Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
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Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 1:54 PM
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Moving the router is not an option, neither is running a long ethernet cable. I'm thinking the best option is to connect via the homeplug type network over the mains electricity circuit connection, but I don't know much about the products and the quality.
Any advice on the best product to buy, any restrictions, or other possible options would be very much apprciated.
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 2:02 PM
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They are very easy to install and configure if required but the default settings work ok.
To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 2:06 PM
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It might be worth trying something like this to boost the signal from the router and reflect it up to where the PC is upstairs:
http://www.computing.cc/networking/increase-your-wireless-signal-with-a-homemade-wifi-booster/
Just something else that you could try, I made one of these for my mum and it seems to work alright. Having said that I did get her some homeplugs too, I think these were the ones I got: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001M06Y0M/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00
Unfortunately they're not on sale any more 😕
Hope that helps a bit.
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 2:22 PM
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It may well depend on the age of your wiring as well - ours is about 10 years old.
dick:quote
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 2:29 PM
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I read an article on the home page of the community home page regarding powerline adapters and thought it was worth a try so ended up buying, like Strat bought a pair of TP Link powerlines, The first one I connect to the router which in my case is upstairs and at the back of the house, the second was fitted to my desktop downstairs and at the front of the house, followed the simple installation and it worked fine, the BB speed is 10 meg and my speed is 9.76 meg.
It was so successful I bought another one on E Bay and connected my redundant laptop to the tv in the same room as the desktop and can now watch catch up and internet tv on demand now.
With regard to being on the same ring I don’t know, I understood that my upstairs was a different circuit than downstairs but the only way I could prove it was to unplug the fuse which in my house is not a viable thing to do.
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 2:34 PM
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Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 2:39 PM
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Purchasing the Netgear kit allowed one of the adapters to be plugged in near, and connected to the router. The wifi adapter we plugged in near the stairs and hallway. It's really pretty amazing the effect it's had as the entire property is now 'flooded' and you get signal throughout. It even extends into parts of the garden. Admittedly placement of the wifi adapter is a big factor in where the signal will reach. This is a great bit of kit though and would recommend it from my experience.
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 2:42 PM
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To argue with someone who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 2:45 PM
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The electrics in my parents' house is getting on in years, and I'm pretty sure there is only one ring main. It would be easy enough to check if I could look inside the consumer unit.
I do like the look of Matt Taylor's recommendation with the 'plug-through', there are few sockets in the house and most are single sockets.
The broadband is a fast cable connection via Virgin media, would the speed be detrimentally affected if connected via the mains?
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 2:53 PM
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I run two x 200Mbps plugs with a reported link speed between them of 190Mbps. The 'remote' plug is a wifi access point and also has 3 ethernet ports.
dick:quote
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 3:12 PM
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Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 3:20 PM
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At my previous house I had them on different ring mains fed from two separate fuse boxes (yes, old fashioned grey fuse boxes not circuit breakers!) and one of them was on an 4 way extension lead!
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler) Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!) Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20) Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month) Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month) |
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 3:25 PM
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Quote from: Matt The trouble with homeplugs is they usually only work on the same ring main, and downstairs and upstairs are usually on different ones. I could be wrong there, and hope I am in this case, but it'd be worth testing if at all possible before spending the money.
As others have said, and I too can confirm, this is definitely wrong. I support Strat's recommendation of the TP-Link units (I have 4) but I'm not sure how you get 150Mbps out of them as they only have 100Mbps LAN ports on them!
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 3:35 PM
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jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler) Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!) Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20) Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month) Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month) |
Re: Thick walls, poor wireless connectivity - what options do I have
13-06-2012 3:37 PM
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Quote from: KevinG but I'm not sure how you get 150Mbps out of them as they only have 100Mbps LAN ports on them!
Isn't the 200 the total speed on the homeplug network so 2x100 (up and down) can give you more than 100.
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler) Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!) Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20) Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month) Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month) |
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