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[crumbly65]

I'm considering upgrading the the wifi coverage at home, as it doesn't cover me when I'm in our cabin, or down the bottom of the garden. 

Not normally too much of a problem, but as we have no Mobile 4g or 5g signal (despite being 22 miles from the financial centre of the UK!), our mobile phones have to to use wifi calling.  And the wifi signal only makes it to about 6 ft from the house.

So I've got the system I'm going to use, but I thought I'd ask the brains on here for a bit of clarification before I start...
1) I think I have to turn the wireless OFF on my router, so that it becomes just a modem?
2) I then connect my new router into my previous router, which is now just a modem?
3) I should then give the new router's network a name?
4) I then add the wifi points to the network (I've got 4 points) one at a time as they connect to the new router?

That's my plan, but as I'm far from expert in IT, I thought I'd just ask on here in case anyone has done anything similar........

[TimV]

I am lost with what you are doing.

I used a powerline type adapter (internet over mains) to get Ethernet to the workshop, then configured an old router as an access point. Workshop is 40' from the house.
https://computing.which.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/115002559945-How-to-boost-your-wi-fi-by-using-an-old-router

[mrscruffs]

1) I think I have to turn the wireless OFF on my router, so that it becomes just a modem?
2) I then connect my new router into my previous router, which is now just a modem?
3) I should then give the new router's network a name?
4) I then add the wifi points to the network (I've got 4 points) one at a time as they connect to the new router?

That's my plan, but as I'm far from expert in IT, I thought I'd just ask on here in case anyone has done anything similar........

Yes, that’s basically it. The precise instructions will vary slightly depending on what devices you bought and what Wi-Fi router/modem you have. If you’ve bought a good brand it should have clear instructions in the box.


Good luck!

[crumbly65]

I am lost with what you are doing.

Yes - the Powerline works within the house, just.  But I'm scrapping that. 

Imagine a huge "fishing net" cast over the house and  front and rear gardens.  That net is attached at 5 points.  the first point being the router, and then at a further 4 points.  Each of the 4 points (plus the main router) are "mini routers" each giving a strong coverage within the "electronic net" or mesh.

That is what I'm attempting to do.....

[alchad]

I’d be interested to hear how you get on. I use Powerlines here and am very pleased with them - must be 8 + years old. I did think about going to a mesh system but couldn’t see what advantage it would offer. The other month I bought a Blink outdoor camera to play about with which needed a Wi-Fi signal, I connected a Powerline to one of the sockets in a barn and was amazed it connected to the Blink and worked perfectly despite the power going through two extra consumer boxes to get to the socket.

Alchad

[paulv]

Hi Crunbly65

Please can you let us know how you get on and what system you are using as I have barns/sheds and need to increase my wifi coverage.

[crumbly65]

I certainly will, once I've plucked up the courage to turn off the wireless on the router, and connect the new router, and then the points.

SWMBO works from home a lot, and if I mess it up, I'll be away down the road carrying suitcases......

I've got about 6000 sq ft to cover, some of it through 9" brick walls, so I'm hoping it all works ok.

I'll post up how I get on.

[paulv]

Excellent thank you, the walls in the old part of my house are over 12” thick and solid so wifi non-existent in that area.

If you do get sent down the road with suitcases I have a spare room, however wifi does not work in it

[crumbly65]

Excellent thank you, the walls in the old part of my house are over 12” thick and solid so wifi non-existent in that area.

If you do get sent down the road with suitcases I have a spare room, however wifi does not work in it

 

[alchad]

Excellent thank you, the walls in the old part of my house are over 12” thick and solid so wifi non-existent in that area.

If you do get sent down the road with suitcases I have a spare room, however wifi does not work in it

No connection with the product, but have you tried Powerline adapters which use the mains to get over the problem of thick walls.

Alchad

[paulv]

No connection with the product, but have you tried Powerline adapters which use the mains to get over the problem of thick walls.

Alchad

I have looked at the powerline adapters and that would probably solve the wifi in the house issues but the workshops/barns are on a different mains supply (three phase) so powerline would not work there, that’s why I’m interested in how far the mesh systems cover.

[chughes5]

We use a Tenda Nova WiFi Mesh (model MW3 I think), it's brilliant. Connect one to the back of the router, scatter the others around the house. Strong signal everywhere. You can add more units to extend further.

Decent parental controls via the phone app, I group all the kids devices and have them on a timer controlling when they can access. I can enable/disable remotely so I can turn them on/off from the pub.

You DONT need to turn the WiFi off on the router itself. I'm sure that's the same with all mesh network. Just enable everything and then tell e.g. your phone to forget the old connection and use the new one

[Worf]

We use a Tenda Nova WiFi Mesh (model MW3 I think), it's brilliant. Connect one to the back of the router, scatter the others around the house. Strong signal everywhere. You can add more units to extend further.

Decent parental controls via the phone app, I group all the kids devices and have them on a timer controlling when they can access. I can enable/disable remotely so I can turn them on/off from the pub.

You DONT need to turn the WiFi off on the router itself. I'm sure that's the same with all mesh network. Just enable everything and then tell e.g. your phone to forget the old connection and use the new one

The only problem with those is that they ping Chinese websites all the time. If you try and block them, the system doesn't work. I wonder what data they are collecting?

[ChrisJC]

The only problem with those is that they ping Chinese websites all the time. If you try and block them, the system doesn't work. I wonder what data they are collecting?

That fact alone steered me to building my own setup, using IP cameras, and a dedicated NUC PC running Linux and ZoneMinder. I changed the gateway for all of the IP cameras to use a dead one, which doesn't seem to have fazed them.

The only snag is that IP cameras all seem to run an ancient web-based configuration interface which requires ActiveX, which has been obsolete for quite some time not.

It doesn't help the OP though.

Chris.

[crumbly65]

Well guys, some 16 weeks after I posted about creating a Wi-Fi Mesh system, I've finally got around to doing it.  The system is a Google Nest Wi-Fi router, with 3 access points. 

I've set it up today, and the only reason it took so long for me to do it, was my hesitation due to my lack of IT skills, and the fact that SWMBO is part of an Emergency Response Team, and needs constant wi-fi and internet cover.  Took us a while to get the kit as well, for reasons I won't go into here.

So, the good and not so good issues, the good first.....:-

(1) It was surprisingly easy to set up.  You do need to download and set up the Google Home App (which we already had as we have a Nest thermostat to control our Heating and Hot water boiler).
(2) Turned off the wi-fi from my BT router, leaving it operating just as a Modem. 
(3) Plugged in the Google Nest (GN) router, connected it into my BT router with the provided LAN cable, scanned the QR code on the base of the GN router, and then followed the instructions that appeared in the Google Home App.
(4) You have to re-name your wi-fi, and give it a password.
(5) Followed a very similar (but shorter) procedure to set up the extender (Access) points.
(6) It has worked well, and given me a powerful Wi-Fi signal over the 5000 sq ft I need to cover.  See the pics.  The first pic shows the coverage we had prior to installing, and the second pic shows the improved coverage on my phone.
(7) It's quite an attractive looking piece of kit, which will blend with any decor.

The not-so-good points....:-
a) The system is expensive, so you'll need to hunt around for the cheapest deal.
b) You need the Google Home App, which is free, but a little complicated.
c) Each access point is both a speaker, and contains a microphone, enabling playing music wherever you want across your site, and using the Google Assistant - personaly I find that a mixed blessing...

Other than that, I'm quite pleased with the set-up and operation.