What is the best WiFi setup for my house?

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weberdarren97

Glorious
Aug 10, 2015
8,137
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Hello all,
I have an issue with the WiFi in my house. The problem is that my house is too large for the signal to get from one side to the other.

Upstairs, we have our ISP provided modem/router combo device that broadcasts its own WiFi. That one works fine for just over half the house. Downstairs at the opposite corner of the house, we have a second router that we configured with a different SSID bc my bro and I had an argument as to which configuration would be best. The second router is in bridge mode as to not argue with the ISP provided router.

My question is, if I match SSID and security settings between the two routers, what will happen?

I would imagine that they could do any of the following:
1) Argue and provide terrible signal
2) Both be fine but our phones be confused as to which one to connect to
3) Both be fine and our phones seamlessly switch to whichever has stronger signal

Any and all advice is appreciated.

-Darren
 
Solution
USAFRet


No, you need to play with it and see what works.
There is no default config for every single house and equipment.
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USAFRet

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Mar 16, 2013
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1. No they won't
2. No, the devices won't be 'confused'
3. No, they won't seamlessly switch. Phones/PC's are loath to give up a current connection, even when they may be a stronger one in range at this moment. They only give up when the signal is actually not enough.
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

Titan
BANNED
Oct 30, 2004
32,255
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The logical strategy is to use cables for desktops and wireless for things that move like lappies and phones. Our system is in a 200 year old dairy barn, split level, post and beam construction, which consists of 4 levels for living space and the 5th as an office. It also has a mini-cell tower inside as the aluminum faced insulation blocks cell tower signal. It was no picnic drilling thru the 8" thick "locust wood" beams but well worth the effort as the cable connections are more reliable and faster.

Your wireless connections won't be confused but they will 'break" when you get out of range moving around.
 
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das_stig

das_stig

Glorious
Jul 24, 2009
8,281
30
46,040
1. No
2. No
3. To switch, you would need to adjust the signal output power so they create a very small overlap and the set the appropriate roaming threshold setting on each device, to trigger the switch.

The best way is to set the 2nd router as AP rather than bridge, have it connected back to the main router by cable and then they can use the same SSID but on different channels for seamless roaming.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Mar 16, 2013
171,437
17,904
184,590


No, you need to play with it and see what works.
There is no default config for every single house and equipment.
 
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