[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by hondafanboy

I have an Airtel 200 MBPS Fiber connection. In the bedroom, there is a provision for ethernet port.
Can I add one more wireless router to this setup ?

It will be a good idea to buy another router and plug that to the Ethernet port. Another option is to create a mesh Wi-Fi like from google or others. Best results will always be from wired extension.

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by hondafanboy

Hi, Can I get some advice on improving the wifi coverage in the below situation ?

I have an Airtel 200 MBPS Fiber connection. The router they supplied is in our living room when naturally I get good bandwidth / coverage. However, when I use laptop in one of our bedroom , I get very less bandwidth , less than 20 MBPS. I have used Tplink extender as well and that has not improved the coverage or internet speed. In the bedroom, there is a provision for ethernet port , so think I could move the router from living room to bedroom. But that will cause issues with streaming on the TV in the living room because of the way bedroom is located.

Is there any alternative to this ? Can I add one more wireless router to this setup ?

thanks !

First check the strength of your WiFi signals in the remote corners using the WiFi Analyzer mobile app. Then you can use the same app to relocate the tplink extender to a more optimal place so that signal coverage is enhanced in the weak spots. Setting up a OneMesh (as tplink calls it ) should be quiet easy as long as both your devices are tplink and the extender supports it.

[mankuthimma]

I also have similar questions. Request experts to pitch in. Quite a lengthy post, just to give the right context

We have 3 people working in 3 different rooms - study, living and bedroom. These 3 rooms are in a U shaped layout roughly. Worse part is the way the apartment is built, the walls are all concrete, not the usual bricks or cement blocks. This is a severe limitation, wifi coverage is really patchy.

Currently, the the old Netgear N300 router is in study. Study room occupant gets best bandwidth. Living room occupant gets managable wifi signal because of line of sight from the router, but bedroom is a blindspot. Had solved it temporarily by connecting the laptop in bedroom to the router by a long RJ45 cable. TV in living room was served by an extender, but it is a frustrating experience. The old router is a bottleneck. Tested using fast.com last week. Gives out only 80 mbps with a wired connection, where as the ACT internet plan claims 300 mbps. wifi signal averages around 25 mbps at the best.

Thanks to this thread, after going thro several posts, I realized the importance of 802.11ac routers and what difference it can make. Now I am thinking of two options to solve the issue.

Option 1:

1. Buy a new 802.11ac router. Install it in the study.
2. Move existing router to living room to a point where it is at line of sight for bedroom and TV.
3. Connect these two routers with a RJ45 cable. The distance between these two points could be around 25ft. This point has a telephone socket. Hopefully the RJ45 cable can be passed through the existing wiring network with the help of an electrician. Also pull another RJ45 cable from living to bedroom just in case if there is a need for wired connection in the bedroom.

Option 2:
1. Buy a 2 pack mesh router
2. Keep the base in study and satellite in the living room at a common point with line of sight to TV and bedroom as mentioned above. But the line of sight between study and this point in living room is not that direct and also there are furnitures in between.

Question to experts -
1. Is option 1 worth doing with a combination of new + old router and RJ45 cables ?
2. If I go completely wifi using option 2, how critical is line of sight for mesh routers ? Can they cut through concrete walls or obstacles like furnitures in between ?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

2. If I go completely wifi using option 2, how critical is line of sight for mesh routers ? Can they cut through concrete walls or obstacles like furnitures in between ?

A mesh router is usually placed at a midpoint, where it can get decent wifi signal from the base router, and give decent signal to the area you want it cover. If you have to put the mesh node in a place that gets a lousy signal from the base, it is going to get a lousy signal and nothing is improved. This is why my two-router mesh has a cable between base and node. I am also then using a cable connection for the TV in that room

I'm new to mesh technology: this is my first experience. I believe that, if planning to use a cable between nodes, you need to check that your chosen system supports that before buying.

[bhp_maniac]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Option 1:

1. Buy a new 802.11ac router. Install it in the study.
2. Move existing router to living room to a point where it is at line of sight for bedroom and TV.
3. Connect these two routers with a RJ45 cable. The distance between these two points could be around 25ft. This point has a telephone socket. Hopefully the RJ45 cable can be passed through the existing wiring network with the help of an electrician. Also pull another RJ45 cable from living to bedroom just in case if there is a need for wired connection in the bedroom.

Option 2:
1. Buy a 2 pack mesh router
2. Keep the base in study and satellite in the living room at a common point with line of sight to TV and bedroom as mentioned above. But the line of sight between study and this point in living room is not that direct and also there are furnitures in between.

Question to experts -
1. Is option 1 worth doing with a combination of new + old router and RJ45 cables ?
2. If I go completely wifi using option 2, how critical is line of sight for mesh routers ? Can they cut through concrete walls or obstacles like furnitures in between ?

Considering the concrete nature of your walls, I would suggest going for a multiple access point set up connected through a wired backhaul which is necessarily your Option 1. This way, you'll get a stable connection all through the house. I have done a similar setup using Openwrt and 802.11r which is running without any fuss for the past couple of weeks. As long as the routers are both capable of running Openwrt, you don't have to worry about compatibility or roaming issues. Your wireless clients would roam seamlessly between the access points. I for one would stay away from repeaters and such from my past experiences.

[greenhorn]

I think mesh routers will do mesh only if all equipment is mesh. I don't think they will create a mesh network with non mesh stuff

[binand]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Tested using fast.com last week. Gives out only 80 mbps with a wired connection, where as the ACT internet plan claims 300 mbps.

This seems to suggest that whatever device you are plugging the cable into, is not capable of pushing speeds > 100 Mbps. Very old/very cheap router I'd hazard a guess. Look for routers with Gigabit Ethernet ports even on the WAN side.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by hondafanboy

.... less than 20 MBPS. I have used Tplink extender as well and that has not improved the coverage or internet speed. In the bedroom, there is a provision for ethernet port ...

There might be an easy solution to this and costs nothing to try.

1. Change options in TP Link extender and set it to "AP Mode"
2. Connect Extender to LAN cable in bedroom. Other end of LAN should connect to LAN port of existing router.
3. Test , this should resolve the issue in and around bedroom

This is with assumption that extender has a LAN port. Most such extenders can do the job of a router as well.

[manim]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

1. Prepare a VM / or PC with multiple LAN interfaces
2. Install OpenWRT / VyOS (Both are linux distributions, tailored for routing)
3. Configure

Took the next step in OpenWrt:

My Desktop has only one ethernet interface and I needed minimum two, one for the WAN and one for the LAN. Fortunately I had an old USB-Ethernet-adapter.

This USB-Ethernet-adapter was working well in Ubuntu but not in OpenWrt. Finally made it work by installing drivers using 'opkg'. Also got comfortable by playing around with the '/etc/config/network' by hand. Finally I had a working router on my Desktop, testing it with my Laptop as a client.

I learnt a lot about routing in the process! Thanks to you for introducing OpenWrt. And thanks to this guy 'Van Tech Corner' on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/DET3EMl6-RM

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

https://www.amazon.in/India-Raspberr...dp/B07XSJ64ZY/
You can run full router OS instead of consumer-grade routers.

Now using the Raspberry-Pi does not sound far-fetched to me as it did earlier. But if I run OpenWrt on Raspberry-Pi, will the WiFi signals be as strong as on a consumer-router? The Pi does not have antennas and is more hobby oriented?

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

I also have similar questions. .

Currently, the the old Netgear N300 router is in study.
Thanks to this thread, after going thro several posts, I realized the importance of 802.11ac routers and what difference it can make. Now I am thinking of two options to solve the issue.

Option 1:

1. Buy a new 802.11ac router. Install it in the study.
2. Move existing router to living room to a point where it is at line of sight for bedroom and TV.
3. Connect these two routers with a RJ45 cable. The distance between these two points could be around 25ft. This point has a telephone socket. Hopefully the RJ45 cable can be passed through the existing wiring network with the help of an electrician. Also pull another RJ45 cable from living to bedroom just in case if there is a need for wired connection in the bedroom.

Option 2:
1. Buy a 2 pack mesh router
2. Keep the base in study and satellite in the living room at a common point with line of sight to TV and bedroom as mentioned above. But the line of sight between study and this point in living room is not that direct and also there are furnitures in between.

Question to experts -
1. Is option 1 worth doing with a combination of new + old router and RJ45 cables ?
2. If I go completely wifi using option 2, how critical is line of sight for mesh routers ? Can they cut through concrete walls or obstacles like furnitures in between ?

I recommend Option 2 with 802.11ac strictly. But you have to buy a pair - not two expensive routers but one 802.11ac like the tried and tested and well reviewed TPLink Archer C7 and a cheap AC wall plug Wifi Extender like TPLink RE220 at less than 1/5th the price. At this price - You can buy two of the RE220 - one for each other room. The Openmesh setup is instantly do-able. and buying the same brand ensures compatibility with the implementation.

Forget ethernet cabling. Its moronic to spend so much effort on cabling right at the start - just install and use the Wifi openmesh - experiment with placement and positioning for a few weeks and only if you are unable to get the desired signal quality and speeds look at Ethernet backhaul. One challenge is when people need privacy and shut the door resulting in signal drop - that is the best justification for an Ethernet backhaul at home. But I recommend an empirical measurement based approach using Wfi Analyzer for testing best and worst case scenarios before you take the trouble of pushing wire through the conduits. At the worst - you may need to drill straight holes in the walls to push a CAT-6 cable from room to room while using an external PVC sleeve to cover the wiring run along the walls - if the existing conduit is too narrow. However beware that Ethernet data cabling should not run parallel to electrical wiring within One feet of each other to prevent cross-interference. They can cross perpendicular only where they absolutely need to. So the electrical wiring conduit should be ruled out actually for good ethernet performance.

Lastly you dont need line of sight for a good signal pickup. the signal bends through open/wooden doors.

802.11ac Wifi speeds and coverage will really bring a smile on your face - as compared to 802.11n.

PS: A home inverter is must to ensure your router pack does not cut-off at every power cut.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by manim

Now using the Raspberry-Pi does not sound far-fetched.....

Raspberry Pi 4 has more then enough power to run router. In last 6 months, max memory usage was 40 MB and Max CPU usage was less than 1% (Spec : 2GB RAM + 2 GHz Quad Core CPU). Existing USB Ethernet adapter should work with Raspberry Pi (same opkg for driver).

Originally Posted by manim

will the WiFi signals be as strong as on a consumer-router? The Pi does not have antennas and is more hobby oriented?

Not practical to use Raspberry Pi (or PC) for WiFi. This is the ideal setup :

• ISP Provided device -->
• Small PC or Raspberry Pi running OpenWRT or PFSense -->
• WiFi "Access Point"

Reasons for using WiFi AP are :

1. 4x4 stream is not supported . This limits WiFi performance if 5 - 6 devices are using net. E.g.: 2 Zoom calls + Netflix at the same time.
2. WiFi chips do not support all functionalities that are required for AP (Google : True AP Mode)

Most routers / Extenders can be used as AP. Use only those that can do 4x4 streams or better.

This is a good one : https://www.amazon.in/TP-Link-RE650-AC2600/

[mankuthimma]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

If you have to put the mesh node in a place that gets a lousy signal from the base, it is going to get a lousy signal and nothing is improved. .

This was my thinking too. I had experimented by placing the extender at the common point and see whether it catches the wifi signal from router, but it was not that good. Hence was wondering whether a mesh node would do any better or not.

Originally Posted by Ragul

Lastly you dont need line of sight for a good signal pickup. the signal bends through open/wooden doors.

802.11ac Wifi speeds and coverage will really bring a smile on your face - as compared to 802.11n.

Originally Posted by Ragul

But I recommend an empirical measurement based approach using Wfi Analyzer for testing best and worst case scenarios before you take the trouble of pushing wire through the conduits.

Yeah sure, hopefully, 802.11ac routers works fine in my concrete building
Thanks for the suggestion on wifi analyzer. Will try this out. This will be helpful to understand the wifi coverage and an optimum place where the nodes can be kept.

Originally Posted by bhp_maniac

Considering the concrete nature of your walls, I would suggest going for a multiple access point set up connected through a wired backhaul which is necessarily your Option 1.

Originally Posted by Ragul

- if the existing conduit is too narrow. However beware that Ethernet data cabling should not run parallel to electrical wiring

The feasibility of pulling a wire in the conduit is still uncertain. Need to get an electrician for that. Hence I wanted to check here first. Very valuable inputs actually. Will keep this in mind. At present, the cable is external and looks ugly on floor, but it served the purpose.

Originally Posted by binand

This seems to suggest that whatever device you are plugging the cable into, is not capable of pushing speeds > 100 Mbps. Very old/very cheap router I'd hazard a guess. Look for routers with Gigabit Ethernet ports even on the WAN side.

Yes it is an old 802.11n router with 100M ethernet port. Today I connected the cable from ACT directly to laptop and measured the bandwidth. It is coming upto 250 mbps. I hadnt kept upto date with changing bandwidth needs. Certainly, I need to replace this router with a new one with Gigabit ports.

Originally Posted by Ragul

I recommend Option 2 with 802.11ac strictly. But you have to buy a pair - not two expensive routers but one 802.11ac like the tried and tested and well reviewed TPLink Archer C7 and a cheap AC wall plug Wifi Extender

This is interesting! So I dont need to go for something like Deco M4 for a mesh setup ? Since Mesh routers are so expensive, hence I was thinking of option 1 actually to save costs and also the benefit of getting full bandwidth with wired connection.
So if I go for TP Link Archer C7 and the extenders, does this OpenMesh setup work out of box or does it need additional steps? Do you have any link to share to follow the instructions?

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

There might be an easy solution to this and costs nothing to try
Change options in TP Link extender and set it to "AP Mode"

Good one ! I did try this today. Somehow was not successful. Will attempt again and see

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Good one ! I did try this today. Somehow was not successful. Will attempt again and see

Video tutorial on this :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ7mw8gSthM

Connection diagram

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

This is interesting! So I dont need to go for something like Deco M4 for a mesh setup ? Since Mesh routers are so expensive, hence I was thinking of option 1 actually to save costs and also the benefit of getting full bandwidth with wired connection.
So if I go for TP Link Archer C7 and the extenders, does this OpenMesh setup work out of box or does it need additional steps? Do you have any link to share to follow the instructions?

Very easy to setup - you setup both independently, just configure the extender to use openmesh setting. The instruction manual will show you the gui settings. I use TPLinks Tether android app to setup the extender. After choosing the WiFi networks of the base AP router that you wish to extend and entering the WiFi passwords for 2.4 and 5G frequencies, It’s a one click config to using it with openmesh IIRC. Make sure the extender model you buy is not just 802.11n but supports 802.11ac. You should run both 2.5 and 5G because 2.4 has more range than 5G and cover the weak spots.

This is the performance (attached screenshot)I get with my 802.11ac when mostly browsing from other rooms. My WiFi router and Internet point is at the extreme corner of the short leg of a long “L” shape typically 18 ft away and I never saw anything close with 802.11n.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by Ragul

This is the performance (attached screenshot)I get with my 802.11ac.....

Do you use 1 gbps connection ?