Question WiFi range and possible hardware issue ?

[jameshasty]

Let me start by providing information that might help identify the source of my problem.

I live in a three bedroom apartment roughly 1,200 square feet in size.

Modem and router are in one corner of the apartment (living room / office) about four feet off the ground on a wooden shelf.

Current Modem - Arris Surfboard 6190
Current Router - TP Link AC 1750
Home Internet Provider - Optimum (rated highly in NYC area where I live)
Operating System - Windows 10 (not sure if this matters)
Current Cell Phone - LG Velvet
Current Cell Phone Provider - T-Mobile

In my primary bedroom (one other bedroom in between this bedroom and the living room) along the same wall as the modem / router I often lose signal when trying to use my cell phone.

The Roku device attached to my television in the same bedroom used for steaming almost never seems to have any problems getting a wi-fi signal from the living room.

The television is right next to the door of the bedroom so roughly 8-10 feet closer to the hallway than the cell phone is when I am having these problems.

My questions are as follows:

1. What is the primary bottleneck causing the failure to connect the cell phone in the primary bedroom to the router / modem combination?

2. While I believe this to be a hardware problem, are there any easy fixes that do not require the purchase of new hardware?

3. If new hardware is needed, what is the least expensive upgrade or work around that might solve the problem.

4. Would moving the router closer to the middle of the apartment away from the corner make much difference .

Any help in trouble shooting this problem would be appreciated.

 

[lantis3]

Smartphone's antenna is short.

Cheapest option is to buy a wifi extender according to your budget.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wifi+extender

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?st=wifi+extender

 

[jameshasty]

Smartphone's antenna is short.

Cheapest option is to buy a wifi extender according to your budget.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wifi+extender

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?st=wifi+extender

Thanks for the prompt feedback.

Getting an extender would certainly be cheaper than upgrading the cell phone.

I will give anyone else who as ideas 24 hours to chime in before I go out an buy one.

 

[bill001g]

A extender/repeater should be your last choice....well it is likely better than thinking there is a magic cell phone that work better.

Any kind of repeater/extender you will get more signal but with most systems you cut your bandwidth at least in half. Even then it greatly depends why your signal is so poor. It depends on what is blocking the signal and how much interference you have say from neighbors. All unpredictable, even very hard for you who live in the house and can see the walls etc.

So from best to worse.

1. Run a ethernet cable from the router to the remote room and install a AP if you need wifi.
....no many people have this option.

2. If you have coax cable in both rooms you can use MoCA install almost as good as ethernet.

3, You can try powerline networks. The total bandwidth can at times be less than wifi but many people get about 130mbps but your house and how the electrical wires run greatly affect the speeds. It still tends to be better than wifi for game usage.

.....then when you have no other option you start to consider repeater/mesh systems.

 

[bill001g]

If you have not tried moving the router even a small bit in a room you might as well it is fairly easy to try and you never know when it comes to wifi all kinds of strange stuff affect it.

 

[dwd999]

4. Would moving the router closer to the middle of the apartment away from the corner make much difference .

Moving the router closer to the problem area would be the easiest and quickest free option.

 

[lantis3]

All of the above is true, it really depends what you to do/achieve.

4K video in theory only requires steady 30Mbps bandwidth.

But in reality you want several times of that number when connected so if any signal fluctuation will not affect the streaming.

---

Cheap routers, if you don't mind ugly antennas and taking desktop space -- can be used as AP, you have to use LAN port, not WAN port as uplink,

https://www.amazon.com/WAVLINK-Wireless-Internet-Ethernet-Directional/dp/B0C9Z4T5QX
https://www.amazon.com/Dual-band-Gigabit-WiFi-Internet-Router/dp/B08KJF5BS7

 

[jameshasty]

My needs are fairly simple.

I am essentially trying to practice my Duolingo spanish lessons, surf the web, watch Youtube videos, etc from the comfort of my bed and getting a weak signal from my router to the phone when I try to do this.

Why the phone doesn't seem to want to use T-Mobile's network is another issue I am struggling to understand.

What it the point of having an unlimited plan if you can not connect to them when there is no wi-fi?

 

[bill001g]

You need to remove the tin foil from the walls of your room

Having issue with both cell and wifi signals means you walls absorb signals very well. People that live in places that have concrete internal walls will get almost zero signal. You are best off leaving the door open in rooms like that and hope the signal bounces around and comes though the door.

So maybe moving the router out into a common hall or something will help. Even if it can't stay there long term it will give you a idea of where you need to place extender/repeater. You do not place a extender in the room that has the bad signal it needs to go where it can get a good signal. Kinda half way between.

I would still not recommend a repeater as a first choice. Something like a powerline unit that has wifi built into the remote node is going to be easier to get working. Repeaters are lots of trial and error for placement powerline you just find emty outlets near the router and in the remote room

 

[lantis3]

If all you need is good cell phone signal, you need cell phone signal booster, not AP/wifi extender/

wifi signal is completely different from cell phone signal

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cell+phone+signal+booster

 

[jameshasty]

If all you need is good cell phone signal, you need cell phone signal booster, not AP/wifi extender/

wifi signal is completely different from cell phone signal

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cell+phone+signal+booster

I have to admit that I am overwhelmed by the variety of options in your link.

There are some cell phone boosting stickers that are less than two dollars and other options that are more than five hundred dollars.

Any specific recommendations that can work with my LG Velvet (Android) phone that will be effective without breaking the bank?

 

[lantis3]

I can't recommend any particular device since I'm not wireless expert. Just make sure you can return if it doesn't work for you.

The items shown here are above 4 stars and price between $60 - $300

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cell+pho...d=1712798292&rnid=2491147011&ref=sr_nr_p_72_1

 

[bill001g]

Before you get real far try the simple things to see if buying one will really be worth the money. First sit near a window and see if the phone work a lot better. Then try outside the same window. It is not uncommon for energy films on windows to block cell signals. If the signal is bad outside of the house also some cell boaster is not going to help very much.

 

[rumplestilts]

Hope I'm not too late. My T-Mobile service is pretty spotty here in Sedona. I called T-Mobile and they sent me a Cellphone signal booster which connects to my CenturyLink Gateway/Router via Ethernet. All I needed to do was turn off WiFi calling on my phone so the Cellphone signal booster would do its job...which it does very well. Calls and texts both ways are fine. I had to pay a refundable $50 deposit if I return it. I won't be returning it as long as I live here (or until T-Mobile builds out their network into my area west of Sedona).