Wifi Connection Really Bad On One Floor?

It's possible but, you won't know until you try.

N = ANCIENT
AC = Grandfather
AX = young adult

Reviews are one thing and experience is another. If you want to waste money on AC now and pay for AX later for virtually the same price go for it. If you want a smoother experience as you upgrade to newer devices, better range, and speeds then AX is your friend.

Then hook up the CM to an outlet on the 1st floor and put the router there. Chances are you'll have pretty good coverage to all 3 floors. If you find it to be weak then look into adding a 2nd WIFI to the mix like we've been discussing.

There's no special COAX when it comes to hooking up a CM. The modem will work on any outlet that has a clean signal on it. The less amount of splitters between the modem and the TAP where the cable comes in provides the best speed / reliability.

 

Hey. Well the thing is that ac2600 has very good reviews on RANGE. When i look at the AX1800, there are good reviews but not that many on the range compared to that one. Also the Ax one seem to be called a budget wifi 6 router as well.


Also you say eventually you have to pay for AX later. Someone said they are in IT and uses this one and it covers their whole three story house and said don't go after new technology because it isn't necessary.


Also to confirm, you are l00 percent against any mesh system right? Like the TP Deco, google nest, eerie etc?

 

Listen.... I'm CCNP certified and do networking for a a living. I've also taken the CCIE exam as well.

Take it from a It person that doesn't specialize in networking or from someone that does it day in/out and not dealing with "users". I deal with pieces of equipment that cost 7 figures not desktop PC's or phone issues.

AX is what new devices are coming out with installed in them.
AX isn't 10-20 years old.

RANGE = 2.4ghz band which is covered by anything since 802.11B
2.4ghz band has had improvements with each iteration post B -> G -> N -> AC -> AX
2.4ghz used to only get you 11mbps and now with advanced chipsets on AX goes to 600mbps which is just below the max of AC (5ghz) at 866mbps yet the AX 5ghz band can in real world get to 1.3gbps

MESH is a cheap way to half ass your network while you figure out the proper way to do it. If you want crappy performance go for MESH / Extenders / whatever you want to call them.

While using you N router as an AP in the basement isn't ideal it's 1000% better than dealing with these other options.

 

Okay... so i decided to buy the tp link ac2600 as oppose to the AX1800. Yes i know you advised on the AX... but there were so many reviews on range on the ac2600... that i had to go with that one... They did not open the box yet though.


The other thing is this. Im not in that house now so i have to help them set this up via over the iphone to someone that is not tech savy.


Do you basically just unplug the old netgear n600 router out... then plug it in... and power it on... and thats it? Then check for the wifi network connection name... which would be on the router... then type in that password... and thats all that is needed to connect to the wifi? Again, its been a long time since i set up a new router. But the issue here is i don't have physical access to that router so helping them do the installation over the phone.


I did see this link on youtube to set it up







So no computer is needed for the setup? You just can use your iphone or computer and log in to the network and password and thats all? I know there is that 192.168.0.1 thing... but thats only if you want to change the network name and password right?


What also is bit confusing is why does the ac2600 the box shows 3 antennas but in the video there is 4 antennas?


Then once its set up, go around different areas and check to see the mbps in every area?

 

Basically you need to power everything off as the CM will need to clear the MAC of the N router from it's DB to issue a new IP to the new router.
Plugin in the CM first, let it sync up, then plug in the router.
Follow the directions to get connected / run the configuration wizard to setup the SSID / Password to what the N had configured to ease every other device in connecting. Check for FW updates for security performance.

Grab a WIFI signal app for polling the signal strength around the house.

 

The only thing right now is im not sure if i have a bit of buyers remorse or not. gain i bought the ac2600 router over the axl800 router because so many reviews on RANGE. But when i look at the extenders, why is it the ac2600 so expensive? Its almost l00 dollars or so. But the axl800 is about 35 dollars.



Would that powerline adapter you mentioned earlier

would this be also compatible with the ac2600?


https://www.amazon.com/Powerline-Et...powerline&qid=1626835537&s=electronics&sr=1-3


Thing is we still havent opened the box yet because they dont have the time to set up the router yet. So now im a bit contemplating if we should keep it or not. But you say just keep this one as oppose to the axl800 right? Again we havent opened the box yet.

 

The power line adapter is a conduit for Ethernet. It's compatible with anything Ethernet.

I advised you to go AX because it performs better in transmitting data vs AC.

If you're second guessing yourself then that's a good reason to go with the advice you were given. I gave you a solution that would work best for your budget.

 

Yes i am second guessing, but i think i will still stick with the ac2600 as oppose to returning it and buying the axl800. Again i havent opened the box yet... but for some reason i think the range of the ac2600 is probably better.


Also other people mention if you dont have any wifi 6 devices... this wifi l800x isn't going to do anything. So are they wrong about this or not? Again we only have one device that has wifi 6. But you say it transmit data better vs AC... but what if all your devices are not wifi 6?

 

I have a mix of devices and see a boost in performance across the board. Primarily my phone / laptop are 6 and everything else is 5 and the stupid cheap printer only works on 2.4ghz otherwise I would simply shutoff that band.



Every iteration of WIFI adds to the existing version it's replacing / improving upon.

802.11B -> 802.11N -> 802.11AC -> 802.11AX
All have a 2.4ghz band
802.11A was the first release for 5ghz and was primarily an Enterprise only setup initially as most consumer HW didn't incorporate it as an option until N was released.

In the table you'll see the indoor distance listed but, it's not totally accurate as you see the huge difference between N & AC/AX but, considering all 3 of them offer 2.4ghz channels they're all equal but, the difference is in how AX handles speed of 2.4 vs N/AC being that it has a higher throughput.

 

Link rate alone is not very meaningful, I’d say realworld average of AX over AC is like 5-10% (ie R7800 vs RAX80 (both limited by gigabit port)), with maybe at best 20% for a few. 1024 QAM is far more sensitive to noise.

And yes you can have improvements of AC performance on newer AX chipsets even with AX disabled due to newer improved chipsets in general, not necessarily from the AX spec itself. This I say from experience testing multiple high end routers, between AX/AC mode not a big difference in most cases on the same router.

And 6Ghz is not as performant at the moment at equivalent distances as 5Ghz till FCC increases output. This has also been my experience in actual 6Ghz testing during a beta test….

Real benefits of AX are doubling of 2.4 GHz performance on HT20. Still don’t recommend HT40 as it’s more susceptible to interfere and neighbor unfriendly. The other main reason to get AX in the future would be better sharing of spectrum especially in large/congested office environments with stuff like BSS coloring and also power saving with target wake time etc but a lot of that stuff wasn’t even properly functional on early AX routers, which were essentially somewhere between AX and AC feature set wise.


Now having said all that, If one has a choice between equivalent antenna AX vs AC device at close to similar prices or even if the AX is a little bit more expensive I’d recommend the AX as you’d likely get longer term support vs a product closer to late stage of its life cycle. At the same time I wouldn’t replace a 4x4 R7800 (AC2600) with a 2x2 RAX30 (AX3000)….

Also I would not buy any router that’s less than a 6 months to a year old as you’d essentially be a guinea pig.. while the router companies get things straightened out.


You bought what you bought and it isn’t bad so stop second guessing and move on.

 

Hey thanks. Yea i also don't want a router that is pretty new since well you don't know how it is. But of course you dont want one that is very old etc.


Okay so most likely i will stick with this one then. Again haven't opened it yet.

 

Someone also mentioned this about the powerline adapter...



You will need the $80 version of the powerline adapters the AV2 standard is lightyears ahead of the AV1 standard. The $50 adapter he listed is AV1 and absolute **** compared to the new modulation they came up with. And do the math. $80 to 100 Router + The Powerline/Extender = $160ish.



Do you have opinion on this?

 

Do you want performance or price? You can't have both when it comes to this scenario because of a couple of things.

N router max port speed is 100mbps. If you want to invest in proper equipment then bumping to a higher end adapter makes more sense but, because you're being cheap about things it wouldn't make sense to go with a higher end solution.

If you were to add an AP with a 2.5gbps port on it then avoiding the PLA would be forced since there isn't one that does 2.5gbps at this time.

If you got a proper AP for placement on a different floor for better signal then potentially it might make sense but, the one I recommended does gigabit speed which is the same as the port speed on both ends.

If you wanted to simply extend the WIFI signal w/o using the N router there are other options that do that as well but at a higher cost than you're willing to spend.

https://www.lifewire.com/best-powerline-network-adapters-4141215

 

I want performance but as long as the price isn't ridiculous. Like i wouldnt want to spend 500 dollars on it. But i dont really want to go higher than 200 dollars.

But right now assuming we keep this new router...



I know there is instruction manual in the box with the steps. But im not there now to set up the wireless router and someone else who is not tech savy is going to do it. The thing is they will ask a friend they have to help... that person has verizon fios though and installed the fios wireless router. So setting up a verizon fios router should be very similar to setting up this tp link router right? Again the thing is they have a friend to help them set up the router since im not there. So the process should be similar?


I had mentioned... the steps should be something like this right?



Remove old netgear router and the modem from the outlet.

Unplug the ethernet cable from the netgear router and the modem.


Wait a bit and then plug the modem back into the outlet and wait a bit.


Then connect the new tp link router to the outlet and power it on.


Then connect the ethernet cable from the tp link router to the modem.


Wait a bit... then you should find the tp link wifi network username/passwor that is in the back of the tp link modem right? Then click on that wifi connection and type in that password?


Are these the correct steps? I had mentioned... these should be the correct steps to the person who is not tech savy to connect the new tp link router and remove the old netgear router?



Then after that is done... if you want to change the password, you go to that tp link 192.168.0.1 and replace default admin for user / admin for password on router and then change it? Again the old netgear router we using, we never changed the wifi network name nor password... so we always connected to the default wifi network name and password where there is a sticker in the back of the netgear modem.

 

Now here is the thing. When the tp link router is set up what do we need to make sure of where okay this router is good enough? Im thinking... go to all those locations in the second floor, first floor and basement and do a speedtest and see how much mbps each is right? So for example we get 200 mbps from our internet. Well because we are on wifi... that automatically cuts your mbps in half right? Is that accurate? Our ISP gives us 200 mbps. So that should mean... in the first floor and basement in the middle, we should be getting 100 mbps or so since we getting around 50mbps right now in the same spots with our old netgear router which is max 100mbps? And of course different areas are much lower like it only showed 3mbps and 20mbps in far away areas in the house. So most spots should still get at least 50 mbps with this new router? How much mbps would it be where... okay this isn't giving that great coverage?




Okay so the powerline you posted... that is good enough in addition to this tp link router i bought right? Again in other forum, they said the one you posted as link isn't that good.

 

If you didn't have a custom SSID and used the sticker info that's fine. Every device would need to be updated to use the new sticker info.

As for the way to connect everything... Unplug everything, plug in the CM and wait for all the flashing lights to stop / go solid, plug in the ethernet, plug in the TPL, login w/ sticker info.

Testing... I just use an app on my phone to see the RF signal from the router. "wifi analyzer"... just grab a phone + download app and walk around the house to see how the signal fairs. Anything below -100 should be able to maintain a connection. Speed isn't a good indicator to signal strength because there's a variety of things that can affect it.

If you setup the N router with the powerline adapter you should change the SSID / Password to match the new TPL so when you move from floor to floor it just picks that up and stays connected vs having to choose it from the WIFI menu.

The 1/2 of bandwidth comes into play with the pods not WIFI in general. Though WIFI in general is 1/2 duplex as it only sends OR receives it will use the full bandwidth of the router.

I would move the setup to the 1st floor for better coverage using the new router. Just plug in the CM to an outlet on the 1st floor. There's nothing special about where it's plugged in on the 2nd floor. If the 2n floor has stability issues with the CM then there's probably an additional splitter in the path from where it comes into the house to the outlet that's reducing the signal too much. Just move the cable off the splitter so it's a single path from the DEMARC to the CM.

 

Im not sure what is ssid but yea im talking about the sticker info. Yea that is what is going to be used for username/password. Again i dont have access to the router now as im not there and im not the one setting it up.


Well right now we didnt buy a powerline adapter yet.


How can we move the setup to the first floor? The cable modem is on the second floor and you can't move that because that is where the internet is installed a while back. The CM is connected to the coax cable in the second floor... im pretty certain of this?


Also im bit confused with the old netgear router. So you want to put that on what floor?


The plan was to remove old netgear router and put the new tp link router next to the CM modem on the second floor. But you are saying if i buy a powerline adapter... then you also want us to use the old netgear router as well? So there isn't going to be any special wiring needed? Again this sounds confusing to me here. Because I thought you said if you buy a powerline adapter and put it on a certain floor, then you can get ethernet connection on that floor right? But right now, we don't need ethernet connection. On the second floor where the CM and netgear router is... nobody even uses a wired connection.


So you want to have the CM and the new tp link router on the first floor? Then buy a powerline adapter and use that in connection with... the old netgear router in the basement? Or use the powerline adapter in connection with the new tp link router?

 

Also can you clarify this again with mbps speed with wired and wifi?



So example let say your ISP, you pay for 200mbps. When using a wired connection and assuming your wireless router is a recent one and not very old and let say you could get up to 700mbps speed on the router to make it simple. But of course you aren't paying for that much mbps so you could not get that wired.



So when you use wifi on wireless router, wouldn't that mean you only get half that or l00 mbps? But if you using wired connection, you getting very close to the 200mbps? But now let say you are using mesh. Im confused because i read you get only half the speed. But since wifi you only get half the speed... are you now getting half of half? So instead of l00mbps on wifi with your traditional wireless router, now you get only 50mbps since you are using mesh? Again example here is you pay for 200mbps.

 

SSID = Network Name

COAX = Cable Outlet / is there not an outlet on the 1st floor?

Netgear router - if the TPL doesn't cover 100% then adding the powerline adapter will allow you to connect the Netgear to the TPL to extend the signal.

Powerline Adapter - This allows an Ethernet connection to anywhere in the house to connect the Netgear to.

200mbps ISP connection won't make much difference when it comes to adding the powerline / Netgear as a secondary WIFI connection in an area that's not covered by the TPL. The Netgear COULD be used somewhere else in the house by extending the connection to the TPL through your existing electrical wiring in the house by using the electrical outlets to become Ethernet.

The Netgear speed limitation being 100mbps is due to the physical port being 100mbps.

Quit over thinking things and move the CM to the first floor, setup the TPL there. Evaluate the WIFI coverage with the TPL before immersing yourself in the PL / NG extension option.

 

What do you mean by an outlet on the first floor? If you mean the wall outlets... of course there is. But i thought when the internet cable company years ago installed the cable modem on the second floor with the coax cable... that was the only place where it could be? Again im not there right now but you could take the coax cable all the way to the first floor? That doesn't make any sense. Unless you want the coax cable going from the second to the first floor?


Also we do prefer the modem/router on second floor because that is where someone uses internet the most... compared to the first floor and basement etc.

 

If you have a cable outlet that's active on the 1st floor that would be ideal for coverage. If there's not one active on the 1st floor then you could attach the cable for it where the signal comes into the house to make it active. This takes all but a couple of minutes to do and verify.

 

What do you mean cable outlet that is active on the first floor? Im not sure what you mean by that. We do have outlets in the first floor. What I dont understand is where does the coax cable from the second floor play into this? Because i thought the modem had to be connected to the coax cable in the second floor? Because if you bring the CM to the first floor, isn't the coax cable on the second floor? Again im not there right now to check it.



Also, they set up the new tp link router recently. They just reset the modem, didn't unplug it. They then added the tp link router. They had a friend help them... it is someone who has verizon fios but they figure well it should be similar. Now here is the thing... i asked them to check the speedtest in all the locations in the house. And this is what it looks like before and after... thus old netgear n600 modem vs the new tp link 2600 router.




We are paying for 200mbps for cable internet but because our old netgear n600 router gives max 100mbps... well that would be the most mbps we get.


Our modem and router is in second floor and is put towards the middle/northern end of the second floor.



In the basement but in the other end of it...we get around 21 mbps only. Now its 70mbps.

In the middle of the basement... we get around 50mbps. Now its 208mbps.



In the first floor but in the other end of it, we get around 21 mbps only. Now its 163 mbps

In the middle of the first floor we get around 50 mbps. Now its 219mbps.



Now in the first floor doorway, we only get 3 mbps. Now its 58 mbps.



Also that is right next to the first floor but in the other end of it... except there is a wall dividing it. So imagine if there was no wall before that area and the room in the first room... its like few steps away. So is that a big thing? I had no idea the speedtest is that little there.


So would you say this is a huge improvement. Again they just installed the new tp link router recently and these speeds should be more than good? Thus no need for an extender or consider mesh right?