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Improving WiFi reception Netgear genie R6100 WiFi Router AC1200 Dual Band
I'm trying to improve wireless WiFi transmission in my home: namely from the location of the Netgear 6100 dual-band router to another room, some 60+ feet away, which often has its door closed. I susp...
You've got several options. First thought though. You seemed very concerned that the door is blocking signal. Is it metal or foil lined? Wifi signals will pass through wood and plain sheetrock. It does affect the signal but not to the extent that concrete, metal, plaster lathe, hvac, foil lined insulation does. Is it just this room with issues? What is your housing material? Can you move the router to a more central location for better coverage? Sometimes it helps quite significantly to opimize your current setup before adding devices.
An extender could probably help. There's also the option of using a powerline device that has wifi built in.
In terms of recommending extenders, just go to netgears extender section and find one that matches halfway close to your router. That'd be what I do.
In terms of powerline, I'd probably look at the PLW1010. Seems fairly matching to your router and works well in my experience.
https://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/powerline/PLW1010.aspx
You've got several options. First thought though. You seemed very concerned that the door is blocking signal. Is it metal or foil lined? Wifi signals will pass through wood and plain sheetrock. It does affect the signal but not to the extent that concrete, metal, plaster lathe, hvac, foil lined insulation does. Is it just this room with issues? What is your housing material? Can you move the router to a more central location for better coverage? Sometimes it helps quite significantly to opimize your current setup before adding devices.
An extender could probably help. There's also the option of using a powerline device that has wifi built in.
In terms of recommending extenders, just go to netgears extender section and find one that matches halfway close to your router. That'd be what I do.
In terms of powerline, I'd probably look at the PLW1010. Seems fairly matching to your router and works well in my experience.
https://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/powerline/PLW1010.aspx
Thanks for the response.
Actually there are three doors involved: door nearest router has glass panes in wood frames; nearby is hollow-core door; finanally the door to the room where better reception is needed - also hollow core. Door material unknown, but I don't think it is metal.
When we open the door to the room where we want better reception, the reception generally gets better; so I assumed the door was a factor.
The path to the destination also goes through three other, open, rooms; but there are a couple of corners on the way.
Walls in house are plaster board.
We have only ever tried reception in one other room - the one nearest the desired destination. The reception in that room seems to be acceptable ... though we very rarely use computers in that room.
I don't think the existing router location can be easily changed - it's currently near my pc, and the cable modem. I think moving the router would require the reverse of my original idea, but cords to the router would have to go across open floor that would create a tripping hazard.
Until your response, I knew nothing of the existance of powerline devices. Such a thing sounds possible, though I am not sure just what it would require me to buy/install. Would it replace my existing router? Are such devices reliable? Do they experience interference from the electrical system itself or from other devices plugged into electrical outlets?
If I get a powerline device with WiFi built in; would that mean I plug that device into an electric outlet in the destination room, then the pc in that room would get wireless WiFi from that device ... which would be close to the pc and unimpeded by distance, walls, or doors?
How would I "match" extenders or powerline devices to my existing router. I've never tried anything like that.
Would it make any sense to get a powerline device with an extra outlet - assuming extra outlet is not too expensive? Which device is comparable to the PLW1010 but has an extra outlet?
[Do I have to click "Buy" to see the price of a device at the Netgear web site? Did "Comparison" but no prices displayed.]
Wow that was a lot. Good work.
Wifi signal can propagate through sheetrock (plasterboard) but does get attenuated the more it has to go through. If you have 3 doors, I'm assuming there's 3 walls as well. which is more for the signal to pass through. A booster might definitely help if placed properly but thats all said with a "might" as every house is different.
In terms of the powerline, it does have its pluses and minuses. It is sensitive to interference such as arc fault circuits, gfci circuits, noise in the wiring from high draw motors, cell phone chargers. For some, it works great. for me, it worked great on the same circuits or only going short distances (aka I couldn't go from one end of my house to the other without signal deterioration). It all comes down to your house and setup. When they do work, they're pretty much set and forget and work great. When they don't because of interference, its basically return the item type situation.
If you did buy something like that, the one end goes by the router and gets plugged in. the other basically goes wherever you want it (within reason, a good connection is key). And there is no "matching" to your router. They don't care what the router is, they basically just talk to powerline devices and transmit the signal between each other. You can add in devices as well if you find you want more powerline devices.
Thanks for the insights.
If I decide to go the extender route, how do I select an appropriate extender?