Extending WiFi in an apartment

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rossmcm

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#295996 13-May-2022 10:21

We just moved into an apartment and transferred our 2 degrees fibre connection. The ONT is at one end of the (quite long and thin - 20m x 8m) apartment in a bedroom. The access point is the usual 2-degrees-supplied FritzBox 7490.

WiFi is adequate in the study, but not very good in the lounge. The TV has both a wired network input and WiFi. The sky box just a wired connection.

Running cables is problematic. There is no ceiling space or under-floor space. The TV's performance on WiFi is barely adequate and Netflix frequently hangs. The Sky box doesn't have WiFi. A cable from the ONT Fritzbox to another FritzBox located at the TV/Skybox would I think be a workable solution, if it were possible to run a cable.

The first thing I tried was a TP-Link TL-WA901N Wireless Access Point set up as a client and connected to the WiFi network. The TL-WA901N's single ethernet port was cabled to a second Fritxbox beside the TV, so we then had a wired connection for the TV and Sky box (both connected to Fritz Box #2) and a strong WiFi signal in the lounge, master bedroom, and deck area. The TPlink client repeatedly dropped the connection to the WiFi, however.

Some notes:

the TPLink client is missing one of the three antennas :(
The two Fritzboxes are set to different WiFi channels.

I'm looking at the TP-link TL-WA855RE as an alternative, either as a replacement for the TL-WA901N running as a client, or running as a range extender and cabled to the first Fritzbox.

Comments welcome, please!

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#2913291 13-May-2022 10:28

Hi, what cabling is existing in the apartment, ie are their phone or TV outlets in Bedroom2 and what TV and phone outlets are in the Lounge

Cyril

rossmcm

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#2913324 13-May-2022 11:41

There are phone jack's all throughout. Probably TV also,I just haven't looked.

wellygary

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#2913377 13-May-2022 11:53

Open the phone jacks up and have a look at the cabling, if its cat5 ( or better) you should be able to have a look at repurposing them as Ethernet links,

scuwp

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#2913386 13-May-2022 12:06

Why not just change to a mesh network? Be much simpler.

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michaelmurfy

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#2913388 13-May-2022 12:09

Do not buy a generic WiFi Extender!

Login to your 2degrees account and grab one of their WiFi Extenders. These mesh with your existing Fritz!Box seamlessly and can also use Ethernet if you've got it too. This is a much easier solution than buying third party extenders and allows you to keep using your 2degrees router which is actually really good.

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rossmcm

111 posts

Master Geek

#2913391 13-May-2022 12:18

scuwp:

Why not just change to a mesh network? Be much simpler.

So what additional hardware would I need? Would the second Fritzbox be of any use?

jonathan18

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#2913396 13-May-2022 12:32

rossmcm:

scuwp:

Why not just change to a mesh network? Be much simpler.

So what additional hardware would I need? Would the second Fritzbox be of any use?

Look at michaelmurfy's post just above - that's a mesh solution that will directly work with your main Fritzbox.

Edit: more info on it here: https://www.2degrees.nz/help/broadband-help/getting-started/setting-up-your-wifi-extender

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cyril7

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#2913397 13-May-2022 12:34

Hi +1 for getting the above linked mesh unit, but I strongly recommend you try get an ethernet backhaul for it. As mentioned above your phone wiring can possibly be re purposed.

Approx how old is the buiding

Cyril

wlgspotter

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#2913519 13-May-2022 13:41

rossmcm:

scuwp:

Why not just change to a mesh network? Be much simpler.

So what additional hardware would I need? Would the second Fritzbox be of any use?

Would agree with the other posts on using the dedicated 2degress Extender, and better still, looking at repurposing the cables for an Ethernet backhaul.

However, since you've asked, you could potentiall use the 2nd FritzBox as the Mesh Extender provided it is up to spec. You mentioned your main router is the Fritz!Box 7490 - what about the 2nd Fritz!Box - if it is also a 7490 then yes you could potentially turn that into a Mesh repeater - have a look at this - https://en.avm.de/service/knowledge-base/dok/FRITZ-Box-7490/3354_Setting-up-the-FRITZ-Box-as-a-Mesh-Repeater/

You could setup 2x 7490 one as a main router and the other as a mesh repeater. The link above do tell which Fritz!Boxes are compatible and can be used as part of a Mesh Network. Note those performance wise using 2x 7490s may not give you as good a performance as the dedicated Mesh Repeater by 2degrees or wired Ethernet backhaul.

Just throwing this out there since you asked, and as indicated, if you can get it to work to your satisfaction, then perhaps there would be little to no additional investment (on new parts/hardware) on your part. May be worthwhile giving it a go and see how you get on?

Edit: Fixed typos / grammar

coffeebaron

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#2913536 13-May-2022 13:51

+1 for checking exsiting phone wiring. Maybe open up some jackpoints and post some pictures. Is there a central point that the phone wiring goes too?

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maslink

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#2913590 13-May-2022 15:51

Or if the phone cabling is not suitable, you could consider Powerline networking to link / extend the network to the TV area using something like this https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NETDLK5P601AV/D-Link-DHP-P601AV-PowerLine-AV2-1Gbps-Dual-Kit-Wit

Not saying it would be my first choice, but in some situations they work just fine.

cyril7

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#2913644 13-May-2022 18:33

Hi personally EOP is junk, a working link one minute is a no go next depending on the load in the local wiring at 50Hz.

If the phone wiring proves not suitable, which if it's been built in the last 10yrs it should be, then hpna over the coax is the next option. For all intents and purposes hpna over coax uses the same technology as EOP, but the transmission line is appropriate and controlled.

Cyril

Linkzor

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#2913908 14-May-2022 11:46

Turn off the TL-WA901N and Fritzbox #2 in the lounge. Install a wifi spectrum analyzer app on your phone (eg Netspot) and from your lounge, see what RSSI are you getting on 5ghz from Fritzbox #1 in the bedroom.

If you are getting lower than -65 dBm then mesh/wifi extender won't be great as the mesh AP will simply be backhauling via an already weak signal. You will get 5 bars on your TV, Sky box however the speeds will still be poor.

As others have suggested, see if the existing cabling can be repurposed.

rossmcm

111 posts

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#2913938 14-May-2022 13:15

OK, this is the existing cabling at the TV/SkyBox/Fritzbox2 end. The upper coax connector is incoming satellite feed (the apartments have some sort of bulk deal with Sky). The lower one is (was?) presumably a feed from a terrestrial antenna, but I'm not sure how it's wired wrt the other rooms. I've tried to show the coax in the second image (arachnophobe warning!).

The phone wiring is not Cat5 unfortunately.

I have established that there is crawl space in the ceiling, so it might be possible to bribe a grandchild to run a cable, though it might be problematic getting it routed between the crawl space and the floor level.

The first step is to look at using the second FritzBox as a mesh repeater.

cyril7

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#2913941 14-May-2022 13:24

Hi, on a positive note, that phone wiring is infact called media lan that is made of cat5e rated pairs, but only two, so you can achieve 100Mb/s over that, which in my view would be the best solution compared to variable wifi or even more variable EoP.

Bearing in mind most if not all streaming services never move much above 15Mb/s or even 25Mb/s for 4K then there is plenty of bandwidth on a 100Mb/s service to support streaming plus some wireless traffic from an AP at the TV location.

You could also look at HPNA over the coax cabling with a couple of these devices.

Cyril

Edit, can you open the other phone connectors around the place to try establish how they route.

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