Wi-Fi Extenders

[Steve1956]

I knew I'd logged on for something..
My main BT socket is upstairs,I invested in a BT box..for the living room would a WiFi Extender give me an improved signal to my box which occasionally yesterday slowed down and buffered for two of three seconds,and when I was watching Netflix the other night the screen froze and I had to go through the whole pulling the plug out at the mains and waiting 5 mins to reboot the box
What I really need to know do Extenders work,and anyone recommend a good one
And would hardwiring an extender with the ethernet from it to the box work?
Cheers

[IanMcL]

Thanks to someone on here, I have DecoMesh5.
3 units.
Covers the house with full power WiFi.

May have been upgraded by now, others will know.

[ElectroClaret]

Mines a TP-Link, think I got it at Argos £25 or so.
Works fine, can sit in the back yard and pick up the signal whereas I couldn't before. Easy to tune in.

[ebby]

I bought a 3 pack Google Nest/Mesh. The centre one connects to your modem which should be in the centre of your house and then the other 2 go to opposite ends of your house. All plug in to your power sockets. Brilliant coverage in every room and the same download speed also. Very easy to set up. I have had mine for 3 years now and no issues.

[bfcmatt]

Mesh wifi is the way to go, you can as many extra points as you need and will get wifi everywhere in your house

[superdimitri]

Remember that extenders themselves cut bandwidth in half. That won't matter if you're just web browsing or streaming in HD but if you need to make downloads or watch UHD shows on BT sport and Netflix etc through the extender you may run into trouble.

Running a wire from the router to another access point is best. Alternately a couple of power line adapters.

If that's not possible, definitely look into a whole house mesh system.

[Funkydrummer]

Just be aware that extenders that use the power cables to transmit the signal will
only work on the same circuit. Modern houses, and some older rewired houses
tend to have separate power circuits on each floor (a separate fuse to each) and
therefore the signal will not flow to those separate floors.

[Steve1956]

Thanks for your tips .....it really is difficult deciding which is best.

[NHonly]

Hi Steve,
Before you go and spend more money....
Have you got a strong signal to your laptop or phone when in the living room?
If yes you don't need to extend your wifi, your problems are elsewhere.

[Steve1956]

Hi Steve,
Before you go and spend more money....
Have you got a strong signal to your laptop or phone when in the living room?
If yes you don't need to extend your wifi, your problems are elsewhere.

Hiya Mate,
I don't use a laptop but we use our mobiles (2) and Tablets (2) we don't really have a problem with those,the main socket is in the bedroom,so the BT box is running on wifi downstairs,it's not horrendous buffering just occasional and once the screen has froze ....the BT guy tried to sell me BT's most expensive wifi as the only solution to my problem,hence my question on Extender's

[NHonly]

Does sound like extending the wifi would be a waste of money. Having your socket and router upstairs is generally the best place for it, so you're good there.

It could be a number of things:
Too many active devices connected at the same time.
Being a long way from the telephone exchange.
Intermittent problem on your telephone line (how old is the physical line from the telegraph pole to your house)
Failing router.

More expensive broadband will generally help with the first 2....

[Fretters]

Thanks to someone on here, I have DecoMesh5.
3 units.
Covers the house with full power WiFi.

May have been upgraded by now, others will know.

I think that was me, I recommended the one I got on here and it's still working perfectly. It's this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... =UTF8&th=1

[Ric_C]

Yes! It's an extender!

[DCWat]

Yes! It's an extender!

Kiss my face!

[Firthy]

Mesh wifi system is the way to go if you want the best signal and don't mind paying a bit more. I have the Netgear Orbi and it's brilliant 5 bars anywhere in the house.

[Bosscat]

I knew I'd logged on for something..
My main BT socket is upstairs,I invested in a BT box..for the living room would a WiFi Extender give me an improved signal to my box which occasionally yesterday slowed down and buffered for two of three seconds,and when I was watching Netflix the other night the screen froze and I had to go through the whole pulling the plug out at the mains and waiting 5 mins to reboot the box
What I really need to know do Extenders work,and anyone recommend a good one
And would hardwiring an extender with the ethernet from it to the box work?
Cheers

We have 2 of these extenders from BT that came with our BTTV box, they turn the house wiring into hard wired ethernet. One by the router with an ethernet cable and this one by the TV, one cable to TV, and the other to the BTTV box occasionally we have had problems, but in 2 years can count them on one hand

20220425_172715.jpg (357.99 KiB) Viewed 1142 times

[DCWat]

Mesh wifi system is the way to go if you want the best signal and don't mind paying a bit more. I have the Netgear Orbi and it's brilliant 5 bars anywhere in the house.

Do you know how well a mesh system works with SKY Q?

I’ve heard that they don’t tend to play too nicely together but I’d rather that option than routing cables from a switch, if there is a way to get them working well together.

[Firthy]

Do you know how well a mesh system works with SKY Q?

I’ve heard that they don’t tend to play too nicely together but I’d rather that option than routing cables from a switch, if there is a way to get them working well together.

You're correct, Sky Q doesn't work well with Wifi mesh systems, downloads are very hit and miss with them. You can still use the wifi from your router as well as havinga mesh system. I use the mesh wifi for laptops, mobiles, TV's etc but have left the wifi enabled on my router so I connect directly to the router with Sky Q.

[IanMcL]

I think that was me, I recommended the one I got on here and it's still working perfectly. It's this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... =UTF8&th=1

Yes it was Fretters.Thank you. I got one in the Amazon Black Friday sale, at the time. Works beautifully.

[lucs86]

I've just done a load of research on this and ended up with TP Link Deco P9 (3 pack, £150). They're mesh wifi + power line adapter, working great, really high speeds in every room wirelessly. Really easy setup.

[CharlieinNewMexico]

I bought a single Netgear one for about $50. Plugged in at the office (previously a dead zone) 3 rooms and a hallway from the router.

Works brill.