Help Me Buy a New Router or Wi-Fi Extender for nbn FTTP

MoonlapseVertigo on 17/01/2023 - 15:46
Last edited 19/01/2023 - 14:01 by 1 other user

Hey brains trust,

I have a Wi-Fi problem at home and wondering if anyone has experienced a similar issue, and how did you remedy the situation?

Description:

Double story 4 bedroom home where I have a home office upstairs. My NBN is FTTP and has been recently upgraded by ABB. I'm on the 1000/50 plan.

I have my TP-Link Archer C3150 router hooked directly from the NBN wall plate using a CAT6 cable. Router direct speeds are ~600Mbs.

When I use my laptop directly next to the router, my 2.4GHZ channel only get's to around ~90Mbs.
When i use my laptop in my office upstairs, my 2.4GHZ channel only get's to around ~30Mbs
When I use my laptop directly next to the router, my 5GHZ channel gets ~300MBs
When i use my laptop in my office upstairs, my 5GHZ (WHICH IS VERY UNRELIABLE with dropouts) get's ~200MBS

Now I'm aware my router is a little old and i'm thinking if i invest in a new Wifi6 enabled router, I might see improvement on the 2.4GHZ

OR i'm also thinking i should just buy a tp-link RE705X AX3000 Mesh WiFi 6 Extender

Both are the same cost, but concerned i spend on the extender and get the same issue. Maybe worth upgrading my router. But would Wifi6 show improvement in my wifi signal upstairs?

Thanks for your help!

UPDATE: Big thanks to all contributors here. I found out it was indeed WIFI interference causing the issue. I switched channels to a lesser occupied channel identified with wifi analyzer, and now my upstairs office is stable on 5GZ running >100mbs

Computing Broadband FTTP nbn Wireless Range Extender Wireless Router

Comments

  • Twix on 17/01/2023 - 15:58
    +2

    Don't bother with a Wi-Fi extender. Purchase a Wi-Fi 6 mesh system or new router with wireless access points installed on both levels and if you can get ethernet connected to each mesh satellite or wireless access point. Do you have ethernet wiring installed?

    You are unlikely to get much speed improvement over 2.4GHz. You will see an improvement in 5GHz and ethernet speed.

    • MoonlapseVertigo on 17/01/2023 - 16:05
      +1

      Thanks for this. If i go down the road of a mesh system, could i see improvement on the 2.4GHZ upstairs?

      Also, any recommendations for mesh systems?

      • Twix on 17/01/2023 - 16:09
        +2

        If the wallet allows and you don't have ethernet wiring you want a tri-band mesh system. If you have ethernet wiring you can get away with a dual-band mesh system. See my previous reply about 2.4GHz. You will want to use 5GHz everywhere you can.

        How much do you want to spend? What speeds over Wi-Fi are you looking for?

        • MoonlapseVertigo on 17/01/2023 - 16:20

          Ideally i'd see ~300mbs on my laptop as I'm always on work video calls etc.

          Happy to budget $200-$500 if it's going to be reliable and future proofed for 3 years

          thanks for your insight

          • Twix on 17/01/2023 - 16:46

            @MoonlapseVertigo: Noted. Do you have ethernet wiring installed into your rooms or no?

            • MoonlapseVertigo on 17/01/2023 - 16:46

              @Twix: No i'm afraid not.

              • Twix on 17/01/2023 - 17:18
                +1

                @MoonlapseVertigo: TP-Link Deco mesh systems come in packs of 2 and 3 and are mainly controlled on your phone. There is a limited web interface. Look at the TP-Link Deco X20 (Wi-Fi 6, dual-band) and TP-Link Deco X68 (Wi-Fi 6, tri-band).

                If you prefer a traditional web interface login and app for your phone get a pair of Asus RT-AX58U or Asus RT-AX3000 (Wi-Fi 6, dual-band) and configure them in Asus AiMesh.

                • HairyChickens on 17/01/2023 - 18:05

                  @Twix: Hey Twix what are you thoughts on powerline adapters

                  • Twix on 17/01/2023 - 18:38

                    @HairyChickens: Powerline has some use cases but it depends on your electrical wiring and doesn't always work. Don't you have a Netgear Orbi?

                    • HairyChickens on 17/01/2023 - 18:42
                      +1

                      @Twix: How do you still remember my Orbi lol. (Its still working great btw)

                      Nah I just watched Linus' video on powerline a couple of days ago and it seemed quite interesting.

                      • Twix on 17/01/2023 - 20:03

                        @HairyChickens: I'm surprised they used powerline when LTT has recently used much better Asus and Ubiquiti gear and have installed ethernet.

      • Morien on 17/01/2023 - 16:10
        +3

        You might have a lot of wireless interference in your house.

        Download this app (hoping you have an android) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=abdelrahman.wi…

        (If you don't have an android then you can do it from a computer, but you'll need to google a bit for a guide).

        Check with the app if you have wireless interference. Play with the channels. See if it helps.

        Edit: And to be clear, ultimately Twix's suggestion to you may be the best advice. Mine is just to help give you some more visibility of what is going wrong.

        • MoonlapseVertigo on 17/01/2023 - 16:21

          this is cool. It recommends channel 6 but then changes to channel 11. Must be my neighbours. I live in one of those newish suburbs where you can hear ur neighbours having s*x that's how close the houses are

        • MoonlapseVertigo on 19/01/2023 - 14:02

          Hey Morien,
          Thanks for your comment. I downloaded wifi analyzer and could clearly see interference on the channels i was using. Switched channels as recommended by the app, as well as the width, now my 5GHZ is reliable and fast everywhere

  • dasher86 on 17/01/2023 - 16:54
    +3

    Yes, it is probably worth the upgrade.
    You also probably don't need 300mbs just for video calls.
    I have a double storey 4 bedder and do just fine on 100/20 plan.

    I have the below - and it seems to do just fine, but I am lucky the NBN point in in the centre of the house, or else i would consider getting a third point.
    https://www.mi.com/global/product/xiaomi-mesh-system-ax3000/

    If you're willing to spend $500 just go with a brand name mesh system.

    • MoonlapseVertigo on 17/01/2023 - 16:58

      Agree - i find i need at least 50mbs for my large scale teams calls not to have any lag. Mind you, there are sometimes 40+ people in the meetings.

      So if i can get anything close to 100mbs on my lappy upstairs that would be ideal

      • ShortyX on 17/01/2023 - 17:23
        +3

        https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/prepare-net…

        You'll only need 4 up/down for best performance on Teams.

      • rummage on 17/01/2023 - 20:30
        +2

        You won’t need anything like that, but you’re probably seeing your bandwidth as a proxy for reliability. When your connection to the router is that slow it’s probably more that it’s dropping a lot of packets or getting a lot of interference. A solid reliable 10mpbs is probably ok while a ‘sometimes’ 1000mpbs would be awful.

        You could just have one or two devices on your network or nearby that are screaming noisily knocking everything off the network momentarily.

        A grade solution = replace your router and hardwire your laptop to the new one (there are plenty of cheap USB network cards that will work a million times better than the best wireless solution. Wire in an additional access point elsewhere.

        B grade solution = replace your router with a new mesh router system. Try experimenting with placement.

        Do not bother trying to extend a router that might be the problem itself. Wired is the only solution resistant to interference that you might not be able to control if you have nearby neighbors or concrete/steel in your walls etc.

  • randomusername2017 on 17/01/2023 - 17:09

    How are you measuring the speed of each connection?

    • MoonlapseVertigo on 17/01/2023 - 17:11

      for the router direct from NBN wall plate - from the tplink admin site

      for the laptop - via the speed test ookla

      My laptop does not have ethernet so can't plug directly into wall plate

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