Wifi Range Extenders

[Savara]

A friend has asked me to install some wifi range extenders in his house, and I wondered if anyone had any experience with them, or knew which ones to avoid, and how easy they are to set up etc.?

Currently thinking of going router-powerline-powerline-access point...? I know I could just go for the repeater straight off, but want to guarantee as little interference as possible.

Any advice / recommendations appreciated.

[Ekona]

If you're using powerline adaptors, would you not be better off just sticking with them? Or does he want the WiFi for mobile and tablet stuff?

I've never used either to be fair, but your method sounds correct if nothing else. That's how I'd do it if running Cat5 isn't a solution (is it?). That said, I've used the Apple Airport Express and it was a cracking piece of kit, did the job superbly but that wasn't using the powerline stuff.

[Sam]

I went for homeplug/powerline things. One by the router, one in my room, attached to a £7 5 port 10/100 switch I got off amazon. It's awesome.

So I suppose you could do:

Modem/Router -> powerline -> powerline -> wireless router

[Savara]

It's for his house + B&B, so needs to be able to give the wifi access to guests. Have ordered these and this, hopefully should be ok, so basically what Sam suggested!

Thanks

[Sam]

That would do the job rightly

[RB]

You shouldn't need to wire the wireless jobbers at all. I have two of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-WN2000R ... 951&sr=8-3

You connect them to your router's Wi-Fi and they repeat.

[Savara]

Installed the previously described setup (powerline & WAP) this morning with the same SSID and password as the base router, but on channels 1 (router) and 10 (WAP); works like an absolute dream. All devices switch seamlessly between the two networks without so much as a blink, or realising that they're different.

[Tinlad]

That's precisely the setup I have at home - it works brilliantly.

[Savara]

So having installed an identical setup in the same friend's pub, ages ago, with no problems, he's now got a new BT Business Router. I've updated the settings of the AP upstairs on the powerlines to the new SSID and password, and it appears the same in all ways, except it now no longer switches quite as seamlessly as before; it appears to be fine on my iPad, but on my laptop it often needs me to turn off the wifi and back on again.

I'm fairly sure I had it in AP mode (rather than bridge or repeater; I think these are wireless-link modes, rather than taking the connection over the ethernet cable), but I had to reset it to get back into it. Currently unsure if I've just set it up slightly wrong, or if it's something to do with the new router... any ideas?

[bananahead]

And I have just gone for a ...

Netgear WN2500RP, Universal DualBand Repeater

A four port switch with both 2.4 and 5 as wi-fi extension. Great thing.