What would give me the best wifi range, penetrate walls?

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chad_petree

chad_petree

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Jan 6, 2014
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I live in a quite old building and my apartment walls are VERY thick, so the signal is obviously having trouble to get through them , I recently updated my internet plan to 100 mbps, my provider had me upgrade the modem to be able to take advantage of the speed, the bad news is that the new modem is a modem with a router included without a WAN port so I cannot use the modem+ a router (like I previously did) and the modem/router's signal strength is horrible, worse than it was with the old one, if I sit next to the modem/router I get 80 mbps (using speedtest), I close the door of the room where the modem/router is and walk to my room, which is about 20 meters away from it, I get 50 Mbps (again using speedtest), with my cellphone is even worse, I get 34 mbps next to the router and 13 mbps on my room.

So my question is, is it possible to configure one of the LAN ports that the modem/router has, to try and connect my old router to it and see if I get better signal , in case I don't , could I get a good router like the Asus RT-AC68U or should I upgrade the Modem/router and stop using the sh**ty one that my provider uses and get a good one like the Asus DSL-N66U (modem+ router included) .

Something I don't get is, if a Modem/router uses less space,the quality its just as good, and the prices similar, even without having external antennas, then why do companies keep releasing modems and routers separately?

Thank you for the help, I know it was a messy explanation on my problem :(
 
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chad_petree

chad_petree

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Jan 6, 2014
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I can't, how would I use internet on my phone then? Plus the modem is on my housemate's room, and he doesn't want cables running around his room ... :no:
 
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chad_petree

chad_petree

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I thought wifi repeaters were a waste of money (so I've read read :( ) and that it should be my option Z :'(
 
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chris987

chris987

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i have the particural one and it works like a charm. my pc is on the second foor with the router being on the first.i used to have awful signal even with my asus wirless dual band pci card. after istalling the extender i saw dramatical improve, not only better signal but with better quality keeping sustained speeds of 1.7MB/s without flactuations and spikes even on youtube. i monitor through net meter program
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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A extender will not fix your situation and you NEVER just put them right next to your computer. The need to be place at a location they get good strong signal from the main router but can also provide good signal to the end computer. Generally 1/2 between.

In your situation where you have a obstruction that wireless pretty much will not penetrate well you only option is to not use wireless.

So if you want to first try you old router that is a option. Just use it is a AP by disabling the dhcp and using a LAN port. In this case you might want to disable the wireless on the modem but you can I guess try to find non conflicting channels. It should work as good as it did previously in theory.


802.11ac will likely make your problem worse. 802.11ac only runs on the 5g band and has much poor penetration of walls that 2.4

If all else fails you could try powerline network and put old router as a AP on the end of that in a different room.
 
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chad_petree

chad_petree

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Jan 6, 2014
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I'm so tired of this situation, It's been already a month!! Even my old router is not cooperating anymore, yesterday I was trying to configure it to use it as the default router and turn off the router "side" on the new modem/router and now he two computers on the house give me this error" invalid IP address" , tried "releasing the ip address" and give it a new one via cmd , no luck, tried disconnecting the router for 5 minutes, resetting it .... no luck

At this point I'm just going to grab the drill, make a hold on the side of he door and get the cable trough it to put the router right outside my door :eek::flu:

What do you mean with "try powerline network and put old router as a AP on the end of that in a different room"
 
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bill001g

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A powerline network does similar to what you just described except you use the electrical power in your house instead of a ethernet cable. Still you option of drilling and pulling a cable though to the router (used as a AP) will still be better in most cases the powerline stuff. Powerline devices work in "most" houses but they can be pain to get to work in some.
 
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chad_petree

chad_petree

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Jan 6, 2014
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Well the landlord didn't like the thought of me opening a hole next to the door to get the cable trough , there are more important things in life than having fast internet he said ( what a charmer :) )

I just checked how to set up a powerline network and I'm not completely sold, I don't even have an ethernet port on my macbook , and I love the simplicity of wifi, just to be able to sit on my bed without cables around and watch a film for example... :(

To make things worse , my phone is the one who is getting the worst reception, I don't know what's wrong, even if I sit next to the router I get 30 mbps (and I should get something close to 90 mbps, since the connection is 100 mbps) and on my room is awful, 13 mbps , and with phones theres no way of connecting an ethernet cable ... :/

BTW I selected your answer as the solution by mistake and looks like there's no way to get rid of that :( haha
 
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chad_petree

chad_petree

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Jan 6, 2014
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Look, what I found, a power line repeater, that "clones my wifi" , "the TL-WPA4220 can automatically copy the wireless network name (SSID) and Password of your router at the push of a button. After pressing the button, you can place the powerline adapter anywhere you want wired or wireless access and enjoy seamless networking across your entire home or office. "

http://www.tp-link.us/products/details/?categoryid=2244&model=TL-WPA4220KIT

It also has good reviews on amazon, what do you think? http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-WPA4220KIT-Powerline-Extender-Configuration/dp/B00DHB2T44/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389218047&sr=8-1&keywords=TL-WPA4220KIT

Here in Germany it costs 47 euros, I think it's a fair price
 
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chad_petree

chad_petree

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Jan 6, 2014
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This one looks nice too, its from Asus which supposedly makes amazing wireless devices, Asus PL-X52P (127 euros) the price is quite steep though, three times the price of the TPLink TL-WPA4220, which costs 47 euros :no:

http://www.asus.com/Networking/PLX51PPLX52P/#overview

One thing I'm not sure of it's if the Asus "provides me a wifi network" on my room since I don't want to deal with ethernet cables, it just says "One-press device pairing for quick network build-up
Extra-convenient device pairing button makes powerline networking setup supremely easy. One press and adapters become part of wireless networks with automatic detection. No bothersome install needed, and the process is reinforced by strong 128-bit AES encryption that keeps intruders at bay.
"
 
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rtm125

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Jan 28, 2013
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I was reading all of this then realized you are a mac user. Well there is no "magic fix" there is nothing here that people can tell you, to fix it. Buy a wifi repeater and put it in the 1/2 point. Setting them up now a days is super easy. Do it, Fix it. Buy a PC...
 
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