a fraction of the price http://www.ebuyer.com/daily-deals?utm_source=2015-03-30&utm_medium=campaign_email&utm_campaign=B2C_%28Monday%29_Openers_FS
no ether net cable required

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

VileReynard — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 12:38:08 GMT

These wireless extenders must increase latency - giving a guaranteed reduction in overall speed?

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

thunderer — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 14:06:54 GMT

If you're on about using it for gaming, don't worry I don't do gaming on either an XBOX or PS. I find the games on them both tedious & boring.
I'm quite happy to pay the extra to maintain compatibility at the highest level so, I won't be buying that thing, thanks for the notification anyway.

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

thunderer — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:00:52 GMT

I ordered it, got it and can I get it to work? No.
I just don't understand any of the instructions provided and all I want to do is press the WPS button on router & box and be done.
Me thinks it will be going back as it's too complicated.

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

nanotm — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:07:44 GMT

the router should have a wps button on it
iirc you have ot push the button on the router and then the repeater for them to find and sync to each other, possibly you might have to open the ip interface and trigger the wps mode manually from the ui but that shouldn't be necessary for any of the auto repeater units

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

thunderer — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:25:10 GMT

It does pressed it and the WPS light flashes merrily away, press it on the repeater and nothing happens to say that it's connected or anything.
No PIN numbers asked for, No ID asked for, No dialogue boxes appear to ask for or confirm it's connected. And all of these IP addresses & submask mumbo jumbo it's wayyy over my head!
It'll have to go back it's just too complicated. I wanted something simple and this isn't it!

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

pwatson — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:24:30 GMT

The WPS button on the extender is to allow simple connection of devices to it, not for joining the extender to the existing network. You need to read the section about WDS...
Looking at the manual, I think you need Lazy or Repeater mode (not Bridge) and you'll need the MAC address of your router.

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

thunderer — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:47:40 GMT

MAC of router?

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

pwatson — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:56:52 GMT

There's a thread here about not using WDS...
http://www.billion.uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=704

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

thunderer — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:03:06 GMT

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

VileReynard — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 18:19:31 GMT

What is WPS for?
I've never needed or wanted it.
You just configure the TCP/IP address of the router & DHCP will find your PC if you have chosen a proper access point.
You simply enter the WPA password at this point.

Re: Billion BiPac 3100SN Wi-Fi Extenders.

thunderer — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 19:17:25 GMT

Without appearing to be a tad sarcastic, I would have thought that the whoosh smiley, would have given you a hint about my technical skills when it comes to networking!
I haven't got a [Censored] idea what you're on about, it's wayyyy over my head, you might as well be talking Japanese when spouting "TCP/IP address of the router & DHCP", it means NOTHING to me.
I got given this advice elsewhere:
1. Plug your 3100SN to the 8800AXL
2. Once the WLAN light is on, on the front of the 3100SN, open a web browser and type in the address bar http://192.168.1.253
3. Login with the username 'admin' and password 'admin'
4. Click on 'Wireless Settings >> Basic' change the SSID1 if needed
5. Click on 'Security' on the left hand side
6. Enable WPA 2 if needed (from clicking on the 'security mode' drop list
7. In the 'Passphrase' section enter a wireless password of your choice and click on 'apply'
8. Click on 'AP Client' on the left hand side
9. Select the 2.4ghz network from the listed wireless networks (the 2.4ghz network from the 8800AXL)
10. Enter your security password at the bottom of the page and click on 'Apply'
11. Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the 3100SN
12. See if you can still access and navigate around the http://192.168.1.253 page (this test if the 3100SN is working wirelessly, your computer will be connected to the 8800AXL and the 3100SN will be wireless connected)
13. If you can navigate around the http://192.168.1.253 page then the 3100SN is ready to be deployed
If you still have issues, try running through the AP Client section again to re-apply your settings
Guess what IT DOESN'T WORK!