[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by carboy

TL-WR845N which the Amazon caption says has "three 5dBi high gain Antennas" ....
How much more reach would this get as compared to my current router? Will it be like 10% more 50% or 100% or what? Is there a way to figure this out before buying it?

This router will provide marginal improvement over existing router (unless existing router is v1 / v2 .. I.e. very old version.TL-WR841N is on V14 at the moment). Reason : Both have same 2T+2R radio. Don't think 3rd antenna is doing anything.

TL-WR845N is a good buy anyway.

It has a repeater mode, so you can use it to extend existing router , even if it does not provide additional range by itself.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

This router will provide marginal improvement over existing router (unless existing router is v1 / v2 .. I.e. very old version.

I bought it in 2015. The 192.0.0.1 page shows
Hardware Version: WR841N v10 00000000

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

TL-WR845N is a good buy anyway.
It has a repeater mode, so you can use it to extend existing router , even if it does not provide additional range by itself.

I already have a netgear extender. I am not happy with it :-(

My older TP-link is still working though one antenna has broken off. However, even when both antenna's were there, it would still not reach all corners.

I am looking for a new (TP-Link only) Router which would give me a few more feet of reach, so that I don't need the extender. If this 2nd TP-Link can't give that much improvement, then which is the cheapest TP-Link which will give an improvement?

I am TP-Link fan for life. It's gone fine from 2015 on even after getting soaked after water went in the modem a few times. I didn't even have to dry it - it just continued working. And inspite of running 24x7x365, it has never ever given even the slightest problem. Even the antenna breaking was my fault.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by carboy

However, even when both antenna's were there, it would still not reach all corners.

Based on the layout of apartment / house; a better router might reach all corners (with some drop in speed at certain spots).

Can you post a rough layout of house and placement of router.

EDIT : Radio details of routers. Radio seems identical (2T 2R MIMO) :

https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/TP-LINK_TL-WR841N_v10.x
https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/TP-LINK_TL-WR845N_v3.x

[carboy]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Can you post a rough layout of house and placement of router.

Above is a rough layout of the relevant parts. One side of the bed gets good reception & the other side doesn't. It's a Mumbai flat, so you know the corridor isn't really that large. in

Also, in the bad part, my older laptop used to get a decent signal & my phone still gets a decent signal.
However, one of my laptops which has a Qualcomm wireless card (which has a reputation of not being so good) doesn't get a good signal. Someone suggested using a USB wireless card on the laptop but since I already am planning to buy a new router (because of the broken antenna), my first preference is a better router.

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

EDIT : Radio details of routers. Radio seems identical (2T 2R MIMO) :

Do you know which other TP-Link model will give me a better reach?

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by carboy

Above is a rough layout of the relevant parts. One side of the bed gets good reception & the other side doesn't. It's a Mumbai flat, so you know the corridor isn't really that large. ...

A follow up question, what was (or is) the location of Netgear repeater ? Ideal location would be some point in corridor that can "see" both. I.e. the router and the bad-signal spot.

Asking all this , because this is a really tough layout for WiFi (90° reflections are required to reach bad-signal spot) and my suspicion is; new router might not be any better in this situation (2.4 GHz, Older WiFi standard : "N").

[carboy]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

A follow up question, what was (or is) the location of Netgear repeater ?

The extender works fine. Problem with the extender is that every now & then it stops working & I have to switch it off & on - some bug, probably.

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Asking all this , because this is a really tough layout for WiFi (90° reflections are required to reach bad-signal spot) and my suspicion is; new router might not be any better in this situation (2.4 GHz, Older WiFi standard : "N").

It's quite a small home in terms to length of the place. There would be some TP-Link router which would be able to cover this, right? It just needs a some increase, not a huge increase. As I said, even without extender, it works OK on one of my laptops & on my phone. It's only on my Qualcomm wifi card laptop which is not able to get the signal well.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by carboy

...

I am looking for a new (TP-Link only) Router which would give me a few more feet of reach, so that I don't need the extender. If this 2nd TP-Link can't give that much improvement, then which is the cheapest TP-Link which will give an improvement?

Coverage varies by layout, of course, but TP-Link Archer AC1200 ones are pretty decent. The one ACT installed at my 1300 sq. ft. home provides good speeds in all rooms on 5GHz band except the furthest bedroom 3 walls away, which gets stable speeds on 2.4 GHz band.

I'd avoid the V5 version as its default firmware had dropout issues with 5GHz band (I patched it with stable firmware myself as ACT refused to do it).

The newer V6 variants are reportedly much better.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by carboy

It's only on my Qualcomm wifi card laptop which is not able to get the signal well.

In this case, change in router might not help at all. Since WiFi in the laptop is the weakest link.

Even if a better router sends a stronger signal to laptop, laptop's radio might not be able to send a signal back to router (router amplifies signal it receives from clients and applies some error correction, but source has to be good enough for that).

Chetan's suggestion for "AC" router is good. That is if your laptop supports "AC" or newer versions of WiFi.

EDIT : What I am trying to avoid is; 3 - 4k on new router and that changes nothing in terms of coverage.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Even if a better router sends a stronger signal to laptop, laptop's radio might not be able to send a signal back to router (router amplifies signal it receives from clients and applies some error correction, but source has to be good enough for that).

So you think it's not a problem with the laptop receiving the signal but a problem of the router receiving the laptop's reply back. Is there some way to confirm this?

Would something this help if it's confirmed? https://www.amazon.in/TP-Link-TL-WN7...dp/B008IFXQFU/

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Coverage varies by layout, of course, but TP-Link Archer AC1200 ones are pretty decent.

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Chetan's suggestion for "AC" router is good. That is if your laptop supports "AC" or newer versions of WiFi.

How to check if my laptop supports AC?


Also what about this model - it seems to be an AC model & not so expensive - https://www.amazon.in/TP-Link-Archer...dp/B0759QMF85/

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by carboy

but a problem of the router receiving the laptop's reply back. Is there some way to confirm this?

What OS do you have on laptop .. Windows 10 ? Follow these steps to fins out model number : https://support.lenovo.com/pa/en/solutions/ht103062

Based on OS, there are steps to see Rx and Tx speed + signal.

Originally Posted by carboy

Would something this help if it's confirmed? https://www.amazon.in/TP-Link-TL-WN7...dp/B008IFXQFU/

I suggest you up the budget to get AC adapter with better antenna. This would cost around 1500. Something like : https://www.amazon.in/TP-Link-Archer...dp/B07M69276N/

[carboy]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

What OS do you have on laptop .. Windows 10 ?

It's Windows 10 & the wireless adapter on the laptop is Qualcomm QCA9377 802.11ac It's a Dell Inspiron & not Lenovo.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by carboy

Qualcomm QCA9377 802.11ac

That is the problem. From the specs :

https://www.qualcomm.com/products/te.../wi-fi/qca9377

In terms of next steps, I recommend :

1. Get AC router that supports repeater mode
2. Measure if WiFi in laptop works any better in AC mode (AC has better error correction, but 5 GHz radio has lower coverage as compared to 2.4 GHz). Difficult to say how it will perform in a specific layout
3. If This does not help. use this router as a repeater for existing router. This router should not have same problem as cheap repeaters (Hangs and requires restart)

[condor]

Looking for suggestions for a wi-fi repeater/extender for use between first floor and ground floor of a duplex house. Suggestions, please

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I picked a decent Range Extender from TP link and have been using this since the last 3 years with absolute satisfaction.

Attachment 1980763.

Parag, do you think this will help us for above ?

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by condor

Looking for suggestions for a wi-fi repeater/extender for use between first floor and ground floor of a duplex house. Suggestions, please

Is there a place where connection is already good ?

[condor]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Is there a place where connection is already good ?

The broadband router is on the first floor, since the main requirement (for WFH purpose) is there.