Broadband - wireless???

Horizon81

I've never had broadband in my home before but the time has come to get it! My problem is, I only have one phone socket which is in the living room downstairs. I want to put broadband on my PC which is upstairs. I thought I'd have to get a new phone socket installed in the bedroom upstairs but from speaking to a mate he says wireless is the way to go.
I worry that the signal wont be able to get through as there's a brick staircase running through the middle of the house which the signal would have to get through - i.e. the PC isn't directly above the room where the router would be.

What would you recommend?

lucylucky

Is your PC wireless capable or will you need to buy a card/dongle?

My basic o2 router manages to enable me to connect wirelessley through several old stone walls and I can work in the garden, approx 30 metres away, with no problems

Greensprout

Yes wireless will work fine as long as it's not a castle or a metal building you live in (you may then experience problems).

There would be no need for extra sockets, just a micro-filter and the router and you'd be good to go

Horizon81

lucylucky wrote: »

Is your PC wireless capable or will you need to buy a card/dongle?

My basic o2 router manages to enable me to connect wirelessley through several old stone walls and I can work in the garden, approx 30 metres away, with no problems

I'll need to get a dongle for it. Again, any recommendations? The more expensive the better I assume.

Standard brick construction (it's no castle) so sounds like I should be ok.

Gordon_Hose

Get a couple of Homeplugs. They utilise your existing electrical wiring and send the broadband signal over those to your PC upsatirs, easy as plugging something in to install and will be more reliable than wireless.

https://www.homeplugs.co.uk

stilltheone

A PCI Card is better than a USB card. Here for £7.70.

What is the model number of your Router?

Horizon81

Never heard of Homeplugs - they sound like those pest control devices you see on tv shopping channels that send pulses round your home wiring to deter pests.

The router will be BT's latest home hub.

Gordon_Hose

Wired > Wireless everyday of the week. And Homeplugs provide you with a wired connection anywhere in the house.

I use them for my PS3 and swear by them.

johnnyblount

We have big solid walls and use cheap £5.00 usb dongles from ebay in the 2 pcs we have and they work really well , plusnet wireless router was just a std Thompson but reaches well down to garden .
The connection is solid and these days I cant really see the point in most houses for homeplug set ups that can be iffy in some houses depending on wiring ring.
Wireless when its so cheap is the way to go and only go homeplug route as a last resort in my opinion.

Gordon_Hose

Because with Homeplugs you get wired speeds. You lose some of your speed over wireless.

stilltheone

Horizon81 wrote: »

Never heard of Homeplugs - they sound like those pest control devices you see on tv shopping channels that send pulses round your home wiring to deter pests.

The router will be BT's latest home hub.

In that case you can purchase an upgraded PCI Card with a wider range.

Such as this one for £21.57 or this for £24.05

Perhaps others can suggest something cheaper.