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[tekton23]

Hi,

I am in a 1 bedroom flat in an old converted Victorian house. There are a few weak spots, despite this being a small property and I wondered if buying a 3rd party router for my fibre connection might help. We have the standard issue Plusnet router, having just joined Plusnet 2 months ago. We don't have a BT modem, the Plusnet router does it all, so do I need a router that is an all-in-one i.e. modem included.


My main concern is a good signal throughout the flat. It is frustrating that I can't add an aerial to improve the existing router. I have tried those plug-in boosters, but found they slowed down the connection overall.

I am looking for a router that is fairly simple to set-up with Plusnet, and under £100.

Thanks,
T23

[Dray]

Which standard-issue router do you have? Which plug-in boosters have you tried - wifi extenders or Homeplugs?

[loonylion]

separate devices would be better, as then the router could be sited independently of the modem (in a central location, ideally high up).

[tekton23]

Thanks for your replies....The Router is a Plusnet Hub One, the extenders I tried were Belkin N300. I did not like it at all, as although it increased the signal it caused connection issues on some devices (particularly the Powermac).

I now have TP-Link Powerlines set up which work very well and has cured issues with out wifi sound system. However, there is still a weak spot in the Living Room which I would like to cure and thought a router might be the best bet? I do need the modem and router to either be combined or very close to one another, as I can not run cables.

Perhaps I should just add a TP-Link Powerline Wifi Extender, I think they are available to work with the other powerlines I already have.

T23

[aesmith]

separate devices would be better, as then the router could be sited independently of the modem (in a central location, ideally high up).

I'd suggest an additional standalone wireless AP, wired connection to the Plusnet box if possible, set up with the same SSID and security but on different wireless channels.   

[tekton23]

hi,

Thanks, I went with TP-LINK TL-WPA4220KIT AV500 Powerline 300 M extenders. This cured the dead spot issue straight away, however it has created a new issue! I get a great connection speed throughout my flat now and connecting to the internet is no problem. However, where one device needs to connect to another on the same network, i.e. using my iPhone to control the Bose soundsystem, or sending a print from the laptop to the wifi printer, it fails. This only happens from the area with the extended TP-link network. For example if I go into the bedroom where the router is, I can still control the music and print fine, once the device pops back onto the original network. Frustrating!

T23

[tekton23]

I am at a bit of a loss here. I thought I had solved the issue with the powerline extenders. ...but no, this has caused other issues with the network printer now repeatdely dropping off or going offline on both the Apple Mac laptop and the Dell PC Laptop. I also can not send a scan from the printer to the computers, as I used to - it simply can not find either laptop.

The Bose music system also often drops its connection.

Should I be trying a better router here? Powerline extenders seem to cause IP issues, which is what I suspect the problem above is.

[aesmith]

The TP-Link adapters seem to want to default to 192.168.1.1, and don't seem to care if another device is already on that address.  What I found I had to do was manually set their IP addresses to my chosen values to keep them from trampling on my router which is also .1

[tekton23]

Thanks aesmith - I will try this.....would another option be to run an ethernet cable to the other room and install a wireless access point. Would this solve any ip clashes? Are there any that work best with the Plusnet router?

T23

[GigabitEthernet]

Use channels 1, 6 or 11

[tekton23]

Thanks - yes, I have tried different channels.

I am now thinking that I could run an ethernet cable and I'd like to know what to connect to the end of it? i.e. a wireless access point, or a bridge, or an antennae? What is the best option so that my network devices work seamlessly on both the current router and extended network, with no ip issues?