Improving home wi-fi

[NanLaew]

I have fiber optic internet service from 3bb, using the original Huwaei HG8145v ONU. No issues with the service, but the Wi-Fi range has always been an issue across the 5-bedroom, single-floor villa.

 

I now have a 4-bedroom annex about 50m away (signal has to pass through 4 regular walls, all on the same ground-level), the signal strength 'out back' was poor. I had a spare TP-Link RE305 Wi-Fi extender and installed that about 2/3 of the distance in between and that has solved the signal strength issue, but the speed still is limited. No issues with YouTube and streaming, but it's no use for gaming.

 

The Huawei ONU doesn't have external antennas and depending on who you talk to and what you read, that can be a limitation on some home installations. I was wondering if I connect a newer Wi-Fi 6 router to the Huawei and disable the Huawei wi-fi, that would improve my "customer satisfaction"? I could also relocate the new wi-fi router somewhere better to optimise the signal. The Huawei is limited by the length of f/o cabling and available furniture in the master bedroom at the front of the main house.

 

I have a liking for TP-Link products, so any other solutions or recommendations are welcome.

[jas007]

I had a similar situation back in the US,.  The last house I owned was a Mid Century ranch style home. 5000 sq ft, all on one level. Steel beam construction and concrete walls.  And for whatever reason, the wi-fi reception in the far ends of the house was more or less nonexistent.  
 

My solution was to buy some mesh extenders.  I’m not sure how they work, exactly, but they did do the job. They were kind of pricey, but since then prices have probably come down.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NanLaew]

11 minutes ago, jas007 said:

I had a similar situation back in the US,.  The last house I owned was a Mid Century ranch style home. 5000 sq ft, all on one level. Steel beam construction and concrete walls.  And for whatever reason, the wi-fi reception in the far ends of the house was more or less nonexistent.  
 

My solution was to buy some mesh extenders.  I’m not sure how they work, exactly, but they did do the job. They were kind of pricey, but since then prices have probably come down.
 

 

 

 

My friend has a duplex condo in Kuala Lumpur and the amount of rebar in the walls has been a big challenge for his home Wi-Fi. He's retired, and hedging on buying any upgrades that should solve his issues until the prices improve.

 

Yes, the mesh option looks good, and the prices aren't as high as they were when it was all new tech.

 

The RE305 extender I used supports mesh but the native wi-fi out of the Huawei isn't so I think I need to get something 'in between' like maybe the TP-Link AX55 or maybe AX21.

 

At the same time, I need to see what devices can connect with 802.11ax. The gaming laptop Wi-Fi hardware is Intel Wireless Wi-Fi 6 AX200 802. 11ax Dual-Band 2. 4GHz and 5GHz featuring 2x2 MU-MIMO technology (Max Speed up to 2. 4Gbps) so should be good to go.

[phetphet]

Are you only connecting over wireless?  What about a LAN cable from the Huawei to the TP-Link if possible?

 

 

 

[LogicThai]

Back in the day in our house in Singapore, that was built like a pre-war bunker with near-impossible wifi propagation, I solved the issue with Power-line communication (PLC), or rather Broadband over power line (BPL), i.e. using the house's own electricity cabling to propagate the internet signal from plug to plug. One plug for the router, and as many plugs as needed for access points. It worked like a charm, and it provided speed identical to cabled ethernet (which it is, in essence). Some plugs have a wifi repeater built-in, to support mobile devices.

 

In our condo in Bangkok, which presents the same challenge, I installed a Mesh solution, which works fine, but eventually I asked the management to install a second router directly accessing my home office. It required additional outside cabling and gutting of ceilings, but it works like a charm. We now have 2 different wifi networks, but that's not an issue for me. 

 

I think that Broadband over power line (BPL) is a hidden gem, that solves the problem without requiring any hacking.