[SOLVED] Should I buy a new "Router" or a "Router repeater" to extend the range the of WiFi?

Wadud007

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Jul 26, 2019
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I have one router in my house. As the house is big we don't get wifi signal in other rooms.
So, Should I buy a new "Router" or a "Router repeater" to extend the range the of WiFi? Which one will be most perfect?
 
Solution
I agree with the above.
A "WiFi extender" is last on the list of methodologies.

In order, descending:
  1. An ethernet cable to the other end of the house, and an Access point to provide bothe wired and WiFi ethernet at that space.
  2. Powerline devices
  3. MOCA devices

Most current consumer routers broadcast the WiFi at pretty much the max allowable signal. SO changing to a different one probably won't make a lot of difference.

A "WiFi extender"...where would you put it? If at the other end of the house where WiFi already stinks...it would be getting that exact same stinky WiFi performance. Only worse, because that extender is now talking in two directions at once.

RealBeast

Titan
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I have one router in my house. As the house is big we don't get wifi signal in other rooms.
So, Should I buy a new "Router" or a "Router repeater" to extend the range the of WiFi? Which one will be most perfect?
Last choice is a wireless extender, period.
First choice is Ethernet cable (but often that is difficult) An Ethernet cable through the attic with an access point attached at the other end is ideal.

Between those two lie two methods to extend the signal using other stuff in the house -- TV cables and power circuits.

MOCA is somewhat limited in that you need to proper cabling to use it.

That leaves us with the powerline adapter. First, ONLY use AV2-1000 or better adapters.
They do come in kits in which one plugs in next to your router and the other plugs in at a dead spot and has built in wireless, like THIS for example. I say only use AV2-1000 or better because those units get right around 200Mbps, much like wireless never can reach its theoretical target -- marketing.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I agree with the above.
A "WiFi extender" is last on the list of methodologies.

In order, descending:
  1. An ethernet cable to the other end of the house, and an Access point to provide bothe wired and WiFi ethernet at that space.
  2. Powerline devices
  3. MOCA devices

Most current consumer routers broadcast the WiFi at pretty much the max allowable signal. SO changing to a different one probably won't make a lot of difference.

A "WiFi extender"...where would you put it? If at the other end of the house where WiFi already stinks...it would be getting that exact same stinky WiFi performance. Only worse, because that extender is now talking in two directions at once.
 
Solution

Math Geek

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Ambassador
moca 2.0 is actually limited to about 400 mb. i think newer version is faster but unless the router given by the isp is new tech, it'll likely only be moca 2. but a solid 400 mb is better than what wifi is offering for sure.

great idea if coax is already run to the rest of the house. if not, then running ethernet is just as easy/hard as running coax. and ethernet would be much more worth the time to run it.

if you have coax run, then you need to check the exact router specs you have to see if it has moca and what version so you can get a compatible device for the other end.
 
moca 2.0 is actually limited to about 400 mb. i think newer version is faster but unless the router given by the isp is new tech, it'll likely only be moca 2. but a solid 400 mb is better than what wifi is offering for sure.

great idea if coax is already run to the rest of the house. if not, then running ethernet is just as easy/hard as running coax. and ethernet would be much more worth the time to run it.

if you have coax run, then you need to check the exact router specs you have to see if it has moca and what version so you can get a compatible device for the other end.

MOCA 2.0 NON-BONDED is limited to about 400-500mbps(real world), but nearly all of today's MOCA 2.0 adapter are BONDED. Bonded adapters use mulitple RF channels to combine together for maximum bandwidth and do actually get gigabit speed consistently. This is the same as your cable modem which uses multiple channels to achieve those speeds over the same RG6 coax that moca uses.

Here's a good comparison:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpwycWIkSYk