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Re: Need pretty basic advise prior to purchase

PS54
Aspirant

Need pretty basic advise prior to purchase

Hi. Until recently, I've always had a modem plugged into a phone outlet for internet access.  I recently rented an apartment on the 3rd floor of a large house in a very rural area.  The Owner told me I would have WiFi prior to my move.  NetGear is her service provider, the modem or router or whatever Netgear provides is down on the main floor in one of several bedrooms.  I get spotty coverage upstairs in this room but appear to be the only one up here who has a problem (or a computer).  I am happy to purchase a Range Extender or whatever I need.  One of my problems is that my E Printer keeps repeating a message to move it closer to the modem .. I disconnected the E Print feature temporarily as I could not use the printer at all.  I need to be able to use the fax machine in it.  Question is, will the N300 Universal or the N300 Essentials Edition solve my problems?  I usually get from 2 - 4 bars but sometimes cannot connect without issue to the Internet.  I am also considering accepting the "free upgrade" to Windows10 and don't know what difference that might make.  There is an overwhelming amount of information available online, but I am a true novice so it's pretty much greek to me. The Homeowner is elderly and gets very upset/cranky when I bring up technical issues, as she doesn't know the answers either.  Perhaps the easiest thing would be to call NetGear.  They should know the layout and what kind of equipment they have here, right?  Are there any simple answers?

I don't want to buy something only to find out it isn't what I needed..  Thanks alot for any help!  Patty (PS54)

 

Message 1 of 4
Babylon5
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Need pretty basic advise prior to purchase

Are you really sure that Netgear is the ISP? I suspect it’s more likely that the base router used in the building is a Netgear device. Your IP address traces to an ISP called ‘Viasat’.

 

Anyway, you might find that repeating is difficult and will probably result in a disappointing throughput. For this to work reasonably well the device would need to be placed close enough to the base station such that it picks up a good signal, and also close enough to the remote clients (you) so that the received signal is good. Where the issue is over several floors of a building this can be difficult to achieve.

 

I would recommend that you consider Powerline products, for this to work you would need to check that there is an available Ethernet LAN port available, hopefully at the base router. This uses the house mains supply wiring to transmit data over the wires, and providing that the power socket on the third floor is on the same phase as the power socket near the router you should be OK.

 

http://www.netgear.co.uk/home/products/networking/powerline/XWNB5201.aspx

Message 2 of 4
PS54
Aspirant

Re: Need pretty basic advise prior to purchase

Hi Again.  Geez.  I only get email sometimes so sorry for the slow response.  I decided to try the Powerline Product, unfortunately it won't work here because there is no place downstairs to plug it in.  The homeowner is waaay maxed out on power outlets, all of her several strips are full and she is not patient.  So, I am returning it and bought instead an extender, which arrived today (on schedule from Amazon).  She was nice enough to let me unplug a strip and I plugged the extender in near the modem.  It did what the instructions said it would, blinked green etc.  I took it upstairs and plugged it in at the nearest outlet (on the stairs) to where her computer & Dish Network stuff is.  It makes no difference, and I get an "Oops" message when I try to go to the wifiextender site.  I am on one bar right now so will prbably cut out anytime.  Maybe I'm just screwed here .. I don't have a clue and really hope I don't have to go back downstairs again.  Any suggestions before I return this thing too?

Thanks,

Patty

The biggest prblem is that I signed up for a course online and I cannot get anything but a circling thing in them middle of the screen and voice cut out which makes that also impossible.

Message 3 of 4
Babylon5
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Need pretty basic advise prior to purchase

The ‘Oops’ message that you see is an Internet site owned and run by Netgear, so for you to see that message means two things, 1) your computer has Internet access, 2) that internet access is not via the Extender.

 

You need to double check that the WiFi client software on your PC is properly associated with the Extender WiFi signal and not the Base Station or some other WiFi connection to the Internet.

Message 4 of 4
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