WiFi Misery - Suggestions please

darrenwis

Hi all,


Over the past 3 months our WiFi at home has been constantly dropping out and slowing down. PlusNet advised the speed coming in is fine and stable, and if they send an engineer and no fault is found then we will be charged £65.00.


I do think it maybe due to our WiFi, but I have split 2.4 and 5Ghz, I have also tried numerous wireless channels with no significant improvement, and I have also tried disconnecting certain devices such as Amazon Echo to isolate interference. We have not had any new things such as washing machines etc that could also be causing interference problems.


In particular, one of the rooms just does not allow WiFi to work in it. It doesn't pick up a signal, presumably due to thickness of walls? I have tried a WiFi Extender in the next room but it made no difference and doesn't pick up any signal.


There is a secondary phone socket in the room, but the PlusNet Router is connected to the main phone socket by our front door next to where we use it a lot in dining room/living room. To run a Ethernet cable from the router to the problem room so I can use my laptop for work in the room isn't really a sustainable option and with a little one I don't want the trailing wires.


Where does this leave me? And what low cost options have I got?


I look forward to your replies.


Darren

dunroving

You could run a line extender to your office, maybe? That's one of those kits with a base unit that's wired to the router(via Ethernet cable) and an extender unit in the room you need a better signal.

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerline-Configuration-UK-TL-WPA4220KIT-V1-20/dp/B01LXOZ4EN/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1508511028&sr=8-15&keywords=wi-fi+extenders

AFAIK, the newer versions of these come with not only an Ethernet outlet (so you can wire directly to your office computer), but also a wi-fi transmitter.

Not this. though:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BT-Dual-Band-Wi-Fi-Extender-Booster/dp/B00P7XV00O/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1508511028&sr=8-13&keywords=wi-fi+extenders

I had one of the latter gadgets and it was very unreliable. It essentially "relays" the wi-fi signal, but in my experience (and many threads of read), they are very temperamental and rely on it (a) having a decent signal to pick up in the first pace, and (b) then being able to transmit to whatever devices you have in the part of the house you are relaying to.

[This suggestion might solve the issue if it's simply an issue of poor reception in places distant to the router. If you have a problem with getting a signal to the router in the first place, though, it won't solve that.]

thebigstillmeister

.... dunroving beat me to it,

I'd recommend these plugs, I had a 'dodgy' smart tv upstairs that would randomly lose wifi, in our case it was the tv not the actual wifi signal, so i got one of those plugs and it allowed me to plug a network cable in it instead, very handy

Linton

Does your laptop display show a poor signal? You should be able to find software that shows the error count etc on the wifi connection.

If the signal strength is poor, some options from my experience solving a similar problem....
1) Try the laptop in different positions - check it works well if it is close to the router.
2) A different router. Some have a significantly more powerful signal than others. I believe the latest BTHome Hubs are good in this respect.
3) A wifi/USB aerial, use one with a length of cable rather than one where you plug the aerial directly into the USB port. Make sure it is positioned to minimise walls between it and the router.
4) Powerline adaptors which transmit ethernet over the mains. They have never worked well for me but seem to for some people. It depends very much on your house wiring and the noise from electrical equipment.

The best solution for me turned out to be a tplink wifi extender though an aerial worked reasonably well.

2.4GHz is better than 5GHz when the signal strength is poor. In my experience splitting the channels doesnt help.

darrenwis

I've seen these, any good:


http://www.argos.co.uk/product/5742734


Some come with 'pass through' plug do I need that? The one that is going to be connected to the router will need to be plugged into an extension lead.


Thanks,
D

dunroving

darrenwis wrote: »

I've seen these, any good:


http://www.argos.co.uk/product/5742734


Some come with 'pass through' plug do I need that? The one that is going to be connected to the router will need to be plugged into an extension lead.


Thanks,
D

A pass-through is good in that you don't lose a power socket.

It's generally recommended that you don't use these in an extension. If you buy a pass-through one you may not need to use an extension - plug it into the wall and plug whatever was in the wall into the pass-through.

cajef

darrenwis wrote: »

I've seen these, any good

I have the more expensive ones as I needed three network outputs, had them for a couple of years, they are a good bit of kit that work very well without any problems so far.

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/tp-link-tl-pa8030kit-av1200-pass-through-powerline-kit-a57tg

grumpycrab

dunroving wrote: »

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerline-Configuration-UK-TL-WPA4220KIT-V1-20/dp/B01LXOZ4EN/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1508511028&sr=8-15&keywords=wi-fi+extenders

Note that some of the examples above don't provide wifi at the problem room. This pair does. I don't want to put you off put setting these things up can be ...err a pain. A computer friend may be helpful.

Linton

darrenwis wrote: »

I've seen these, any good:


http://www.argos.co.uk/product/5742734


Some come with 'pass through' plug do I need that? The one that is going to be connected to the router will need to be plugged into an extension lead.


Thanks,
D

These are very cheap versions of what I meant by powerline adaptors in my post. They connect by ethernet cable to both the laptop and the router. My experience with more expensive ones has been that when they work they are brilliant but they tended to lose connection a few times a day which was very annoying.

You can get ones with wifi but ethernet cable can be faster.

System

dunroving wrote: »

A pass-through is good in that you don't lose a power socket.

It's generally recommended that you don't use these in an extension. If you buy a pass-through one you may not need to use an extension - plug it into the wall and plug whatever was in the wall into the pass-through.

I tried one in an extension as an experiment. It lost 2/3 of its speed going from 300mbit to 100 mbit.

JP1978

darrenwis wrote: »

Hi all,


Over the past 3 months our WiFi at home has been constantly dropping out and slowing down. PlusNet advised the speed coming in is fine and stable, and if they send an engineer and no fault is found then we will be charged £65.00.


I do think it maybe due to our WiFi, but I have split 2.4 and 5Ghz, I have also tried numerous wireless channels with no significant improvement, and I have also tried disconnecting certain devices such as Amazon Echo to isolate interference. We have not had any new things such as washing machines etc that could also be causing interference problems.


In particular, one of the rooms just does not allow WiFi to work in it. It doesn't pick up a signal, presumably due to thickness of walls? I have tried a WiFi Extender in the next room but it made no difference and doesn't pick up any signal.


There is a secondary phone socket in the room, but the PlusNet Router is connected to the main phone socket by our front door next to where we use it a lot in dining room/living room. To run a Ethernet cable from the router to the problem room so I can use my laptop for work in the room isn't really a sustainable option and with a little one I don't want the trailing wires.


Where does this leave me? And what low cost options have I got?


I look forward to your replies.


Darren

OP, are you saying that the speed is slow or the signal reach is bad, or both?

Re the speed, the only way to reliably say is to connect a laptop to the router with ethernet cable and test the speed then.

That will eliminate if it's an upcoming issue, or if its the router.

Routers supplied by the ISP's are generally guff. I have seen vast improvements in the house in both speed and range since adding an Asus router to the Sky Q router and turning the wifi off on the Sky.