[SOLVED] Combining Wireless Repeater with powerline adapter

[intzor]

My situation is, router downstairs and I need a strong fast internet connection in an upstairs room on the other end of the house.

I just ordered a Zyxel PLA6456, which I am hoping will achieve that, however it is hardwire only. I plan to connect it via ethernet to my upstairs computer.

However, I also need to connect to the net with wireless devices upstairs. Is there a way I can use the powerline combined with a wi-fi extender to do this?

Right now I already own a tp-link wi-fi extender (RE220). Currently it is useless to me, because if I plug it in upstairs which is where I need a strong signal, the distance from the router is too far, and I can't get a good wireless connection for upstairs devices.

But once I have the Zyxel can I somehow combine the two so I get good internet both on my wired computer system and on wireless devices used in the same room? If so, what would be the best way to do this?

Thank you for your help.

 

[bill001g]

So if I assume you bought 2 pla6456 devices then you can make it work.

The powerline units appear as a ethernet cable between the router and the remote room. You would then just plug your "extender" into the remote powerline unit and set it to run as a AP.

Other than it being slower than a real ethernet it is the same design a remote AP connected to the router via ethernet.

 

[intzor]

So if I assume you bought 2 pla6456 devices then you can make it work.

The powerline units appear as a ethernet cable between the router and the remote room. You would then just plug your "extender" into the remote powerline unit and set it to run as a AP.

Other than it being slower than a real ethernet it is the same design a remote AP connected to the router via ethernet.

Thanks for your reply Bill. I just installed the PLA6456 kit.

It seems to be working well on a hardwired connection with my upstairs desktop. Noticeably faster and more snappy than my previous setup.

However, I have not found a way to make the TPLINK wifi extender work as an access point for my upstairs mobile devices.

The extender tries to draw from the wifi signal of the router upstairs and there seems to be no way to get it to draw from the 6456.

I spoke to Zyxel customer service and they told me that there is no way to do what I want to do. I need to buy a Powerline which has built-in wifi if I want to be able to access the powerline connection with mobile devices.

I just wanted to run this by you before I make my return, in case you actually know of a way to do it.

If there is no way to do it, could you suggest to me a powerline with built-in wifi that might have comparable quality and stability to the PLA6456?

 

[bill001g]

https://www.tp-link.com/us/user-gui...more-features-of-your-extender#ug-sub-title-2

It says you can set it to AP mode.

zyxel are a bunch of idiots if they do not know you can plug a AP in. Now there might be some kind of extenders that don't have AP mode but so far all the ones I have seen have AP mode.

Tplink makes powerline units with a AP built in the remote unit but I really think you can use the re220.

 

[intzor]

Thanks for your reply Bill.

I think the issue may be that the PLA6456 only has one ethernet port? Currently I am using that ethernet port to connect the Powerline to my desktop computer.

The tplink page you sent me instructs to set the device to AP mode and then: "After rebooting, connect the extender to your modem or wired router via an Ethernet cable. "

I am unable to connect the extender to the powerline device via ethernet because there is no second ethernet port!

Any suggestions at this point?

 

[bill001g]

Be nice if the repeater had more than 1 port.
When you test do you get more than 100mbps directly attached to the powerline.

You could buy a 5 port 10/100 switch for under $10 and if you get over 100mbps you could use a 10/100/1000 for about $15.

 

[intzor]

Be nice if the repeater had more than 1 port.
When you test do you get more than 100mbps directly attached to the powerline.

You could buy a 5 port 10/100 switch for under $10 and if you get over 100mbps you could use a 10/100/1000 for about $15.

After running tests throughout the day, I found I am getting anywhere from 60mbps-90mbps depending on time. I have Cox cable; and compared to speeds I've seen other people getting, I'm guessing they throttle your connection pretty good unless you're paying for a premium plan.

I have what might be good news though: since my last message I did a few different experiments. I experimented with putting the extender in different locations. I found that in one location, , if I was using the 5ghz signal of the extender, my mobile devices were on average getting 20mpbs better than my desktop was getting while hard wired to the Powerline.
I tried disconnecting the Powerline completely, and just running my desktop with wireless, but the wireless adapter I have now is only 2.5ghz so I was getting half the speeds of my mobile devices on my desktop using wireless.
I ordered a 5ghz wireless adapter, which should arrive today, and I'm going to see if with that adapter I can get speeds equal to my mobile devices.

If this works out, it seems I should have no need of the powerline at all right? 5ghz appears to be the real solution, giving me speeds better than the powerline. So perhaps after all the extender is the only thing I need! Could this be possible?

There are so many different networking devices making so many different claims that it is really confusing. But this would be great if it worked out since it would be the simplest solution of all, as well as the cheapest.

Once I receive the new 5ghz adapter for my desktop I will post here again with results.

 

[bill001g]

Yup how houses are built make a huge difference for wifi and even powerline sometimes. The only one that seems to not be affected much is MoCA. If you have tv coax cables in both rooms you can get full gigabit speeds with the latest moca equipment.

 

[intzor]

Thanks for telling me about MoCA. Never heard of it before, and just researching now. I actually do have coax cables in the room in question, so maybe this would be ideal for my situation? Would it also bring intenret to my wireless devices, or just my hardwired desktop, and I'd still need the extender? If there is a particular MoCA device you recommend let me know.

 

[intzor]

Ok I got the 5ghz adapter, and have been testing it out.

Now I am really confused

Speeds are higher than with my old 2.5ghz adapter, but still, on every test I have run I'm getting at least 50% slower speeds on my desktop than I'm getting on my mobile devices in the very same room.

Not what I expected! Why would this be?

 

[bill001g]

Wifi is almost magic sometime. There is little obvious reason different devices perform differently. It takes only very small difference in position to have a large effect. Then you have different antenna placement and thing like the huge metal case on most desktops.

Moca adapters are like powerline units. They appear as a ethernet cable. You would need a switch and your repeater just like the powerline. Although I have never purchased these newer units the moca units most people like are made by gocoax. They are cheaper than some of the large name brands. The main reason they were popular is the big brands refused to sell the units that could do full gigabit speed to end consumers. Gocoax made them and sold them cheaper and now they are one of the most popular brands for end consumers.