Best Option For Extending WiFi Range

[Benjio]

For some background, my router is in the lower corner of the house and my room is upstairs and a fair distance away. My desktop is in my room (I use a WiFi adaptor) and I have a Nexus 7 I stream videos to (usually Plex from my desktop or YouTube/twitch). I can only stream at 1 Mbps with Plex and YouTube buffers a lot. I have ~20 Mbps internet so that isn't the issue.

Would it be better to purchase a new router? My current one is a Linksys wrt120n. Or, would it be more beneficial to get a WiFi extender or some power line adapters? Thanks for the help.

[whatthe_fuzz]

powerline then use your wifi dongle to extend wifi using connectify hotspot

 

edit: if possible use an ethernet cable. there's some cheap ones online so buying 100+ ft may look tacky but is the most ideal option

[Benjio]

powerline then use your wifi dongle to extend wifi using connectify hotspot

 

edit: if possible use an ethernet cable. there's some cheap ones online so buying 100+ ft may look tacky but is the most ideal option

I'm not quite sure I understand. Are you saying to use power line to connect my desktop, then use my WiFi adapter to make a hotspot?

[whatthe_fuzz]

I'm not quite sure I understand. Are you saying to use power line to connect my desktop, then use my WiFi adapter to make a hotspot?

 

exactly. look up connectify. i personally use it. truly a great service. theres a few bugs but they are constantly working out kinks. basically it uses an open wifi antenna to broadcast instead of receive.

 

Would it be possible to run an ethernet cable from your router to your desktop? if not powerline will work just fine 

[Benjio]

exactly. look up connectify. i personally use it. truly a great service. theres a few bugs but they are constantly working out kinks. basically it uses an open wifi antenna to broadcast instead of receive.

 

Would it be possible to run an ethernet cable from your router to your desktop? if not powerline will work just fine 

It's not really worth the trouble of running a cable for me. And with power-line I'm a bit worried because I live in an older house. I assume it will still work, not sure how much it will be affected by older wires and systems. Also I only have one outlet in my room (without ground plugs) so do you know if it is affected much by traveling through a power strip instead of going straight into the wall?

[whatthe_fuzz]

It's not really worth the trouble of running a cable for me. And with power-line I'm a bit worried because I live in an older house. I assume it will still work, not sure how much it will be affected by older wires and systems. Also I only have one outlet in my room (without ground plugs) so do you know if it is affected much by traveling through a power strip instead of going straight into the wall?

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/20233/~/product-faq%3A-powerline-adapters

[skywake]

Run powerline but don't run it through a surge protector. Most powerboards have a surge protector built in so if you only have one port use a double adapter. Should work well enough. This is the scenario where powerline shines.

 

[NeatSquidYT]

Buy a pair of powerline adapters. Plug one into the router downstairs with an Ethernet cable, and into the wall, and it transmits an Ethernet signal around your house. The other one will go in your room/study and the Ethernet will go into your pc. Ask about them on this forum to learn about them.

[Benjio]

 

Run powerline but don't run it through a surge protector. Most powerboards have a surge protector built in so if you only have one port use a double adapter. Should work well enough. This is the scenario where powerline shines.

 

I'm assuming powerline is the AV200? And yeah, I'm just worried about wasting $30 on a pair and have them not work with my wiring.

 

Buy a pair of powerline adapters. Plug one into the router downstairs with an Ethernet cable, and into the wall, and it transmits an Ethernet signal around your house. The other one will go in your room/study and the Ethernet will go into your pc. Ask about them on this forum to learn about them.

I already know what they are and how they work (the basics anyway), I have an older house though, and I know they sometimes don't work properly with older wiring.

[skywake]

I'm assuming powerline is the AV200? And yeah, I'm just worried about wasting $30 on a pair and have them not work with my wiring.

Yes. That measurement right on the "25m" mark was in the back shed. To get there the signal had to travel out of the house, under the pavement, into the gamesroom, out of the gamesroom, under some more pavement and into the shed. Not bad, they're pretty forgiving really, I ran them through a surge protector and still got ~18Mbps at that distance.

 

And yes, it was AV200. If it was AV500, based on the benchmark's I've seen, I'd guess that the line would start up at around 60Mbps or so before dropping down to ~40Mbps. You should be fine for 20Mbps with either of them.