Need help for better WiFi

[Stahlmann]

So i'm considering a new router to boost the WiFi experience of me and my family.

 

Current situation:

Our house has 4 floors and the router is pretty much right in the middle of the house on the ground floor. I did route a cable from the router to the 3rd floor where all my media devices are and improvised an AP using the AP functionality of a  "Fritz! WLAN repeater". But this repeater is basically useless as the signal is almost unuseable in the next room on the same floor. My phone is constantly disconnecting from the Wifi because of low signal strength when just moving around the house. Our house is fairly old, so no concrete walls. But also no dry-wall or hollow ceilings to route cables. We currently use the bog standard router provided by Vodafone.

 

What i want to achieve:

I'd like to have full coverage in the 3rd or if possible even in the 4th floor without any added APs. If absolutely necessary i could install an AP on the 3rd floor, but i want to avoid that if possible. The 4th floor is currently just an attic, but i'd like to include it in my apartment with future renovations.

 

Sadly i have no idea about networking and thus am completely dependant on your help!

I'd be glad if you can point me in the right direction.

Please ask if you need any additional info.

[RageTester]

Have you tried putting router on 2nd floor and then running cable up and down? Or on 3rd floor if that's where most of your wired devices are. I have had no luck with wireless so sticking to network switches, but Linus himself has proven that wireless can work if you are willing to pay more.

 

https://youtu.be/qJeKZkK31JE

 

[TukangUsapEmenq]

 

 

50 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

If absolutely necessary i could install an AP on the 3rd floor

I don't see any reliable way (yet, cheap enough for just home use) than this tbh. It'd look kind-of-messy, but I'd sacrifice that for way more decent experience.

 

Cheap options tend to be TP-Link (personally using it, fine as wine so far), or anything that suit yours, but it really depends on your use case. If you stream a lot from wifi, I suggest to get more higher-bandwidth, preferably with WIFI-5 (802.11ac) or even WIFI-6 (ONLY if you have a device that supports it, or else consider it as a 'little-futureproof' upgrade).

[Falcon1986]

43 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

So i'm considering a new router to boost the WiFi experience

 

43 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

I'd like to have full coverage in the 3rd or if possible even in the 4th floor without any added APs.

You can't be serious about improving your WiFi experience, then.

 

No single wireless router will provide so much coverage in the vertical direction unless, perhaps, if you live in a house made of thin plastic walls and floors. Wireless signals from omnidirectional antennae do not radiate that well in the vertical direction. Each wall/floor being penetrated will attenuate the signal further so, for a house that big, you'll need at least another AP on the 3rd or 4th floor with a ethernet uplink to the primary router.

 

If you have a large budget and want minimum hardware, then consider the Ruckus R750 that Linus used, but for everyone else on a budget, multiple less-expensive APs will likely get the job done just as well. Unfortunately, the larger the building you have, the more likely you'll need multiple APs to get proper coverage.

[Stahlmann]

2 minutes ago, Falcon1986 said:

 

You can't be serious about improving your WiFi experience, then.

 

No single wireless router will provide so much coverage in the vertical direction unless, perhaps, if you live in a house made of thin plastic walls and floors. Wireless signals from omnidirectional antennae do not radiate that well in the vertical direction. Each wall/floor being penetrated will attenuate the signal further so, for a house that big, you'll need at least another AP on the 3rd or 4th floor with a ethernet uplink to the primary router.

 

If you have a large budget and want minimum hardware, then consider the Ruckus R750 that Linus used, but for everyone else on a budget, multiple less-expensive APs will likely get the job done just as well. Unfortunately, the larger the building you have, the more likely you'll need multiple APs to get proper coverage.

 

3 minutes ago, TukangUsapEmenq said:

 

 

I don't see any reliable way (yet, cheap enough for just home use) than this tbh. It'd look kind-of-messy, but I'd sacrifice that for way more decent experience.

 

Cheap options tend to be TP-Link (personally using it, fine as wine so far), or anything that suit yours, but it really depends on your use case. If you stream a lot from wifi, I suggest to get more higher-bandwidth, preferably with WIFI-5 (802.11ac) or even WIFI-6 (ONLY if you have a device that supports it, or else consider it as a 'little-futureproof' upgrade).

So from what i understand i won't get away without a 2nd AP. That's at least one bit of information.

 

Most of our Wifi devices support WiFi-6 but our current router doesn't. Is there any significant difference in signal stability or range to WiFi-5?

[Falcon1986]

7 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

Most of our Wifi devices support WiFi-6 but our current router doesn't. Is there any significant difference in signal stability or range to WiFi-5?

The WiFi 6 routers and APs have wireless optimizations that are thought to provide better overall performance even with WiFi 5 client devices.

 

The benefits of using WiFi 6 client devices on WiFi 6 routers and APs comes down to higher potential speeds (getting closer to gigabit speeds on WiFi if device support and settings are just right) and better concurrent connections for clients. There isn't an increase in wireless range (unless if the antenna power output is increased beyond regulation for your region) since there is still use of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency.

[Stahlmann]

4 minutes ago, Falcon1986 said:

The WiFi 6 routers and APs have wireless optimizations that are thought to provide better overall performance even with WiFi 5 client devices.

 

The benefits of using WiFi 6 client devices on WiFi 6 routers and APs comes down to higher potential speeds (getting closer to gigabit speeds on WiFi if device support and settings are just right) and better concurrent connections for clients. There isn't an increase in wireless range (unless if the antenna power output is increased beyond regulation for your region) since there is still use of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency.

We do have a gigabit connection, so WIFI 6 would make sense i guess.

 

Next question: With my current setup i have 2 wifi networks. (1 from the main router and one from my improvised AP) Is there any way i can make it one network and make devices automatically connect to the AP with a better connection?

 

If it isn't clear already, i have absolutely no clue about this stuff.

[Falcon1986]

51 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

We do have a gigabit connection, so WIFI 6 would make sense i guess.

Take note about the perfect settings and conditions to achieve close to stable gigabit speeds on WiFi 6. These include (but not limited to) little/no physical obstructions especially in the horizontal direction from the antennae, wide channel widths (80-160MHz on 5GHz) with no channel interference, 2x2 or 4x4 wireless adapters (only a few of the Intel ones can do this and also support 160MHz), etc. Getting these things all just right will be 

 

59 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

With my current setup i have 2 wifi networks. (1 from the main router and one from my improvised AP) Is there any way i can make it one network and make devices automatically connect to the AP with a better connection?

Yes, you can. Just give them the same SSID.

 

They are not technically 2 different networks. Just 2 different SSIDs that give wireless entrance into the single LAN.

 

If you do this, I'd advise you use the same security settings on both APs (password, encryption) so your devices don't get confused, but adjust the broadcast channels so that they don't overlap with each other. A wireless survey should help guide your channel selection. Additionally, to help your mobile clients transition better to new APs when in close proximity, you might need to adjust the antenna power output so that the point of overlap is just enough to cause a drop in signal but then reconnect to the stronger signal when detected.

[Stahlmann]

2 minutes ago, Falcon1986 said:

Take note about the perfect settings and conditions to achieve close to stable gigabit speeds on WiFi 6. These include (but not limited to) little/no physical obstructions especially in the horizontal direction from the antennae, wide channel widths (80-160MHz on 5GHz) with no channel interference, 2x2 or 4x4 wireless adapters (only a few of the Intel ones can do this and also support 160MHz), etc. Getting these things all just right will be 

 

Yes, you can. Just give them the same SSID.

 

They are not technically 2 different networks. Just 2 different SSIDs that give wireless entrance into the single LAN.

 

If you do this, I'd advise you use the same security settings on both APs (password, encryption) so your devices don't get confused, but adjust the broadcast channels so that they don't overlap with each other. A wireless survey should help guide your channel selection. Additionally, to help your mobile clients transition better to new APs when in close proximity, you might need to adjust the antenna power output so that the point of overlap is just enough to cause a drop in signal but then reconnect to the stronger signal when detected.

Oh i always thought you have to buy into some ecosystem to use multiple APs with one SSID. I think i'm gonna try to optimize the hardware i have first before buying into anything. Changing both APs to the same SSID so my devices can switch depending on signal strength could be all i need. I have coverage for most of my house, just not from one single AP.

 

Thanks for your help so far!

[Falcon1986]

3 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

Oh i always thought you have to buy into some ecosystem to use multiple APs with one SSID.

Proper SD-WAN solutions will help with this and also easier transition with roaming. It's the "proper" way of doing what you're attempting to do, but you can mimic it to some degree.