Recommended Wireless range extenders for Fibre connection

[Jodash]

I just had my fiberhoods fibre connection with Vox installed yesterday. Speeds are blistering in my study which is where the MikroTik Routerboard modem is installed (Getting around 90mbps download and upload)

I am struggling however to get any sort of decent connection speed in the living room and bedroom using my existing TP Link TL WA850RE 300Mbps and Huawei WS331c range extenders. Speed test produces a result of around 9mbps on average when using the range extender.

I believe that the speeds are generally much better with a 5Ghz range extender. Any recommended brand and model for these? Ideally available locally.

Thanks in advance!

 

[falcon786]

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/wirel...the-home-to-include-super-powerful-wi-fi.html

Speak to Vox.

 

[falcon786]

Oh and range extenders are crap,you need proper Access points like VOX provides or a powerline wifi Ethernet kit like this.

http://www.takealot.com/tp-link-300mbps-wireless-n-powerline-extender-kit/PLID34147433

I've installed this at home to get proper coverage at home with my 20mbps vdsl line and media servers etc and it's working great so far.

 

[PBCool]

It's better to run a few ethernet cables to multiple access points around the house, when you "extend" you are taking poor signal and just boosting it. You cant go wrong with copper.

 

[falcon786]

It's better to run a few ethernet cables to multiple access points around the house, when you "extend" you are taking poor signal and just boosting it. You cant go wrong with copper.

Yes Ethernet would probably be best option but I wasn't in the mood to drill through the slab so power-line's copper was the next best thing in my case.

 

[PBCool]

Yeah that would also work, it's basically wireless over power .

 

[Inertia]

It's better to run a few ethernet cables to multiple access points around the house, when you "extend" you are taking poor signal and just boosting it. You cant go wrong with copper.

This. In the medium to long term I've noticed that range extenders tend to degrade, as do power line adapters. You will save money and time by investing in a decent wired home network setup.

Have a look at this thread for ideas: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...lp-me-analyse-this-R50k-home-networking-quote

 

[SauRoNZA]

You'll probably find that 5GHZ will be slower, especially if you expect it to be better at range.

Sure 5GHZ in and of itself supports higher speeds....but at lower ranges.

At the extreme ranges you might find 2.4GHZ will still perform better.

I would avoid Wireless Range Extension if at all possible. Run a cable to the "Extender" instead and run it in Access Point mode, basically keeping your networking backbone wired and only your endpoints wireless.

 

[funkychicken]

ISPAfrika uses Tenda routers. Strong signal throughout house and i could drop my previous wireless extender that i had with my netgear router.

http://www.tendacn.com/in/product/FH307.html

 

[PBCool]

There's only so much a router can do, we've had customers purchase R6000 routers thinking they would get 100Mbps to their mobile device at the bottom of their garden. Wireless works on a send and receive perspective in that devices also have receive sensitivity. The larger the antenna the better the receive and send potential. Your mobile phone for instance hasn't got great receive or transmit potential due to it's size. In which case you need a access point to be closer to get a better result.

That being said most people don't like the idea of running cables in the "wireless" age .

 

[chrisc]

Get an Apple Airplay and run it as an access point. I have been down this route and the Airplay worked the best without doubt

 

[Greencom]

There's only so much a router can do, we've had customers purchase R6000 routers thinking they would get 100Mbps to their mobile device at the bottom of their garden. Wireless works on a send and receive perspective in that devices also have receive sensitivity. The larger the antenna the better the receive and send potential. Your mobile phone for instance hasn't got great receive or transmit potential due to it's size. In which case you need a access point to be closer to get a better result.

That being said most people don't like the idea of running cables in the "wireless" age .

I am in total agreement here , cable always the best way to go but is just not practical in most enviroments due to the fact that a lot of people will just not allow surface mount cabling in their homes.

Router brands do perform slightly differently but they are all governed with output power by law on both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz, routers that imbrace the 802.11ac protocol with MIMO multi antenna arrays will give you great throuput but will not achieve much more range. The other problem with these expensive ac MIMO routers is that not all devices support the protocol.
Wireless range extender can help a little but loose throughput as you hop through the devices , a better option is powerline adaptors using HomePlug AV2 standard across your electrical reticulation and we have had good results with these. Their failing is that they only work on the same electrical phase and in a lot of cases the area you want to access in the property is distant and on a different phase, this can be overcome using phase coupling solutions but this is fairly complicated and is another forum debate in itself .
Self forming , self healing 'Mesh'' networks perform OK with multiple access points but they do not come cheap . I think we just have to accept that as we progress with higher and higher speeds into our homes and the demand on the Wi Fi increases with muliple devices , something just have to give eventually and sadley this is going to be your wallet !

This may interest you with regard to Wi Fi perception. http://www.ee.co.za/article/ftth-wi-fi-full-9-yards.html

 

[Cocopops]

Hey Guys,

I am looking into this and just not sure how this works, can somebody help me please?

1. So you plug one of these things into the router and into the wall via ethernet
2. You plug the extenders into the power outlets wherever you need signal
3. You need to plug the device into the extender?? or is it wireless??

Pretty pointless for me if I need to plug my device into the extender to get wireless.. hence the questions..

 

[irBosOtter]

Hey Guys,

I am looking into this and just not sure how this works, can somebody help me please?

1. So you plug one of these things into the router and into the wall via ethernet
2. You plug the extenders into the power outlets wherever you need signal
3. You need to plug the device into the extender?? or is it wireless??

Pretty pointless for me if I need to plug my device into the extender to get wireless.. hence the questions..

Some of the powerline devices have built in Wifi, some not, so if you want wifi buy the ones with built in wifi

I used powerline adapters for a week, only got 1MB/s speed over it, was a waste of money. Hopefully you don't have the same issues, most people have no issues with them

 

[rutger25]

By far the best products I've used is Ubiquiti's Access Points. It just works! Honestly get the best performance!
I've got two of these: https://scoop.co.za/ubiquiti-unifi-dual-band-ac-lite-ap.html
Fantastic products!

 

[Cocopops]

THanks, Mesh network might be better in that case as these Powerlink things arent cheap..

 

[Cocopops]

Some of the powerline devices have built in Wifi, some not, so if you want wifi buy the ones with built in wifi

I used powerline adapters for a week, only got 1MB/s speed over it, was a waste of money. Hopefully you don't have the same issues, most people have no issues with them

Hey Mann, Interesting, how does this work? Does it work in conjunction with router or replaces it?

 

[pinball wizard]

Your best and cheapest is re-purposing your billion adsl router as a range extender. Works like a bomb and costs you a piece of network cable.

 

[taheera]

question re ubiquiti

By far the best products I've used is Ubiquiti's Access Points. It just works! Honestly get the best performance!
I've got two of these: https://scoop.co.za/ubiquiti-unifi-dual-band-ac-lite-ap.html
Fantastic products!

hi, please allow me a novice question re this product, how do you install it, i need it in my sons room, as we installed fibre, but it doesnt get to his room the signal, his phone can pick it up but not his laptop. his room is behind a thick wall and 2 doors, my office can pick up signal 6 meters away.
is it as simple as putting this ubiquiti contraption in the ceiling above his room and connecting an ethernet cable from the fibre router to this contraption (is it called an access point? as opposed to a wifi extender---?? whats the difference)

or is it a better option to get some kind of usb plug in thing for his laptop which runs windows 10 (dell laptop i5)

thanks

 

[SauRoNZA]

hi, please allow me a novice question re this product, how do you install it, i need it in my sons room, as we installed fibre, but it doesnt get to his room the signal, his phone can pick it up but not his laptop. his room is behind a thick wall and 2 doors, my office can pick up signal 6 meters away.
is it as simple as putting this ubiquiti contraption in the ceiling above his room and connecting an ethernet cable from the fibre router to this contraption (is it called an access point? as opposed to a wifi extender---?? whats the difference)

or is it a better option to get some kind of usb plug in thing for his laptop which runs windows 10 (dell laptop i5)

thanks

I hate to say it, but if you need to ask the above questions then a Ubiquiti Unifi is not for you.

It's an enterprise level device that assumes some enterprise level knowledge.