wireless extender or router?

[mike186]

Hey,

Ok so on my property there is a granny flat out the back and I am providing them internet from my modem so she wouldn't have to pay for a new line and cut her cost due to her low income, there is a Ethernet running to her flat that she has hooked up to her laptop.

Problem is with the wireless, my modem does not reach far enough to give her good wireless for her other devices, so we got her a cheap wireless extender but she is only getting about 5MB/s of bandwidth instead of the +30MB/s that I get on from my modem using wireless.

So I am debating whether it would be good to invest in a better quality wireless extender or get a router that we can hook up to the Ethanet in her flat and use the wireless signal from that.

Thank you in advance.

 

[ronintexas]

The easy way is to put an inexpensive router in her flat. You can set it up as an access point only if you are sharing files across the network, or she can plug into the WAN port, and have a private network.

 

[sirstinky]

I would get a router and connect it to the ethernet cable for the best wireless speeds. Extenders don't work as good as an actual access point because all they do is boost the signal strength. Generally the range of any wireless router, even the best N-band 2.4 GHz routers is about 60 feet or so before you start getting signal degradation. That's under ideal conditions (wide open spaces, few walls or obstructions). I always recommend a physical cable as opposed to a wireless signal if you can. Also, just because you get a big number at your router/modem, doesn't mean you'll get it at a router because the wireless bandwidth is limited by range and the type of router. The wireless speed will only be as fast as the slowest device your using to transmit the wireless signal. If you have an N-band modem (around 300 mbps), but use a G-band router (54 mbps max), the signal will only transmit as fast as the G-band. If you're going to do the ethernet to wireless route, get a decent quality N-band router for the best performance.

 

[mike186]

The easy way is to put an inexpensive router in her flat. You can set it up as an access point only if you are sharing files across the network, or she can plug into the WAN port, and have a private network.

Thank you for the quick response, I will get her a router and set a WAN so she can have a private network, thank you for the help.

 

[sirstinky]

The easy way is to put an inexpensive router in her flat. You can set it up as an access point only if you are sharing files across the network, or she can plug into the WAN port, and have a private network.

Thank you for the quick response, I will get her a router and set a WAN so she can have a private network, thank you for the help.

Not a problem!

 

[mike186]

I would get a router and connect it to the ethernet cable for the best wireless speeds. Extenders don't work as good as an actual access point because all they do is boost the signal strength. Generally the range of any wireless router, even the best N-band 2.4 GHz routers is about 60 feet or so before you start getting signal degradation. That's under ideal conditions (wide open spaces, few walls or obstructions). I always recommend a physical cable as opposed to a wireless signal if you can. Also, just because you get a big number at your router/modem, doesn't mean you'll get it at a router because the wireless bandwidth is limited by range and the type of router. The wireless speed will only be as fast as the slowest device your using to transmit the wireless signal. If you have an N-band modem (around 300 mbps), but use a G-band router (54 mbps max), the signal will only transmit as fast as the G-band. If you're going to do the ethernet to wireless route, get a decent quality N-band router for the best performance.

Thank you for the response, she isn't a heavy internet user so im not concerned about her getting the full speed of my bandwidth im looking to up her wireless bandwidth for her phone and tablet from about 5MB/s to around 20MB/s or more if possible. I was thinking of spending around $100AUS for a decent router.

 

[bill001g]

Do not spend a lot of money on fancy feature in a router all you care about is the type of radio signals it has. Many of the feature like firewalls or QoS or even the print servers do not work when you run these devices as a AP. Unless you are needing 802.11ac I suspect $100 will be on the high side.

You really don't need more than say a 300+300 dual band 802.11n router for most situations. The 450m options don't buy you a lot and if this is only being used to access internet then you are limited by the internet speed anyway.