3BB FiberHome ONU GPN: I need help please to understand my Optical Power info

[gdhm]

Hi all ,   I have been using 3BB Fibre 200/100 package since January and overall am VERY happy with it. However, I have had to contact 3BB on 6 occasions since April due to Loss of Signal. Each time the engineer fixed it within a couple of hours (somewhere in the street).  When I have got any info on what the issue I was told it had been problem with Pot, junction box, fire in a junction box or  yesterday it was broken wire 300m down my road (this was the ONLY time the engineer visited my home (before fixing issue). He plugged my cable into his diagnostic equipment and confirmed no signal, then he said there had been a "burning" the day before in a pot, I said we had lost signal the day before that  (as well as today) then he announced the cable was broken 300m down the road (not idea if guessing or his equipment told him the distance). Anyway I am up and runnign again.

 

1) My first question is about the Fibre Optic info my ONU GPN provides.   When I went on to a 3BB Fibre Optics package Pib kindly advised me of the normal ranges for received and transmit power. After each repair I have had (except one) my figures ae still within the figures he gave me. HOWEVER, the Received Power in particular is different every time after a LOS issue is resolved and the last 2 occasions 8 Oct and 10 Oct are creeping ever near to -27dbm. Bias power ALSO has varied quite a lot after some resolutions.

Her are my recorded readings

 

My questions relate to Ethernet and ESPECIALLY Wi-Fi signal strength and quality and whether these changes in Received Power and Bias Current have any effect or relevance.

What different effects (if any) are to be expected when Received Power is approx. -20.75dBm on one occasion compared to what it is now -25.52dBm,  AND Bias has been 10 to 11 mA after repairs and after other repairs is around 7.00 to 7.50 mA.  I've hunted on the Web but cannot get an interpretation of effects of these changing ranges in the "Real World" for my connection.

 

What I do know is my Wi-Fi reception by ALL mobiles in my house are not happy in the diagonally opposite upstairs bedroom (no reception). I should mention the house is large, concrete and Qcon brick based. Often there are 2-3 other people's Wi-Fi recognized by our mobiles (their signal strengths are "poor" and often "drop out and in" (no idea where their houses are, but many aound us are brick and timber builds. Our Upstairs bedroom nearest but not Directly ABOVE room with ONU GPN gets a very good signal strength my mobile reports 135 mbps (highest it can show), My wife's Asus Zenfone Laser 2 shows 72mbps  (highest it can show - Asus say they restrict max to 72mbps as more than enough for streaming and that avoids risk of interference that higher maxs could suffer from) .

 

Our main bedroom struggles between 11mbps poor and 46mbps fair (can fluctuate minute by minute . Somedays I have trouble streaming on YouTube. I can get the link but it never loads any videos etc, other days it does.  I do not know if the 3BB LOS repairs and changing ranges are the cause, or the quality of the Mobile, or number of persons in our house using Mobiles on Wi-Fi at same time and it streaming YouTube when I try to, or all of these.

 

I do understand concrete floors and walls are a major source for weakening Wi-Fi signals, BUT I am trying to understand if the differing Optical Power values after LOS repairs carried out have any relevence to weak/weakening/ lesser quality Wi-Fi signals getting to our mobiles around the house.

 

----

I am trying to find a solution to getting decent/adequate Wi-Fi reception to the upstairs bedroom that have poor signal or none  (bedroom are next to each other).  I have read Extenders may do this but they can halve speeds . I have no idea whether the speed of my package this would be a Real World issue or not.  I do know, that often I will be on Internet via LAN (Ethernet) 3 M cat 5 cable and my teenage son will be 99% of his Wi-Fi time streaming YouTube videos  the other 1% is search for them (talk about obsessive) and my wife mixed has mixed Wi-Fi use.   With the speed of my 3BB Fibre package  200/100, is this an issue if I got an Extender.  Are Extenders a decent or viable option to our poor Wi-Fi home coverage issue, or do they do little to add extra range whilst still providing decent speed and quality of received signal by a mobile or Laptop. 

 

My wife would very much like a laptop, and I know she would wish to use it often in our bedroom in the evenings (room where I currently get 11 to 50mbps  (poor) on my mobile. I really want to help her but so far have told her there seems little point if I cannot (easily) boost Wi-Fi signal from my FiberHome ONU GPN in its current location.

 

Final comment: the ONU GPN is not in the centre of the house (which I know would have bene best location for  Wi-Fi home coverage) but due to logistics (cable entry and location of 2 desk top PCs it is where is needs to be and moving it would not be viable in my view without unwanted lengths of LAN cable, that cannot be hidden  and greater risk to exposed Fibre cable (because where the cable enter the house is the only logic place to enter the house (proximity to street power line pole and easy access/clearance to house and avoidance of our tall trees in front garden.).

 

All help and advice will really be appreciated on the Optical Power readings and Extneders or otehr practical solutions

Many thanks

Edited October 11, 2017 by gdhm
remove unwanted space

[Jdietz]

Optical power has nothing to do with WiFi signal. As long as they are within tolerance the router will pick up the signal and everything will work fine.

All readings look within specs. They can vary quite a bit, and still be well within tolerance so nothing to worry about there.

 

WiFi already will be unable to provide the speed your provider delivers. 11 to 50 Mbps is plenty for HD video streams, so it may be "poor" but perfectly serviceable.
 

Quote

1.5 Mbps – recommended speed for quality viewing. 3 Mbps – Standard Definition video. 5-8 Mbps – 720p and 1080p High Definition. 25 Mbps – 4K Ultra High Definition

 

One thing you could checkout is after market antennas for the router:

https://www.advice.co.th/search?keyword=antenna

They will boost the signal a bit everywhere.

 

Repeaters indeed halve the speed unless they are multi-band and same-brand.

 

Wired is still the best way to go if you can, but do use Cat-6 and Gigabit Ethernet ports / router, otherwise the max speed per port will be 100Mbps.

 

Edited October 11, 2017 by Jdietz

[gdhm]

Wow ! Thanks jdietz, VERY HELPFUL!

 

I agree with the LAN cable approach, but even though I have 4 LAN ports on my ONU GPN that would result in long visible runs on LAN cable and  drilling through walls and reinforced concrete floors (NOT SOMETHING I'M WILLING TO DO - I'd sooner get my wife and son to get a different 3BB package and run it to upstairs.

 

I'll look into the after market antennas idea.

 

May ask a few more questions based upon you answers, jdietz.

 

1) if my Received Power wandered beyond spec (e.g -28dBm what sort of effect would I expect to see if ONU GPN not happy.

 

2) Extender.  Halving of speed.  How does this work.  If Extender is placed where it recognizes say 60Mbps I assume it will reduce that to 30Mbps to be shared between any devices operating off it at the time. Will that be for ALL Wi-Fi devices connected to my ONU GPN including those that that are in say the next room and would not need Extender as they are getting 135Mbps (max) (or Asus getting 72Mbps (max) or does it only halve those that are connected via Extender.

 

When using an Extender what is the logic of the best distance from the ONU GPN. Is it an adequate signal where it is located that when it halves it will be above 25Mbps. OR if we think 2 will run off the Extender at same time are we saying we would want it located where it is reading 100Mbps so that when halved 2 devices could get 720p videos at same time PROVIDED they are within proximity to get 25Mbps from Extender.  

 

Current Location signal readings without an Extender

I have 2 identical AIS Lava Mobiles. I went around house with both and am at a total lack of understanding (give me my desktop PC I'm at home with that but not networks, Wi-Fi and smart mobiles) I note they quote a different IPv4 address xxx.xxx.y (y being only difference. I noted the mobiles keep the same IPv4 address even if both switched off and then only one or other switched on. Not sure why, because I thought with one off the other when switched on may switch to the other's address . You can tell I am not knowledgable on this

signal strengths by AIS Lavas mobiles

 

OK readings:

1) Wi-Fi connection downstairs middle of house near stairs both show Excellent 135Mbps (max).

2) Top of stairs about central to 4 bedrooms both mostly were around 81Mbps but when switching then both or separately on\off both could drop to around 40 to 50Mbps or maybe only one of them, and on one occasion one said signal fair but 1Mbps, whilst other was reporting signal fair and 51Mbps. 

3) Nearest Bedroom to ONU GPN (but not directly above the room it is in Both Mobiles report 135Mbps (max)

4) Our main bedroom both said 27Mbps but after several on/offs they could rise to 40Mpbs drop to 5Mbps. 

5) Worst Bedroom one said 0Mbps other said 13Mbps. 

 

Does any of this make sense on what Extender & placement strategy I could try.

 

My inconsistent difficulties playing YouTube Live Streams from these mobiles issue

I tried playing the SAME YouTube Live stream with both mobiles next to ONU GPN (but same results elsewhere).

Both for some reason opened and ran the stream perfectly via YouTube Icon search but only one via Google search. The other offered YouTube images and links but would not load/run and finally timed out.  Only difference between the two mobiles is that I have only just set up the one that can run the streams via Google or YouTube search with a Wi-Fi connection, and when I do a Google search it asks if I want to open via Google or YouTube (also offering always or this time only. I played safe and selected "only this time") . I have no idea what's going on with YouTube and Google search. ANY IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS ANYBODY?. Something MUST be different between the two mobiles but I have no idea what it could be or what to check out. The less capable one was my sons and he used is as smart mobile (before he got a new one) the other is mine and i have until today only ever used it as a phone. Maybe something he did has messed something up.

 

Sorry for another long (ish) post.

Kind regards

[Jdietz]

I'll reply in more detail when I find some more time, but meanwhile:

 

- On Android: Get this app and play around with it, will give you a lot of insight. Probably will tell you which channel to change your access point to as well.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en

 

- An extender has to receive the signal and then send it out again. As they normally work on the same channel, the capacity of that channel is of course halved. Nothing you can do about it.

Full duplex extenders only work if they are on different bands, as the channels are too close together so transmitting will blank out the receiver. 

 

- If your signal strength on the fiber goes beyond specs a red LOS (loss of signal) light will come on and you will lose internet connection altogether. With fiber it's basically all or nothing.

Edited October 11, 2017 by Jdietz

[maxpower]

 

1 hour ago, gdhm said:

I agree with the LAN cable approach, but even though I have 4 LAN ports on my ONU GPN that would result in long visible runs on LAN cable and  drilling through walls and reinforced concrete floors (NOT SOMETHING I'M WILLING TO DO - I'd sooner get my wife and son to get a different 3BB package and run it to upstairs.

Surely buying another package for your wife and son would result in another cable running up the outside wall.

I guess your 3BB equipment is located near to an external wall so why not take an Ethernet cable up the outside wall into the roof space and down through the ceiling board to a Power Over Ethernet wireless access point. Its a one hour job and a few baht to Thai workers.

 

 

Edited October 11, 2017 by maxpower

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, gdhm said:

2) Extender.  Halving of speed.  How does this work.  If Extender is placed where it recognizes say 60Mbps I assume it will reduce that to 30Mbps to be shared between any devices operating off it at the time. Will that be for ALL Wi-Fi devices connected to my ONU GPN including those that that are in say the next room and would not need Extender as they are getting 135Mbps (max) (or Asus getting 72Mbps (max) or does it only halve those that are connected via Extender.

 

I use Powerlan in my condo. Works fine and the more recent versions easily handle the 50mbs of my 3BB VDSL.

 

There is no issue with reduced wifi speed if you use Powerlan to extend the signal rather than wifi extenders. And no wires.

 

Something like this would suit you: https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-PLW1000-100UKS-Powerline-Ethernet-Homeplug/dp/B01B4X4W6O

but many others are available.

 

Powerlan should work fine in your building as long as your electrical circuits are in good order and to spec.

 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2017 by KittenKong

[Pib]

Regarding the optical power measurements....they are fine....and as long as within limits they would have "zero" effect on your Wifi coverage/speed throughout your home.  The optical power measurements reflect the power levels being received and transmitted by the GPON's laser transceiver....and the voltage, current, and temperature of the laser transceiver as it operates which can also be affected by ambient temperature (i.e., how temperature of the air around GPON like in a air conditioned or non-air conditioned room.    

 

Just for others to see, my AIS Fibre 200/50 GPON (a Huawei HG8245H) also shows what the reference values the GPON requires to operate properly such as input and output optical power, the working voltage and current of the GPON's laser transceiver.  See below which shows its current operating valves and the reference valves.

 

Regarding the varying Wifi speed/strength in your house, well, that's primarily a function of:

 

- the GPON's (or if using another router plugged into the GPON) Wifi circuits capability such as using the slower 2.4Ghz band (not good enough for a 200Mb speed plan) or much faster 5Ghz band which is good enough depending on the speed class of the GPON/router (i.e., AC600, AC1200, AC1900, etc).  And just because the GPON may use the 5Ghz band its max Wifi speed will depend on its speed class.  A good quality router in the AC600 class on the 5Ghz band should  be able to put out a real world 200Mb data throughput Wifi signal at close range. But much better to have an AC1200 or AC1900 speed class.   What frequency band are you operating on....2.4 or 5Ghz?   And its not uncommon for ISPs to provide 2.4Ghz GPONs only....does your GPON also operate on the 5Ghz band....and can your client devices operate on the 5Ghz band?

 

-  The speed class of the Wifi circuity in your client devices.   Say for example you have a AC1200 GPON which means it's max theoretical speed on a 5Ghz channel would be 867Mb with real world data throughput of around 300-400Mb at close range.  Well, if your client device is only a AC600 devices which means its max theoretical speed on a 5Ghz channel is 433Mb and real world data throughput max at around 200Mb at close range then the weakest link in the speed chain determines the max speed.  And remember, distance/walls/floors/interference will drag these max speeds down.   

 

- the Wifi capability of your client devices (i.e., smartphones, tablets, computers, etc).  A speed chain is only as fast as it weakest link....even if using an AC1200 or higher speed class router, if the client device only has a AC600 Wifi circuit then the client is the chokepoint...the speed governor.    And if your GPON is  2.4Ghz then it's not an "AC" type router which includes the 5Ghz band, but just a "N" class 2.4Ghz router and its max real world data throughput is going to be around 100Mb at close range....much less with distance/walls/interference/etc.

 

- Wifi signal obstructions such as walls, floors, furniture which degrades the signal strength and speed....and distance between the GPON and client devices.   

 

- Wifi interference/competition from nearby Wifi routers (i.e., neighbors)  and unknown interference from non-Wifi equipment outside and inside  your residence.

 

Above are just the main factors affecting Wifi speed.  But if you are getting 200/50Mb speed when making an ethernet connection to your GPON then the input signal is fine...just reconfirms the optical power levels are fine. Think of it as 200Mb speed is arriving the GPON input for Wifi retransmission from the GPON....now it's a function of the GPON's Wifi circuity as to what speed it can effectively broadcast.

 

Whether you buy a new & expensive router with some kind of fantastic, high ACXXXX class/speed rating the 2.4 and 5Ghz signal it uses will not really be able to go significantly farther, penetrate walls/floors much better than a lower class ACXXXX router.   It's not like an expensive router puts out a higher power level as it does not because laws/regulations limit power output....it's not like the frequency used is any different as the frequencies/channels used are the same.   The differences really comes down to "speed chain" factors.

 

I live in a two story house...concrete walls and floors and had very similar Wifi coverage/speed problems you had until I installed an access point on both floors.   The GPON is the access point for upstairs because that's where my fiber optics cable comes in from the soi....and then I ran an ethernet run from the GPON down to another access point on the first floor---coverage and speed problem solved. 

 

And even the most expensive, fast, fantastic ACgallizion speed class router can push its signal through concrete walls better than a lower class/lower cost speed class router because the same frequency and power level is being used....it's just physics.   And yes, the ACgallizion speed class routers do have more antennas sprouting out of them with advertising hype that glazes over most peoples eyes, but theses routers strengths are really in their ability to handle "many" (i.e., dozens or more ) client devices at the same time and not so much in being able to make a client device magically have high speed which is also a function of the client devices capabilities.   Remember the weakest link in the speed chain determines the speed of the chain.

 

What you really need is an access point on both floors of your home and being operating on the 5Ghz band also.  As mentioned, it's what I had to do to get good coverage and speed across the house.  You'll probably still need to run the 2.4Ghz band also because if you are like me you have some client devices that only operate on the 2.4Ghz band.

 

 

 

[gdhm]

Thanks everybody for your wonderful assistance, suggestions and explanations. Really educational and interesting .

 

Today I added an app Wi-Fi Analyzer to our Mobiles. It told me various things:

1) Where my son's Bedroom furthest away from FiberHome ONU GPN gets no connection or too low to operate there are 4 other users and 2 are stronger in his (2 about the same) bedroom than ours.

 

2) I am quite convinced that many of the neighbours who Wi-Fi I can see leave their equipment on all the time becuase having checked all day, evening and ealry hours of the night 754 % still seem to be connected.  I however always switch off all my PC equip and ONU GPN at night (ONU GPN runs hot 56C + after an hour or so, and I will not risk it running unattended for long periods.

 

2) My ONU GPN was on Auto Select for Channels. When I looked at it today is was on Ch2. later it was Ch 10.  Using the Wi-Fi Analyzer app I found that of about 8 users who I can see from various points in our house 3 are Ch 1, 1 is Ch2, 1 is Ch5, 1 is Ch9 and weakest of all is 10.  Two others I suspect are on Auto Select as their Channels vary from time to time.  I have now changed my Channel from Auto to 11 because most of the time nobody is overlapping with that and the 2 that may are very weak compared to mine in the rooms they appear.   The person using Channel 5 is definitely fixed and seems to be VERY powerful being visible in all rooms (but one) and in one or two rooms in our house showing on the Wi-Fi Analyzer app as having a stronger signal than form my ONU GPN's Wi_Fi to those rooms.  I am not sure how this can be because to get to some rooms the same concrete floors and walls must be penetrated in our house as my ONU GPN (I am sure th person is in aone of the hosues at abck of our house and my ONU GPN is in a front room of our house. I am wondering if that user has their transmitted power way up.

 

1) Pib My 3BB supplied FiberHome ONU GPN is 2.4Mhz ONLY.  It is set to operate at 40Mhz not 20Mhz.  20Mhz seems to cut speeds down by about 50% to our mobiles.

 

2) My ONU GPN has a strange characteristic. I can change Transmitted Power levels down to 20% or up to 200%. I read and if I understood the article correctly that the legal limit in Thailand is 100%.  My ONU GPN arrived set at 120%. When I tried experimenting with the other percentages the only one I cannot set is 100%. If I select 100% it ALWAYS immediately resets to 120% (all others percentage option stick to what is selected) WEIRD!.  I am not sure if the Thai legal limit I read of 100% is the exact same thing, OR if I am jumping to an ignorant assumption. Advice would be appreciated (either way it is impossible to set at 100%).

 

3) The Wi-Fi Analyzer showed me how inconsistent speeds are when not doing anything could vary from 5Mbps to 60 MBPS in one or rooms per minute. One thing I did not understand was is why if I am Ch11 and at the time 2 other can be detected with weak signals on 1 and 3 and one fair signal on 5 why when their connection kicks in and recognized on my mobile MY Signal dBm lowers and why if they drop out my rises.  I am guessing avoidance of interference form other users is not the same as how other users in area can affect each others signal strengths.

 

4) My wife says when downloading or surfing on her Asus it sometime drops connection. I don't understand that, her mobile is getting a 72Mbps (max Asus shows) Excellent rated signal (not surprising as only 8 meter in next room from my ONU GPN).

 

5) Pib our 2  AIS Lava mobiles say they are getting 135Mbps signals in same room as ONU GPN, room next door and one bedroom upstairs nearest as crow flies to ONU GPN (but not directly above room ONU GPN resides. I cannot ell how high they are really receiving because many mobiles seem to max at 135Mbps) (except Asus )

 

6) My wife's and my bedroom, gets anything between 5Mbps and 56 Mbps. I have no idea why speeds fluctuate minute by minute.  I can be Live streaming on YouTube excellent reception, no buffering hesitations for 10 or more minutes and then signals can suddenly starts hesitating and sometimes completely drops out and I have to refresh.  I really do not understand why that happens.  I would ideally reduce video quality from 720p BUT YouTube on the AIS Lava Mobiles does not appear to have a way to do that (settings only offers greyed out CC and HQ  options and a White Flag that IS accessible (something to do with "Make it Google")

 

7) After 2 days of experimenting I can confirm selecting YOUTUBE XX Live via Google (voice) search finds the Youtube images and links but seldom will they open, load and run (times out whatever signal strength). Going via YouTube Search Icon works every time (unless the link has been pulled by YouTube or User. No idea why both do not work but hey, If YouTube search works that's OK by me).

 

8) Pib and others I assume referring by access points we are talking LAN (Ethernet).  If so to  be honest I am not keen drilling and running LAN cable around our house. (apart from the fact my wife does not work and is usually downstairs or out and I am finding it hard to see why she needs a laptop and how much time she will use it in her bedroom anyway.  We have 2 PCs downstairs) I find it hard to trust workers who do things at our house as most have done bad jobs or messy ones. When my wife asks around everybody seems to know an expert relative or knows a non related  expert "who is very good and professional" and yet I have been repeatedly burnt with shoddy work, lack of tools of the trade and a unwillingness to correct.

 

I apologize if some of my queries or lack of understanding seems amazingly poor.  I have never used a smart mobiles features, and never wanted until I bought my wife her Asus Zenfone Laser 2 . ever since then I have had to learn something coz in the first few weeks,  it was a several times a day occurrence for my wife coming to me "Darling  I don't understand I did  xxxxx and it is not doing what I expected"  so I have been dragged into investigating on the Web trying resolve all the various issues she ran into (obviously I now understand a LITTLE more than my 0% 6 months ago.  Give me my Desktop PC (pretty secure LAN connection) and keep away from Google, Social Media and their analytics and Wi-Fi as much as is feasible. My PC has No Wi-Fi connection and I'm interested in it having one (same for my son's PC in the same room)

 

Kind Regards. Its gone midnight so its off to bed for me.

[KittenKong]

6 hours ago, gdhm said:

8) Pib and others I assume referring by access points we are talking LAN (Ethernet).  If so to  be honest I am not keen drilling and running LAN cable around our house. (apart from the fact my wife does not work and is usually downstairs or out and I am finding it hard to see why she needs a laptop and how much time she will use it in her bedroom anyway.  We have 2 PCs downstairs) I find it hard to trust workers who do things at our house as most have done bad jobs or messy ones.

 

Use Powerlan as I suggested. Should solve all your problems (assuming your electrical wiring is sound) and requires no specialised installation.

[Pib]

The speeds you are seeing on your phone/app are not data throughput speed but "Link" speed.   It's also routinely referred to as the PHY (phyical layer) speed.   It's the max theoretical speed between the access point (e.g., router, etc) and client device (i.e., computer, phone, etc).   But it's very commonly just shown as Speed or Wifi Speed in menus/apps.  And Link speed (perfect word, theoretical speed) is what is advertised by Wifi equipment manufacturers.

 

Link speed is the max speed possible in the perfect world under laboratory controlled conditions and test equipment; but Link speed does not reflect the real world and actual "data throughput" like when you surfing the internet, Youtubing, downloading files, doing a speedtest, etc.   An approx rule of thumb is your max data throughput speed will be approx half of your link speed...yes, only around 50% give or take 15% or so depending on various factors.

 

So as you walked around the house and watched the app give varying power levels and "link" speeds that is all normal.  That's because you are putting more distance and obstructions between you and your router (GPON which is just a fancy name for a fiber optics router/modem).    The highest Link speed reading you would have got on a 1x1 2.4Ghz channel connection when very close to the router would have been most likely 150Mb on your 2.4Ghz band only HomeFiber GPON.   Now, if you was using a 5Ghz channel 1x1 connection your link speed close to the router would have been 433Mb almost 3 times faster just to give you an idea of the speed capabilities differences between 2.4Ghz Wifi and 5Ghz Wifi.

 

If you had stopped at a spot say where  you were getting  link speed reading of say 50Mb and then did a speedtest.net test from that point to an in-Thailand/close server you real world data throughput result would have probably been around 25Mb with the router's bandwidth set to 40Mhz...and it might have got around 25Mb with a 20Mhz setting since a 25Mb speed is low.

 

There are really only two ways to improve the Wifi speed and coverage in your home---and you really need to do both to them for best results..  First, buy a router with 5Ghz capability, set it right next to and hook it to your GPON, and set the router to Access Mode.  This will give you 5Ghz speed capability in your house and higher speeds.  But since 5Ghz frequencies have less penetrating capability than 2.4Ghz frequencies (just the nature of frequencies trying to get thru obstacles such as concrete, wood, etc),  just having a 5Ghz capability will not be the total resolution to your speed and coverage problem.  For that you will need an access point on both floors of your home....the GPON access point on one floor and a 5Ghz access point on the other floor.   Now, you could go with just another 2.4Ghz access point if you just happen to have a old 2.4Ghz router laying around unused.  But since I expect most folks would want to by a 2.4/5Ghz router.  The 2.4Ghz band is just less capable and more crowded than the 5Ghz band.

 

And actually you should have 5Ghz access point up and downstairs.  Unfortunately many ISPs still provided routers which are 2.4Ghz band only routers which is really only OK up to around 50-100Mb data throughput ballpark (100Mb is pretty much best case, real  close, quality router, little or no interference), with the 50-75Mb ballpark being more real world for a close connection.   Really for 50Mb or higher internet plans 2.4Ghz Wifi is like a big speed chokepoint; a person needs 5Ghz capability.  And remember take take advantage of a 5Ghz Wifi signal the client device needs to have 5Ghz capability also.

 

But if you don't want to run etherent (LAN) cable from your GPON on one floor of your house to anther access point on the other floor, you should setup a 2.4/5Ghz router (set to access point mode) right next to your 2.4Ghz only GPON  and see how your Wifi coverage and speed improves throughout the house.  And you may want to disable the 2.4Ghz Wifi in either the new router or GPON so you don't have the possibility of one 2.4Ghz channel interfering with the other...but you can leave them both on if desired....just be sure to "manually" set one to like channel 1 and the other to channel 6 or 11, etc,....just ensure there is not channel overlap.   

 

Although the "auto" channel selection is suppose to change channels automatically to reduce interference from other 2.4Ghz channels, I've found by using a Wifi app to see what channels your neighbors (and yourself) are using and also doing some speed testing on different channels by me "manually" selecting the channel I can get better Wifi performance on the average.  But there can be advantages of leaving it on Auto channel selection as maybe your neighbors are doing which means if the Auto programming in each router works it should help to de-conflict/reduce channel interference.   Summary: it's definitely worth giving Manual channel selection a try...be sure to use an app showing other channels around you so you can pick the best (least interfered with) channel.

 

Summary:  get  yourself a 5Ghz router and hook it to your GPON....give that try first....it ""will improve you Wifi capability.  Then if the improvement is not enough "bite the bullet" and run an ethernet cable to another access point on the other floor.

[KittenKong]

18 minutes ago, Pib said:

Summary:  get  yourself a 5Ghz router and hook it to your GPON....give that try first....it ""will improve you Wifi capability.  Then if the improvement is not enough "bite the bullet" and run an ethernet cable to another access point on the other floor.

 

Or just use Powerlan as I have pointed out twice.

[Pib]

I will just add when I installed my access on the 1st floor which connected to my ISP-provider router on the 2nd floor of my two story concrete house I did it myself and did not have to drill any holes through concrete.    Instead, I drilled a pencil sized holes in the wood frames around my windows on the 1st and 2nd floor and ran outdoor ethernet cable on the outside wall. 

 

The cable run on the outside is almost completely hid the way I ran it along a ledge and behind a gutter down spout....and painted the cable the color of the house in a few places.  I installed the ethernet connectors on the ends of the cable run myself as I have the necessary equipment.   

 

Summary: two pencil diameter holes through the wood frame of an upstairs and downstairs window...secured/hid the cable along the outside wall, add to connectors....plugged cables into the two access points...done...wifi coverage throughout the house greatly increased. 

Edited October 13, 2017 by Pib

[Encid]

I had a similar problem with a Media Centre box and an "iffy" wifi connection... hard wired is always best.

I solved that problem by running a LAN cable from my router to a TP-Link AV500 Powerline Edition 300Mbps Wi-Fi Range Extender which plugs directly into the power socket in my computer room.

The AV500 Adapter plugs into the power sockets behind the TV's in my living room and master bedroom which have LAN cables connecting them to Android boxes connected to my TV's.

Final result: a "hard-wired" internet connection at fiber speed to my TV's and an extended WiFi range thanks to the TP-Link Extender and Adapters.

 

 

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

I will just add when I installed my access on the 1st floor which connected to my ISP-provider router on the 2nd floor of my two story concrete house I did it myself and did not have to drill any holes through concrete.    Instead, I drilled a pencil sized holes in the wood frames around my windows on the 1st and 2nd floor and ran outdoor ethernet cable on the outside wall. 

 

The cable run on the outside is almost completely hid the way I ran it along a ledge and behind a gutter down spout....and painted the cable the color of the house in a few places.  I installed the ethernet connectors on the ends of the cable run myself as I have the necessary equipment.   

 

Summary: two pencil diameter holes through the wood frame of an upstairs and downstairs window...secured/hid the cable along the outside wall, add to connectors....plugged cables into the two access points...done...wifi coverage throughout the house greatly increased. 

 

I suppose some people like using sledgehammers to crack nuts.

 

Powerlan would have been much simpler, assuming a decent electrical circuit.

[Encid]

5 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

Powerlan would have been much simpler, assuming a decent electrical circuit.

You do get some speed degradation however if you have a 3 phase system.

Hard-wired will always out perform WiFi.

[Pib]

8 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

I suppose some people like using sledgehammers to crack nuts.

 

Powerlan would have been much simpler, assuming a decent electrical circuit.

 

And with powerlan type Wifi circuit "assuming a decent electrical circuit" in Thailand (or many countries) is a big, big assumption.    Running an ethernet cable removes all assumptions.

 

[gdhm]

Thanks again all.

maxpower. The internet cable to the house actually is upstairs. This was necessary as the Street power line is across our small soi opposite our house. the cable had to go upstairs to allow clearance for occasional high traffic up our road and our tall gate and avoid a fornt garden tree . If I got another package my wife would not necessarily have to have Fibre. If she had VDSL or ADSL then she could use the existing telephone lines (which actually go to our house under the road as installed at time of building our house. When I built the house I had telephone wires run to room my PC is in (I used that for my former ADSL connection), our main lounge and our bedroom. So going that route would be easy. Now whether the extra package and cost are worth the monthly outlay if my wife then barely uses internet upstairs is another matter.

Pib. I am getting fluctuating signal strengths when using a mobile in a stationary location (unless the Location is already receiving  over the max that mobile shows). I appreciate walking around the house will show increasing/decreasing speeds which I expected

For example in my bedroom I might see 46Mbps on a few occasions, often around 27Mbps and quite often it might drop to 13 or 5Mbps these changes can occur several times in the space of a minute.  Now I assume drops would happen if one of my family starts using their mobile Wi-Fi. I also assume if a User in another house starts using their Wi-Fi and their channel overlaps with mine my speed will fall.  HOWEVER what if the other users are not using channels overlapping mine or none ar ein range a a given time - why would my speeds STILL vary when in a static location.  Could the nearest Wi-Fi to my location be the cause (essentially struggling with too many users or not very close to me.

My mobile using the Wi-Fi Ananlyzer is next to my GPN.  Mobile says signal 135 (max) Excellent. In our house only My PC is currently LAN attached to Internet and my one mobile. The Wi-Fi Analyzer  is showing -42dBm, -38dbm, -35 dBm,-41dBm, -50dBm, -40dBm  in 30 seconds (no other connections in range. Now another has appeared using Ch 1 I am on Ch11 my reading is now -37dBM  the user is other -86dBM their connection keeps appearing and going my reading is currently -ranging between -37dBm and 56dBmand the other connection does not appear to be affecting mine (or very little). My signal strength is always on the go. Is this normal (as are th others I see at times (the weak ones coming and going. Is this normal

I do not have wooden window frames Pib (truth but I'm just teasing as splitting hairs ).  IF I understand things correctly adding LAN extensions would require a separate LAN cables from GPN to each location. That being the case my limit would be 2 (as two of my 4 LAN ports are in use). My understanding is that LAN cable access points would ONLY be suitable for devices (such as a Laptop that has a suitable LAN connector port but would be useless for mobile Wi-Fi reception. If that assumption is correct then running a LAN cable would only help my wife for Laptop use and I, she and my son would not benefit if wishing to use our mobiles in our bedrooms (or am i missing something).

Kitten Kong. I have not been ignoring you or other who have suggested alternative devices. I must admit your suggestion does look very interesting.  When you say "decent electrical circuit in house what do you mean by that. Our house was built 11 years ago.  All our power points have Grounding. Do Power LANs work on non radial circuits?  I ask because in UK custom is Radial but in Thailand that is not the case. We have two consumer boxes next to each other and 32 of 36 fuses inside them ar ein use.  Would this meet your definition to decent circuit.

If I went the route of an Extende rit seems the newer dual band extenders are the best as I understand they use a different band and do not halve available speeds. With all equipment I want o be able to buy it at a local retailer (located in Khon Kaen City). Not keen on Amazon or similar rpurchases due to extra possible significant P & P costs AND I note some suppliers make the recipient responsible for P & P costs if needing to return a D.O.A. item (which seems outrageous to me as one cannot tell if D.O.A when receiving delivery until unboxed and use first attempted.).  I only really risk Online purchases for downloadable software from the likes of MS or similar.  For PC equipment I use J.I.B whenever posible as they have retail outlets  here and if not in stock but available with their online service they are happy to order (subject to a deposit and takes approx 3 days (unless required urgently) with no extra cost and of course if item is damaged or faulty I have a retail Outlet to return it to.

Encid.  Thanks for the video link. I have watched a couple of others as well. One or two seemed inconclusive only suggesting  only 2  or 3 Mbps improvement which would seem pointless if that is all an Extender would offer in my home's situation.which would seem pointless if that is all an Extender would offer in my home's situation.

Kind regards

 

 

Edited October 13, 2017 by gdhm

[KittenKong]

3 hours ago, Pib said:

 

And with powerlan type Wifi circuit "assuming a decent electrical circuit" in Thailand (or many countries) is a big, big assumption.    Running an ethernet cable removes all assumptions.

 

 

It's an assumption but not that big a one. The nice thing about Powerlan is that you can install it and test it in seconds, with no effort at all. If it works (and it usually does, even here), great. If not, no big deal and you can think about Plan B.

 

Yes, the cable is a good solution (and one that I would also adopt myself) as long as you dont mind doing some drilling/painting/making good, and especially as long as you dont intend moving the cable to somewhere else at some point. Powerlan is very flexible and can be moved to another room on a whim.

[KittenKong]

49 minutes ago, gdhm said:

Kitten Kong. I have not been ignoring you or other who have suggested alternative devices. I must admit your suggestion does look very interesting.  When you say "decent electrical circuit in house what do you mean by that. Our house was built 11 years ago.  All our power points have Grounding. Do Power LANs work on non radial circuits?  I ask because in UK custom is Radial but in Thailand that is not the case. We have two consumer boxes next to each other and 32 of 36 fuses inside them ar ein use.  Would this meet your definition to decent circuit.

 

Powerlan will generally work on any two outlets that are on the same phase of the same meter. What Powerlan doesnt like is noise (from dodgy old devices and machines like pumps and motors) on the line, and thin cheap cables and bad connections. It also may not like some types of circuit breaker. So your two consumer units may or may not cause a problem, but I suspect not. Ground wires are a plus (assuming central grounding) as the more recent/faster implementations of Powerlan can use the ground lead as well as the neutral and live. Ring/spur wiring should not be an issue as long as the installation is up to spec.

 

With Powerlan the best solution is to try it. You can tell instantly if it is going to work at all, and you will know within a few 10s of minutes by watching the LEDs whether it will be reliable or not. If Powerlan fails that first test then you can move on to some other more complex solution.
Most manufacturers provide some sort of facility for viewing noise levels and sync speeds on a working system, and this can also be very informative and help in predicting reliability.

 

 

1 hour ago, gdhm said:

With all equipment I want o be able to buy it at a local retailer (located in Khon Kaen City). Not keen on Amazon or similar

 

I provided the Amazon link as an example of a suitable device, not as a suggestion of where to buy it. Amazon descriptions are generally quite good and informative, and the user reviews can be helpful in deciding whether a particular item is suitable for you or not. Also Amazon make other suggestions of similar items for your consideration. I'm not aware of any online store in Thailand that provides that much info. Also inevitably there is far less choice in Thailand than in the West.

 

For what it's worth, I'm currently using a pair of 500Mbs Powerlan devices that were bought at a 70% discount in the UK in some online sale this year. I paid just GBP20 (under 1000B) for the pair. They have a "lifetime" international manufacturer's warranty, valid here, though the length of the "lifetime" is probably based on the commercial life of the item and so only a few years. This is still better than any warranty provided by any Thai shop that I know of.

 

For your needs you would want to look for a Powerlan model that has a high inter-unit speed (usually quoted around 1000-1200Mbs these days), and ideally with the 5Ghz wifi band as well as the basic 2.4Ghz band. The model I suggested has all this, but other models are available from other manufacturers. Bear in mind that you will never obtain the quoted inter-unit 1000-1200Mbs as this is not a duplex speed, and in the same way you will never obtain the quoted maximum wifi speeds. But given a decent electrical installation you should be able to get a quarter or a third of that inter-unit speed, both of which largely exceed the capacity of your fibre supply.

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, gdhm said:

Encid.  Thanks for the video link. I have watched a couple of others as well. One or two seemed inconclusive only suggesting  only 2  or 3 Mbps improvement which would seem pointless if that is all an Extender would offer in my home's situation.which would seem pointless if that is all an Extender would offer in my home's situation.

 

I thought that your main problem was that you had no wifi signal at all (or no usable one) in parts of your building? Powerlan wifi extenders such as the model I suggested are ideal for this situation, assuming that the electrical circuits are up to it. Getting a few extra few Mbs is not the point.

[Pib]

gdhm,

   The varying signal levels and link speeds as you stand in one location is normal, especially for weaker signals...with strong signals it shouldn't vary too much unless there is a ton of Wifi interference.  And you probably see more variation on the 2.4Ghz band than the 5Ghz band (if you had a 5Ghz router).     

 

    Signal strength/speed can vary depending on how much interference is occurring and how signal "reflections" are affecting things.  When your client device receive a signal from the router (your router or interferring routers) it is just not one signal like a straight line signal between the two devices but various signals...some reflected off walls...some off floors...some off ceilings.  And any interfering signals from your neighbors have even more chance to bounce/be reflected off objects outside your house.  Also, since router output level is not perfectly constant that will also affect how they  interfer with each other.   The reflected signals end-up reinforcing "or" degrading the overall signal your devices see which means the signal level and speed will vary as you stand static especially for weak signals....not so much for strong signals. 

 

    When I was talking running a LAN cable I was talking running "one" LAN cable from the GPON to the new router you would buy for the other floor....this one LAN so they can interconnect/communicate with each without any loss of speed.  I was not talking running several LAN cables to hook up to your various devices. With your GPON and new router blasting signals out on both floors then your devices could connect via Wifi to either the upstairs or downstairs GPON or router....whichever one gave you the strongest signal and best speed....and your devices could be completely mobile around the house without being tethered to a LAN cable.    

 

     I have no idea what your house looks like and how hard or easy it would be to run a LAN cable from one floor to the other....for my two story house it was not hard at all as I had windows in just the right places to drill holes thru their wooden frame to poke the LAN cable thru....that is, very close to where my AIS provided GPON is upstairs and where I wanted to put my other router downstairs. 

 

      I bought some "outdoor quality Cat 5E cable" (i.e., can live in the rain and sun outside just like phone lines on soi poles) since the cable was run on the outside of my house (but hidden).   Heck it even had the messenger/sling/support steel cable just like used on telephone and fiber optics outdoor cables. Cost approx Bt15 per meter....I think I used around 15 meters worth with plenty left over allowing some relocating of a few meters on both ends.   This webpage of a store in Bangkok where I bought it shows the type of outdoor ethernet cable I used....and below is google translated (poorly) snapshot from the webpage.

 

Various ways to get Wifi access point on both floors of your homes....some are cheaper or costlier than others...some require more work than others...some will be more problem free than others.  But regardless of which way you go, you will need an access point on both floors and you really need 5Ghz Wifi capability also so you can get the most out of your 200Mb speed plan all around your home (unless it's OK  being anchored to a LAN connection on the router/wall...and I'm pretty sure mobile devices don't like or accommodate anchors too well).

 

 

[gdhm]

17 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

I thought that your main problem was that you had no wifi signal at all (or no usable one) in parts of your building? Powerlan wifi extenders such as the model I suggested are ideal for this situation, assuming that the electrical circuits are up to it. Getting a few extra few Mbs is not the point.

 

Thanks for you 3 latest posts KittenKong.  You are correct My primary interest is geeting a speed/quality of signal for my son's room with no connection curnelty so he can use YouTube (which he adores and uses mostly .My second requirement is stabilizing our main Bedroom. My fluctuating Mbps between 5Mbps and 56Mbps causing YoutTube Live streaming drop outs every 5-10 mins is a joke as far as I am concerned and not acceptable.  All downstairs gets at least 27Mpbs at worst location most max or 60-80Mbps.

 

Upstairs however are much more variable Upper landing 61Mbps to 86Mbps, Bedroom A a little more than that up to 81MBps (on one test I was getting 135Mbps and i have no idea why today can only reach a Max of 56Mbps.

Bedroom B about 27Mbps

Bedroom C our main Bedroom anything between 5MBps to 56Mbps. As I have said I have no idea why the reading continuously cycle often many time per minute.

 

My Son's Bedroom usually no Connection but occasionally 1Mbps.  3or 4 other users can be identified as having stronger signals than his in his room although are on or overlap Ch11 that I am using. 

 

The concern I had was if only 1-3 Mbps are added then the best in his room would be 3Mbps and i know I have issues and disconnection when streaming Your Live FNC in my main Bedroom any I get ranges between 5Mbps to 56Mbps. 

 

To be honest speed does not seem to be to only factor whether there is a disconnect or failure to load run YouTube Live streaming. Being equally honest I am too ignorant to know why the big range of fluctuation several per minute when mobile is in a stationary situation. What I do know is, its very annoying trying to listen to FNC Live for 5 -10 mins then it cuts out but speed is still showing as 27Mbps plus. I don't understand what is going on, nor why sometimes when I lose a connection I have a lot of trouble managing to open and run ANY of the other Live FNC links. I did note today that links to NON Live streams on YouTube are much more reliable and often do not drop out at all.  I'm sure many on this Forum understand exactly what the reasons are but they ar e mystery to me and a very annoying one (so much so that I really do not understand why some people will use Wi-Fi .modems etc when their PC and modem are next to each other and allows LAN which is faster and MUCH more reliable.

 

Many on This Forum suggest using 5GHZ but I cannot . My supplied GPN does not offer that and bearing in mind I have a signal distance reach problem to some rooms how would 5Ghz help. If my understanding is correct, rooms close by would benefit but room with current weak and fluctuating signals being received on 2.4GHz would probably get no connection at all on 5GHz assuming my house's reinforced concrete upstairs floors, concrete staircase and 10cm Qcon brick walls and rendering  throughout & bathrooms having tiling to ceiling all hinder my 2.4Ghz already.  

 

Not being very well off (and Brexit vote wiped out 20% of my moderate Pension income nearly overnight) I'm not to pay out for any plan A (unless highly likely to succeed for what I need) and have useless brand new equip on my hands if that fails and then pay out for Plan B with even more brand new equipment paid for if that fails and a Plan C is required. Having said that PowerLans look an interesting candidate for Plan A.

 

Regards

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pib]

7 minutes ago, gdhm said:

Many on This Forum suggest using 5GHZ but I cannot . My supplied GPN does not offer that and bearing in mind I have a signal distance reach problem to some rooms how would 5Ghz help. If my understanding is correct, rooms close by would benefit but room with current weak and fluctuating signals being received on 2.4GHz would probably get no connection at all on 5GHz assuming my house's reinforced concrete upstairs floors, concrete staircase and 10cm Qcon brick walls and rendering  throughout & bathrooms having tiling to ceiling all hinder my 2.4Ghz already.  

 

While 5Ghz has less penetrating capability than 2.4Ghz it has a lot more bandwidth/speed capability--completely different modulations used to carry the data.    Don't think just "power level only."   If you only got say 10Mb speed in a room on the 2.4Ghz band, you would probably get around 20 to 30Mb speed on the 5Ghz band even though its power level may be a little lower than a 2.4Ghz signal.  It's more than the power level; it's also the technology/modulation used to transmitted the data...the technology/modulation of the 2.4 and 5Ghz bands are completely different...night and day different.

[gdhm]

Hi Pib, Just seen that you posted whilst I was answering Kitten Kong. Now I understand the fluctuations.

 

Are you saying i can run a LAN cable from my ONU GPN to another router. Can that Second Router be an ADSL2 Router. I ask because I own a currently redundant TP-Link 300Mbps TD-W8961ND Wireless N ADSL2 (which I used until I switched to a Fibre Cable. That router can be used with 4 LAN port ans also is wireless as well. If you answer is Yes what happens to speeds reaching it and offered from it.

 

If you answer is no I need a specific type of router what speeds would enter it and what speeds would it be able to transmit. (does it halve signals like extenders do. Is there a risk of incompatibility between my ONU GPN and a second Router. Please excuse my ignorance I have never heard of such an arrangement before.

 

I would use CAT 6 LAN cable (that is what I amusing at present but suspect although adequate may not be the highest standard because the Intel Gigabit Network Adapter diagnostics report my cable is adequate, passing all but one test (" Cable Integrity Status : Failed. The test detected a frequency response that does not meet IEEE specifications").

 

Regards

 

 

Edited October 13, 2017 by gdhm

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 10/12/2017 at 1:51 PM, Pib said:

 

 

Just for others to see, my AIS Fibre 200/50 GPON (a Huawei HG8245H) also shows what the reference values the GPON requires to operate properly such as input and output optical power, the working voltage and current of the GPON's laser transceiver.  See below which shows its current operating valves and the reference valves.

 

 

I appear to have the same brand Huawei fiber router as Pib, except mine is thru 3BB. And here are the comparable stats from my 3BB fiber router.

 

As noted above, the TX and RX signals need to be within the proper ranges in order for you to have a quality internet connection from the ISP to your router. But those numbers by themselves don't really impact what kind of wifi signal / quality / strength you have in your home.

 

 

[KittenKong]

15 minutes ago, gdhm said:

Are you saying i can run a LAN cable from my ONU GPN to another router. Can that Second Router be an ADSL2 Router. I ask because I own a currently redundant TP-Link 300Mbps TD-W8961ND Wireless N ADSL2 (which I used until I switched to a Fibre Cable. That router can be used with 4 LAN port ans also is wireless as well. If you answer is Yes what happens to speeds reaching it and offered from it.

 

If you answer is no I need a specific type of router what speeds would enter it and what speeds would it be able to transmit. (does it halve signals like extenders do. Is there a risk of incompatibility between my ONU GPN and a second Router. Please excuse my ignorance I have never heard of such an arrangement before.

 

The Powerlan devices I mentioned do all this for you at low cost and with no cables and only the most basic user configuration required. They are a complete solution in themselves, specifically designed to be used by consumers with no technical knowledge and no desire to rewire their house. This is why I suggested trying them.

 

Powerlan merely replaces an ethernet cable by the power lines in your walls. Hence the name: Powerlan. The remote Powerlan unit has built-in wifi that acts as an access point without any router configuration being needed at all. So it does all the things you need in one go.

 

I strongly suggest that you read ALL the information provided in the Amazon link and, if necessary, read the installation guide on the manufacturer's website.

[Pib]

29 minutes ago, gdhm said:

Hi Pib, Just seen that you posted whilst I was answering Kitten Kong. Now I understand the fluctuations.

 

Are you saying i can run a LAN cable from my ONU GPN to another router. Can that Second Router be an ADSL2 Router. I ask coz I own a currently redundant TP-Link 300Mbps TD-W8961ND Wireless N ADSL2 (which I used until I switched to a Fibre Cable. That router can be used with 4 LAN port ans also is wireless as well. If you answer is Yes wht happens to speeds reaching it and offered from it.

 

If you answer is no I need a specific type of router what speeds would enter it and what speeds would it be able to transmit. (does it halve signals like extenders do. Is there a risk of incompatibility between my ONU GPN and a second Router. Please excuse my ignorance I have never heard of such an arrangement before.

 

I would use CAT 6 LAN cable (that is what I amusing at present but suspect although adequate may not be the highest standard because the Intel Giigabit Network diagnostics report my cable is adequate, passing all but one test (" Cable Integrity Status : Failed. The test detected a frequency response that does not meet IEEE specifications").

 

Regards

 

 

You should be able to use the TP link router by setting it up for Access Point mode where the LAN cable from your primarily router is run to a LAN port on the TP link router.   

 

This TP Link webpage gives an overview in how to do it which is basically connect the LAN cable to LAN port 2 and then go into it's TP Link firmware to make some changes which sets it up as an Access Point mode versus Router mode to ensure your primary router and TP Link router don't fight each other.

 

Now that TP  link router is a 2.4Ghz router only so you will not get the advantage of 5Ghz capability.

 

To give you an example of 5Ghz capability over 2.4Ghz I took my old Samsung S4 (1x1 Wifi circuit vs the 2x2 Wifi circuit in many newer phones/tablets) smartphone upstairs, stood directly over my "downstairs router/access point" which means the signal was fighting through a concrete floor, a wood floor on top of the concrete floor, and the plaster board ceiling downstairs.  I then made a couple of speed tests using Speedtest.net when connected to the downstairs router.  I also used the Wifi analyzer app to take some power power level measurements.  Below are the results.....I have an AIS 200/50 plan that really gives me 200/60 speed.

 

- 5Ghz Wifi Connection: 119Mb download speed, 60Mb upload speed, power level varying from -54 to -53 (very stable).

 

- 2.4Ghz Wifi Connection: 38Mb download speed, 22Mb upload speed, power level varying from -61 to -55.

 

Summary: 3 times the download and upload speed on a 5Ghz channel compared to a 2.4Ghz channel....and the 5Ghz power level was stronger than the 2.4Ghz power level in this case primarily because all my neighbors use 2.4Ghz channels so there is plenty of interference, but I'm the only one who uses 5Ghz channels (and 2.4 channels for my 2.4Ghz only devices).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2017 by Pib

[maxpower]

I see progress is being made.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

38 minutes ago, gdhm said:

Hi Pib, Just seen that you posted whilst I was answering Kitten Kong. Now I understand the fluctuations.

 

Are you saying i can run a LAN cable from my ONU GPN to another router. Can that Second Router be an ADSL2 Router. I ask because I own a currently redundant TP-Link 300Mbps TD-W8961ND Wireless N ADSL2 (which I used until I switched to a Fibre Cable. That router can be used with 4 LAN port ans also is wireless as well. If you answer is Yes what happens to speeds reaching it and offered from it.

 

 

I can't speak specifically to the idea of connecting an ADSL router as the daisychain router to your 3BB fiber router.

 

But many of us have regular routers (2nd devices) connected to our ISP issued modem-routers, in part because that often is the best way to get dual band, AC wifi (something the ISP routers weren't typically providing until recently).

 

In terms of wiring, it's pretty simple, you're just connecting preferably a CAT 6 Ethernet cable from one of the LAN out ports on your ISP's router and plugging the other end into WAN in port on your second/personal router.

 

The wifi configuration depends on the particulars of your routers. I let both of my routers broadcast on wifi --  my personal router on 2.4 and 5 GHz, and my 3BB router on 2.4 GHz only (it's not capable of 5 GHz or AC). But I make sure to have the wifi channel assignments different for the 2.4 GHz frequencies on the two routers, so the signals aren't bumping into each other.  (My purpose of keeping the two routers broadcasting on 2.4 GHz is one of those is a Thai IP signal, and the other is a VPN IP signal).  But some people just totally disable wifi on their ISP router and only use the often better wifi on their personal wifi router.

 

I'm no networking whiz, but if I recall correctly, you're also generally advised to make sure -- if you're using two daisy-chained routers -- that they be set to different subnet addresses, so as to not conflict with each other. In my case, I didn't have to do anything, because my personal ASUS AC router came pre-configured with a different DHCP server IP subnet (the first three sections of the IP address) from the 3BB issued fiber router, which comes set to 192.168.1.1

Edited October 13, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

20 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

The Powerlan devices I mentioned do all this for you at low cost and with no cables and only the most basic user configuration required. They are a complete solution in themselves, specifically designed to be used by consumers with no technical knowledge and no desire to rewire their house. This is why I suggested trying them.

 

 

KK, Powerlan certainly is a possible solution to wifi issues. But wonder if you have any insight on an issue I remember from the past when getting into the specs on some of those kinds of devices.

 

Basically, as best as I recall, they either only work or only work best when the sending and receiving locations are on the same electrical circuit (which may not always be the case). I dunno if that's still an issue with their operations, or has managed to get dealt with somehow along the way. And of course, the quality of electrical wiring in Thai construction is oftentimes a considerable mystery.

 

BTW, using a spare router that someone already has as a wifi transmitter is basically going to be a no-cost option, and even buying your own better wifi router (if you shop well) doesn't have to cost any more or much more than buying a Powerline setup...

 

Edited October 13, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK