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Wifi extender
steve m - 21/3/16 at 06:19 PM

Hi

we have a problem with the lounge TV not picking up the wifi very well, and have been told that plug in the wall wifi extender
is a good way to go, but as I am clueless, what would be a good set up ?

steve

Dick Axtell - 21/3/16 at 06:32 PM

These can work well, but the source connector and the corresponding connector for the TV must be on the same ring main.

[Edited on 21/3/16 by Dick Axtell]

obfripper - 21/3/16 at 07:07 PM

I have these powerline adapters around the house, the ones on the ring main give about 200mbps, the security camera ones outside that are off the ringmain are at about 60mbps.
Just attach one to the router and one to the tv ethernet port, it will also free up bandwidth for your other wifi devices.
They will not work when attached to a surge protected extension lead, and do work better directly connected to the wall socket.

The plug in wifi repeater can be ok, but some devices will play up unless you have different SSID's for the repeater and router, also it will reduce the available bandwidth of the wifi coming from your router.

Dave

JMW - 21/3/16 at 07:27 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Dick Axtell
These can work well, but the source connector and the corresponding connector for the TV must be on the same ring main.

[Edited on 21/3/16 by Dick Axtell]



I don't think it's necessarily true that they need to be on the same ring main, in my house I have a few because of coverage problems and they are not all on the same ring. One is actually in the garage so through a separate consumer unit entirely.

gremlin1234 - 21/3/16 at 07:45 PM

quote:
Originally posted by JMW
quote:
Originally posted by Dick Axtell
These can work well, but the source connector and the corresponding connector for the TV must be on the same ring main.

[Edited on 21/3/16 by Dick Axtell]



I don't think it's necessarily true that they need to be on the same ring main, in my house I have a few because of coverage problems and they are not all on the same ring. One is actually in the garage so through a separate consumer unit entirely.
general recommendation on powerline units is they work back to the meter, though they have been seen to work beyond that in certain circumstances, however, they MUST be on the same phase.
wifi repeaters will lower the bandwidth available, but sometimes its worth it too.
ps. always best to run ethernet cabinet if possible.

v8kid - 21/3/16 at 07:55 PM

Staples sold us a wifi extender for £17.99 that relays the signal without using the ring main. It's idiot proof cos I set it up

steve m - 21/3/16 at 10:08 PM

appreciate the replies

an ethernet cable, would be 20metres long, would that be better than wifi ?

gremlin1234 - 21/3/16 at 10:13 PM

quote:
Originally posted by steve m
appreciate the replies

an ethernet cable, would be 20metres long, would that be better than wifi ?
yep, ethernet cables run at full speed up to <max> 100 metres
ie
max length of ethernet cable (cat5) is 100 metres, they will work at full speed, longer than that and they fail.

[Edited on 21/3/16 by gremlin1234]

mcerd1 - 22/3/16 at 11:23 AM

Cables are easy, fast and reliable - only problem is finding a neat way to route them

I found it pretty easy to install neatly using sockets on the wall when I had access under the floors (and I'm useless with electrical stuff and colour blind too...) although I spent ~£30 on the tool and a tester and £70 for the sockets and far more cable than I needed

Only thing is I wish I'd put more cables in at the time !

[Edited on 22/3/2016 by mcerd1]

MikeRJ - 22/3/16 at 12:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by v8kid
Staples sold us a wifi extender for £17.99 that relays the signal without using the ring main. It's idiot proof cos I set it up


These can work ok, but as others have said it reduces the available bandwidth and increases latency, and some devices don't play well with them.