wifi problems

[rohimirre]

Hi there, 

 

i'd like to ask some info. im currently using a poe access point from tp-link (eap110). right now in our house we have a total of 12 devices connected to the wifi and im having problems with devices like echo dot and echo show losing connection to the wifi. would an access point upgrade solve my problem? i was looking at the tp-link eap225 or eap245. 

[Falcon1986]

@rohimirre

 

The EAP110 only has a single 2.4GHz radio and supports 802.11b/g/n. 2.4GHz is good for range, but your unit has a maximum theoretical speed of 300Mbps if using wireless-N in the best of conditions.

 

IoT devices should ideally be placed on their own radio/SSID to reduce interference with your other wireless client devices because they’re constantly sending data back and forth. This is no problem if you have a dual-band wireless access point such that your non-IoT devices can use 5GHz and your IoT devices can use 2.4GHz. However, your current AP only has 1 antenna.

 

A WiFi-5 or better AP would be an improvement to what you have now. Hopefully, you have client devices that support a 5GHz connection so can utilize that when within appropriate range, leaving the 2.4GHz radio dedicated to IoT devices and when you’re out of range of the 5GHz signal.

 

I agree with @Benjiin that replacing the current AP might not be enough if you want better range. It might be time to add another AP to areas of your home where the WiFi signal is poor or at least reconfigure the layout altogether.

 

Finally, the more devices you have accessing a single wireless AP at the same time, the more likely you are to run into problems if that AP doesn’t support MIMO. While the EAP225 supports 2x2 WiFi-5, the EAP245 supports 3x3 WiFi-5, so the latter should be a bit more superior in high density environments.

[rohimirre]

2 hours ago, Benji said:

How large is the house? How far are the Echo Dot and Echo Show from the router and/or access point? If they're simply out of range, you'd need another access point in that corner of the house, no WiFi router upgrade makes a real difference if the connection is bad, there are legal limits to WiFi signal strength (something like 100mW in Germany), and you aren't allowed to surpass that.

it's 90 square meters. and i placed the tp-link eap110 in the middle of the house. it's an old house with very thick reinforced brick walls (10 to 15 inch walls). the echo dot is just 5 meters away from the access point and the echo show is in my room around 7-8 meters away.

 

2 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

@rohimirre

 

The EAP110 only has a single 2.4GHz radio and supports 802.11b/g/n. 2.4GHz is good for range, but your unit has a maximum theoretical speed of 300Mbps if using wireless-N in the best of conditions.

 

IoT devices should ideally be placed on their own radio/SSID to reduce interference with your other wireless client devices because they’re constantly sending data back and forth. This is no problem if you have a dual-band wireless access point such that your non-IoT devices can use 5GHz and your IoT devices can use 2.4GHz. However, your current AP only has 1 antenna.

 

A WiFi-5 or better AP would be an improvement to what you have now. Hopefully, you have client devices that support a 5GHz connection so can utilize that when within appropriate range, leaving the 2.4GHz radio dedicated to IoT devices and when you’re out of range of the 5GHz signal.

 

I agree with @Benjiin that replacing the current AP might not be enough if you want better range. It might be time to add another AP to areas of your home where the WiFi signal is poor or at least reconfigure the layout altogether.

 

Finally, the more devices you have accessing a single wireless AP at the same time, the more likely you are to run into problems if that AP doesn’t support MIMO. While the EAP225 supports 2x2 WiFi-5, the EAP245 supports 3x3 WiFi-5, so the latter should be a bit more superior in high density environments.

all smartphones and tablets in the house supports 5ghz. i'm not sure about the echo dot and show. would it help if i bought the eap245 and used the 5ghz to connect smartphones and tablets, and leave the rest of the smart devices on 2.4ghz? 

[Falcon1986]

39 minutes ago, rohimirre said:

would it help if i bought the eap245 and used the 5ghz to connect smartphones and tablets, and leave the rest of the smart devices on 2.4ghz? 

In terms of freeing up the 2.4GHz radio, yes it would. However, be mindful of 5GHz not being able to penetrate concrete very well, so don't count on it for range beyond say 2 concrete walls.

 

42 minutes ago, rohimirre said:

it's an old house with very thick reinforced brick walls (10 to 15 inch walls).

The more concrete walls you have, the more likely you'll need multiple APs properly spaced out. Unfortunately, this is the reality for those of us who live outside of the USA. That being said, you might be able to get away with a single AP, but you won't know until you try it out yourself. Keep that EAP110 in case you find use for it in a part of the house where coverage is poor.