Wireless access

[tmarsh]

I bought a wireless extender to send signal to my garage, about 10 feet from the house.  Can't get a signal, not sure if it's the extender, PC in garage can see the network but connection attempts to connect then drops. Could I use the extender or an old router placed in the house close to the garage wired using powerline adaptors?  What would be the best option?  This TP-Link Archer C50 AC1200 Dual Band Wireless Cable Router (if suitable) is cheaper than the extender, a BrosTrend AC1200 WiFi Booster Range Extender.

[icecream-guy]

how far away from the base is the extender?   it should be no more than 50% of max range.
so if max range is 25',  the extender should be no more than 12.5' feet from base.

[deanwebb]

^ This is why I prefer mesh APs to extenders. I have always had issues with extenders, never with a mesh setup.

[tmarsh]

how far away from the base is the extender?   it should be no more than 50% of max range.
so if max range is 25',  the extender should be no more than 12.5' feet from base.

Extender is about 35 feet from base, the garage PC about 25 feet from that.  If I substituted a router for the extender would that give me the range?

[Dieselboy]

If you really need to extend your wifi, I suggest using some gigabit powerline adapters to extend your wired LAN through the household mains cabling and then plug your router on the far end to broadcast a fresh wifi signal that is not inhibited by extending the existing wifi signal.

To make this work you need to:
- use the exact same SSID and authentication settings (same PSK for example)
- use a different and non-interfering wifi channel (2.4ghz non-interference channels are 1, 6 and 11)

Wiring would be like this:
main router LAN port -> powerline adapter ----------mains cabling------------- powerline adapter ->  router 2 LAN port -> (wifi signal)

If you just need wired or wifi then you could use a wired connection instead, using the same equipment (negated the need for router #2).

[deanwebb]

how far away from the base is the extender?   it should be no more than 50% of max range.
so if max range is 25',  the extender should be no more than 12.5' feet from base.

Extender is about 35 feet from base, the garage PC about 25 feet from that.  If I substituted a router for the extender would that give me the range?

Not really. Extenders will rebroadcast a weakened wireless network on a different channel. A mesh system will boost the signal along the way, so it's stronger further out.

[tmarsh]

how far away from the base is the extender?   it should be no more than 50% of max range.
so if max range is 25',  the extender should be no more than 12.5' feet from base.

Extender is about 35 feet from base, the garage PC about 25 feet from that.  If I substituted a router for the extender would that give me the range?

Not really. Extenders will rebroadcast a weakened wireless network on a different channel. A mesh system will boost the signal along the way, so it's stronger further out.

OK.  Based on what Dieselboy has said what's the best option, another router with powerline or a mesh system?  Or is that a mesh system? 

[Dieselboy]

how far away from the base is the extender?   it should be no more than 50% of max range.
so if max range is 25',  the extender should be no more than 12.5' feet from base.

Extender is about 35 feet from base, the garage PC about 25 feet from that.  If I substituted a router for the extender would that give me the range?

Not really. Extenders will rebroadcast a weakened wireless network on a different channel. A mesh system will boost the signal along the way, so it's stronger further out.

OK.  Based on what Dieselboy has said what's the best option, another router with powerline or a mesh system?  Or is that a mesh system? 

I don't really have experience with a mesh system so I can't comment on that specifically.

With extenders dont they also boost noise as well?

Also depends on what you're wanting to do with the connection. Someone can correct me if I am wrong but today there's no subsitute for a wired connection. 802.11AX or 5G is great but it's still wifi. For gaming on my PS4 I use a wired connection into the router via powerline for this reason. The last thing I want is to be in the middle of a heated game and someone in an apartment near me turns on the bathroom light which creates an arc and messes with my wifi for a brief moment.

[tmarsh]

how far away from the base is the extender?   it should be no more than 50% of max range.
so if max range is 25',  the extender should be no more than 12.5' feet from base.

Extender is about 35 feet from base, the garage PC about 25 feet from that.  If I substituted a router for the extender would that give me the range?

Not really. Extenders will rebroadcast a weakened wireless network on a different channel. A mesh system will boost the signal along the way, so it's stronger further out.

Also depends on what you're wanting to do with the connection. Someone can correct me if I am wrong but today there's no subsitute for a wired connection. 802.11AX or 5G is great but it's still wifi. For gaming on my PS4 I use a wired connection into the router via powerline for this reason. The last thing I want is to be in the middle of a heated game and someone in an apartment near me turns on the bathroom light which creates an arc and messes with my wifi for a brief moment.

Yes, ideally I would want wired but it means a lot of digging, mostly in the driveway.  I want to run a serever, just for storing backups so thinking wireless will be OK for that.

[deanwebb]

So, a mesh system will take the existing network and, instead of rebroadcasting a weak signal plus noise, send out the same signal, as strong as before. With enough overlap, there's no real drop in signal strength.

Put another way, if you walk from one side of the house to another on an extender network, you will drop the initial wireless connection and then pick up a new connection on the extender network - there is a break in connectivity and a drop in performance. If you walk from one side of the house to another on a mesh network, you stay on the same connection, it just hands off from one access point to the other, like in a corporate wi-fi scenario.

An additional wrinkle with extender networks is that they can periodically lose their connection with the main wireless. Not so with the mesh. So that's an extra benefit of the mesh network - stability.

Both networks have similar placement issues for access points, but the mesh network will be superior in terms of throughput, roaming, and stability.

[Dieselboy]

Yes, ideally I would want wired but it means a lot of digging, mostly in the driveway.

Yes wifi should be fine. But I wanted to also let you know that a technology called Powerline is available to you providing that you have mains power in the garage.
This is how powerline works:

Main wifi router -> powerline device 1 - > mains power socket->.........................->mains power socket -> powerline device 2[ports]

Limitations of powerline:
1. does not work on surge protected sockets
2. is not supposed to work through different ring mains - in my experience it does but I do not know why.

I bought these this week to upgrade the ones I had previously. https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/netgear-pl1000-100au-powerline-gigabit-adapter-kit

You can also get ones that have more than 1 network port on them (switch) so that you dont need a separate switch and you can plug in more than 1 PC for example.

[tmarsh]

Yes, ideally I would want wired but it means a lot of digging, mostly in the driveway.

Limitations of powerline:
1. does not work on surge protected sockets
2. is not supposed to work through different ring mains - in my experience it does but I do not know why.

I bought these this week to upgrade the ones I had previously. https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/netgear-pl1000-100au-powerline-gigabit-adapter-kit

You can also get ones that have more than 1 network port on them (switch) so that you dont need a separate switch and you can plug in more than 1 PC for example.

Tried powerlines but they don't work.  I am assuming they are on a different circuit.  It does appear to connect, all lights steady green but trhe connection keeps dropping.

[tmarsh]

i Bought a TP-Link Deco M5 Mesh System, came with three units and it works perfectly.  Great signal strength in the garage and it has boosted signals throughout the house too.

[deanwebb]

i Bought a TP-Link Deco M5 Mesh System, came with three units and it works perfectly.  Great signal strength in the garage and it has boosted signals throughout the house too.

Awesome, good to hear! And, yes, it's the mesh systems that will be replacing all those extenders. Eventually, ISPs are going to offer them in their home packages.