Wifi signal boost via wired ethernet ports.

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Djbbuild

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Wannabe Geek

#269750 6-Apr-2020 11:24

Hi.
I have moved into a new house where the modem is located at one end meaning wifi signal is poor at the other. The house has ethernet ports hardwired into each bedroom.
I currently connect larger devices (tv, computers etc) directly into the ethernet ports so it's more to help phones and tablets wifi signal.
Is there a reliable solution to help increase wifi signal by plugging into ethernet ports as I understand plug and play wifi boosters can be hit and miss.

Cheers

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#2455607 6-Apr-2020 11:33

Which make/model router do you have?

Would it be suitable to have one quality wireless AP in the centre of your house?

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Djbbuild

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Wannabe Geek

#2455611 6-Apr-2020 11:39

It is a netcom n300.
We are rural and use a private wireless internet provider whom doesnt seem to want to help with any advice.

CYaBro

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#2455622 6-Apr-2020 11:46

I would recommend a Unifi Access point or two, depending on the area you need to cover.

They connect by ethernet cable back to your router and can also have the power over that same cable so you don't need to take up a powerpoint where they are located.

Since you're rural your internet speed isn't going to be gigabit so something like this would work:

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NETUBI1228/Ubiquiti-UniFi-UAP-AC-LITE-Dual-band-AC1200-300867

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

1024kb

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#2455630 6-Apr-2020 11:55

Ok, it's not really a job for the ISP anyway.

From what you're saying though, the house would suit a single good quality wireless AP positioned centrally. I say this because from the far end of the house you still have WiFi coverage, albeit shaky.

So the cleanest, quickest & very effective thing for you, IMHO, is to obtain a quality wireless AP to attach via Ethernet to your existing router. Turn the Netcomm wireless off, run that as router only. Connect your new wireless AP to the Netcomm via the Ethernet cabling & position it centrally in the house. Set up WiFi from there.

Budget dependent, Ubiquiti make awesome product. Mikrotik also, often more affordable too. Don't be afraid though of repurposing an existing router as your central WiFi AP & getting away without investing any extra $$.

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freitasm

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#2455664 6-Apr-2020 12:31

If possible, don't use "WiFi extenders" as they impact performance. An alternative are mesh systems - you could use the D-Link COVR C1213. Its base station can replace your router or you can use this in "Bridge Mode", in which case the base station is just another note in your network and the other nodes communicate to that. You can put those in different places of the house and connect via ethernet (with a second port it means you can plug a TV to the node in one room and so one).

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wratterus

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#2455667 6-Apr-2020 12:34

CYaBro's recommendation is a good option. As you already have Ethernet wired through the house, it's a piece of cake to improve on the current setup. If you would like, post a few pictures of the current setup - modem/router, patch panel, and some of the Ethernet jacks in the rooms to give us a bit more of an idea of how much structured cabling there is.

If you temporarily move the Netcomm to the middle of the house, do you get an acceptable signal throughout the whole house, or do you think you need an AP at each end of the house?

With the structured cabling already in the house, depending on how much there is, you may be able to move the Netcomm to somewhere more central and not spend a cent. Otherwise you could also look at the UniFi in-wall APs. These are great as they are super tidy, and you don't lose the Ethernet ports - in fact the AP has 2x ports.

A basic 802.3af switch like the TP-Link SG1210P and 2x UniFi AC-In wall APs would give you a mint upgrade (and disable the wireless on the Netcomm of course).

Edit - yes, DON'T use wireless range extenders. Even a Mesh setup is not nearly as good as hard wired APs, in this case as you have the structured cabling already, that is the best place to look.

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Djbbuild

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2455692 6-Apr-2020 13:01

Not sure if I can move the netcom as it is plugged into the main ethernet port coming from the dish

wratterus

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#2455697 6-Apr-2020 13:07

Nice, you can move the Netcomm, you would just patch the cable from 'main' (that is currently plugged into the WAN port) through to the port where you want the Netcomm to live (making sure you leave the PoE Injector connected). The issue you will have is it seems like there is only one port in each location so you can't easily patch back to then split to the other ports.

Is there a central location with more than the one port on the same faceplate or are they all single port jobs? If you can live with 100mbps around the place you could consider a pair of these and basic switch.

In my experience the wireless on those Netcomms is below average so a better AP would be a good option regardless.

Djbbuild

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Wannabe Geek

#2455700 6-Apr-2020 13:12

Every other location only has one port.

Is it possible just to replace the netcom with another router that I have in storage?

wratterus

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#2455705 6-Apr-2020 13:15

It probably is depending on the model (you might need to check with your ISP regarding the WAN configuration) but that's not going to sort out your wireless issues.

What is the model of the other router that you have in storage? More than likely that could be configured to be just a 'dumb' AP, all bridged, and that could live at the other end of the house.

Djbbuild

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Wannabe Geek

#2455709 6-Apr-2020 13:17

It is a Spark router we had when on fiber.

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wratterus

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#2455715 6-Apr-2020 13:24

Right, those are pretty average too. No point replacing the Netcomm with that. But you could configure it to work as a 'dumb' second AP in this situation.

What is the IP of the Netcomm? Assuming it is say 192.168.1.1, the Spark router will be on 192.168.1.254 if it's still in it's normal setup. If the Netcomm is on a different range, or happens to be setup to 192.168.1.254, you will want to change the IP of the Spark router so it's on the same range, but not on a conflicting IP.

Then you want to login and disable DHCP on the Spark router. Now patch from the Netcomm to the port you want the Spark router to connect to, and patch from that port to one of the LAN ports on the spark router. You can plug other devices into the 3 free LAN ports on the Spark router if needs be.

You want to set the wireless channels on both devices so they aren't conflicting - use 1,6 or 11 and 20MHz width. You can set exactly the same name and password if you want, making sure the security is also the same (should be WPA2-AES on both) but it might be better to have different names, that way it makes it easier to switch between the two APs.