Tell me about wifi boosters/extenders - clueless

Undervalued

were wrote: »

For starters, this booster must receive a good signal to transmit a good signal, so possibly not good for longer distances. Also the cheaper ones cant transmit and receive at the same time so you only get half the bandwidth, but this is often more than plenty for internet.

Yes indeed, that bit is often misunderstood. I investigated some problems a friend was having with a TP-Link extender. It was a neat little unit and very easy to set up simply by using the WPS button. It seemed to radiate a lovely strong signal.

However, what wasn't immediately apparent was that unless it was receiving a strong signal from their router (at least 4 out of 5 leds) the data transfer rate was abysmal. Because of its strong WiFi signal most devices anywhere in the house tended to latch on to the extender even when they would have worked perfectly OK from the main router! It went on Gumtree.....

ThinkingOutLoud_2

DoaM wrote: »

That's assuming the OP's router includes 5GHz WiFi and that the black box is connecting on 5GHz by default.

No assumption. I said can and as many routers now do, that does seem to be a common issue - https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=now+tv+5ghz+automatically&*
Of course, if he doesn't have 5ghz - that is not the issue.

The tweaked router aerial solution is a good one often - but may not explain why one NowTV box works great and another sat in the same location does not. Both must be getting the same signal? So the idea of moving the NowTv box around makes more sense if its aerial is not in the same place.

almillar

Another vote for Powerline adaptors over WiFi extenders. Even via an extension cord/gang socket, which they don't recommend, it will probably be faster and more reliable than a WiFi booster/extender. These boosters usually halve the network speed - that's fine for some surfing in the shed, but since it's a NowTV box, I assume it's for streaming video, and network speed and reliability is important.

DoaM

ThinkingOutLoud wrote: »

The tweaked router aerial solution is a good one often - but may not explain why one NowTV box works great and another sat in the same location does not. Both must be getting the same signal? So the idea of moving the NowTv box around makes more sense if its aerial is not in the same place.

As you were keen to jump on my comment and bolded the word can from your earlier reply, I'll do likewise and bold the word design from mine.

ThinkingOutLoud_2

DoaM wrote: »

As you were keen to jump on my comment and bolded the word can from your earlier reply, I'll do likewise and bold the word design from mine.

Try reading mine again - I am acknowledging your idea that the new design means the NowTv's wifi aerial has moved ...and so moving it around might work, as good idea to try.
:beer:

DoaM

I don't need to. You actually said ...

but may not explain why one NowTV box works great and another sat in the same location does not

That's what my design comment relates to.

(Perhaps I should have highlighted that part when I quoted you).

ThinkingOutLoud_2

DoaM wrote: »

I don't need to. You actually said ...
That's what my design comment relates to.
(Perhaps I should have highlighted that part when I quoted you).

Yes. Two separate sentences. Two separate points.

The new DESIGN of the NowTv Black box may mean moving it around will improve its reception, we agree again.
Moving the broadband router only complicates things, as its clear there is an adequate wifi signal where both the NowTv boxes are being placed already.

DoaM

Ah right - gotcha now. The sentence below wasn't obvious in my forum view so I glossed over it - sorry.

ThinkingOutLoud wrote: »

So the idea of moving the NowTv box around makes more sense if its aerial is not in the same place.

EdwardB

pfpf wrote: »

hi,
we have an original old white NowTV box that works great in the living room (router/modem upstairs).
we decided to "upgrade" to a newer black box as it navigates so much faster. problem is the wireless reception to the black box is terrible (its in the same spot as the white box) and makes watching it impossible, I have no idea why its worse.

anyway, I don't really want to go down the power line route as the router end is pretty hard to get to and theres already too much plugged in there. so that leaves me with a booster?

as I know nothing about it I have picked this out from amazon to ask about:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Extender-Wireless-Amplifier-IEEE802-11N-Integrated/dp/B01M8FBYLP/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1488489324&sr=8-14&keywords=wifi+booster

is that the kind of thing I would need?
does it boost wireless but also give me a wired option even though the unit actually receives the signal wirelessly?

I would love some advice and recommendations.

thank you.

A friend of mine had a similar problem, I had recommended they use NowTV for Plex.tv some years ago and they got hooked.

It was funny they were blaming their house walls and cabling; it became a bit of a mission.

First they tried an basic extender like the one you quoted but it was not reliable, then they bought a more expensive one but no luck there either. Never got to whether it was a weak signal or the source signal, they took it back and swapped for powerline adapters, but they had a problem too. It was an old house and the signal was dire.

I then lent them my AC router and a 30m ethernet cable so they could test various areas of their house, they wanted to test their attic as it would give them more flexibility and they got better signal quality too.

The AC router was connected via Ethernet to the ISP router they then positioned it in a midpoint between the room they wanted to serve and it did the job, but they did not buy one as wanted to check out various models.

As a temporary measure they ran an ethernet cable from the study (where the ISP router was located to the attic and over to the bedroom where the NowTV box was located and plugged it in to the built in ethernet port of the NowTV.

Not a solution that everyone can take but might be worth considering, AC router also worth considering, I managed to serve 5 flats next to my last place and one of them was running some sort of smart tv downloading.

If you are prepared to lurk on ebay and use auctionstealer then you can pick up a bargain AC router, mine cost me just over £30 with postage. It is a good investnent as AC is the way to go, I upgraded my Laptop Lan card to AC and it is faster copying files to my backup NAS which has 1gb port than connecting via ethernet via my 100mb lan port on laptop.

SouthUKMan

Hello. A couple of observations based on my own experience. Unless optimally setup, wifi extenders can prove a right pain to get working effectively. As already pointed out, they need to receive a near perfect signal in the first place in order to rebroadcast a useful signal. While they do have their place, to me wifi extenders add a level off complexity and are a bit like trying to solve a problem with a sticky plaster.

Secondly, I would seriously consider looking to upgrade the router to improve the signal and thereby doing away with all this extra tech and talk of various extenders! There are many comparison tests that show most 'brand name' routers emit a far more robust signal than many of the 'el cheapo' routers supplied by broadband manufacturers. A replacement router will be a similar cost if not a little cheaper than a wifi extender.