The wifi signal strength at my streamer is not great so I want to improve it.
I don’t think speed is an issue - download is around 40Mbps but the coverage could be improved.
Other than web browsing etc streaming from Qobuz at up to 192/24 is the only other network traffic.
From what I’ve read, a MESH system is the way to go.
I currently have a VDSL Plusnet hub that is about 15ft from the streamer, but is behind a wall.
I’d appreciate some advice as to whether MESH is the right approach and which products I should consider.
Thanks
PS I know a hard-wired connection is best, but that’s not feasible
Before you go down the get a new router path, do you know when your area is getting full fibre? UK will be full fibre (FTTP) everywhere by the end of 2026.
A new 3rd party router will probably not give that much of an improvement compared to a mesh. So I would look at what Plusnet are offering (assuming you are on a Plusnet service)
I have a BT Smart Hub 2 paired with BT Wi-Fi Discs ("Complete Wi-Fi”) and this operates as a mesh system and it’s faultless.
I believe Plusnet are part of the BT/Openreach group, so should have something similar to match with your existing router, but do check out when you’re getting FTTP.
Only if you need to slingshot the signal around the house. For us it’s a necessity as German houses are very vertical and made of solid concrete walls. Signals not strong enough to get to the top or bottom relay off points in between.
But if you have a router / access point on the ground floor and only need to go up / down one floor, a regular set-up (with perhaps a repeater) would be ok. Sounds like you just need a little extension to get to the streamer. Not all around the house?
This can be an expensive and frustrating PITA depending on the size or reach of your network. At some point you may wish you’d spent time working as a radio planning engineer. Good luck!
The UK government is committed to achieving nationwide gigabit-capable broadband, with near-nationwide coverage by 2030.
The latest report shows over 78% of UK homes now have access to full-fibre, with the network expected to cover up to 96% of properties by Jan 2027.
And just to add a PS: The BT group (EE & Plusnet) and I believe the others as well, will not renew a “copper” contract once fibre is available to your property. I renewed my BT contract with fibre for the same price as copper with double download ‘speed’ at 150mb/s. 500 or 900mb/s is available at extra cost.
The problem with that, though, is that it can limit your choice of ISP. We are currently on FTTC, even though there is a fibre cable in the road. Unfortunately. the cable is Virgin and so we’d have to switch from the excellent Zen to Virgin. That means moving from Which’s top ranked provider to the worst. Fast broadband is good, but not if it reduces consumer choice.
Can you expand on this? Sometimes it takes someone else to come up with a solution when your own house is concerned - we all sometimes have blinkers on. Could you for example get an electrician to run an ethernet cable from the router through to the streamer room, possibly by going outside the building
FYI, a useful feature of most Mesh devices is that they often have Ethernet ports on the back. This has 2 purposes. 1) by connecting the mesh devices via Ethernet, you will get better speeds - but of course not a prerequisite. 2) you can use these ports for local devices, e.g. plug your streamer directly into the Mesh which saves using Wifi.
My Mesh was Orbi based, although as they aged, they did need to be rebooted every couple of days. I now use Eero and they have been great.
@PeakMan …. Zen (broadband) have their own independent network and exchange systems (servers) But they primarily use Openreach and CityFibre to deliver their “last mile” connectivity to homes and businesses.
Keeping in mind that all the Zen system up to the last mile will be fibre, it just means that when Openreach change a neighbourhood over to fibre, your copper connection gets replaced. This involves the fibre ‘cable’ entering your property and connected to a small box called an ONT and from that via a regular ethernet to your router.
You may require a new router, maybe not, that’s dependant on what your existing router is capable of. Zen and/or Openreach will be contacting you as & when it’s due.
When we had Plusnet we could never get Mesh to work properly. We tried three different mesh setups and gave up. We bought a Netgear Nighthawk RAXE 300 router, and put the Plusnet box into modem mode. The router is really powerful and covers the whole house and the back garden.
We then swapped to full fibre in autumn 2024 and kept the Netgear, which connects direct to the fibre ONT wall box. So if you ever get fibre, it won’t be wasted.
The BT Complete WiFi extender is the BLACK disc.
Yes they can be bought 2nd hand privately or E-Bay, or new from www such as Amazon, or an extra £1 a month on a BT contract, or complain to BT that the router doesn’t cover the whole “Complete” house and they give you one for free.
I use two Ubitiqui AmplifiHD Mesh-routers and it actually sounds very good - use Port-3 on the second one to connect to the system, sounds best. I tried their Alien-package but it had to much power for my short distance.
I have a TP Link Deco mesh. Has been pretty trouble free. I do power down and restart from time to time as this seems o assist performance. It is the P9 system where the units connect by wi-fi and also your mains. Each unit has RJ45 ports so you can hardwire to them. Since I upgraded to 1.2 Gb full fibre (BT Home Hub 2) I am getting a minimum of 120 Mb on the wi-fi in even the most remote parts of the house.
Thanks Mike. I have already signed up with Zen and Openreach for info on when/if their full FTTP will be available.
Where I live a good many roads, like mine, have been dug up to accommodate Virgin fibre. Others have had Openreach cables put in, but none AFAIK have both, up to now at least. That’s what makes me wonder if we’ll ever get both, but that’s probably my natural pessimism.
Hi @PeakMan … I don’t think there is a fixed countrywide standard for all this. I get the impression Openrach are doing whatver it takes to get it done the fastest.
My road (a small ‘close’ with 1970’s houses} in an Oxford village originally had BT phone wires strung from poles, these are now Openreach mngd and are used by all in the BT group and other services.
Virgin bought in fibre via underground a few years ago, but I don’t this many people are on it.
Now the whole road is having all the pole strung copper changed to fibre, and its all done from the same poles. (Unfortunatly they don’t remove the old copper (later this year we are told)
I wasn’t expecting so many replies!
Many thanks to all.
Starting from the top..
Fibre is available here and I know I’ll be forced to have it soon.
My contract with Plusnet for VDSL expires in March 2027 and I expect I’ll have to have fibre from then.
Fibre is great, but what concerns me is the installation.
When I had Sky installed many years ago they made a right mess of it.
A cable went over the roof - they drilled a hole at the top of a wall in the lounge farthest from where the box went and I had a cable tacked under the coving, down the wall and around door frames and skirting boards.
Friends who’ve had Virgin fibre installed tell of similar stories and dreadful experience with Virgin after installation.
Having recently spent a six-figure sum on home refurbishments I don’t want cables tacked around the house.
I didn’t consider fibre at the time and thought that wifi would be fine for streaming - wisdom and hindsight etc…
It should be feasible to install fibre to the same spot in my hall where the existing router is without cables running around the house, but that means the fibre router will still be in the same place as the Plusnet Hub2 router, so I guess I’ll have the same problem with a lack of coverage. Hence my search for something to boost the signal to the streamer which is only 15ft away from the router.
The reading and research I done seemed to point toward the TP-Link Deco X50(2-pack) AX3000Mbps Whole Home AI-Driven Mesh WiFi 6 System, Dual-Band WiFi Booster with 3x Gigabit Ports, Coverage up to 4,500 ft2, Connect up to 150 devices - which at £125 seems reasonable and similar to @AWillby Deco mesh.
I was going to buy that, but wanted to check if that’s likely the best solution for me. hence my question on this forum.
@mike-b Plusnet only offer the Hub 2 router which is what I have.
@fatcat My streamer uses the 2.4Ghz channel, so I’m not sure if there’s any point in disabling the 5Ghz channel which my mobile phone uses, so would add extra traffic to the 2.4Ghz channel- or am I getting that wrong?
@HungryHalibut The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE 300 router seems to be quite an old model and only available 2nd hand. I assumed replacing the router wouldn’t be the answer as the I assumed that the coverage would be about the same which is why I was looking at mesh rather than a new router - or have I got that wrong too?
. Mesh solutions seem fraught with issues, at least for some installations…..