Extending wifi

CoastingHatbox

To put wired access points in the ceiling, you need to drill two holes into each ceiling, one for each access point and then chase a single length down the wall near to where the router lives. Or you could do surface mount conduit for now and do the chasing the next time you redecorate. I know it is not trivial but the benefit make the disruption worthwhile, in this forummers opinion at least.

J_B

CoastingHatbox said:

If the bungalow has some attic space, the easiest option might be a couple of ceiling mount access points at each end of the bungalow, both plugged into the router via PoE injectors for power. (This means one cable handles both network connectivity and electrical supply to each access point).

We have these in our holiday rental apartments on the Welsh coast - they work well

Mickey666

CoastingHatbox said:

If the bungalow has some attic space, the easiest option might be a couple of ceiling mount access points at each end of the bungalow, both plugged into the router via PoE injectors for power. (This means one cable handles both network connectivity and electrical supply to each access point).

That would be my recommendation and is really the only way to guarantee rock solid wifi performance throughout a large house.  Powerline and mesh solutions are just bodges by comparison.  

I use TP-Link Omada access points.  Sometimes a ceiling mounted version but mostly the wall mounted versions that blend right in with standard sockets.  Also, as CoastingHatbox points out, because they are PoE compatible they can be powered over the ethernet cabling so there are none of those ugly 'wall warts' needed.  They are also remarkably inexpensive compared to other inferior solutions.    https://www.tp-link.com/uk/omada/

Installation in a bungalow should be remarkably easy as the Ethernet cables can be invisibly run in the roof space and only a single wire would be needed to connect to the router if a separate Ethernet switch is used, preferably a PoE version (also cheap as chips).  Or, just relocate the Router into the attic.  My router sits in a comms cabinet and its own wifi functionality is disabled.

fred246

My powerline adapters are absolutely fabulous. Never had any issues. Just work perfectly.

Ballard

I had this issue in my flat as I could only get usable Wi-Fi in the same room as the router. I bought BT Whole Home mesh system with three discs and was able to position them in such a way that I had excellent Wi-Fi throughout. 

Mickey666

fred246 said:

My powerline adapters are absolutely fabulous. Never had any issues. Just work perfectly.

I'm sure they do, I've used them myself in situation where performance wasn't a big issue. 
But the OP's issue is extending wifi AND maintaining high-speed performance:  "To use a PC in a different room, I have tried using a wired connection with TP Link 500 homeplugs but have found that there is a huge drop off in speed, probably due to distance & old wiring.  As an example, on the wired connection, I can get 100Mbps at the router but this drops to less than 10Mbps at the furthest point. "

Powerline and mesh solutions will certainly widen the areas of wifi reception but it will be at the expense of performance.  Fortunately, many people don't need high performance so will never notice the drop in speed.

fred246

I don't have a drop in speed from the powerline adapters.

Mickey666

You probably don't have an internet connection as fast as the OP.

Undervalued

Mickey666 said:

You probably don't have an internet connection as fast as the OP.

The TP-Link power line adaptors I mentioned (in my post half way down the first page) were significantly faster than my WiFi ever achieved even when the computer was in the same room as the router! Providing they were on the same ring main.

The OP, in his reply, said that his were on the same ring main but gave disappointing results, which I found surprising.

At the time I had 100 MB cable BB (which speed tested at about 105 with a wired connection to the supplied router. The best I ever got on 2.4 GHz WiFi with that router was around 50 MBs and often far less. The TP link units gave a reliable 70+ anywhere on that ring main.

fred246

It seems daft constantly persuading everyone that powerline adapters are no good when they obviously work very well for a large proportion of people. Buying a couple to try isn't an enormous expense and you can sell them if they don't work for you. Get all the fixed stuff on powerline and keep the wifi on the mesh for mobile devices. Works for me anyway.