Wireless Range Extenders

[Tan]

Hi

I have a Virgin Super Hb with their 30Mb service and the signal strength of the wireless is horrendous, its a know problem and I have carried out all of the suggestions to improve things, but they are still not great.

So my options are change the router and I have been recommended the Linksys EA4500 at about £135 or get a range extender.

After a bit of internet research, I have come across this unit TP-Link TL-WA830RE, it seams to get some good reviews, but having never heard of them I thought that I would seek some expert advice here.

Links to the product.
Broadbandbuyer.co.uk | PAGE ERROR

ProductID=12773http://uk.tp-link.com/products/details/?categoryid=1247&model=TL-WA830RE

The other range extenders that I have looked at are:
NETGEAR WN3000RP-100UKS Universal WiFi Range Extender at cheap prices | Pcworld

LINKSYS RE1000 Universal Wireless-N WiFi Range Extender at cheap prices | Pcworld

The wireless items that are running from the router are Mac's, PC, iPhones and an iPad.

Thanks

Tan

 

[spinaltap]

I can't comment on the SuperHub (although consensus of opinion suggests that its wireless capability leaves a lot to be desired).

However, I've just bought the Netgear WN3000RP to supplement my Netgear DG834N. While my router performs well during the day, at night I experience occasional drop-outs during the evening that hinder my live transatlantic radio listening on my iPhone.

Unless your existing router has push-button WPS N connect functionality (mine doesn't), and while the instructions appear to be simple, the WN3000RP is cumbersome to set up.

Ordinarily for this type of device I would have expected to simply input the MAC address of the WN3000RP into the wireless station access list of my DG834N. If only it were that simple.

Only by labourious trial and error did I discover that the WN3000RP assigns 'Virtual' MAC addresses for each one of the individual devices you want accessible via the WN3000RN - and then you input those virtual MAC addresses into the wireless station access list of your router.

Once that was accomplished everything worked as I would have expected, but what a chore it was (!).

You might find that an Apple Airport Express is a much simpler alternative. Before my daughter 'borrowed' mine for university duties all that was required was to input the MAC address of the Airport Express into the wireless station access list on my DG834N.

 

[Red C220]

Interesting someone has posted this, I have the same issues in the evening and suffer drop out. I was about to ask the same advice.

So how does a range extender work? Is is effectively a "booster" and so the do what they say on the tin?

One more question, would it extend range beyond the confines of the house so it could work in my cabin/shed/office which is sited about 5 meters from the house itself?

 

[jefrs]

I had a Netgear that could easily connect to the Dell laptop in the garden without problems, range some 75 metres. Cannot remember model. Much depends on the transmitter in the device itself and whether it can boost its signal back to the wifi hub. It is not all down to the router.

Evening drop out is often due to cross-talk with neighbours, ensure you are using a empty channel, not all sitting on channel 6 (whatever).

 

[clegsr]

if you want to extend the range for a pc rather than a laptop I would recommend a powerline network device - they are plug and play and in my view more reliable than wifi, and probably cheaper

 

[spinaltap]

After two days usage I'm returning my Netgear WN3000RP back to Amazon for a refund as it doesn't operate as I would wish.

Say, for example, the name of your home network is Tan. When adding the WR300RP to the network you have to name it Tan_EXT. So, if the WN3000RP is at the other end of the house, each of your wireless devices has to log onto Tan_EXT.

The problem is, if you're wondering around the house with an iPad, for example, you might possibly fall outside the full broadcasting ability of the WR3000RP - but it would not automatically switch to your original Tan network.

I have Devolo homeplugs scattered around the house for fixed device purposes, such as network-capable freeview boxes, but the WN3000RP was intended for devices such as an iPad, iPhone and MacBookPro (where homeplugs aren't helpful).

This is why an Apple Airport Express is a much better proposition, as it does exactly what is required.

Even so, for the OP, I suggest setting the SuperHub in 'modem mode' and then buy one of the latest Netgear wireless routers with multiple antennae. Connect the two with 500Mb homeplugs and you're good to go.

 

[Sp!ke]

In my fathers house (which has 30" wide internal walls), I used a few home plug extenders to the main router and then attached a few TP link WA901ND routers into each of the home plug acccess points.

These are cheap as chips (under £30) and can be configured as range extenders or full on routers.

This gives full wireless coverage in every required room without too much cost.

unlike the linksys router, the TP links havn't needed a restart since I installed them.

 

[spinaltap]

While hunting around to discover when the Netgear DGND4000 will be released (mid June, btw) I discovered 60% off on Netgear homeplugs for this weekend only, if you're interested...

NETGEAR XAVB1301 Mini AV 200 Powerline HomePlug Adapter Kit

 

[spinaltap]

Here is a review from a Virgin customer that added the Apple Airport Extreme Base Station (works on both Mac and PC) to their SuperHub....

"Bought to give a decent wireless signal replacing that of the Virginmedia not super hub.

So good it became obvious that I was much better turning all the Superhub's features bar the cable modem off and use the Airport to manage our internet connection with.

Since I did this our connection has been faster and more reliable for both wired and wireless clients.

A great piece of kit that keeps running completely reliable, wish I had stumped up the cash ages ago instead of trying all the cheap ones first".

AirPort Extreme Base Station - Apple Store (UK)