Looking for a recommendation on a WiFi range extender

[tuolumnejim]

Just put my last Amazon fire tv stick in the garage and it's getting a very mediocre signal at best.

I've never used one of these range extender, are they hype or do some of them work?

tia Jim

[sholling]

Just put my last Amazon fire tv stick in the garage and it's getting a very mediocre signal at best.

I've never used one of these range extender, are they hype or do some of them work?

tia Jim

You're really not providing enough information to allow anyone to give you a thoughtful answer. Generic answers - yes, well thought out - no. Type of wifi network i.e. 802.11g? 802.11n? 802.11ac? How far will you be from the router?

The best generic answer that I can give you is it's usually best to run an Ethernet cable and setup an access point at the end.

[raytron]

They work, but need to be placed in an optimal spot. They don't work very well when placed where your Wifi signal is weak. Also they typically cut your internet speed in half. I would get something like this instead.

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-PowerLINE-Wi-Fi-1000-PLW1010-100NAS/dp/B01929V7ZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461289083&sr=8-1&keywords=netgear+powerline+wifi

[tuolumnejim]

You're really not providing enough information to allow anyone to give you a thoughtful answer. Generic answers - yes, well thought out - no. Type of wifi network i.e. 802.11g? 802.11n? 802.11ac? How far will you be from the router?

The best generic answer that I can give you is it's usually best to run an Ethernet cable and setup an access point at the end.

802.11n, three walls and under forty feet.

[dyson]

Just use your extra old router as one

[Bushwack44]

I live in a large one story condo and have three of these (http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Versio...range+extender). From one end of the condo to the other is just over 100'. The furthest distance the computer is to one of these extenders is 31' (going through three wood frame walls w/ metal supports). Using that extender, I can connect using my tablet from about 20' away. I can also go down to street level and connect from exactly 32' but its a weak signal (but works!).

Just put my last Amazon fire tv stick in the garage and it's getting a very mediocre signal at best.

I've never used one of these range extender, are they hype or do some of them work?

tia Jim

[Brutmor]

The extenders will halve your network bandwidth. I installed a second wireless access point to provide full coverage across a large house. You run a network cable from your router to the second wireless access point. Configure the same ssid and password on the access point as the router.

[Ninety]

Ddwrt and a 30$ router

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[ExtremeX]

I don't like repeaters because each hop cuts bandwidth in half... might not be an issue with AC networks but the a/b/g/n you can feel the hit, especially on multi user home networks.

I just go with multiple dedicated hardwired APs... Ubiquity makes an awesome product called Unifi which is stupid easy to deploy.

https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap/

[sholling]

802.11n, three walls and under forty feet.

802.11n is notorious for its really lousy range. Switching to a much longer range 802.11ac router and adapters for your devices would likely have solved your problem, but the Fire Stick does not support 802.11ac. Extenders suck because they cost you half of your speed. Before spending any money make sure that your router is up as high as possible and that there is no metal blocking the signal. Try moving it around the room.

Other than that suggestion I'm back to my original suggestion of running an Ethernet cable as close as possible and stick an access point on the end. You can even fabricate a foil covered parabolic reflector to extend the range of the access point.

At this point, I'm probably not being a huge help, but if it were me, before I invested in an access point I'd invest in a new 802.11ac (ac1900 or higher) router. Then put the old router into access point mode (assuming it supports access point mode) and stick that at the end of the cable. Warning this type of project can get a pretty technical.

[Citadelgrad87]

802.11n is notorious for its really lousy range. Switching to a much longer range 802.11ac router and adapters for your devices would likely have solved your problem, but the Fire Stick does not support 802.11ac. Extenders suck because they cost you half of your speed. Before spending any money make sure that your router is up as high as possible and that there is no metal blocking the signal. Try moving it around the room.

Other than that suggestion I'm back to my original suggestion of running an Ethernet cable as close as possible and stick an access point on the end. You can even fabricate a foil covered parabolic reflector to extend the range of the access point.

At this point, I'm probably not being a huge help, but if it were me, before I invested in an access point I'd invest in a new 802.11ac (ac1900 or higher) router. Then put the old router into access point mode (assuming it supports access point mode) and stick that at the end of the cable. Warning this type of project can get a pretty technical.

Sholling knows of what he speaks. He talked me through this very upgrade a year or so ago. I had spotty coverage and my router needed reset almost daily.

He talked me through a decent new router, a run of cat 6 from the new router to the tv area for a hotspot/switch that lets me hook cat6 to the Netflix device and throws a wireless signal on a different channel than the main router so they aren't interfering. Devices don't know the difference, it's all the same password protected network and you can walk all over the House and stay connected.

I haven't had to cycle the router for over a year. Coverage is great.

[LAKA90034]

I get what I consider to be very good coverage with an AirPort Extreme in the front of the house and an AirPort Base Station towards the back.

Strong signal through lath and plaster interior walls and stucco exteriors from the driveway to pretty much the back wall...my buddy next door works from home and has logged on for livemeeetings when his network went down...so pretty solid

[intradubio]

what brand/model ac router was that?

[Can'thavenuthingood]

Might try making a collector first.
Use a mini USB antenna and a USB extension cord/wire.
I used an aluminum pie plate.

Huge difference, no more buffering every few minutes.

Vick

[Ninety]

Old router ddwrt connected via power line adapter.

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