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What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by NorthTiger 
on 2/11/19 at 2:29 pm
on 2/11/19 at 2:29 pm
0
0I don’t live in a big house. It’s just that the router and master bedroom or at complete opposite ends of the house. I’ve been using the $50 Netgear N300 in the living room located in the middle of the house but I’m not real satisfied once I move past the l I got room.
So, how to upgrade to get WiFi through my house without moving the router.
Thanks.
So, how to upgrade to get WiFi through my house without moving the router.
Thanks.
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by fibonaccisquared 
on 2/11/19 at 4:37 pm to NorthTiger
on 2/11/19 at 4:37 pm to NorthTigerWill defer to others, but true "extenders" have largely fallen out of favor for mesh systems.
Who do you have your internet through, and what type of service/speeds are we talking?
That may influence recommendations.
Who do you have your internet through, and what type of service/speeds are we talking?
That may influence recommendations.
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by NorthTiger on 2/11/19 at 4:51 pm to fibonaccisquared
on 2/11/19 at 4:51 pm to fibonaccisquaredMy service provider is ATT
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by The Levee on 2/11/19 at 5:05 pm to NorthTiger
on 2/11/19 at 5:05 pm to NorthTigerGet google WiFi. It’s on sale now at Costco
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by MCrun2 
on 2/11/19 at 6:29 pm to NorthTiger
on 2/11/19 at 6:29 pm to NorthTigerIf you need a smart home hub get the Samsung SmartThings WiFi.
More home WiFi network customization and a hub to control and connect a large variety of smart home devices
Works really well too
More home WiFi network customization and a hub to control and connect a large variety of smart home devices
Works really well too
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by Tigeralum2008 on 2/11/19 at 7:36 pm to NorthTiger
on 2/11/19 at 7:36 pm to NorthTigerquote:
What WiFi extender to buy.
None, get Orbi
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by fibonaccisquared on 2/11/19 at 10:47 pm to NorthTiger
on 2/11/19 at 10:47 pm to NorthTigerquote:
My service provider is ATT
Presuming this is the standard ATT "Uverse" service, I'm guessing we're talking 75-100Mbps top speed. If you're talking fiber, let us know as it likely changes the conversation here a bit.
Personally, just had to switch from ATT due to bandwidth issues... was on 100 but would consistently get dips in speed - even while at near full wifi signal - to 1-5mbps. Fortunately, I was willing to make a deal with the devil and take Comcast/Xfinity back for gigabit speeds...
Anywho. Assuming you don't have my issues and that my guess on service level was correct, then we're talking about a 100 or lower speed. At that point, I'd say you have a few options.
If you have pretty good coverage on 50% or more of the house and have some flexibility on where the box is setup, you could go with a single range extender (Netgear makes some cheaper ones - think I grabbed mine around $30-40 a while back)... setup the ATT box so that it serves the areas where you spend the most time well but also extends coverage far enough toward the opposite end of the house that the range extender has a good baseline.
The downside here is the range extender has to have a separate network name so you have to explicitly choose which network to connect to. It's not the end of the world, but also not the greatest either.
Alternatively, if you're willing to invest a little bit more (seems to fall around the $80-100/satellite price range), you can grab one of the mesh network systems. You will probably want to figure out how much signal boost you really need and then plan accordingly. You may be able to get by with as few as 1-2 additional satellites, but using the "AirPort Utility" app on your phone, you should be able to get a good handle on where the dead spots are currently, then ballpark the effective range of your ATT box today. I asked about providers because with my Xfinity service, they're including up to 3 satellites, but don't believe AT&T has anything like that.
I'm not a networking pro, and many here likely know a bit more about it than myself, but this is what I've more or less self educated myself on over the past few months dealing with network issues of my own.
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by NorthTiger on 2/12/19 at 6:23 am to fibonaccisquared
on 2/12/19 at 6:23 am to fibonaccisquaredIt is DSL fiber advertised as 100 mbps. I just ran multiple test using my current netgear extender and got around 34 mbps on download.
This post was edited on 2/12 at 6:45 am
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by musick 
on 2/12/19 at 7:37 am to Tigeralum2008
on 2/12/19 at 7:37 am to Tigeralum2008quote:
None, get Orbi
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by Bad_Mojeaux on 2/12/19 at 7:42 am to NorthTiger
on 2/12/19 at 7:42 am to NorthTigerLinksys RE6800 is the best I have found - reliable and has yet to go offline in over a year. I would prefer a Mesh setup; however, Ring products do not work over a Mesh system. So before you decide between Mesh or an extender, make sure that all of your products are compatible.
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re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by mctiger1985 on 2/12/19 at 7:57 am to Bad_Mojeaux
on 2/12/19 at 7:57 am to Bad_Mojeauxquote:
I would prefer a Mesh setup; however, Ring products do not work over a Mesh system
How am I running 13 Ring cameras over Orbi then?
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by Bad_Mojeaux on 2/12/19 at 9:26 am to mctiger1985
on 2/12/19 at 9:26 am to mctiger1985quote:
How am I running 13 Ring cameras over Orbi then?
Great question and I would like to know also! When my carport spotlight cam kept losing signal I figured it was a great time to set up a mesh network, specifically Orbi. While I was researching Orbi I came across posts on different sites claiming that Orbi did not work well with Ring products. So I called Ring Support and they confirmed that Ring devices are not compatible with mesh networks. So I went the extender route.
Did your Ring devices work right away with Orbi or did you have to make any additional tweaks for your devices to work?
This post was edited on 2/12 at 9:27 am
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by NorthTiger on 2/12/19 at 11:26 am to Bad_Mojeaux
on 2/12/19 at 11:26 am to Bad_MojeauxI am clueless on this topic. If I buy the $300 or so Orbi system do I still use my current router?
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by mctiger1985 on 2/12/19 at 11:39 am to NorthTiger
on 2/12/19 at 11:39 am to NorthTigerYou could if you wanted too,but Orbi also functions as a router. I'm currently using a separate router and just running Orbi as access points.
In reference to the Ring issue, didn't do anything special, but I am running Orbi as AP only. Perhaps Orbi has fixed something with a firmware update since you tried.
In reference to the Ring issue, didn't do anything special, but I am running Orbi as AP only. Perhaps Orbi has fixed something with a firmware update since you tried.
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by fibonaccisquared on 2/12/19 at 4:23 pm to NorthTiger
on 2/12/19 at 4:23 pm to NorthTigerquote:
I am clueless on this topic. If I buy the $300 or so Orbi system do I still use my current router?
So if you don't care too much about additional ethernet ports to hard wire into the mesh "satellites", you might consider the TP-Link Deco system.
This article does a pretty good job of calling out the differences between systems, and stack ranking them.
LINK
You can get a 3 satellite unit for about half the price of the Orbi system.
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Deco-Whole-Home-System/dp/B06WVCB862/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1550009842&sr=1-4&keywords=wifi+mesh
There are trade offs with the different make/models, but for the most part they all do a pretty good job.
If you have any smart home devices already, that could influence your decision for example. TP works with Alexa. Google works with Google...
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by adp on 2/12/19 at 6:38 pm to NorthTiger
I use this and it works great. Newer versions available too. Highly recommend. LINK
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by pickle311 on 2/14/19 at 4:02 pm to mctiger1985
on 2/14/19 at 4:02 pm to mctiger1985I'm on the Orbi bandwagon as well. I got the system that has the cable modem, it's only been setup for a week. Time will tell, but so far it has performed flawlessly and I really like how easy it is to use and make changes through the app.
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by NYCAuburn 
on 2/14/19 at 4:07 pm to Bad_Mojeaux
on 2/14/19 at 4:07 pm to Bad_Mojeauxquote:
So I called Ring Support and they confirmed that Ring devices are not compatible with mesh networks.
now that amazon purchased eero, tech reps will probably be able to say it is supported now
re: What WiFi extender to buy.Posted by jennyjones 
on 2/14/19 at 9:57 pm to Bad_Mojeaux
on 2/14/19 at 9:57 pm to Bad_Mojeauxquote:
So I called Ring Support and they confirmed that Ring devices are not compatible with mesh networks.
Fake news from their tech support
I've installed both Google WiFi and (2) sets of Orbi's at houses with multiple Ring devices. All have worked flawlessly with the Ring devices
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