Abysmal WiFi Router - Bad Connection, Even In Same Room!

[BatchTheBrit]

Hi guys. Basically, as a university student, I don't spend that much time at home. But when I do, the WiFi connection here is bloody abysmal. My parents are still on copper wire broadband (despite the fact that fibre optic has been in our area for years) and the WiFi router is still the crappy Sky Broadband one that was supplied when they got the service like 7 years ago. I believe Netgear were the manufacturer partners at the time.

I've tried moving the router closer to the centre of the house. I've tried changing the WiFi channels (router's so old it only uses 2.4ghz) to avoid interference from neighbours (rural area, interference has never been an issue) but I still average about -75dB signal strength with it fluctuating severely. This is with the signal travelling through the floor directly up to the bedroom. It's even bad in the room next door with frequent quality drops and poor speeds.

This isn't really affected by the number of devices either. During heavy load the family can have 4 phones, 3 tablets, 2 laptops and my desktop all connected to it at once. However, even when home alone with just my phone and my desktop connected, it makes no difference. Just for completion I'm using an i3 6100 on an Asus z170-p. The WiFi card I'm using is a TP-LINK TL-WN851ND. My operating system is Windows 10. However it's important to note that this issue affects all devices in the house, not just my PC.

The connection speed itself isn't bad, about 10-15mbs with decent ping. Checking with a wired connection the quality of the connection is fine, so it has to be the WiFi of the router itself. The issue is most obvious when gaming over this connection. I'm always getting good ping numbers, but my character jitters around the place with severe rubber-banding.

If this was my house the solution would be simple (get fibre optic and smash some cat6 around the house) but as this is my parent's house i can't just drill holes in walls or change the internet package and provider. I also can't run a 20m cable downstairs to the router from my PC, so I was curious if anyone had any solutions and can answer the following questions:

1. Would my signal be improved by buying an aftermarket router?

2. What would the approximate cost be for a worthwhile router upgrade?

3. Would a powerline socket solution work well for my described situation?

4. How hard would it be to run a Cat6 cable down one wall to the router below?

Thanks for any help you can provide! Even typing this post has been a nightmare with the connection!

 

[kanewolf]

Installing network cable between floors isn't difficult, but may require specialized tools. To make your parents feel comfortable that the job will be done right, offer to pay for a professional to install the cable in the walls. If you live near a city you should be able to find a low voltage cable specialist. If not, an electrician can install the cable. The don't specialize in network cabling but usually they can do it.