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Forum Discussion
Extender Woes…help!
Hi,
I've been using the R8000 for some time. I live in a 1200 sq ft two-story house with aluminum siding. Router is in center of house, first floor, on a high shelf - essentially in the center of the home in all three dimensions. Upstairs, signal is unstable - frequent drops. If you were to draw a straight line between router and location of unstable signal, it would like about 15 feet.
Enter EX7700. I chose this model because it says one of the 5GHz bands is dedicated backhaul. I have One WiFi and SmartConnect enabled. Devices use both bands and tech support told me this is normal, so dedicated backhaul seems fake. Devices on all three bands have unusually sluggish speeds - randomly. With two people working/schooling from home, it was clear that the addition of the EX7700 hurt our situation, rather than helping.
So, I figured I'd try Access Point mode for the EX7700. I ran a 50' CAT6 cable up the stairs and into the room with the issue. Reset the extender and configured. The app suggested the same SSID so I went with it. All seems fine, except I realized I now have two networks using same SSID. Internet research tell me this is fine as long as they use different channels. But, they don't. When I log into both devices in browser (because Nighthawk app just doesn't cut it when looking for detail), I see four frequencies listed for both 5GHz bands, and they are exactly the same on both devices.
My question is... is this normal? Are the two Nighthawk devices smart enough to know what I'm doing and are not interfering with each other, but working together in perfect harmony - the kind of harmony one typically only finds in storybooks - even though it's now in access point mode? OR, have I been lucky for a solid week in that my devices should be interfering with each other and I haven't noticed? I'm at a loss as to why AP mode seems more stable than using the darn mesh system the way it was supposedly designed.
Either way, it's only a matter of time before somebody dies from the CAT6 in the stairwell. This is why I need insight from someone smarter than me (and not a blowhard, please). It's a matter of life or death! :-)
8 Replies
Twrosen wrote:
Hi,
I've been using the R8000 for some time. I live in a 1200 sq ft two-story house with aluminum siding. Router is in center of house, first floor, on a high shelf - essentially in the center of the home in all three dimensions. ----a centrally located router should easiy cover a 1200sq ft home. What are your interior walls made of? What firmware is on the router? You put its been going on for a while. how long is a while? Upstairs, signal is unstable - frequent drops. If you were to draw a straight line between router and location of unstable signal, it would like about 15 feet.
Enter EX7700. I chose this model because it says one of the 5GHz bands is dedicated backhaul. I have One WiFi and SmartConnect enabled. Devices use both bands and tech support told me this is normal,----it does use the 5ghz as a dedicated backhaul. It also sets up the 2.4ghz as a backup connection in case your 5ghz goes down. so it'll show as connected. I usually disable this as I prefer it to ONLY be 5ghz. If the 5ghz drops, I like to know. so dedicated backhaul seems fake.---just misunderstood. Devices on all three bands have unusually sluggish speeds - randomly.----makes me curious if its all starting with your router. an extender/AP still needs a solid router to connect to. With two people working/schooling from home, it was clear that the addition of the EX7700 hurt our situation, rather than helping.
So, I figured I'd try Access Point mode for the EX7700. I ran a 50' CAT6 cable up the stairs and into the room with the issue. Reset the extender and configured.----you followed the setup guide for access point? The app suggested the same SSID so I went with it. All seems fine, except I realized I now have two networks using same SSID.---You can use the same ssid. basically how the "mesh functions" work but it has smart roaming protocols enabled. Internet research tell me this is fine as long as they use different channels. But, they don't.----you can change the AP's channels they're on. If its grayed out, it'd make me think you set it back up in extender mode and not AP mode. When I log into both devices in browser (because Nighthawk app just doesn't cut it when looking for detail), I see four frequencies listed for both 5GHz bands,----If its in AP mode, it should be showing 3x for the R8000 and 3x for the EX7700. and they are exactly the same on both devices.
My question is... is this normal? Are the two Nighthawk devices smart enough to know what I'm doing and are not interfering with each other, but working together in perfect harmony - the kind of harmony one typically only finds in storybooks - even though it's now in access point mode? OR, have I been lucky for a solid week in that my devices should be interfering with each other and I haven't noticed? I'm at a loss as to why AP mode seems more stable than using the darn mesh system the way it was supposedly designed.
Either way, it's only a matter of time before somebody dies from the CAT6 in the stairwell. This is why I need insight from someone smarter than me (and not a blowhard, please). It's a matter of life or death! :-)
What modem/gateway is the router connected to?
what firmware is on the router?
I'd start with trying to get your router stable. It should cover your home for that size.
And if the router isn't stable, the extender won't be. The extender relies on the router either through wireless backhaul or the wired access point mode. If the router's not stable, it'll create issues on the extender.
Thank you so much for your near-immediate response!
The walls are very hold, very hard Sheetrock. The kind you can barely put a nail into. The house is a kit house from 1915. I really do get the feeling that the router's issues are a result of the house construction. But, I agree - this router should handle this home (that's why I bought it). I can tell you that when I remove the extender from the setup, I never get 5GHz connection on devices in that upper room.
Here are a few screenshots with SSIDs and keys blurred out. They are all the same. You can see the firmware versions and what I mean when I say "four frequencies per channel that are the same between the two devices."
R8000:
R8000
EX7700 Home screen:
Home screen
EX7700 "Wireless" screen:
Ex7700Note that I was forced to connect to the extender's default WiFi in order to set it up - at all - but, yes, it is set up in AP mode. On the Connected Devices screen of the router, it shows "wired" devices that are actually connected wirelessly to the extender.
"hard sheetrock"?
Or do you mean plaster lathe?
If its the old school plaster lathe with the concrete mix over it, thats not good.
Reason why is the concrete/plaste mix is great at blocking wifi. Its also usually spread over a metal mesh. Which basically makes it a faraday cage.
Also, photos have to be approved by a moderator and it can take a while.
