Wifi extender

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jman009

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#207721 11-Jan-2017 05:35

I've just moved recently and noticed that the wifi in my room furthest from the router loses connection often, so I decided to purchase a belkin n600 dual band extender.
I currently get 100mbps through my router but my extender hits 40mbps even though it can get speeds of up to 300mbps.
Have I missed something or done something wrong in my setup, any assistance would be greatly appreciated

sbiddle

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#1701209 11-Jan-2017 07:15

It sounds like your WiFi extender is working perfectly and as designed.

I will however clarify that by adding a few comments. The topic of WiFi extenders comes up every few weeks in here in a new post so to avoid sounding like a stuck record (you can easily search every other post) I'll be very brief with my explanations.

IMHO WiFi extenders are the worst product ever built and should not be used. Ever. They work by halving the maximum throughput of your wireless signal and won't even get that in many environments because people stick them in a dead spot to try and improve their WiFi. The worse your WiFi signal strength, the slower your speed, so when you place one of these in an area with poor coverage your maximum throughput will drop even further as the extender doesn't have a good signal to work. In this situation your WiFi from your main access point / router will also suffer due to a client with poor TX/RX rates bogging it down.

As for your "up to 300Mbps WiFi" this is nothing but a marketing claim that's impossible to get in the real world. 300Mbps WiFi is a maximum layer 1 theoretical speed. Real world WiFi speeds are around 1/2 of these, so the maximum possible speed of a "300Mbps" WiFI AP is around 150Mbps. To get this you also require 40MHz channels which should never be used as the 2.4GHz spectrum is so overcrowded you will never get good performance and should only ever use 20MHz channels.

With a 20MHz channel your layer 1 speed is now 150Mbps, and real world throughput is around 1/2 this. Add to the fact that in your typical urban environment 2.4GHz spectrum is so overcrowded you'll see that 30-40Mbps is typical maximum real world performance of any 2.4GHz WiFi equipment.

davidcole

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#1701211 11-Jan-2017 07:19

How does the wifi extender, extend? Via ethernet, or is the extender connected via wireless? If it's via wireless, then that would probable have an impact as not only does it have to allow a device to connect, it also has to use the same wireless connection to connect back to your router.

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jman009

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#1701419 11-Jan-2017 14:22

Thanks for the responses guys
oh I thought because it's meant to give off the same connection as my router that it would give the same download speed.
I have it setup wirelessly upstairs
I did try placing it right in front of my main router too but I still only got speeds of up to 50mbps and not the full 100mbps as my main router gives off.

jonb

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#1701433 11-Jan-2017 14:36

If 40m is acceptable not acceptable speed for you, the way to extend wifi properly is with a wired connection between the main router and the secondary wifi access point. Easiest way is using a powerline wi-fi extender like this ttps://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NETTPL0422/TP-Link-PowerLine-TL-WPA4220KIT-300500Mbps-Starter , otherwise can research installing an ethernet cable between the two rooms (explained a bit here http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=66&topicid=196608)

Jase2985

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#1701436 11-Jan-2017 14:46

jman009: Thanks for the responses guys
oh I thought because it's meant to give off the same connection as my router that it would give the same download speed.
I have it setup wirelessly upstairs
I did try placing it right in front of my main router too but I still only got speeds of up to 50mbps and not the full 100mbps as my main router gives off.

because it has to receive and the resend any data it recieves, this halves the total air time and hence halves the speed. And as Steve mentioned earlier wifi speed is already halved by how it works so now its about 1/4 of the total speed.

jman009

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#1701602 11-Jan-2017 19:26

Thanks everyone for clearing this topic up for me
I understand now that the extender betters the connection but halves the download speed
Guess it's better to have a connection that's slower than one that cuts out every few minutes 🤔👍

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jman009

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#1701606 11-Jan-2017 19:29

Thanks for the link Jon but I'd rather just use the speed at half in that room than fork out more money 😅

1eStar

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#1701795 12-Jan-2017 08:12

If you want more speed for less $$ then plug a network cable into it as per the setup guide.

Official Belkin Support Site | Setting up the Belkin N600 Dual-Band Wi-Fi Range Extender, F9K1122 using an Ethernet cable
http://www.belkin.com/us/support-article?articleNum=42270

If you don't want to run a cable, put your extender in an intermediate location to your far room where it will get CLEAR WI-FI SIGNAL. Then it will have something to extend.

darylblake

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#1701797 12-Jan-2017 08:17

As a general rule, extenders are rubbish. You are better buying a cheap access point and running a cable to it to improve wifi in another area. The power output may also need adjusting.

vpsnine

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#1702353 13-Jan-2017 02:27

The TP LInk AV500's work quite well, extends the network over home electrical wiring to the repeater unit.