[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I have to apply for a new ACT connection anyway. Maybe will wait and trial it out if they give this TENDA router and then decide if I need a mesh network.

Red Liner, I also have a longstanding ACT connection and had bought this very router from Amazon. Unfortunately, it did not provide the required strength beyond the same floor it was on. The thick walls in my villa were potentially to blame even after trying out various locations.

A mesh router combo may be inevitable.

[Thad E Ginathom]

It shouldn't be forgotten that there is no absolute "square-footage" cover for a wifi router --- unless it is measured in the middle of an open space. Even a modest in-the-house estimate might assume that our routers are in the centre, whereas most of us probably have our modem/router at the side, if not in a corner, of our houses.

Walls very much depend on how many, what they are made of, etc. Even the angle of the line between devices can turn a four inch wall into a lot of brick.

I need an ethernet cable between my main router and it's mesh mate, even though there is only a ceiling/terrace/floor between them.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

This one is not WiFi 6 , I think you mentioned WiFi 6 adapter. With recent adapters, even 2.4 GHz will be faster then 5 GHz on this adapter (433 mbps is theoretical max @ 5GHz on this one).

My bad, you are right its Wifi 5(802.11AC), got confused with another AX router that I have. The 433mbps is a technical max i.e. you will achieve it on 5Ghz AC channel.

But in the case of wifi 4 N-routers, you can only achieve its technical max if you are in a secluded house with no neighbors around . With all the channel interference and overlaps in a city environment, you would be lucky to get through beyond 50Mbps speeds.

Originally Posted by Sebring

I got the amazing Tenda router with ACT. Range is the best (covers 2,500 Sq Ft...nook and corners...through walls etc), so is speed. Airtel gives some junk

This is Tenda AC10 will max out at 867Mbps on AC. Although its provided by ACT. If one has to buy himself, I would suggest buying at least AC2100 Dual Band router. This will take care of Giga speeds on Wifi 5 (AC), Wifi 6 routers are currently expensive to procure.

[Sebring]

Dual Band indeed. As per ACT technician, you cant buy this outside since the fiber optic wire goes in directly. I wanted to install a gaming router costing 25K. But this had that additional aperture. Speed is fine with me

Originally Posted by dadu

This is Tenda AC10 will max out at 867Mbps on AC. Although its provided by ACT. If one has to buy himself, I would suggest buying at least AC2100 Dual Band router. This will take care of Giga speeds on Wifi 5 (AC), Wifi 6 routers are currently expensive to procure.

[vsrivatsa]

I started using an RE-505X Wifi 6 Range Extender to work with my TP Link AX-50 and seems very powerful. Unfortunately the AX-50 does not support OneMesh and so have to use this as a Range Extender only.

Did a comparison with a older Range Extender from TP-Link and was blown away by the speed difference. Of course the older one was 2.4 G only but even then it struggled to provide 25 mbps also from a 300 mbps source connection:

Must say, the newer Ranger Extenders have come a long way...

TP Link RE505X vs TL-WA850RE Speed Test

[itwasntme]

I have a Tenda AC10 AC1200 wireless router on the first floor but need to augment the network strength on the ground floor.

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wired LAN is not a possibility so is the choice restricted to a wireless repeater only? Again, I need both 2.4 & 5 bands as I have a bunch of older devices connected to this. Budget as low as possible as this is my secondary network.

Any thoughts will be deeply appreciated!

[funda2max]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

I have a Tenda AC10 AC1200 wireless router on the first floor but need to augment the network strength on the ground floor.

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wired LAN is not a possibility so is the choice restricted to a wireless repeater only? Again, I need both 2.4 & 5 bands as I have a bunch of older devices connected to this. Budget as low as possible as this is my secondary network.

Any thoughts will be deeply appreciated!

Have you tried mesh network? They are very effective in multistorey buildings. If not, you can try TP-Link AC2600 which provides very strong 2.4Ghz and 5 Ghz speeds https://www.amazon.in/TP-Link-Archer...s%2C294&sr=8-4

[hrman]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Dual Band indeed. As per ACT technician, you cant buy this outside since the fiber optic wire goes in directly. I wanted to install a gaming router costing 25K. But this had that additional aperture. Speed is fine with me

ACT provides Cat5/6 cable directly from the junction box to your home. This is for speeds below 350 mbps IIRC. If this is the case, I think any router can be connected directly. For higher speed/ Giga connections, probably what he is saying is true.

[JMaruru]

I have my home router(777VR1) setup on the first floor which is cut open to the ground floor(double height) and I barely get some signals on the rear part of the ground floor.

Now, I have an additional router of the same type(777VR1) and so would like to know whether I can configure this to be a wireless repeater and place it somewhere in the rear ground floor? If so, could you please provide me some steps for the same?

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

I have my home router(777VR1) setup on the first floor which is cut open to the ground floor(double height) and I barely get some signals on the rear part of the ground floor.

Now, I have an additional router of the same type(777VR1) and so would like to know whether I can configure this to be a wireless repeater and place it somewhere in the rear ground floor? If so, could you please provide me some steps for the same?

Yes, you can use that as repeater.

https://setuprouter.com/router/beetel/777vr1/wifi.htm

Check this link for some configuration screen shots.

[s4ch]

One for the experts

I have an Airtel 300Mbps fibre connection. Struggling to make this work well with my Orbi RBK40 Mesh system. Everything works great at 300Mbps+ speed when I:

1. Connect to the ISP router via WiFi (although the range is rubbish, hence why I want to use the mesh)
2. Connect to the ISP router via Ethernet
3. Connect my Orbi Mesh system via Ethernet to the ISP router and then connect my laptop to the Orbi via Ethernet as well

The WiFi on the ISP router is off, my Orbi is in AP mode (no routing functions), and yet when I connect via WiFi to the Orbi I get a maximum of 70Mbps if I am sitting right next to it, which drops to 20Mbps when I connect via a satelite 15m away in the next room. I have reset the Orbi multiple times, checked all settings I could think of, and just am not able to work out the reason for why the drastic drop in speed. If anything I would have thought the speed should have been similar to what I would get on WiFi with the ISP's router.

If anyone can please HELP I would really owe you, as I'm literally pulling out the last hair on my head doing this.

Thanks!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by s4ch

The WiFi on the ISP router is off, my Orbi is in AP mode (no routing functions), and yet when I connect via WiFi to the Orbi I get a maximum of 70Mbps if I am sitting right next to it, which drops to 20Mbps when I connect via a satelite 15m away in the next room.

Did you enable both bands 2.4 and 5.2? That may be one reason probably.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by s4ch

when I connect via WiFi to the Orbi I get a maximum of 70Mbps if I am sitting right next to it, which drops to 20Mbps when I connect via a satelite 15m away in the next room.

I think you have done most of the troubleshooting. Since you do get 300 mbps when laptop is connected to Orbi via ethernet, we can rule out settings related to routing such as NAT , bridge mode (lack of) etc.

Few things you can try :

1. Turn off the satellite
2. Turn off 2.4 GHz band in Orbi
3. Test speed next to router

If that shows any improvements, we can tweak WiFi settings.

[s4ch]

Originally Posted by ampere

Did you enable both bands 2.4 and 5.2? That may be one reason probably.

Yes both are enabled, the Orbi uses a combined SSID for both bands and is supposed to "intelligently" put your device on the best band. However I noted that almost all devices were defaulting to 2.4Ghz even when in the same room as the router.

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Few things you can try :

1. Turn off the satellite
2. Turn off 2.4 GHz band in Orbi
3. Test speed next to router

If that shows any improvements, we can tweak WiFi settings.

Turned off the satellite, turned off 2.4Ghz on the router and speeds dropped further to 10Mbps, even when right next to the router.

I managed to get my hands on another Netgear Orbi RBK40 + satellite combo (exactly the same as I had), as I thought it could be a firmware issue. The test Orbi router had an older firmware and it worked great, 350Mbps+ in the same room, but still only 50Mbps in the office where the satellite was. At this time I was using the test router (on older firmware) but my satellite on the latest firmware. Updated the router firmware to the latest and it still worked perfectly. So I was sure now that my router was not working properly, most likely the 5Ghz antenna had gone doolaalee.

However, I was still not getting good speeds in the office with my satellite. So swapped out the satellite with the test one and lo and behold, finally getting 250-300Mbps in the Office where the satellite was. So, it seems that both my router and satellite combo were acting funny. For the first few months when I bought them, they were connected directly to mains power with a spike buster, after which I did change to a UPS for both. Wonder if a power fluctuation when they were direct on mains power could have caused both devices 5Ghz bands to stop working properly? I previously had a 100Mbps connection only so probably didn't notice the slowdown anyway.

Well the saga continues. Contacted Netgear support, they ran through some very basic support questions, nothing obviously worked. They are all WFH but use a VOIP system for work calls that is so pathetic that there was a 3-4 second delay from me speaking and them hearing me, and vice versa. Anyway they said to send a copy of my invoice and they will get back to me with a replacement. The invoice clearly says 2 years national warranty, which ends in March 2022 (bought in March 2020). However, they came back to me a day later saying warranty ended in March 2021 (1 year warranty) and the case is closed!

Absolutely fuming, I called up Flipkart, who I had bought it from in the first place. They have a complaints process specifically for when manufacturers deny warranty, took all my details and promised a resolution by October 8th.

So let's see what happens! I am honestly just really happy that it is a hardware issue and not just me! I was going mad trying to fix it, when in reality it should almost be plug and play.

So now I have a borrowed Orbi system I am using but will eventually need to get my own (or hope I get a replacement for my original one). Any suggestions on a no nonsense, no hassle, reliable setup? Something with no software bugs, works well out of the box, and could cover a 2000 sq ft apartment? I will most likely upgrade my internet to 1Gbps next month so something that can at least work with this (at least 500Mbps+ throughout the apartment).

Thanks for listening to my rant!

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by s4ch

a no nonsense, no hassle, reliable setup? Something with no software bugs, works well out of the box, and could cover a 2000 sq ft apartment? I will most likely upgrade my internet to 1Gbps next month...at least 500Mbps+ throughout the apartment!

Is it possible to run a cable between main router and satellite ? In most cases, electrician should be able to pull the cable through existing telecom conduits (such as intercom / old telephone line / cable TV).

I am using such a setup , and get ~700 mbps with main router + two repeaters that are connected via cable to main router.

With cable, quite a few options become available.