WiFi Signal Strength

SouthernTJ2000

SouthernTJ2000

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 19, 2024
Messages
169
Location
Tomball, TX
Okay y'all, forgive my ignorance when it comes to this subject. I'm probably going to utilize the wrong nomenclature, so bear with me. I've done quiet a bit of research and all I've done is confuse the s&*t out of myself over the past few months. Hopefully some of you more "tech savoy" folks can give me some guidance. I've got a detached garage and my Wi-fi signal is super spotty out there at best. I'm trying to figure out how to get a better signal out there and I tried a "repeater". One of them things you plug into an outlet between the router and the area that lacks a good signal. Yeah, that did nothing for me. I tried upgrading my router to one that has 12 antennas with "mega-zoom signal" whatnot. Still nothing. My current router is an AT&T BGW210. I also have a Netgear WNR2000 that I tried, however it didn't help.

During my research I read that a Wi-fi signal is not effected by walls, however I found this to be complete gooplity glock. I can stand 15' from my router with direct line of sight and have a reading of 250-500Mbps. However I can step 1' to my right, which now has three walls in my way, and the strength drops to 80ish Mbps. I know I could move the router to a more central location, closer to the garage. However I'm hoping to avoid that, as its going to be costly, because I would have to pay someone to do it. I've done research on moving/adding/dropping wires. We live in a 2 story home and after getting in the attic thinking "I can do this"....LOL, not happening. So after all this hot wind, does anyone have some suggestions for me? Thanks.
 
I'd look at which spectrum you are connecting to. At the very least I'd guess you'll see a 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz wireless network. 2.4 will have the better range and penetration (i.e. through walls) but less bandwidth. 5Ghz and 6, 6E, etc will give better bandwidth but not the range and penetration 2.4 has.
 
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nappy1515 said:
I'd look at which spectrum you are connecting to. At the very least I'd guess you'll see a 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz wireless network. 2.4 will have the better range and penetration (i.e. through walls) but less bandwidth. 5Ghz and 6, 6E, etc will give better bandwidth but not the range and penetration 2.4 has.
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I'm on the 2.4Ghz spectrum. Good call though.
 
Depending on how large your home is and where your router is located a mesh router may be the answer. I have the Netgear Nighthawk with the router and two nodes.
 
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Paying attention to this thread. Similar situation, and I tried a Netgear extender but what ends up happening is the extender loses it's connection to the main router so all the devices connected to the extender lose contact with the Internet and everything that's connected directly to the router. I ended up unplugging it and my garage door openers and doorbell cam end up with a spotty connection but it's better than a good connection to something with an even worse than spotty one.
 
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Mike_H said:
Another vote for a mesh network. I’m using eeos from Amazon and it works pretty well. 4 nodes and I can stream 4k YouTube in my detached garage. I only have a quarter acre lot though…
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This is the way.
 
If you can run a cable, run a cable. I'm dealing with similar, have a repeater halfway between this computer and the router. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it doesn't work at all.
 
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steelhd said:
Depending on how large your home is and where your router is located a mesh router may be the answer. I have the Netgear Nighthawk with the router and two nodes.
Click to expand...

So of course my router and the area in the garage are the furthest two points...lol. I'd say its a good 200' - 250', as the crow flies. However there are multiple interior walls, staircase, closet full of stuff, and two exterior (one brick, one hardy) walls between me and the router in the garage. Also, at times there will be a vehicle between us as well. I actually stumbled across some YT videos last night of the mesh setup and I believe this is the way I am going to go. Seems "painless" and very affordable if it actually works for me. Ill keep everyone posted on how this turns out.
 
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Zorba said:
If you can run a cable, run a cable. I'm dealing with similar, have a repeater halfway between this computer and the router. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it doesn't work at all.
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So than would I run a cable to the garage and just have a designated router in the garage? This may be an option as my main breaker box is in the garage and there is a lot of "blue cable" run along the track. I'll have to look further into this.
 
red02tj said:
Look into Powerline adapters. The only caveat is they need to be on the same circuit. If you’ve got a power run from the main house to the garage, this would be a good option.

https://www.tp-link.com/us/powerline/
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Okay, bear with my ignorance here. When they say "Then plug in another adapter or extender into a power outlet on the same electrical circuit.", does this mean the two adapters need to be on plugs that are attached to the same breaker in my main breaker box? If so, I don't think this would work for me, as everything in the garage is on two breakers that do not share an electrical outlet in the house. However this is a very cool concept and I can see how this would easily help me with some of the "dead spots" in the house.
 
SouthernTJ2000 said:
Okay, bear with my ignorance here. When they say "Then plug in another adapter or extender into a power outlet on the same electrical circuit.", does this mean the two adapters need to be on plugs that are attached to the same breaker in my main breaker box? If so, I don't think this would work for me, as everything in the garage is on two breakers that do not share an electrical outlet in the house. However this is a very cool concept and I can see how this would easily help me with some of the "dead spots" in the house.
Click to expand...

I’ve used several sets of powerline adapter over the years. I currently have one plugged into an outlet in my kitchen and one plugged into an outlet in my garage. Works really well.

Here’s the last ones I’ve used

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08M13B8B6?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
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SouthernTJ2000 said:
Okay, bear with my ignorance here. When they say "Then plug in another adapter or extender into a power outlet on the same electrical circuit.", does this mean the two adapters need to be on plugs that are attached to the same breaker in my main breaker box? If so, I don't think this would work for me, as everything in the garage is on two breakers that do not share an electrical outlet in the house. However this is a very cool concept and I can see how this would easily help me with some of the "dead spots" in the house.
Click to expand...

You probably have 220 VAC feeding the house, which is two out-of-phase 110V circuits. Half of the house will be on one of the 110V circuits, and half will be on the other. You have to find a pair of outlets (one in the house, one in the garage) fed by the same 110V side of the 220. In your circuit breaker box, if it has two columns of breakers, each column is one 110V phase of the 220. If you can find a breaker in the house and a breaker in the garage on the same column, those should be able to carry the signal.
 
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