A router question

[fecmech]

I currently have a Netgear N600 WNDR3400v2 router for my home Wifi. It works great for my laptop, living room TV printer etc. I have one problem with a TV and Roku that are somewhat further away from that router and on the other side of a stone wall(approx 28' from the router). Most of the time it runs ok but occasionally I have problems and it ends up "loading". I'm guessing I need a more powerful router with more range. I'm not into gaming or anything, just TV watching. Any recommendations on particular routers with more range or what to look for in a new router that would indicate greater range than what I have.Thanks in advance.

[StuBach]

I’ve been pretty happy with the Google Mesh network system. Place one router at your model than place additional routers where the signal starts to decline but is still decent to create a repeater. Costco has a deal where you got 4 total and it covers our house (and outside) amazingly well.


https://www.costco.com/google-nest-wifi-4-pack---smart-mesh-wifi-powered-by-the-google-assistant.product.100517182.html is the current version.

Ours is the older version of this but when we did it the price was way cheaper than that cause the old ones didn’t have built in Google Assistant/speakers. And it appears there are still some available out there:


Google WiFi system, 3-Pack - Router Replacement for Whole Home Coverage (NLS-1304-25) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MAW2294/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PfgOEbGTSVBKC

[Les Staley]

I've had good luck with my Craftsman router. Trimming Formica counter tops, making special trims for little projects is a snap with the Horsepower of the older ones. You might find one at a garage sale, or not...keep looking. HTH..��

[Jake McCracken]

I recently got the Plume system through my ISP. Holy fast! 320mbps down everywhere in my house and most of the outside. Its a pod system so theres multiple "transmitters". The way i understand them from what ive ready, they talk to each other on a different dedicated channel than the one transmiting wifi to your devices. That way they dont reduce your speeds and bandwith the way traditional extenders or repeaters do.

It seems there are few makers of the pod type systems. Google has their own and i think it was amazon that made the other i looked at?

A pod system is definately the best internet experience I've had in this old house. Seamless gaming and video streaming both from netflix / youtube and from my own Plex server on my internal network.

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

[gwpercle]

I've had good luck with my Craftsman router. Trimming Formica counter tops, making special trims for little projects is a snap with the Horsepower of the older ones. You might find one at a garage sale, or not...keep looking. HTH..��

That's what I was expecting to discuss ...my "Craftsman" router has no idea what a wifi is , but still going strong after 35 years of ...Routing !!!

[SeabeeMan]

I'll forgo the recommendation of the Dewalt trim router, either corded or cordless, or Bosch in full size.

I'll lead with my utter lack of real qualifications: I'm an under-the-table tech guy for the district I teach in and PC gaming nerd and build my own machines. Basically no qualifications, but the skills to keep our district afloat through 90% of the problems that don't involve servers, including our wireless internet.

Any single station router is going to have dead zones somewhere, especially on the other side of dense obstructions. Direct wiring isn't usually an option with TV's and many streaming boxes, but that is always the best solution whenever possible. Those Netgears are decent consumer level devices but you're finding the limitations. We use a few of those at work in a 3 classroom charter school within ours that wants their own independent wifi network.

I was working with an ISP provided access point as our internet at home is very slow and had a wireless repeater in my garage to get that end of the house and my pole barn. I would always have issues with passing my phone from the extender to the main access point and dropping connection somewhere in between. We had all manner of issues with spotty connectivity around the house as we would have dead spots on Wi-Fi calling and drop calls when getting passed from one device to the other.

StuBach said it already, but the new mesh network systems are the way to go. There is a wide variety of price points out there, and the upper level ones add smart home features which you'll have to decide if you want. Google system things are usually pretty rock solid, as are anything by Netgear, Linksys, etc. You'll have no issues passing mobile devices back and forth between the different hubs and much better coverage.

I went with the Tenda MW6 system, mostly for the 2 gigabit ports as I have a wired device near where I placed each unit and I run a home media server. It's probably the lowest price point one out there but I have been very happy with it thus far. If you don't need any of the extra wired gigabit ports, the MW5 is a neat hybrid with two wall mount plug in units and one cube base station. Out the door for $80-90 on Amazon right now.

https://www.amazon.com/Tenda-MW6-802-11AC-Mu-Mimo-System/dp/B076JLJVTG/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=nova+mesh&qid=1587571721&sr=8-2

Either way, you'll maintain the current modem, plug it into the new mesh router base station, and be in business. If your current modem has a wireless router built in (kind of doubt it since you're running the Netgear), you'll need to disable that, as well as DHCP addressing in the existing modem, if equipped. You want the mesh network to be doing all the work and multiple units working over each other creates all sorts of weirdness.

[MrWolf]

I have an Orbi from Netgear. My biggest issue was wanting coverage in my garage about 75' away from router. I have the three "pods" for lack of a better word on what they are called. They work better than I had hoped. I keep one in the garage, one at the router, and one at other end of house. I even get coverage cutting the grass now. They were not cheap but worth it. Good luck.

[DougGuy]

I use an Arris SBG7580-AC which is an excellent router, hardware firewall, it transmits on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz and is faster than any hard drive can write to disk. It's WAY faster than gigabit ethernet! My phones and TV all connect at 5ghz, tablets and cheap devices use 2.4ghz. You want the AC speed rating for sure.

The theoretical max speed of 802.11ac is eight 160MHz 256-QAM channels, each of which are capable of 866.7Mbps, for a total of 6,933Mbps, or just shy of 7Gbps. That's a transfer rate of 900 megabytes per second — more than you can squeeze down a SATA 3 link.

I wonder if I could add a mesh network behind this router?

[trebor44]

Clue = stone wall. Try a directional antenna to get around the stone wall. Think of wi-fi as being like microwave, kind of line of sight. Yes, it is omni-directional which is why it can be hacked from an aircraft etc. Wi-fi is not a perfect technology.

[fecmech]

Thanks to all. Ordered the Tenda MW5 setup.

[popper]

Almost any of the new dual band routers will work as a repeater. What used to be a router is now a multi use device. Plus they have built-in security.

[fecmech]

Received and set up the Tenda MW5 system today, easy peasy! Man do I got speed! Thanks for the advice SeabeeMan!

[SeabeeMan]

Received and set up the Tenda MW5 system today, easy peasy! Man do I got speed! Thanks for the advice SeabeeMan!

You were able to place them so as to get signal through your wall? Glad to hear you are happy with them. I watched hours of reviews and read a half dozen white papers on them before my purchase, and we've been very happy.

I'm quickly becoming a fan and until the other "mainstream" brands come down in price, this Tenda system is the direction I'm going to send everybody.

[fecmech]

You were able to place them so as to get signal through your wall?
Evidently. There are two doorway size openings through the wall. One is covered with drywall to make a bathroom where there used to be a hall and the other between the kitchen and the living room. I'm getting approx 30-35mbps in the bedroom that used to be 3-7 mbps with the old router. Big improvement and no more loading circles on that TV! Again thank you.