Wiring Dlkin extender to my computer without compromising wifi access point

Jun 19, 2018
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Hello,

I will describe my situation :
I'm in a youth inn and there is a dual-band router on the 1st floor. There is a D-Link range extender in my room on the 2nd floor, it is plugged in the wall and communicates with the router wirelessly, it gives wifi connection to the whole floor. My computer has a wifi usb dongle that communicates wirelessly with the extender.

Router---wifi--->Extender---wifi--->USB dongle-->my PC

My problem : I have a very instable connection and suffer both disconnections and severe packet losses, making it very hard to do online gaming decently. The router is too far from my computer to wire them directly.

My question : is it possible to plug an ethernet cable from the Extender to my computer without hindering the extender's purpose as a wifi access for everyone else ? (there is an ethernet port in th extender)

It would look like
Router---wifi--->Extender---WIRED-->my PC


If yes, is there a particular protocol to follow? Let's say I'm a tech noob and all the words I know about networks are here in my post :)
 
Solution
It likely will be about the same hard to say.

Other than providing connectivity to other people the extender in your room is almost silly. The USB based nic should connect to the main router. It should have exactly the same signal level as the extender. If you use a ethernet cable to the extender you have in effect made a wireless nic card that connects via ethernet rather than USB. The USB though likely is better because the repeater is still putting out interfering wifi signals.

A much better design would be to use powerline to extend the network upstairs. You could then use the "extender" as a simple AP. You could also plug your pc directly into the powerline if it is close enough.
It likely will be about the same hard to say.

Other than providing connectivity to other people the extender in your room is almost silly. The USB based nic should connect to the main router. It should have exactly the same signal level as the extender. If you use a ethernet cable to the extender you have in effect made a wireless nic card that connects via ethernet rather than USB. The USB though likely is better because the repeater is still putting out interfering wifi signals.

A much better design would be to use powerline to extend the network upstairs. You could then use the "extender" as a simple AP. You could also plug your pc directly into the powerline if it is close enough.
 
Solution
Jun 19, 2018
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So how do powerlines actually work?
You plug an adapter to both the router and the wall then you plug another adapter to both the wall and your computer?

To be honest I thought of this because i suspect my usb dongle to be particularly bad (dwa182 from Dlink). Using the setup I'm inquiring about has the interest of telling me whether to put the blame on the dongle or not.
Also it's cheap for me to buy an ethernet cable whereas a powerline adapter seems to be pricy when I don't even know th eeffect it will have :/ I totally understand that my setup is pretty weird but then again I do what I can with the little control I have on the facility ..
 
Since you likely have to buy a ethernet cable anyway to connect to the powerline you might as well try it to the extender and see how bad it works, maybe you get lucky. Any wireless connection is not going to be the best for games just because of how wireless is designed to function.

Powerline is pretty simple you do router---ethernet--powerline----house wires---powerline--- (end device/ap) It appears as a ethernet cable and tends to function better for games than wifi.
 
Jun 19, 2018
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After plugging the extender to my computer via ethernet wire, I get basically the same result except my computer recognizes he's on ethernet (yay) which is funnily paradoxal since the extender itself is not wired to the router. I haven't noticed a weaker nor a more unstable signal, however the lag spikes are still there. At least I now know that my usb wifi adapter wasn't at fault. I am already discussing with the (uber tech noob) landlady about it so we can call the ISP together. If the ISP tells us it's not on their side, I will strongly consider trying a powerline, and see if she's ready to invest in it.

Is there any pair of powerline adapters you would recommend?
The router is from Dlink, if it makes any difference.

Thank you for your advice!