I recently brought my old PC to my new flat in one of those Georgian buildings in west London - the walls are mostly wood and drywall. Our ISP is EE and we're on a 70 Mbps contract. The router is in the living room about 7-8 meters (25ft) from my PC and the signal goes through the bathroom, which means two layers of tiles and other objects in the way.
I have been using one of the cheapest Wi-Fi dongles out there - TP-Link TL-WN823N operating at 2.4GHz, which means better range, but a lot more interference, as there are about 20 other devices in the bandwidth with 4-5 on the same channel, according to my Android Wi-Fi Analyzer app. The signal strength is at around -70dBm.
For online gaming, I'm using my Samsung Galaxy S7 as an Ethernet hotspot, as it can run on 5Ghz and I position it closer to the router by using a longer USB cable. In the 5Ghz range, there is no interference on my channel, and about a couple of other devices visible. Signal strength is a bit worse at -80dBm, which is understandable.
However, recently I started experiencing immense drops in speed on the dongle - down to 0.1Mbps from the usual 50Mbps I was getting before. After some googling, I found out that a possible reason could be if the DLM system puts me on a banded profile in response to past errors. So I think this might be due to interference from other devices in the area, even though I had no problems until recently. I had the same problem with my Galaxy phone when running on 2.4Ghz too.
So that made me consider a permanent solution instead of constantly plugging my phone into my PC, changing dongles, and resetting routers. I was looking at either better dongles or Wi-Fi extenders. Here are my thoughts about it so far:
My PC is facing the router, so currently I'm connecting the dongle to the front USB port of the case, and not directly on the motherboard. If I were to connect it on the back on the machine, it would be even more obstructed, and facing the other direction too. I could get a longer USB cable and put it on top of the case, but I'm not sure it will be an improvement, and that's even more cable management I need to worry about. On the other hand, along the wall, there is a power outlet that's facing my bedroom door, which in turn is facing the door of the living room, behind which the router is located. So I could get a Wi-Fi extender with an Ethernet output, plug it in there, and pass an Ethernet cable straight to my machine. That way the signal will only go through a couple of inches of wood. There, the 2.4Ghz signal strength improves to about -60dBm, and the 5Ghz - to about -65dBm, even with one of the doors open.
I have been looking at some options online, but the better-rated options are in the area of $150, and I'm not sure I need such a thing for just a few meters. I have looked at some options in my price range of $50-$75:
Is there anything I haven't considered? What do you think of these extenders?
PC specs:
MB: Gigabyte P55-US3L
PSU: Cougar 650W 80-Plus Bronze
OS: Windows 10 Pro
I have been using one of the cheapest Wi-Fi dongles out there - TP-Link TL-WN823N operating at 2.4GHz, which means better range, but a lot more interference, as there are about 20 other devices in the bandwidth with 4-5 on the same channel, according to my Android Wi-Fi Analyzer app. The signal strength is at around -70dBm.
For online gaming, I'm using my Samsung Galaxy S7 as an Ethernet hotspot, as it can run on 5Ghz and I position it closer to the router by using a longer USB cable. In the 5Ghz range, there is no interference on my channel, and about a couple of other devices visible. Signal strength is a bit worse at -80dBm, which is understandable.
However, recently I started experiencing immense drops in speed on the dongle - down to 0.1Mbps from the usual 50Mbps I was getting before. After some googling, I found out that a possible reason could be if the DLM system puts me on a banded profile in response to past errors. So I think this might be due to interference from other devices in the area, even though I had no problems until recently. I had the same problem with my Galaxy phone when running on 2.4Ghz too.
So that made me consider a permanent solution instead of constantly plugging my phone into my PC, changing dongles, and resetting routers. I was looking at either better dongles or Wi-Fi extenders. Here are my thoughts about it so far:
My PC is facing the router, so currently I'm connecting the dongle to the front USB port of the case, and not directly on the motherboard. If I were to connect it on the back on the machine, it would be even more obstructed, and facing the other direction too. I could get a longer USB cable and put it on top of the case, but I'm not sure it will be an improvement, and that's even more cable management I need to worry about. On the other hand, along the wall, there is a power outlet that's facing my bedroom door, which in turn is facing the door of the living room, behind which the router is located. So I could get a Wi-Fi extender with an Ethernet output, plug it in there, and pass an Ethernet cable straight to my machine. That way the signal will only go through a couple of inches of wood. There, the 2.4Ghz signal strength improves to about -60dBm, and the 5Ghz - to about -65dBm, even with one of the doors open.
I have been looking at some options online, but the better-rated options are in the area of $150, and I'm not sure I need such a thing for just a few meters. I have looked at some options in my price range of $50-$75:
- TP-Link TL-PA7010PKIT (https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-PA7010PKIT-Passthrough-Powerline-Streaming-Configuration/dp/B06VW1WCCD)
- NETGEAR 11AC 1200 Mbps (https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-802-11ac-Extender-External-EX6130-100UKS/dp/B01IR41A40)
- TP-Link AC1750 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-Extender-Broadband-UK-RE450/dp/B013SYHHI2)
Is there anything I haven't considered? What do you think of these extenders?
PC specs:
MB: Gigabyte P55-US3L
PSU: Cougar 650W 80-Plus Bronze
OS: Windows 10 Pro