Boosting Home Wifi

[d000hg]

We use Solwise homeplug units. I have one in my office which has 2 ethernet ports AND a WiFi hotspot so it extends WiFi through the house and lets my main PC have wired internet.

Another one in the garage gets me Netflix for the exercise bike. There are various chipsets around of different speeds and some have cut-back features at lower price i.e. don't support as many units in total, but they're not too pricey and for WiFi I imagine even the slowest ones are as fast as WiFi, it's spreading wired ethernet around the house the speed gets more of an issue?

[original PM]

I have 3 (I think) TP link home plug adapters.

Come with an ethernet port and I think at least 1 is a socket pass through (e.g. you do not loose the socket)

They all run different ssid's so in effect I have 4 networks.

Main challenge is that it does struggle to identify strongest and so have to manually connect - but then it is not like I am jogging around the house so just connect to the one which is strongest as needed.

I could change all SSID's to be the same but I think I would just end up with 4 networks all names the same thing - e.g. not mesh.

no problems with speed/capacity but I do run infinity 2 fibre....

[d000hg]

Yeah the multiple identical SSIDs Vs mesh is something I never got my head around. Is that a feature some kits have but not others?

Mine are named differently which has pros and cons.

[Coalman]

I have Devolos as well. Wired working ok, but wi-fi has stopped, any ideas?

[saptastic]

thanks all. Seems the products have moved on since I last looked - lots of reading to do.

[LondonManc]

+1 for Devolo. Just works.

I have Devolos as well. Wired working ok, but wi-fi has stopped, any ideas?

But Dave says it just works. Perhaps he means it just about works.

[DeadEyedJacks]

Move further away from your neighbours to eliminate interference from adjacent wifi networks.

Or line the external walls of the house with tin foil ;-)

[d000hg]

Slightly silly but still genuine question... can you install 'conduits' to allow WiFi signal to get through walls and floors it struggles with? I forget what part of the spectrum is involved and how it behaves, whether drilling bits of pipe through your walls would work or not.

[vwdan]

Yeah the multiple identical SSIDs Vs mesh is something I never got my head around. Is that a feature some kits have but not others?

Mine are named differently which has pros and cons.

"Mesh" means different things to different providers, but basically it's a mess that still doesn't really work right some ten years after I first got involved with them. In terms of managing multiple access points through a centralised system it's fine, but I don't buy into the device management aspects of it.

Problem is that there's no real standard for it, so you're still somewhat at the mercy of the device. I got a Ubiquiti access point (one of their commercial grade jobs) but I've not bothered getting another one because the hand off tech sucks.

And, as for the reviews on that site posted - I'll just pop this snippet here:

The Plume system doesn’t even use a router.

Instead of using a local router to do the “thinking, Plume is a cloud-based system”

The fact that the above is a technical impossibility leads me to believe the reviews aren't worth taking too seriously....

Move further away from your neighbours to eliminate interference from adjacent wifi networks.

Or line the external walls of the house with tin foil ;-)

Joking aside, auto channel selection can be absolutely rubbish when there are a few routers about. It won't really help your range as such, but sometimes selecting a fixed channel can really work wonders.

[mall]

wifi

I have an app on my phone that shows all the wifi signals and the channels they use. On android it is called Wifi Analyzer. Then you can walk round the house to find the best spots.

Try changing the channel to a less congested one.

Move your router to a different location. Also higher up away from electronic devices like TV's etc.

Get a better router and use 5GHz rather than 2.4GHz.

All else fails try powerline adapters(never used them myself).