Wifi Extender Help/Advice

[F350-6]

I use a Linksys mesh system. I get 650mbs anywhere on my acre lot

So what's the farthest distance from your router to the edge of your lot that it works like that? Is it centered so the range is around 200', or is it offset so the range is longer?

 

[lobo]

WiFi extenders are terrible. Mesh is what you need. I have a TP Link m4 but I don't know if three units like I have will do the range you need. I will tell you that it is inexpensive, blazing fast, easy to set up saves me money as I was able to return a Spectrum WiFi router and 3 TV boxes. I have a large spread out house and get roku and wifi everywhere and it NEVER goes down. Bought mine at Sams, if you don't like it it's an easy return. Bought one for my daughters house too.

How did that eleviate 3 TV boxes with Spectrum?

 

[rotor]

How did that eleviate 3 TV boxes with Spectrum?

Roku has spectrum app so can see all spectrum programs using the roku instead of the cable box therefore all three went back. Kept 2 boxes for tv where we use dvr. Returned the Spectrum wifi which was a POS anyway and the mesh replaced it. Pays for itself in no time by returning rented spectrum equipment and using Rokus which we needed as our old smart tvs didn't get the newer channels. Big win win.

 

[popper]

Most of these are omni-dirctional, you need a directional antenna. Kid has same problem with ATT phone, weBoost uses 30' antenna cable (rg6 low loss) that loses half of signal before the amps. Told her to focus the antenna with the old roof TV dish and shorten the antenna cable.

 

[DubiousDan]

I can't vouch for it, but this system seems to provide the longest range. At least that's what they claim, up to 10k square feet. I've tried one of those other types (the little box with two antenna arms that you plug in to a wall outlet) and didn't see much improvement from the house to my shed 25 yards from the router.

Amazon product ASIN B0842T3PNP

I ordered these yesterday and they arrived a while ago. They are not difficult to set up but it took a few tries to get it to detect the internet including resetting the modem.

One issue I have is that I have a router setup with Ethernet connections to 3 computers and a printer. One of the computers is sometimes used as a server and I didn't want to lose the settings.

Setup is done through an app on your phone

I tried connecting the mesh device to the existing router but I couldn't get it to work. It seems it needs to be connected directly to the modem. Someone else with more knowledge my not have this problem.

I ended up connecting the mesh device to the modem. The mesh device has two Ethernet ports. On the base device one of the ports is connected to the modem and you can connect any other device to the second one. I connected my old router to the mesh device and all is well.

The other two mesh devices were easier to set up. They need to be within 30 feet of the base device to set them up. It's basically just plugging it in and scanning the QR code on the back of the device.

The only issue was that the I wanted the third device in a location that was more than 30 feet from the base device. I did the setup at a location close to the base and then moved it to the more distant location. Everything seems to me working. I had a decent WiFi connection to the curb in front of the house and to the back fence. The house nor the lot are large.

If it doesn't work well for you, Amazon is good about returns. If you have a large property a more expensive one might be better.

 

[Brains]

The 30 foot restriction is only during initial setup/provisioning, as it uses BLE (bluetooth low energy) to make it much simpler and easier for non-technical users. Once configured, the BLE radios aren't (or shouldn't be) used, and you're free to move it within the WiFi envelope of the base unit.

 

[rotor]

I ended up connecting the mesh device to the modem. The mesh device has two Ethernet ports. On the base device one of the ports is connected to the modem and you can connect any other device to the second one. I connected my old router to the mesh device and all is well.

The other two mesh devices were easier to set up. They need to be within 30 feet of the base device to set them up. It's basically just plugging it in and scanning the QR code on the back of the device.

The only issue was that the I wanted the third device in a location that was more than 30 feet from the base device. I did the setup at a location close to the base and then moved it to the more distant location. Everything seems to me working. I had a decent WiFi connection to the curb in front of the house and to the back fence. The house nor the lot are large.

I am not sure why you connected your old router to the new mesh unit unless you turn off wifi on the router and are just using it as a switch. I have a high speed switch that I use to connect all of the ethernet hardwired computers and the mesh unit for all of the wifi. Modem->mesh>switch. I returned my rented router to spectrum as I don't need to pay them a monthly fee. If yours is owned, make sure you turn off wifi on the router as this will really screw things up. Although I don't have the unit you have you can't beat mesh. Mine is a TP Link m4.

 

[outdare]

Like the others said and get one of these gigibit switch's. They are plug and play.

Amazon.com : port gigabit switch

Sent from my moto g(7) play using Tapatalk

 

[DubiousDan]

I am not sure why you connected your old router to the new mesh unit unless you turn off wifi on the router and are just using it as a switch. I have a high speed switch that I use to connect all of the ethernet hardwired computers and the mesh unit for all of the wifi. Modem->mesh>switch. I returned my rented router to spectrum as I don't need to pay them a monthly fee. If yours is owned, make sure you turn off wifi on the router as this will really screw things up. Although I don't have the unit you have you can't beat mesh. Mine is a TP Link m4.

The old modem is connected to a computer that I use as a server. It's set up so that incoming traffic coming from a SFTP client connects to a specific port and it also has a static local ip address. i don't know that I could set up the mesh device to do this. There doesn't appear a way to do it using the phone app that is used to set it up.

 

[DubiousDan]

Like the others said and get one of these gigibit switch's. They are plug and play.

Amazon.com : port gigabit switch

Sent from my moto g(7) play using Tapatalk

The way I've set it up works well without additional equipment so I'll leave it as is.

 

[rotor]

The old modem is connected to a computer that I use as a server. It's set up so that incoming traffic coming from a SFTP client connects to a specific port and it also has a static local ip address. i don't know that I could set up the mesh device to do this. There doesn't appear a way to do it using the phone app that is used to set it up.

You mean the old router. Make sure you turn off wifi on the old router.

 

[DubiousDan]

You mean the old router. Make sure you turn off wifi on the old router.

Yes the old router. What will that do?

 

[rotor]

Yes the old router. What will that do?

You don't want wifi on in the router and on the mesh unit. Conflicts. The only thing you are using the router now is port forwarding for your server and as a switch. You don't want wifi on both units, just the mesh.

 

[rotor]

Yes the old router. What will that do?

You know how to get into the router right, usually just a browser and a password. Go to wifi and turn off.

 

[mitchntx]

My modem/router is inside a barndo and couldnt get decent reception in my metal shop, 50' away.

So I ran an ethernet cable from the router in the house to an access point in the shop.
Works perfect.
APs are cheap and so is ethernet cable.

 

[cajunautoxer]

So what's the farthest distance from your router to the edge of your lot that it works like that? Is it centered so the range is around 200', or is it offset so the range is longer?

I just went and walked around the front yard which has a module in right front of house. I walked across the street about 40 yards and and had 3 out of 4 bars on my phone

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

 

[DubiousDan]

You know how to get into the router right, usually just a browser and a password. Go to wifi and turn off.

Already did that. I had changed the router name when i set it up.

 

[Dumpnpump]

Years ago, I added two rubber antenna about a foot tall to my system, one on the router, the other on the wireless port on the back of the computer. They provided a marked improvement over the original configuration. If I recall correctly, I think the wi fi signals interfered with something else. Over the years, the antenna have been lost. I think I took them out of the system when wi fi signals changed the frequencies they used to be on. Think 2.4 mgh.

Also, if you are running an old machine like I am, there are external wireless cards that plug into a usb port. If your wireless card is failing, a replacement wireless card may be beneficial.

 

[pronstar]

I used this to send a signal to the guest house (about 30 yards) when we first moved to Dallas. There was a bit of a learning curve to set it up initially, but I’m not too bright. I could stream video and take voip calls at the same time, no problem.

It’s basically a two-way directional antenna

Ubiquiti does mostly commercial grade stuff IIRC

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DubiousDan]

I ordered these yesterday and they arrived a while ago. They are not difficult to set up but it took a few tries to get it to detect the internet including resetting the modem.

One issue I have is that I have a router setup with Ethernet connections to 3 computers and a printer. One of the computers is sometimes used as a server and I didn't want to lose the settings.

Setup is done through an app on your phone

I tried connecting the mesh device to the existing router but I couldn't get it to work. It seems it needs to be connected directly to the modem. Someone else with more knowledge my not have this problem.

I ended up connecting the mesh device to the modem. The mesh device has two Ethernet ports. On the base device one of the ports is connected to the modem and you can connect any other device to the second one. I connected my old router to the mesh device and all is well.

The other two mesh devices were easier to set up. They need to be within 30 feet of the base device to set them up. It's basically just plugging it in and scanning the QR code on the back of the device.

The only issue was that the I wanted the third device in a location that was more than 30 feet from the base device. I did the setup at a location close to the base and then moved it to the more distant location. Everything seems to me working. I had a decent WiFi connection to the curb in front of the house and to the back fence. The house nor the lot are large.

If it doesn't work well for you, Amazon is good about returns. If you have a large property a more expensive one might be better.

I've been messing with this for a few days and I've been comparing the signal strength of the signal boosters/repeaters to the signals from the imesh devices using an app called inSSIDer. The signals from the imesh are considerably stronger that the signals from the repeaters.

The display looks something like the pic. There are separate graphs, side by side, that show the strength of all the signals in range for 2.4 and 5G

Since there are I have three imesh devices InSSIDer shown two signals from each device. Even when I check the signal on the computer furthest from the imesh base, that's acting as a router, the imesh signal is stronger than the signal of the repeater that is closer to the computer.

Even though the imesh devices put out six signals, two from each of the three imesh devices, when I look for WiFi signals on a phone or computer it shows as a single signal.