Best way to extend wifi upstairs?

CarterUSM

Hi

We would like to extend our wifi network to an upstairs bedroom; the modem/router is in our front room, and we intend to take the PC upstairs.

Having done a bit of research, it would appear that a wired ethernet connection is the fastest and most reliable method. However, this would appear to involve drilling and other disruption.

I’m not really willing to consider a wifi extender, as there would appear to be performance issues with this application.

So the choice would appear to be between a mesh system and a powerline adapter. I’m inclined towards the mesh system, as I understand the powerline solution is dependent on the condition of the house’s electrical wiring, and as no work has been done on it for at least 25 years, that is an obvious disadvantage.

Does anyone have any opinions on what would be the best option?

Many thanks in anticipation of your assistance.

oldernonethewiser

I put MESH systems into a couple of places for friends with no issues whatsoever.

TadleyBaggie

I have a three node Deco mesh system. I have disabled the WiFi on the router, put the main unit in the hallway, then ran an ethernet cable to the loft. The remaining two units sit at opposite ends of the loft for maximum coverage. Works perfectly.

Myci85

Does your WiFi signal not already reach the upstairs bedroom? Unless your house is particularly large/thick walls/unusual layout, it should do. Our router is in our living room downstairs, and reaches throughout the whole house (medium size 3 bed) with enough speed to manage day to day use.

Rob5342

Have you tried it to see how well your existing WiFi works upstairs?

They should both work well, a mesh network is probably a better overall solution as it will work for all devices, and powerline adapters are probably better if you want to focus only on one device. The age of the wiring shouldn't make much difference. Electrical systems weren't designed to carry data and still aren't, and powerline adapters are designed to accommodate the shortcomings. Any work done on your wiring now won't include anything aimed at improving the data carrying capability.

On a separate note, if your wiring hasn't been touched for 25 years I'd suggest getting it inspected for safely reasons. 

ButterCheese

It might help if you let the forum know what speed you are getting now i.e. what is your stated speed from your supplier, what speeds you get in your front room and what you get upstairs.  For reference, we pay for 350mb/sec and get 350-380 in the front room, and about 180 upstairs which is more than adequate.  If you're only getting a few mb/sec to start with, you may want to think about getting a different deal if you can before spending a lot on a mesh system

oldernonethewiser

Myci85 said:

Does your WiFi signal not already reach the upstairs bedroom? Unless your house is particularly large/thick walls/unusual layout, it should do. Our router is in our living room downstairs, and reaches throughout the whole house (medium size 3 bed) with enough speed to manage day to day use.

Not unusual for WiFi to struggle, particularly in large older properties, which is where a MESH system can be of use. 

Ectophile

I've used powerline adaptors for several years.  They don't care how old your wiring is, but do care how the house is wired.  The speeds quoted on the box are for an ideal laboratory setup.  What you actually get will probably be lower.

If both units are plugged into the same socket ring, they should deliver a good speed.

If the units are plugged into different rings, they will probably work but at a much reduced speed.

If you have a three-phase supply to your home (most homes are single phase), then plugging the units into different phases may not work at all.

Plugging the units into extension leads may reduce the speed.  Plug them direcly into the wall.

shiraz99

CarterUSM said:

Hi

We would like to extend our wifi network to an upstairs bedroom; the modem/router is in our front room, and we intend to take the PC upstairs.

Having done a bit of research, it would appear that a wired ethernet connection is the fastest and most reliable method. However, this would appear to involve drilling and other disruption.

I’m not really willing to consider a wifi extender, as there would appear to be performance issues with this application.

So the choice would appear to be between a mesh system and a powerline adapter. I’m inclined towards the mesh system, as I understand the powerline solution is dependent on the condition of the house’s electrical wiring, and as no work has been done on it for at least 25 years, that is an obvious disadvantage.

Does anyone have any opinions on what would be the best option?

Many thanks in anticipation of your assistance.

Unless you've got some odd wiring the powerline will be more than fine to use. I live in a hundred year old property and the wiring is pretty old but powerline adapters work OK for a back bedroom with limited wifi.

Myci85

oldernonethewiser said:

Myci85 said:

Does your WiFi signal not already reach the upstairs bedroom? Unless your house is particularly large/thick walls/unusual layout, it should do. Our router is in our living room downstairs, and reaches throughout the whole house (medium size 3 bed) with enough speed to manage day to day use.

Not unusual for WiFi to struggle, particularly in large older properties, which is where a MESH system can be of use. 

Oh I know some properties it struggles to reach, but OP hadn't said that it was struggling, and the post sounded like they haven't even tried it upstairs yet, so I just wanted to make sure it wasn't that they were not v tech savvy and had assumed it wouldn't reach without even trying. 

CarterUSM

Thanks for your replies to date. Not being techie orientated, this might sound like a really silly question - but if we were to move the PC upstairs, surely it would require some kind of physical wiring connection to the router? How would the PC pick up the wifi signal otherwise, if we left things as they are?