WiFi extenders - are they worth the money?

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by blusteryday

Mesh networks are a different technology to simple WiFi extenders. They have the capability of providing a much stronger and more stable network, but are more expensive.

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Yes I know. The ‘WiFi extender’ this person is referring to at £7 a month is, I believe, the BT Mesh. BT market it as ‘Complete Wifi’

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by plutofan1

Thank you
All new to this
So will re read the other advice above
I would rather buy than be tied into Bt than any longer than I need to

We used to have 2 lots of broadband coming into the house ( one was business ) have since cancelled that one and DD who is now home from uni is complaining how bad her WiFi is - seems she used to connect to the one we have cancelled and it seems very weak upstairs in her room - probs furthest point from router 🙄.
So advice as to what to buy Is greatly appreciated

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If money isn’t an issue I would buy the Google WiFi or maybe the Orbi (the top spec one not a lower spec one, they confusingly have different systems called Orbi).
If you want to have a more value option, that is nearly as good, get a 3 pack Tenda MW6.

[blusteryday]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

Yes I know. The ‘WiFi extender’ this person is referring to at £7 a month is, I believe, the BT Mesh. BT market it as ‘Complete Wifi’

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Thanks

[YorkshireT]

You can either buy the BT mesh WiFi’s as stand alone units you plug into your router, or if you get the deal from BT, they send you a new hub with one mesh WiFi built into it, and one satellite, and say they’ll send you up to 2 more discs if it isn’t good enough. I’d be calling immediately and telling them it’s dropping out at the back of the house to get more discs, as you cannot have enough, if you have more you can place them at further extremities on your house.
The BT mesh is OK, not the best performer according to reviews, but good, as long as the software issues are sorted.

[Jan]

Yorkshire T, thanks for that info. If I were to buy the Tenda that you recommended, would all the stuff that uses WiFi on our tv work more quickly?

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by Jan

Yorkshire T, thanks for that info. If I were to buy the Tenda that you recommended, would all the stuff that uses WiFi on our tv work more quickly?

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Depends Jan - if your TV has a weak wifi signal any Mesh network substantially increases the signal over a larger area.

So for example, I just got Virgin 500 meg cable. It is actually 550 when I plug into it.

Right next to the router, I was hitting 450 ish max on wifi.

Went up the stairs and it dropped to 10.

This was fully expected, as the wifi on the Virgin box is notoriously bad. It is better on the newer BT Hubs, but still no where near good enough to push a 500 m signal around the house without massive drop off.

I had my Tenda already as I used it with my BT Homehub before. Plugged it into my Virgin and suddenly I am getting 250 upstairs wifi. Whereas my wifi would not go into my garden near the decking, because I have a satellite in my office, which is at the back of the house, I now get 75 at the back of my garden.

What connection strength do you get on your TV (usually a test is inbuilt into the TV or wifi bars showing as more basic)? If its weak wifi then yes, a mesh network will certainly help.

If you buy a mesh network, it has its own signal and you simply connect to that rather than your router.

Just on my iMac now in my office. I have one of the Tenda satellites here, and we are maybe 10m from the wifi through a few walls. I have the iMac plugged into the LAN port (2 on each) on the Tenda satellite, and I am getting nearly 400 down on a speedtest. It would be about 40 on wifi to the router.