Wifi MEGA Issues: Help Please

[TayeedzSA]

Hey Guys, it's ya boy TayeedzSA, I'm new to the forum and a noob with complicated internet setups.

Introductions aside, here's the problem I need help with:

Recently I moved from a single story house to a double story with thick, I repeat, THICK walls and a rather thick ceiling from downstairs. Now because of this I have poor signal strength upstairs (From 5 to 2 bars on my laptop) and my Playstation 3 struggles to connect as well. Not good if you're running a new Youtube channel

A few weeks ago I received the new Mweb Fon router with the range extender. Here I am thinking, "Yay my wifi coverage problems are solved".... The Wifi Gods didn't seem to think that and it turned out the range extender is too weak for my applications. According to Mweb I'm losing packets of data and the only way for me to solve this is to get a stronger range extender.

Without the Mweb Range Extender, the laptop's speed upstairs slows down significantly but is usable to an extent and I can't connect my PS3 at all, connection keeps timing out yet when I bring it downstairs it connects flawlessly. With the Mweb Range Extender the signal strength increases to 100% on both devices but the internet slows to a halt and is unusable which I don't understand. The signal strength LED on the extender just flashes and takes time to pair.

So I sat down and had a think. Before I moved I actually had a range extender, a BILLION 3100SN (Mind you it was complicated for me to setup.) but I ended up just using an ethernet cable from the extender to the router. I just couldn't figure out how to setup it up properly. Oh and I have a spare Mweb BILLION W40 router and now a spare Telkom DuoPlus 500WR router.

So what I'm asking is, before I end up starting to buy things, can't I use what I already have and is there a way to solve this issue?

Note: At the moment I'm using the Fon Router . My Playstation 3 is 3m away from the router. PS3 is upstairs and the router is downstairs. That's pretty much the distance of the router from the rooms. The router is chilling in the kitchen and is far from the Microwave. I also made sure the routers were setup properly and I know how to access their settings.

 

[isie]

Try and run a cable from the kitchen to upstairs and connect you router to one of your older routers (use the same ssid an password but on a different channel) wifi extenders wont do much more if the concrete is already causing issues, if you dont want to drill or run cables then Consider getting Ethernet over power devices

 

[PsyWulf]

Ethernet over power dude. Godsend little devices. Can pick up a set of cabled ones for 700

 

[Napalm2880]

http://www.dbg.co.za/index.php?cPath=1_55_73&osCsid=f8c768348f97d97f2cfd5b95954ec9bc

 

[SauRoNZA]

Stopped reading at "it's ya boy..."

 

[TayeedzSA]

Try and run a cable from the kitchen to upstairs and connect you router to one of your older routers (use the same ssid an password but on a different channel) wifi extenders wont do much more if the concrete is already causing issues, if you dont want to drill or run cables then Consider getting Ethernet over power devices

Ethernet over power dude. Godsend little devices. Can pick up a set of cabled ones for 700

http://www.dbg.co.za/index.php?cPath=1_55_73&osCsid=f8c768348f97d97f2cfd5b95954ec9bc

Can't do wires so Ethernet over power devices it is! So basically they're like homeplugs right? Are they easy to setup?

Stopped reading at "it's ya boy..."

But had time to reply....

 

[TayeedzSA]

But guys is there anything I can do with the BILLION 3100SN?

 

[Willy Strong]

Tl,dr

Get homeplugs aka EoP!

 

[TayeedzSA]

Also, do I only need 1 homeplug or 2? Like 1 homeplug downstairs to connect another upstairs?

Like I said , I'm a total noob at this so I kinda need full explinations....

 

[Willy Strong]

Also, do I only need 1 homeplug or 2? Like 1 homeplug downstairs to connect another upstairs?

Like I said , I'm a total noob at this so I kinda need full explinations....

TP-LINK 200Mbps Nano Powerline Adapter Starter Kit

2, one at the router with network cable and one at destination, this can be wifi or cable.

 

[PsyWulf]

My place I have 4 of them,1 ADSL Router and 1 Wireless AP
Downstairs ADSL -> Homeplug
Upstairs Study Homeplug -> Wireless AP
Bedroom1 Homeplug -> Media Player
Bedroom2 Homeplug -> Media Player

Almost no cables = <3

 

[acidrain]

Not sure if this still applies, but do these devices still have to run on the same circuit breaker or was this just an old myth?

 

[TayeedzSA]

TP-LINK 200Mbps Nano Powerline Adapter Starter Kit

2, one at the router with network cable and one at destination, this can be wifi or cable.

So despite the bad wifi signal because of the thick walls, this config and setup with 2 homeplugs is sure to work?
Also with my PS, will it just be a different Wifi ID compared to the main router's one?

 

[Willy Strong]

[video=youtube;hKhU0HC8GC0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKhU0HC8GC0[/video]



View attachment 107792

The wifi homeplugs will make its own wifi hotspot ID and will go through your thick walls via the electric lines in them.

http://www.billion.com/product/home-networking/BiPAC2073R2-HomePlug-AV-200-Adapter.html

 

[Willy Strong]

Not sure if this still applies, but do these devices still have to run on the same circuit breaker or was this just an old myth?

Still applies from my experience.

 

[acidrain]

So might not be possible if his upstairs plugs are on a different circuit to the downstairs ones.

@OP, I would then suggest test whether they are/aren't ( that is if you have multiple breakers for plugs on the DB )

 

[PsyWulf]

Not sure if this still applies, but do these devices still have to run on the same circuit breaker or was this just an old myth?

While not ideal it often works regardless of the breakers,must be same phase though

 

[TayeedzSA]

The estate was build in the late 90's so I assume I won't have to worry so much about circuit breakers and what not?

Springfield Park in Fourways. Should be okay shouldn't it?

 

[StonerStuart]

Get yourself a ubiquity AP.
they are serious with their range.