Looking to upgrade my wireless network cheaply

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esxu

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Mar 14, 2014
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Hey guys,
I have recently moved into a new house with two floors and a basement, and my ISP provided me this crappy router which doesn't reach anywhere. SO I was looking to upgrade the network to cover my whole house (basement included) What would you recommend I do? As I have heard wireless repeaters bottleneck Internet speed, and I have no speed to spare as I am in the countryside and I only get about 15Mbps (I know, what year is it? ;) )
Thank you very much,
Esxu
P.S. I am looking to spend as little as possible on this upgrade, and I need no fancy features, I only need to connect anout 7 or 8 devices, including a PS3.
 
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I use netgear products for my wifi network . My N dual band wifi router connects to my ISP modem which unfortunately is on one side of the house to service the TV, meaning the routers range is not quite sufficient to reach the other side. I use this extender
http://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-range-extenders/WN2500RP.aspx to compensate. It all works really well we consistently get network speeds 65mbps to 250mbs (subject to the tablet/laptop/pc etc attached) from a 20mbs cable network input speed,

The key issue is where the primary router/modem is located. A central point would be best, and given that all wifi routers have range limitations (60 feet in my case) before you splash the cash I would suggest that you...
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Rumbletum

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I use netgear products for my wifi network . My N dual band wifi router connects to my ISP modem which unfortunately is on one side of the house to service the TV, meaning the routers range is not quite sufficient to reach the other side. I use this extender
http://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-range-extenders/WN2500RP.aspx to compensate. It all works really well we consistently get network speeds 65mbps to 250mbs (subject to the tablet/laptop/pc etc attached) from a 20mbs cable network input speed,

The key issue is where the primary router/modem is located. A central point would be best, and given that all wifi routers have range limitations (60 feet in my case) before you splash the cash I would suggest that you review your layout, and see if moving the cable entry point would help.

Its the a matter of how much you are prepared to pay TP Link is relatively cheap, and popular. A family member has installed an Asus RT N66U and gets excellent coverage and speed, but at a cost.

 
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Pooneil

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Apr 15, 2013
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You don't say how big the house actually is and why you think the supplied router is the problem so it is hard to say if just changing the router will provide satisfactory service to everyone. The number and composition of walls makes a great deal of difference as does the intended use of the internet at the far reaches of the WiFi. Is there is any possibility of running an Ethernet cable from the basement to the top floor? It is relatively cheap to run a wire and add a low cost access point and it would allow much more satisfactory service. Running a cable may seem daunting, but simple Ethernet networking is not difficult.

Another option is powerline networking. It would likely be better to set up powerline with an inexpensive router upstairs rather than try to force WiFi that far. As for repeaters, they cut the throughput of the WiFi network. Since the WiFi is much faster than your ISP service, you shouldn't see any difference. Put one on the first floor, where it gets a good signal from the router and can re-transmit to the second floor.

ETA: I wrote this assuming the router was in the basement. That is a common cause of WiFi complaints, but not actually stated in the OP.
 
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Pooneil

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Another thought.

Neither cable nor DSL modems are necessarily tied to the location the ISP installed them. Either can possibly be moved to a central location in your home. At least there is no harm and little time expended in moving a modem to the family room to see if is connects and going from there.
 
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esxu

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Sorry, been away from home for a couple of days.I live in Spain, in a rural area where it will be very hard to find a competent person to wire my house.the router is in the most central point of the house, so it is definitely about range. It is a new house, so no lead in the house. I was thinking about powerline, as I have a crappy router lying around the house, problem is I need to get it into the basement as well, as I have my ps3 there
 
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esxu

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Mar 14, 2014
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Something I was pondering, can the modem/router provided by the isp be used as only a modem, and connect the (for example) the Asus n66u to it to act as a router?
 
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