Extending WiFi range in the house

[alparius]

Hello!

 

So my parents live in a two-storey brick house and the ISP-provided router/WiFi combo modem is downstairs, where it covers all the rooms and even parts of the garden, so its fine there.

However, some of the rooms upstairs have a very weak signal. Up until now it wasn't a problem, but with school being online, now my sister needs solid signal in her room as well.

 

I'm not into networking but I do have some basic knowledge and I know about several possible solutions.

- a better router instead of the current one

- a good WiFi box next to the current router

- a range extender somewhere halfway between the router and the room

- installing a separate router / access point into her room

 

Which of these sounds the cheapest, easiest and most solid solution?

Thank you in advance!

 

[lewdicrous]

You can use wireless range extenders, but I don't use them, so I don't know which one to recommend.

[Falcon1986]

7 hours ago, alparius said:

- a better router instead of the current one

When WiFi antennae are mounted in the traditional upright orientation, they produce an omni-directional signal pattern in the horizontal plane. The vertical direction is weak. So even if you were to replace your ISP gateway device with another, you're likely to still be in the same situation.

 

7 hours ago, alparius said:

- a good WiFi box next to the current router

What do you mean by "WiFi box"? Anyway, this would be a similar situation to above. Furthermore, running each device's WiFi simultaneously doesn't amplify the signal.

 

7 hours ago, alparius said:

- a range extender somewhere halfway between the router and the room

[Sigh] As a last resort and if you're accepting of the fact that these devices will only extend coverage (usually not at optimum WiFi speed and with high latency), then go ahead.

 

7 hours ago, alparius said:

- installing a separate router / access point into her room

This! I'm a proponent of keeping things simple. If there are absolutely no issues with running ethernet to the second floor, just do it! You can run the cable through wall conduits or just by neatly tacking it along the ceiling/floor edge. Mount the wireless access point at a central (or semi-central) point on the second floor and you'll have strong and reliable WiFi throughout your house.

 

I lean towards Ubiquiti Access points (UAP-AC Lite/Pro/Nano or FlexHD), but if you have an old wireless router lying around, you might want to try using it in AP mode first to see if it fulfills the need.

[alparius]

22 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

This! I'm a proponent of keeping things simple. If there are absolutely no issues with running ethernet to the second floor, just do it! You can run the cable through wall conduits or just by neatly tacking it along the ceiling/floor edge.

I'm definitely doing this one, because I realized in the meanwhile that we could get a cable to any room through the unused chimney holes.