Bandwidth in a house with multiple users

[Doug8765]

Hi -
We live in a house with multiple users of the internet. We've used a couple of those extender devices that plug into a wall-outlet. Our internet provider gives us a router that also provides the internet.

Our problem is that in at least one bedroom, there's no internet wifi signal. We'd like to fix this fellow's connection. In addition, sometimes applications like Netflix don't have enough signal. We don't know if we buy a new router, one with more power, will this solve our problems? Is that even a possible solution?

Our internet provider also has an option to get a faster service that costs more, about 2x.

Is there a helpful blueprint for trouble-shooting this configuration?

Your help will be appreciated,
Doug8765

 

[cliffordcooley]

You will likely need to talk with a local technician to get the best answers.

The short answer:

If you are maxing out your service and your provider is throttling your service, purchasing faster service could then be a solution.

If you are having LAN (local area network) issues, purchasing faster internet service will do nothing to solve the problem. You will need to understand what those issues are, before you will know how to get them fixed. This is where a local technician would be useful.​

 

[learninmypc]

Somebody here can correct me if I am wrong but you might be able to run an ethernet line from router to the room with no internet, might not hurt to try Good luck.

 

[Gabriel Pike]

Somebody here can correct me if I am wrong but you might be able to run an ethernet line from router to the room with no internet, might not hurt to try Good luck.

Yes. Or possibly a ethernet over power device. On the issue of buffering video, you will need QoS features on your router or more bandwidth if your connection is being maxed out.

This is what we usually use at my workplace:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZ3Q18A/?tag=httpwwwtechsp-20

 

[cliffordcooley]

Yes. Or possibly a ethernet over power device.

From the description that is what they're having issues with.

 

[DelJo63]

I have EoP to the far end of the house where a secondary router w/WiFi is installed. It streams flawlessly

 

[Doug8765]

Somebody here can correct me if I am wrong but you might be able to run an ethernet line from router to the room with no internet, might not hurt to try Good luck.

Hi JOBeard -
The room with no service is far from the router.

My wife's Chromebook frequently gets no service and she has to reboot the computer to get it. We have wifi and it works for me, but I'd like to get it working for everyone.

Thanks for offering that simple question.

Doug

 

[Doug8765]

Yes. Or possibly a ethernet over power device. On the issue of buffering video, you will need QoS features on your router or more bandwidth if your connection is being maxed out.

This is what we usually use at my workplace:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZ3Q18A/?tag=httpwwwtechsp-20

I have EoP to the far end of the house where a secondary router w/WiFi is installed. It streams flawlessly

Yes. Or possibly a ethernet over power device. On the issue of buffering video, you will need QoS features on your router or more bandwidth if your connection is being maxed out.

This is what we usually use at my workplace:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZ3Q18A/?tag=httpwwwtechsp-20

Hi Gabriel -
Thanks for the mention of "ethernet over power". I'm beginning to look into it. That's not the same as those little extenders that plug into an electrical outlet and extend the range of the router, is it?

Doug

 

[Gabriel Pike]

Hi Gabriel -
Thanks for the mention of "ethernet over power". I'm beginning to look into it. That's not the same as those little extenders that plug into an electrical outlet and extend the range of the router, is it?

Doug

No sir. It allows you to run a hardline through you house wiring. If you get it to work you can add a router or AP at the end like what jobeard suggested.

 

[Doug8765]

I have EoP to the far end of the house where a secondary router w/WiFi is installed. It streams flawlessly

Hi JOBeard -
Help me please to understand what is meant by "I have EoP to the far end of the house where a secondary router w/WiFi is installed."

My limited understanding of EoP means that at the location where my internet comes into the house and there's a wifi router, that I would plug an EoP device into the service provider's router, and that EoP device is then plugged into a regular wall outlet. That EoP device would provide internet across the house to the far end. Then you have a "secondary router w/WiFi" at that far end. And into what is that secondary router plugged? Is that router a regular router or is there something about its functionality that makes it secondary?

Again, thanks for proffering that bit.

Doug

 

[cliffordcooley]

For the most part you are correct.

https://www.newegg.com/Powerline-Networking/SubCategory/ID-294
https://www.amazon.com/ethernet-over-powerline/s?page=1&rh=I:aps,k:ethernet over powerline
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/networking/powerline/pcmcat161100050043.c?id=pcmcat161100050043

 

[Doug8765]

Hi JOBeard -
Great diagram!

It appears from the diagram that, were we to use only - as an addition to our current primary router - an EoP router such as this MegaPlug AV Powerline example, then we'd need some kind of switch or adapter for each device that is going to attach to the internet. The secondary router removes that requirement by using the connection via the EoP to provide a WiFi connection wirelessly from the farthest place from the primary router. (Sorry to be so dim, but when I mess with the internet, I have to understand well enough to sound competent to my fellow dwellers.) Just to be clear, the secondary router gets its connection by plugging into an EoP switch or adapter and getting its signal via EoP which it then projects via WiFi. Dueling routers. Reads well to me.

Is there a device known as MegaPlug AV Powerline? Amazon finds 0 results when I search for that device.

Thanks for the picture.

Doug

 

[mailpup]

Hi JOBeard -
Great diagram!

Actually, it was cliffordcooley who put in the effort to give you that illustration.

 

[DelJo63]

Hi JOBeard -
Help me please to understand what is meant by "I have EoP to the far end of the house where a secondary router w/WiFi is installed."

here's my topology (aka wiring):

ISP==modem---wired(non-wifi)Router#1---EoP . . . (remote)EoP--wired--Router#2(with WiFi) ---wired--TV

All mobile devices use the Router#2 wifi AND they stream nicely to an AirDrop connection or Lightning/HDMI adapter to the TV

 

[Doug8765]

here's my topology (aka wiring):

ISP==modem---wired(non-wifi)Router#1---EoP . . . (remote)EoP--wired--Router#2(with WiFi) ---wired--TV

All mobile devices use the Router#2 wifi AND they stream nicely to an AirDrop connection or Lightning/HDMI adapter to the TV

Hi JOBeard -
Thank you. I'm useless when talking about mobile, but I grok the purchase of some EoP device and another router. Is there any special feature I need with the 2nd router?

Doug

 

[DelJo63]

Hi JOBeard -
Thank you. I'm useless when talking about mobile, but I grok the purchase of some EoP device and another router. Is there any special feature I need with the 2nd router?

Doug

Nope - - get what fills the bill. Personally, my original router was sans wifi, so that' was what I needed. The fact the second had 5g and a Guest account was just gravy

 

[Doug8765]

Well JOBeard -
OK, I'll ask. I understand that 5g is an internet topology thing, but I am clueless on why this benefits me. Plus, I don't get why having Guest account functionality is important to me. Care to apply your pithy wordage to explain? It may benefit our internet layout.

We're looking into this EoP/2nd Router idea and are looking at the links you provided early on. Thank you.

Thanks,
Doug

 

[DelJo63]

Well JOBeard -
OK, I'll ask. I understand that 5g is an internet topology thing, but I am clueless on why this benefits me.

Sure Doug;

Many routers now support both 2.4g and 5g. The classic 2.4g is limited to 13 channels and thus easily gets interference from other stations. The 5g is a different RF band and has many more channels with less interference, but as higher frequencies are much weaker than say the 2.4g, they don't penetrate walls, floors or ceilings well. The trick is to, believe it or not, is to avoid the common 1,6,11 channels and pick something in between. You need a tool link INSSIDer to find your neighbors and set your 2.4g channel. This causes YOUR SSID to drown-out the neighbors all contending for 1,6,11

The Guest account is a nice-to-have feature -- IF -- you have many visitors (like say VBRO/Airbnb). The router internally disallows print/file sharing to isolate your LAN devices from your Guests

 

[cliffordcooley]

Many routers now support both 2.4g and 5g.

Damn! Talk about confusing. I was stuck on cellular 5g, when you mentioned 5g.

 

[DelJo63]

Damn! Talk about confusing. I was stuck on cellular 5g, when you mentioned 5g.

Care to elaborate on this ...

 

[cliffordcooley]

Nope - - get what fills the bill. Personally, my original router was sans wifi, so that' was what I needed. The fact the second had 5g and a Guest account was just gravy

You said your second had 5g. For some reason I was thinking cellular.

 

[DelJo63]

Background info:

Two RF conditions:

1. by RF Strength
2. 
   
3. by RF Channel
4. 

To be clear, RF strength (measured in -DB) is stronger with LOWER numbers, so my channel #2 at -76 is stronger than channels 1 or 6 my nearest RF neighbors.

 

[Doug8765]

Hi -
I don't have lots of cash available and I'm not the most technically savvy, so I'm careful on pressing the buy button. I don't want to do this twice.

• Some of the customer reviews of EoP devices on Amazon talk about having to reboot the device frequently. I don't have to do that now, but used to have to do so.
  
• Some of the EoP products seem old. Is the EoP solution old? That implies that there's more current and better solution.
• There's the mention of mesh internet, which seems to look like adding more routers as a solution. Is that valid?
• Is there a current overview that I can read?

Thanks so much for the information.
Doug

 

[DelJo63]

Hi -
I don't have lots of cash available and I'm not the most technically savvy, so I'm careful on pressing the buy button. I don't want to do this twice.

• Some of the customer reviews of EoP devices on Amazon talk about having to reboot the device frequently. I don't have to do that now, but used to have to do so.

• The ONLY way to do that is to unplug the device from the AC wall socket. As mine is behind a cabinet, I'VE NEVER had to do, or felt it was necessary! We do loose power infrequently, but when it is restored, the device recovers all by it self

• Some of the EoP products seem old. Is the EoP solution old? That implies that there's more current and better solution.

I try to use Netgear products whenever I have a choice and I have NEVER been disappointed or needed to find a better choice -- lucky me. The Cable & DSL Modems are "old technologies" too -- IMO, so what. My EoP pair were installed 2013!!!

• There's the mention of mesh internet, which seems to look like adding more routers as a solution. Is that valid?

I want my network to have parallel paths to the ISP gateway device -- the Mesh technology creates a serial path like the old version of christmas tree lights were. These are not multiple routers, but rather multiple APs. The more the devices, the lower the LAN bandwidth becomes as they chatter back and forth. They also introduce the weakest link problem for reliability -- any one go out and everything further on is dead

 

[Doug8765]

Hi JOBeard -
Thank you once more, especially for the Netgear hat tip. My head swims when I read the product pages on Amazon.

My roommate with the awful connection isn't complaining, but he's getting seriously waylaid by lack of connectivity. Gotta do something very soon.

Doug