Internet modem upstairs, need help bringing wifi downstairs

[frijoe]

Hello, I did a pretty quick search on the forums and couldn't find anything that answered my question. I apologize for not taking more time to ensure this question hasn't been asked already. If anyone could help, it would be greatly appreciated!

My wife and I are moving this week and the house we are moving to has hard-wired cat5 ethernet ports throughout the house. Unfortunately I need to install my modem and wifi unit (ARRIS / Motorola Surfboard SBG6782-AC 3.0 Cable Modem and Wi-Fi Router)upstairs in the master bedroom closet where it will be dispersed throughout the rest of the house.

My problem with this is right now I have a crappy wifi extender (NETGEAR AC1200 High Power 700mW Dual Band Wi-Fi Range Extender) that barely boosts the signal in our current house. I know that if I place it downstairs where my computer, ps4, tv, and mainly where the wifi will be used... it will not boost any signal (because it will not get any).

Is there anything you can recommend that I might be able to hook up to an ethernet port downstairs that will allow me to plug in a couple devices and have a separate wifi network? (Please explain in detail because I know nothing about this subject except how to rename networks) 🙁

Thank you very much for the help.

 

[WyomingKnott]

Instead of extending the WiFi from your existing modem, you could get a Wifi Access Point, connect it to the network downstairs, and have two separate WiFi networks in your house. A bit of a pain in the setup I must admit, and switching back and forth when you walk up or down stairs would be more of a pain.

Or just get a better network extender.

I will poke around and see if I can find a network extender that connects to the base by Ethernet instead of WiFi. I haven't heard of this before, but I'm sure that it's doable. Conference centers have what appear to be single Wifi networks with many base units; I've used these setups as a client.

EDIT: Here's one guy who thinks it's easy: http://superuser.com/questions/122441/how-can-i-get-the-same-ssid-for-multiple-access-points . Second access point with the same SSID and password, on a different frequency. Never tried it myself.

Some agreement here: http://networkengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/7105/single-access-point-vs-multiple-access-points

If you try it, let me know whether or not it works.

SECOND EDIT: Only one of them should be acting as a DHCP server.

 

[frijoe]

Thank you for the quick response. Would something like this work then? Apple Airport Extreme

 

[maarkr]

relocate your wifi router to the middle of the house... unless you have a BIG place it should work... otherwise, add an access point downstairs.

 

[Pooneil]

Add an access point where you need WiFi. Most any router can also serve as an AP with a few simple settings. Set them up using the same SSID and encryption key and roaming will be pretty easy if they are on separate channels, but not perfect. Pick the channels from among 1, 6 & 11 for no overlap, depending on what your neighbors are using.

My house for instance has 4 access points. Three inside at the two farthest corners downstairs and the central room upstairs. Then one in the garage. The garage AP channel was selected avoid a conflict with the close neighbor and the channel was reused on the furthest AP from the garage. Occasionally when roaming and watching video, I need to cycle the WiFi off and on, to force an AP switch. But that is the nature of a non-commercial system, in my understanding.