* * Boosting WiFi signal

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Assassin
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10:37a, 9/20/18
Boosting WiFi signal.

I'm in a 4000 sq ft, 102 year old house in Dallas. I have a great signal coming into the house from Spectrum, 400 mg. Get triple digits downstairs.

However most of my devices are upstairs. I have an Netgear 200 extender that picks up the signal but keeps losing it. Gives me both 2 and 5 g signals

I can go downstairs, reboot the router and modem and get a great signal - just did and got 62.36m upstairs. But I could lose that in seconds. Or it could stay up for hours.

I cant move the downstairs router/modem as the owner is pretty specific about that.

Lots of heavy brick and old plaster walls (Swiss Ave historic home)

Never lived in a house this big or this old.

Any suggestions on boosting/maintaining the signal upstairs?
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william
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11:14a, 9/20/18
reynolds wrap. the double wrap kind.

accept no gimmicky substitutes!

BUT put the shiny side pacing inwards, towards the skull.

and have a 5 inch twisted prong - no more, no less - pointing upwards from the apex of the skull,

- KKM

{ sipping coffee }

{ eating donut }
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william
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11:51a, 9/20/18
.... or is it, outward?

from the skull.

- The Sage
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Mr Tulip
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12:48p, 9/20/18
Unfortunately, there's no blanket answer to your question.

Especially in a house the size and age you describe, anything is possible. Wall construction, covering (I had a guy with metallic copper inlaid wallpaper that basically built a Faraday cage over each room), pipes, and the general voodoo of the place can really wreak havoc on a wireless signal. It's just too unpredictable without a site survey.

Your booster idea is really the best straightforward solution. Try moving it around and see if it can amplify to a better place (I'm assuming it's one of those plug-in things that go in a wall outlet). The next step would be to change out wi-fi access point units with higher end beam-forming gizmos and other stuff. It sounds like the base unit is under someone else's control, though, and may not be an option.
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Forest Bueller
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1:30p, 9/20/18
I will add, some awesome homes over on Swiss Ave in Dallas.
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Assassin
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In reply to Mr Tulip • 2:26p, 9/20/18
Mr Tulip said:
Unfortunately, there's no blanket answer to your question.

Especially in a house the size and age you describe, anything is possible. Wall construction, covering (I had a guy with metallic copper inlaid wallpaper that basically built a Faraday cage over each room), pipes, and the general voodoo of the place can really wreak havoc on a wireless signal. It's just too unpredictable without a site survey.

Your booster idea is really the best straightforward solution. Try moving it around and see if it can amplify to a better place (I'm assuming it's one of those plug-in things that go in a wall outlet). The next step would be to change out wi-fi access point units with higher end beam-forming gizmos and other stuff. It sounds like the base unit is under someone else's control, though, and may not be an option.
https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-AC1200-Range-Extender-EX6150-100NAS/dp/B00R92CLCW
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Assassin
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2:32p, 9/20/18
anyone have any experience with Mesh system? Thinking with the age and topography of this place, that might have been a better solution:

https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/350795/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems
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Assassin
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In reply to Forest Bueller • 2:33p, 9/20/18
Forest Bueller said:
I will add, some awesome homes over on Swiss Ave in Dallas.
I'm smack dab in the middle of them. Cool old house, needs a ton of work but the bones are magnificent
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Stranger
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8:32a, 9/21/18
Move.
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Assassin
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In reply to Stranger • 8:46a, 9/21/18
Stranger said:
Move.
tried that. Moved from the west side of my room to the northside of it. Little difference.
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Mr Tulip
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In reply to Assassin • 10:26a, 9/21/18
Assassin said:
Mr Tulip said:
Unfortunately, there's no blanket answer to your question.

Especially in a house the size and age you describe, anything is possible. Wall construction, covering (I had a guy with metallic copper inlaid wallpaper that basically built a Faraday cage over each room), pipes, and the general voodoo of the place can really wreak havoc on a wireless signal. It's just too unpredictable without a site survey.

Your booster idea is really the best straightforward solution. Try moving it around and see if it can amplify to a better place (I'm assuming it's one of those plug-in things that go in a wall outlet). The next step would be to change out wi-fi access point units with higher end beam-forming gizmos and other stuff. It sounds like the base unit is under someone else's control, though, and may not be an option.
https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-AC1200-Range-Extender-EX6150-100NAS/dp/B00R92CLCW
That's a perfectly adequate booster unit. You might try moving its location around the house. Hopefully, if it boosts at the end of the base wi-fi signal (wi-fi isn't conditional, you either get a perfectly usable signal or you get nothing) to see if a different location will help get the signal where you want it.

Mesh units would probably help. However, they're sort of analogous to a whole bunch of your booster units working in sync. Proper placement is still essential to getting the mesh effect - and thereby covering the place in wi-fi.
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Stranger
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In reply to Assassin • 11:16a, 9/21/18
Assassin said:
Stranger said:
Move.
tried that. Moved from the west side of my room to the northside of it. Little difference.

Move out?
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Assassin
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In reply to Mr Tulip • 2:38p, 9/21/18
Mr Tulip said:
Assassin said:
Mr Tulip said:
Unfortunately, there's no blanket answer to your question.

Especially in a house the size and age you describe, anything is possible. Wall construction, covering (I had a guy with metallic copper inlaid wallpaper that basically built a Faraday cage over each room), pipes, and the general voodoo of the place can really wreak havoc on a wireless signal. It's just too unpredictable without a site survey.

Your booster idea is really the best straightforward solution. Try moving it around and see if it can amplify to a better place (I'm assuming it's one of those plug-in things that go in a wall outlet). The next step would be to change out wi-fi access point units with higher end beam-forming gizmos and other stuff. It sounds like the base unit is under someone else's control, though, and may not be an option.
https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-AC1200-Range-Extender-EX6150-100NAS/dp/B00R92CLCW
That's a perfectly adequate booster unit. You might try moving its location around the house. Hopefully, if it boosts at the end of the base wi-fi signal (wi-fi isn't conditional, you either get a perfectly usable signal or you get nothing) to see if a different location will help get the signal where you want it.

Mesh units would probably help. However, they're sort of analogous to a whole bunch of your booster units working in sync. Proper placement is still essential to getting the mesh effect - and thereby covering the place in wi-fi.
Unfortunately its a hit and a miss. Too many nooks and crannies in this old place.
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Assassin
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In reply to Stranger • 2:38p, 9/21/18
Stranger said:
Assassin said:
Stranger said:
Move.
tried that. Moved from the west side of my room to the northside of it. Little difference.

Move out?
why would I do that when I just moved in
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Stranger
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In reply to Assassin • 3:12p, 9/21/18
Assassin said:
Stranger said:
Assassin said:
Stranger said:
Move.
tried that. Moved from the west side of my room to the northside of it. Little difference.

Move out?
why would I do that when I just moved in


Hi, Fred, this is Richard, next door. I've got a confession to make. I've been riddled with guilt for a few months and have been trying to get up the courage to tell you face-to-face. At least I'm telling you in this text and I can't live with myself a minute longer without you knowing about this. The truth is that when you're not around I've been sharing your wife, day and night. In fact, probably much more than you. I haven't been getting it at home recently and I know that that's no excuse. The temptation was just too great. I can't live with the guilt and hope you'll accept my sincere apology and forgive me. Please suggest a fee for usage and I'll pay you. Regards, Rich.

Neighbor's response:
Fred, feeling so angered and betrayed, grabbed his gun and shot Richard, killing him. He went back home and poured himself a stiff drink and sat down on the sofa. Fred then looked at his phone and discovered a second text message from Richard.

Second text message:
Hi, Fred. Richard here again. Sorry about the typo on my last text. I expect you figured it out and noticed that the damned Auto-Correct had changed "wi-fi" to "wife." Technology, huh? It'll be the death of us all. Regards, Richard .
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Assassin
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In reply to Stranger • 3:33p, 9/21/18
Stranger said:
Assassin said:
Stranger said:
Assassin said:
Stranger said:
Move.
tried that. Moved from the west side of my room to the northside of it. Little difference.

Move out?
why would I do that when I just moved in


Hi, Fred, this is Richard, next door. I've got a confession to make. I've been riddled with guilt for a few months and have been trying to get up the courage to tell you face-to-face. At least I'm telling you in this text and I can't live with myself a minute longer without you knowing about this. The truth is that when you're not around I've been sharing your wife, day and night. In fact, probably much more than you. I haven't been getting it at home recently and I know that that's no excuse. The temptation was just too great. I can't live with the guilt and hope you'll accept my sincere apology and forgive me. Please suggest a fee for usage and I'll pay you. Regards, Rich.

Neighbor's response:
Fred, feeling so angered and betrayed, grabbed his gun and shot Richard, killing him. He went back home and poured himself a stiff drink and sat down on the sofa. Fred then looked at his phone and discovered a second text message from Richard.

Second text message:
Hi, Fred. Richard here again. Sorry about the typo on my last text. I expect you figured it out and noticed that the damned Auto-Correct had changed "wi-fi" to "wife." Technology, huh? It'll be the death of us all. Regards, Richard .
Sorry Richard, didnt see your note
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transmit5by9
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In reply to Assassin • 5:43p, 9/21/18
It might be worth your while to download a wifi analyzer on your phone (I use WiFi Monitor since it's free) to determine how many of your neighbors have their router transmitting on the same channel as yourself. On this app you simply go to the "channels" page, and all the routers in range will be represented on a graph. Any overlapping yours could potentially be slowing things down.

Changing your router to another channel to avoid the overlap could mean calling tech support, and I'm sure that could be a whole 'nuther nightmare. YMMV.

Good luck,
Trans
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Assassin
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In reply to transmit5by9 • 5:49p, 9/21/18
transmit5by9 said:
It might be worth your while to download a wifi analyzer on your phone (I use WiFi Monitor since it's free) to determine how many of your neighbors have their router transmitting on the same channel as yourself. On this app you simply go to the "channels" page, and all the routers in range will be represented on a graph. Any overlapping yours could potentially be slowing things down.

Changing your router to another channel to avoid the overlap could mean calling tech support, and I'm sure that could be a whole 'nuther nightmare. YMMV.

Good luck,
Trans
thanks. Actually had that idea, have that app on my phone. And flipped through the channels when we had ATT. Just got Spectrum with 400m so havent messed with that yet
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transmit5by9
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In reply to transmit5by9 • 5:50p, 9/21/18
If you have a laptop with ethernet, you should plug it into the router to determint how much download speed you're actually getting. I can plug my spare Chromebook into my Spectrum router, and instead of the promoted 400 mbps, I only get around 225 mbps.

I'd call someone to complain, but I'm too lazy. Life's too short.
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Assassin
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In reply to transmit5by9 • 6:29p, 9/21/18
transmit5by9 said:
If you have a laptop with ethernet, you should plug it into the router to determint how much download speed you're actually getting. I can plug my spare Chromebook into my Spectrum router, and instead of the promoted 400 mbps, I only get around 225 mbps.

I'd call someone to complain, but I'm too lazy. Life's too short.
spectrum has someone coming by on Monday AM. will check it out
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Keyser Soze
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6:41p, 9/21/18
Google Wi-fi mesh system

great wifi has been an obsession with me and this is the best I have see. Orbi may be good too, but I like the great number of access points in the google system
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Assassin
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In reply to Keyser Soze • 6:52p, 9/21/18
Keyser Soze said:
Google Wi-fi mesh system

great wifi has been an obsession with me and this is the best I have see. Orbi may be good too, but I like the great number of access points in the google system
I was just reading about it.
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Dia del DougO
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6:59p, 9/21/18
I tried a couple of range extenders but what really worked best was switching from a standard Netgear to a Nighthawk long range router. It's pretty awesome. And you can still ad an extender. Some even come packaged with one, but the one I got the extender was really unnecessary and caused more complications than solving the problem.

People get confused by the extenders and tend to use them wrong. They place them too close to the spot they want to reach instead of in between. They think because they are getting great signal strength from the extender they should be getting better internets. But the extender is in a bad place for receiving and sending. If you're extending a weak signal it's not that effective.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."
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william
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7:42p, 9/21/18
a little mood music while you tinker and calibrate........

.... get both spheres working.

- BUmma



I used to jog up and down swiss. BITD.

BID.

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Illinois Bear2
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1:56p, 9/24/18
I hate Netgear. Get this Linksys wireless router instead.

https://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Max-Stream-MU-MIMO-Tri-Band-EA9300/dp/B071DKY952/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1537815296&sr=8-1&keywords=linksys+wireless+router+ea9300
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Dia del DougO
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1:59p, 9/24/18
Stay away from Belkin. Linksys is OK. Netgear has always been better and more trouble free for me.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."
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Mr Tulip
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3:55p, 9/24/18
Well, yeah. I use Ubiquiti's Unifi Access Points and an ERLITE-3 edge router. However, if you're comfortable setting those up, you probably aren't reading this post.

https://www.ubnt.com/products/#default
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Assassin
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4:29p, 9/24/18
Since I am looking, I use IP Vanish. Any experience using a flash router that you can embed it at that point instead of per computer or laptop?
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Mr Tulip
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4:53p, 9/24/18
This is where the network nerd in me tends to get a little wordy.

In my experience, it's no good to route all your home (or office) network traffic through a VPN. Location based services tend to get thrown off (or shut down) when things don't line up, or change frequently. Therefore, in order to run any type of VPN service on an actual network level device like a router would require multiple interfaces and subnetting voodoo. Essentially, certain computers and devices work on one network over the VPN while others work on a separately maintained network that's not VPN'ed.

That isn't trivial to do. Add in the performance hit of doing IPSec type crypto on your router, and you're really deep into the nerditry. I have friends that do exactly this, but they're guys who build enterprise networks for a living.

I myself cannot justify the complexity of such an arrangement. I run PureVPN on a few devices sporadically just to let the signature be seen. A constant on VPN connection would quickly lose its security value.
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Assassin
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In reply to Mr Tulip • 5:44p, 9/24/18
Mr Tulip said:
This is where the network nerd in me tends to get a little wordy.

In my experience, it's no good to route all your home (or office) network traffic through a VPN. Location based services tend to get thrown off (or shut down) when things don't line up, or change frequently. Therefore, in order to run any type of VPN service on an actual network level device like a router would require multiple interfaces and subnetting voodoo. Essentially, certain computers and devices work on one network over the VPN while others work on a separately maintained network that's not VPN'ed.

That isn't trivial to do. Add in the performance hit of doing IPSec type crypto on your router, and you're really deep into the nerditry. I have friends that do exactly this, but they're guys who build enterprise networks for a living.

I myself cannot justify the complexity of such an arrangement. I run PureVPN on a few devices sporadically just to let the signature be seen. A constant on VPN connection would quickly lose its security value.
that makes sense. didnt consider that part

and I hate subnetting...
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BaylorGrad&Dad
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9:16p, 9/24/18
Assassin, are you back in Dallas? I thought you moved to Waco?
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Assassin
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In reply to BaylorGrad&Dad • 8:46a, 9/25/18
BaylorGrad&Dad said:
Assassin, are you back in Dallas? I thought you moved to Waco?
Yes, back in Dallas. Yes, I had moved to Waco. And then back to Dallas.

I set up a non-profit for Dallas historical. Had to be in Dallas county for several reasons. So here I am!

our FB page - still working on the web page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MemoriesofDallas/
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Illinois Bear2
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In reply to Dia del DougO • 6:37p, 9/25/18
Dia del DougO said:
Stay away from Belkin. Linksys is OK. Netgear has always been better and more trouble free for me.
Wish I could say the same!
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Assassin
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11:38p, 9/25/18
The Spectrum guy told me just to get a second extender. Would do the same thing as better router or mesh. Certainly cheaper
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Keyser Soze
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In reply to Assassin • 6:24a, 9/26/18
Extenders definitely don't do the same as mesh.. Mesh does not have the lag an extender will have. If you move around, your device stays connected to whichever access point you started out with with extenders - mesh will seamlessly switch to the closest unit.

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