Wi-fi repeater

Technical Questions & Discussions about Computers, IT & electronics.
Post Reply
User avatar
tamada
udonmap.com
Posts: 17218
Joined: February 21, 2007, 4:03 am
Location: Down two...then left

Wi-fi repeater

Post by tamada » May 3, 2022, 1:34 pm

I'm not too impressed with the wi-fi signal strength of my two routers, currently in the front corner of the house, about 15m from my man cave. That's as close as they can get and they have a couple of walls and that metal-reinforced sheetrock stuff in between. Both routers are the non-antenna style: the generic 3BB modem/router and the older Cisco media router.

Is anyone using or can otherwise recommend a wi-fi repeater that can boost 2.4 and 5.0 GHz range? There's dozens on lazada but I recall dragonz commenting a few years back that some claiming dual-frequency don't do it well.

Ta
tam


'Don't waste your words on people who deserve your silence'
~Reinhold Messner~

'You don't have to be afraid of everything you don't understand'
~Louise Perica~

User avatar
kopkei
udonmap.com
Posts: 2226
Joined: August 27, 2010, 6:55 am

Re: Wi-fi repeater

Post by kopkei » May 6, 2022, 10:00 am

make a LAN connection (15-20M) from your original router to a 2nd router (used as bridge) in your man cave ? , as i did this to the daughters home next to us ...working perfect ... ;)

User avatar
tamada
udonmap.com
Posts: 17218
Joined: February 21, 2007, 4:03 am
Location: Down two...then left

Re: Wi-fi repeater

Post by tamada » May 6, 2022, 10:44 am

kopkei wrote:
May 6, 2022, 10:00 am
make a LAN connection (15-20M) from your original router to a 2nd router (used as bridge) in your man cave ? , as i did this to the daughters home next to us ...working perfect ... ;)
I've already got the Cisco router bridged to the Huawei modem for the security stuff but they are right at the front of the house already. Can't move anything nearer unless it's out on the patio which only gains me a couple of meters.

Ideally, if I would make a run of CAT5 (or 6) from the master bedroom (where the modem/router is) to the man cave, all hidden inside some 3/8" white conduit. However, that traverses a heavily trafficked spot between home and car port. It would also require loft access to make it aesthetically pleasing (I'm big on aesthetics and not having stuff hanging out windows or draped over the shrubbery). I'm averse to holes drilled in external walls too. I used to cringe at the True and TTT "technicians" ignoring the built in conduit and outlets for phone and cable, punch a hole in the corner of the ceiling and staple wires to the bloody wall.

However, there may be a hole from an earlier 3BB plumbing job that may work. I always wondered why the fiber upgrade needed it's own, new hole?

Thanks!
'Don't waste your words on people who deserve your silence'
~Reinhold Messner~

'You don't have to be afraid of everything you don't understand'
~Louise Perica~

User avatar
noosard
udonmap.com
Posts: 3998
Joined: April 17, 2011, 4:07 am
Location: Ban Jumpa Udon
Contact:

Re: Wi-fi repeater

Post by noosard » May 6, 2022, 11:59 am

Did they remove old cable
I have 3 older cables as well
Right size hole for 4

User avatar
tamada
udonmap.com
Posts: 17218
Joined: February 21, 2007, 4:03 am
Location: Down two...then left

Re: Wi-fi repeater

Post by tamada » May 10, 2022, 8:50 am

The wif-fi was weak as expected despite moving the modem/router about. The laptop connected OK in the man cave but they tend to have a decent sized internal wi-fi antenna. The main PC has a wi-fi card with a 4" antenna that's just above floor level so not a chance.

I found an old portable wireless AP that I reconfigured as an ethernet adapter that connected with the strongest of my 2.4G wi-fi signals so problem solved for now. I will probably still run some Cat6 in some conduit under the eaves at some later date.
'Don't waste your words on people who deserve your silence'
~Reinhold Messner~

'You don't have to be afraid of everything you don't understand'
~Louise Perica~

User avatar
samuel
udonmap.com
Posts: 893
Joined: July 31, 2014, 11:00 am
Location: Udon Thani

Re: Wi-fi repeater

Post by samuel » May 10, 2022, 12:41 pm

i'm also looking for improvement of WiFi-signal in my sleeping room.
the 3BB fiberoptic router is in the office.

i'm using a new iPad 8.
the difference in WiFi speed is quite stunning:

office:
.
office.jpg
.
sleeping room
.
sleepingroom.jpg
.
.
.
for some reasons i would not like to change the WiFi-router to the sleeping room.
.
any recommendations how to improve the WiFi speed in the sleeping room?
TIA

User avatar
tamada
udonmap.com
Posts: 17218
Joined: February 21, 2007, 4:03 am
Location: Down two...then left

Re: Wi-fi repeater

Post by tamada » May 10, 2022, 8:29 pm

samuel wrote:
May 10, 2022, 12:41 pm
i'm also looking for improvement of WiFi-signal in my sleeping room.
the 3BB fiberoptic router is in the office.

i'm using a new iPad 8.
the difference in WiFi speed is quite stunning:

office:
.
office.jpg
.
sleeping room
.
sleepingroom.jpg.
.
.
for some reasons i would not like to change the WiFi-router to the sleeping room.
.
any recommendations how to improve the WiFi speed in the sleeping room?
TIA
Since your rooms are in the same building, a wi-fi range extender should do the trick.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/tp-li ... 16967.html
'Don't waste your words on people who deserve your silence'
~Reinhold Messner~

'You don't have to be afraid of everything you don't understand'
~Louise Perica~

User avatar
samuel
udonmap.com
Posts: 893
Joined: July 31, 2014, 11:00 am
Location: Udon Thani

Re: Wi-fi repeater

Post by samuel » May 10, 2022, 8:42 pm

.
yeah i was thinking of one of these already.
i contacted 3BB already for a recommendation which one(s) would be compatible with my fiberoptic wlan router.
guess what - they could not say (…..).
.
so i might go for a blind date and give it a try.
the price is not too high for a failure anyway.
.

User avatar
tamada
udonmap.com
Posts: 17218
Joined: February 21, 2007, 4:03 am
Location: Down two...then left

Re: Wi-fi repeater

Post by tamada » May 10, 2022, 9:09 pm

samuel wrote:
May 10, 2022, 8:42 pm
.
yeah i was thinking of one of these already.
i contacted 3BB already for a recommendation which one(s) would be compatible with my fiberoptic wlan router.
guess what - they could not say (…..).
.
so i might go for a blind date and give it a try.
the price is not too high for a failure anyway.
.
Any brand will work with your 3BB wi-fi kit. I chose that one because of brand name recognition. I have used TP-Link stuff before, all good. There's a lot of no-name Xiaomi or Mi branded stuff that's cheaper but it's all generic trash. Careful of ones that have TP-Link in the picture but are actually some other brand.
'Don't waste your words on people who deserve your silence'
~Reinhold Messner~

'You don't have to be afraid of everything you don't understand'
~Louise Perica~

User avatar
tamada
udonmap.com
Posts: 17218
Joined: February 21, 2007, 4:03 am
Location: Down two...then left

Re: Wi-fi repeater

Post by tamada » December 27, 2022, 7:45 am

Bump.

After 6 months of being busy overseas, I'm finally home and getting this sorted. I opted to get a TP-Link SIM router (3400 baht) and a 1-year, 30mb/100Gb SIM from DTAC (1690 baht). I have decent signal strength on both DTAC and AIS on the east-side ring road. I will post some down/up speeds for info later.
'Don't waste your words on people who deserve your silence'
~Reinhold Messner~

'You don't have to be afraid of everything you don't understand'
~Louise Perica~

User avatar
tamada
udonmap.com
Posts: 17218
Joined: February 21, 2007, 4:03 am
Location: Down two...then left

Re: Wi-fi repeater

Post by tamada » January 2, 2023, 1:51 pm

Up and running.

DTAC's online SIM self-activation accepted a scan of my 7 year-old passport but rejected my face picture three times (maybe DM is onto something with my swarthy good looks?) but the error flag said it "didn't meet the NBTC guidelines." So I visited the DTAC store in Central with SIM (still in original packaging), passport and my face and they had it registered within a minute.

Back to shed , stuck the SIM in the router and with a 3-to-4 bar signal (75% according to the device software), I hooked up three devices by LAN and another couple on Wi-fi. Fast enough at the moment.

If anyone is interested in dl/ul speeds, to avoid opening a can o' worms, please let me know your preferred method of testing.
'Don't waste your words on people who deserve your silence'
~Reinhold Messner~

'You don't have to be afraid of everything you don't understand'
~Louise Perica~

Post Reply

Return to “Computers, IT & Electronics”