WZR-HP-AG300H As A Repeater?

[Ringfinger]

I allready have one of these units with the DD-WRT latest firmware.  Been working like a charm.  Anywway, it is in my basement.  I have it there because that's where the cable comes in for the modem and for ease, it works.  Plus, I have my NAS there and another back-up drive.  Out of sight, out of my wifes mind.

 

Anyway, my house is 2 stories plus the basement.  Maybe 3000 or so square feet.  I feel it may be helpful if I have another one of these units on the first floor to help "boost" the signal.  I get maybe 4-5 bars on the 1st floor, but that drops to 2-4 on the second floor.  (based on a 0-5 bar scale).

 

Is there a way to just plug this into the power outlest and quickly set it up to just repeat or whatever the technical term is?

 

Is the 1st floor best for this since it would be closest to the one in the basement and then can deliver to 2nd floor good?

 

Is this a sound solution to boost the signal?  Unless there is another way to boost it through the firmware?

[Artjohn]

Yes, it will work, but it should be your last choice.

 

A far superior solution would be to get a wired access point on your second level.

 

CAT5e wire is best

MoCA is second choice.

Powerline Ethernet would be third.

 

Last would be a wireless repeater, which at most would run only at half speed.

 

Tim Higgens at SmallNetBuilder.com explains it best here:

 

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-basics/31576-the-best-way-to-get-whole-house-wireless-coverage

 

Best//

 

 

 

 

[buddee]

I am going to clarify and correct you on that "Last would be a wireless repeater, which at most would run only at half speed."

 

Right it will run half speed if you are using wireless clients on the repeater, but if you have a repeater bridge setup and only use wired clients to the repeater bridge, it will run at full speed. Which since you say "A far superior solution would be to get a wired access point on your second level." wired access point? Don't you mean wireless access point? (and yes a wireless access point is connected to the host AP via a wire, but its still a wireless access point)

[Ringfinger]

You know, this may be a perceived problem.  I went all over my house.  The least bars I had was 3, the most 5.  Upstairs (2nd floor) is either 3 or 4 bars.  Just for laughs, I went to speedtest.net, and I took values from all over the house.  Thay all are with 1-3 Mbps of one another.  Good enough for me.  I think really I do not need a repeater or anything with such values.  In my head, having a minimum of 3 of 5 bars and maintaining an internet speed (99% of our traffic) consistent across household locations is enough good for me unless I am missing something.

 

Am I?

 

I know this is a very basic, unscientific test, however it is based on everyday usage in my house.

[Artjohn]

That's perfect if all you are doing is websurfing and email.   No need to fix it if it isn't broken.

 

If you try to stream hi def video to the third floor and notice signal pausing or pixelating, then you will reconsider your options.

 

Buddee makes good points;  I think he and I agree that if you find you need to extend a "wireless" signal from the basement router to the second floor, the best way to do that is to use a "wireless access point" that is connected by a ethernet wire (cat5e, MoCA, or Powerline) to your router in the basement. :)

 

Should you get to that point, again I would urge you to read the aritcle at smallnetbuilder.com previously cited

 

FWIW, we have a Buffalo Tech router in the basement, with two  "wireless" access points, one on the first and one on the second floor, each connected by wire to the basement Buffalo,  We have very good wireless coverage throughout the home.

 

Best/

 

 

[Ringfinger]

I follow you. We have been streamIng Netflix HD on laptops with no issues if that helps. If it came down to it, are those power line adapters any good? Not likely I can get any other wire to the second floor if I had to.

[Artjohn]

I think powerline technology has recently "matured."

 

More performance, but at greater cost;  isn't that always the tradeoff? :)

 

Sounds like you have a good situation already, and you can look into any upgrade options as needed at your leisure.

 

Here is as good as any place to get started on powerline:

 

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/lanwan-reviews/31624-homeplug-av-500-adapter-roundup.

 

If there were any way to get Cat5e or better ethernet wire to the seoncd level, that would be the best solution.

 

We were fortunate enough to pull multiple Cat5 homeruns throughout our home when it was built new in 2000.  All of our TIVO's, internet TV's, PS3's, desktops and older laser printers are hung on the gigabit wired backbone, so Netflix, Amazon, and Vudu are all hi def and large file transfers (ie, between the TIVOs)  and game play are speedy too.  A strong wireless serves phones, ipads, kindles, notebooks and printers.  It all works flawlessly (thanks to the Buffalo Router, a 24 port HP gigabit switch, and both wired wireless access points,) which serves up a nice 75/11 Mbps from our ISP everywhere it is needed.

 

Best/

[Ringfinger]

Unfortunately, that link does not work.  So, I allready use a powerline device for a printer that I cannot get to connect wirelessly.  I am wondering, if I were to buy a new one in the future, are there multiple ones I can plug in, say one on first floor and one on second?  Do they sell multiple "receivers" for lack of a better term?  Also, can I use this one you mentioned and still use the old one I have or have I lost my mind?

 

Anyway, tested some more.  Seems that on the 2.4 GHz network in my house, I can get HD on the 2nd floor from Netflix, but sometimes it goes back to SD and stammers in HD.  On the 5.0 GHz netword, a slight buffer for the first few minutes that may cause pixelation, but after that, no issues.  There are no other 5 GHz routers around my house when I look at that with  ssider, so that's a good thing.

 

Bottom line, preparing for a future powerline if it becomes an issue, so that is why I ask.

 

 

[Artjohn]

I don't know what's up with the link, you are right it isn't working; if you go to www.smallnetbuilder.com and search for the article using the link you will get to it.

 

All your other questions are excellent, and I don't know the answer :)  I don't know if the differing manufacturer's products are interoperable.   

 

I would suspect that when you find that the 5hz no longer works for you, there is another "wired wireless" solution for you.