WIFi Extenders/Routers

Wayne's_Woes

I have Virgin Media package which includes broadband, television and phone When upgrading to a V6 box they sent me a Netgear Powerline extender which works fine downstairs. However the WiFi reception/connection upstairs is very poor. I believe I need to put another extender or router upstairs to improve the reception. Do I need an extender or a router. Does it have to be Netgear so it is compatible with the Netgear Powerline downstairs or can I use any brand.hat should I purchase maybe using E Bay as a vehicle as they seem cheaper there. Thank you for any advise..

ballyblack

I would purchase from Amazon. That way you can return easily.....not so with ebay.

sometimes they can be difficult to get to run properly

Tim_Richmond

It is an interesting point. Is a router or extender better used to improve WiFi in another level of your accommodation .Ours is very spasmodic upstairs with the main router/hub being downstairs. Which is the best one to buy to improve the wifi reception in another part of the house, and do you have to stick with Netgear or can you purchase a TP-Link extender which I understand are good. Will two different brands work together.

BigAl94

Two different brands should work ok - I have mixed TP Link and Netgear. But there are no guarantees.

abssorb

If you can bear to use a cable, a long ethernet cable and something called a WiFi "Access Point" is the most powerful solution.
I made a post on a related Q here which might help:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/75083306#Comment_75083306

arciere

You only need one router, you can't have more than one router.
You might want to decide between a WiFi range extender and a Wireless Access Point (WAP).
WiFi range extender: highly unreliable in comparison, only advantage is that you can put it almost anywhere provided that you have power sockets. The more you use (chain), the less reliable the signal becomes.
WAP: ideal choice, disadvantage is that they normally need to be connected directly to the router or a switch with a network cable. If you can do this, no need to even consider range extenders.

esuhl

arciere wrote: »

You only need one router, you can't have more than one router.

Yep. But be aware that that the technical definition of a router is not the same as the everyday usage.


Technically, a router is a device that routes traffic between networks. In a domestic environment, you would only want one local network, and therefore you only need one router. You cannot use additional routers.


In looser everyday parlance, a "router" is a device that combines many different network devices (including a router, but often including things like a firewall, Ethernet hub/switch, wireless access point, ADSL bridge, cable bridge, USB print server, etc.) into one box.


Whilst you can only use one (actual) router on your network, you can happily use multiple "router" boxes so long as you aren't actually using them to route traffic, e.g. you just want to use the additional Ethernet ports and wireless access point.



Some companies use a different term to "router" when referring to multi-device boxes. DrayTek call them "firewalls", some ISPs call them "hubs", etc.

arciere

esuhl wrote: »

Yep. But be aware that that the technical definition of a router is not the same as the everyday usage.

That's exactly why I said you can only have one router.
I understand that, generally speaking, people call *router* whatever box gives them a wireless internet connection, but when they are talking about adding a second *router*, better be careful because they may actually end up buying a second ROUTER, connecting it to their existing network and finding out that nothing works because now there are two routers, two DHCP servers, etc...
I know what people mean when they say router, but if they need to go and buy it, they'd better ask for a Wireless access point or a range extender

dont_use_vistaprint

You can use an Extender like your current Netgear PowerLine but with WiFi capability. I use a TPLink AV600 PowerLine Wifi-KIT with a VM Router and its works great. When out of range you simply connect to the TPLink rather than your normal WiFi.

Your VM device is a router and Wi-fi. You dont need another router.
To start, make sure to position it centrally and point the Ariels into the corners most used. The best place is on shelf high up near the ceiling and in the centre of the house but its not always practical.

If you cant do the above use one or more pairs of PowerLine or Power-Line with Wifi devices to reach the corners , they dont need to be compatible with each other or the VM router.

BH246

I have been given a Netgear WN2000RPT universal Range extender to use upstairs as the WiFi reception is very poor in that part of our house. However I do not seem able to get it to connect. How exactly should it work please.

esuhl

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/WN2000RPT/WN2000RPT_UM_8Dec10.pdf