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letsgobobby
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ieee488
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

letsgobobby wrote:We need to extend internet access to the far corners of our large house. We have Comcast high speed internet and we rent a combination modem/router from them. In the past I bought an extender but I was unsuccessful in getting everything to recognize each other and we gave up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/techn ... 0&emc=eta1

According to this article, one solution would be to use Powerline technology to provide my desktop with ethernet connectivity. It sounds like the perfect solution at least for my desktop, as I value speed and reliability over wifi.

Does anyone have any experience with Powerline? The article doesn't say much about the costs, reliability of the product, or ease of installation.

Or perhaps a suggestion on how I might try an extender again, this time with better results? Powerline obviously won't work for everyone's mobile devices.
Why are you renting a modem/router from Comcast?????
Yikes. That is money down the drain.

Anyway, I don't like wireless, so I purchased Trendnet 200Mbps devices Christmas of 2011. Works great for me.
There are faster 500Mpbs devices now.
My suggestion is to read the reviews on Newegg. I find the users there slightly more knowledgeable than the ones on Amazon.com
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The Wizard
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by The Wizard »

Best way may be to run an Ethernet cable from the modem/router to a new slave router on far side of the house. There are some setup details to tend to but it's not rocket surgery. I'm thinking of adding a third router now to punch up a weak area...
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by jebmke »

I use Powerline to extend my router to a second router. I also use it to plug in a ROKU that seems to be not liking my wireless (I'm too lazy to figure out why, just yet).

I get speeds of ~ 125-150 mbs between the two powerline adapters. It works well. One big advantage of PL vs. ethernet cable is you can move things around to any plug (as long as it is on the same phase - which shouldn't be a problem in a home).
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TomatoTomahto
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by TomatoTomahto »

jebmke wrote:I use Powerline to extend my router to a second router. I also use it to plug in a ROKU that seems to be not liking my wireless (I'm too lazy to figure out why, just yet).
Lazy here also, but Powerline fixed the issue where my ROKU didn't seem to be getting enough bandwidth from the wireless access point. Works well enough.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Frobie
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Frobie »

We use these. Work like a charm and were very easy to set up.

They seem to go on sale a few times a year but are well worth paying full price for IMHO.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Kenkat »

The Wizard wrote:Best way may be to run an Ethernet cable from the modem/router to a new slave router on far side of the house. There are some setup details to tend to but it's not rocket surgery. I'm thinking of adding a third router now to punch up a weak area...
If you can easily run an Ethernet cable to the other end of the house (I ran my down into the basement and along the ceiling), this works great.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Outer Marker »

Is your current router located at the center of the house? We were having signal issues with the router in the logical place (upstairs office), but with cable outlets all over the house and a wireless printer up in the office, it was an easy matter to hide the router in a more central location (taped behind a piece of furniture in main floor living room) so that it now broadcasts evenly out to the four corners. Cost: $0.00.
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Hexdump
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Hexdump »

We also have a Trendnet and it works great. We have had it for about 6 months after trying a signal extender which I could never get to work.

Our house is 20 years old if that makes a difference.

One neat thing is how easy it is to simply move the connection to another room.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by happyisland »

If you want an easy to set up wifi repeater, these Asus units are $40 and work well:

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-3-In-1-Wirel ... 00DWFPDNO/

I've got one in my house, two in my business, and have installed them in friends' houses too:
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Kuckie
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Kuckie »

The ZyXEL 500 Mbps Powerline adapter kit (PLA4225) Kit has high ratings. All Powerline adapters work on the Home Plug specifications. I have been using 200Mpbs Linksys adapters for about 3 years and have never had a problem. One adapter is plugged in to a computer on the far side of the house and the other connects to the router on the other side. The computer is used for game playing and other high bandwidth activities and there has never been a bottleneck or slowdown. Be advised that the actual speed of all adapters is about half of what is advertised but it doesn’t really matter as Comcast Performance Internet speed , on a good day, is about 20Mpbs and even their so called Blast speed tops out at 50. So a 200mbps adapter kit will work just fine. A kit of 2 sells for about $50 on Amazon and installation is the easiest ever. Simply plug them into wall outlets, (not to surge protectors) connect the Ethernet cable, and you are online. No software and no configuration required.

You should think about buying your own router and modem to save the monthly $7 Comcast fee. A highly recommended modem is the Motorola SB6121,or SB6141 but you have a larger choice of decent routers ranging from about $40 on up. A router with external antennas will have a slightly greater range but the actual output power of all routers is about the same as this is regulated by the FCC.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

Comcast approved devices: http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Ged »

I use Netgear powerline adapters. They worked where a number of tries with repeaters etc. were ineffective. My house was built in 1968.

You might want to purchase from a place that offers a generous return policy. I've read reviews that claim the age and condition of your house wiring makes a difference in whether these work well.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by dickenjb »

Don't rent from Comcast. Buy a Comcast approved router for ~$70 and save ~$8 a month.
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Cosmo
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Cosmo »

dickenjb wrote:Don't rent from Comcast. Buy a Comcast approved router for ~$70 and save ~$8 a month.
Note: Those of you who are not technology inclined, Comcast will not offer technical support to a non-Comcast router.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Toons »

Nothing bad experiences here years ago with Powerline. I would HIGHLY recommend you consider the Almond Securifi Unit that can be used as a Router OR an extender.After much research I purchased one to replace my older router and was so pleased with performance I purchased another as an extender,Superb unit for half the cost of other routers or extenders, Customer Service If needed is superlative,Read the reviews @ Amazon ,top seller,check out the setup videos on the second link,its a breeze :happy


http://www.amazon.com/Securifi-Almond-T ... ewpoints=1


http://www.securifi.com/almond
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by bungalow10 »

I used to use repeaters with my wireless-N router, but when I upgraded to a wireless AC router I found I no longer needed them. I have a 100 year old house, two stories with plaster walls and chimnies randomly placed, plus an unattached garage with "Man Room" above it. All TVs are wireless (no cable), including the Man Room TV. The router we have is the Netgear R6300 that we purchased from Costco a few months ago for $200. I love it, no buffering issues, even if we have two TVs and a Kindle streaming wireless Netflix or Hulu.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

Cosmo wrote:
dickenjb wrote:Don't rent from Comcast. Buy a Comcast approved router for ~$70 and save ~$8 a month.
Note: Those of you who are not technology inclined, Comcast will not offer technical support to a non-Comcast router.
As was written in another thread, Comcast's technical support consists of turn off cable modem, then turning it back on.
There is not much the lay person can do. My cable modem has on/off button; that is it.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by killjoy2012 »

Powerline networking exists for convenience, not performance or security. If you're good with that, OK. Personally, I would rather do a little extra work and run an ethernet cable to get all three - speed, reliability, security. Many people overlook the potential security issues that Powerline adapters introduce because they're designed to be easy to install.
ieee488 wrote:As was written in another thread, Comcast's technical support consists of turn off cable modem, then turning it back on.
There is not much the lay person can do. My cable modem has on/off button; that is it.
And as was also discussed in that thread, how do you propose to troubleshoot any signal issues when, after rebooting the modem doesn't work, Comcast simply tells you to replace your modem (since it's at fault, possibly prematurely)? Unless you have the technical background required to research & diagnose network problems, renting isn't a bad option.
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kenyan
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by kenyan »

Buy your own cable modem. It'll quickly pay for itself, and decoupling the modem from the router will allow you much better flexibility. We bought a Motorola SURFboard to save the modem fee, which recently rose to $6.00 per month with our provider. It'll pay for itself in less than a year.

As for what router to use, that's trickier. We were having range problems with our old router, a Netgear N300. We mostly had no problems with the router, but it just couldn't handle the number of walls it had to at our new house. I upgraded to a dual-band ASUS RT-N66U, with some reservations about whether it would help. It works wonderfully. Not sure if it's the external antennas or something else, but our wireless is now flawless on either the 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz band in our entire house (and outside it, I'm sure). I may combine it with an extender just to get a network drop in the far room for my game console, but I'm still considering. They do have a new version for the 802.11ac protocol as well, though I don't see myself needing that for many years; it's a low-range protocol for very high data rates. Note that you can buy larger external antennas as well.

I had originally been thinking about running hard line in the crawlspace, but the logistics kept increasing in complexity, so I was very relieved when this new router powered through everything. No experience yet with ethernet over power line.
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ieee488
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

killjoy2012 wrote:Powerline networking exists for convenience, not performance or security. If you're good with that, OK. Personally, I would rather do a little extra work and run an ethernet cable to get all three - speed, reliability, security. Many people overlook the potential security issues that Powerline adapters introduce because they're designed to be easy to install.
ieee488 wrote:As was written in another thread, Comcast's technical support consists of turn off cable modem, then turning it back on.
There is not much the lay person can do. My cable modem has on/off button; that is it.
And as was also discussed in that thread, how do you propose to troubleshoot any signal issues when, after rebooting the modem doesn't work, Comcast simply tells you to replace your modem (since it's at fault, possibly prematurely)? Unless you have the technical background required to research & diagnose network problems, renting isn't a bad option.
Mine is a cable modem without a router.
No one who has their own router pays for $7 of technical support a month which is what you are proposing.
That is ridiculous money to pay.

If I was using a router, I'd buy that cable modem (signal is either there or not from Comcast) and buy a separate router.
And troubleshoot the router issue on my own and save the $7/month x 12 months x 20 years that you propose paying Comcast for their "technical support".
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Sidney »

killjoy2012 wrote:Powerline networking exists for convenience, not performance or security. If you're good with that, OK. Personally, I would rather do a little extra work and run an ethernet cable to get all three - speed, reliability, security. Many people overlook the potential security issues that Powerline adapters introduce because they're designed to be easy to install.
Is Powerline inherently less secure than wireless?
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ilisira »

ieee488 wrote:As was written in another thread, Comcast's technical support consists of turn off cable modem, then turning it back on.
There is not much the lay person can do. My cable modem has on/off button; that is it.
And as was also discussed in that thread, how do you propose to troubleshoot any signal issues when, after rebooting the modem doesn't work, Comcast simply tells you to replace your modem (since it's at fault, possibly prematurely)? Unless you have the technical background required to research & diagnose network problems, renting isn't a bad option.
Comcast (oops, Xfinity :D ) technician was at my house yesterday as the modem I bought to upgrade my service level to 35Mbps was not performing at all. In fact download speed was less than 20Mbps I had with the earlier modem. Anyway, they came, tested the line, saw what the problem is, and fixed it, all within 30 minutes. I find them much better in supporting non-Comcast owned devices (either cable card, or Docsis modem)..
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letsgobobby
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by letsgobobby »

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nordsteve
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by nordsteve »

One important (to some people) fact to note is that wired routers will give you better performance than using a wireless repeater. This is particularly important if the second network is being used for video streaming.

I would only use a wireless repeater as a last resort, with Ethernet being #1 and Powerline being #2.
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letsgobobby
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by letsgobobby »

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ieee488
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

ilisira wrote:
ieee488 wrote:As was written in another thread, Comcast's technical support consists of turn off cable modem, then turning it back on.
There is not much the lay person can do. My cable modem has on/off button; that is it.
And as was also discussed in that thread, how do you propose to troubleshoot any signal issues when, after rebooting the modem doesn't work, Comcast simply tells you to replace your modem (since it's at fault, possibly prematurely)? Unless you have the technical background required to research & diagnose network problems, renting isn't a bad option.
Comcast (oops, Xfinity :D ) technician was at my house yesterday as the modem I bought to upgrade my service level to 35Mbps was not performing at all. In fact download speed was less than 20Mbps I had with the earlier modem. Anyway, they came, tested the line, saw what the problem is, and fixed it, all within 30 minutes. I find them much better in supporting non-Comcast owned devices (either cable card, or Docsis modem)..
I have had Comcast 3+ years. NEVER had to call a service technician to my home.
1 year at an apartment that is 15+ years old.
2 years at my current single family home.

And the problem you had was with their line which is usually the case not your equipment.
In effect, you are appeasing their poor service (problems with their line) by paying them even more money to rent their equipment.
I don't go for that kind of extortion.
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ieee488
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

Sidney wrote:
killjoy2012 wrote:Powerline networking exists for convenience, not performance or security. If you're good with that, OK. Personally, I would rather do a little extra work and run an ethernet cable to get all three - speed, reliability, security. Many people overlook the potential security issues that Powerline adapters introduce because they're designed to be easy to install.
Is Powerline inherently less secure than wireless?
Only if the owner is lazy and doesn't set up a network name, but then that happens with wireless as well doesn't it?

My Trendnet 200Mbps has 128-bit AES. It would take a billion billion years to brute force crack the key. Here's an article from the EE Times about it http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1279619
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ieee488
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

letsgobobby wrote:I have a cable line coming out the far side of the house, in our guest bedroom. If I could put a repeater there, it would cover the whole house. Does the fact that I have a cable outlet mean I can stick a wired repeater there? It seems like it is for TV, not internet, but hey - I know nothing about this stuff.
I don't understand what you mean.

A wired repeater? Don't you mean a wireless repeater?
With a wireless repeater you can put it anywhere in your house as long as it is near a power outlet. The wireless repeater does not need to be near or connected to a cable outlet. Its purpose is to receive the wireless signal and repeat it.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by 22twain »

I installed some Actiontec "500Mbps" powerline adapters a couple of months ago, to speed up file transfers between the TiVo in my living room and my desktop computer and DSL modem at the opposite end of the house. It also allows me to stream higher-resolution video from my computer to the Apple TV box in the living room.

Instead of using two wireless adapters (one as an extender) to get from one end of the house to the other, I now have just one wireless adapter near the center of the house, connected to another powerline adapter, that serves my wife's notebook computer and our wireless printer. (My "desktop" computer is actually on the floor, in a location where heavy furniture degrades wireless signals.)

I'm running a TiVo transfer right now, at about 45Mbps in terms of actual file-transfer rate. A dedicated Ethernet connection would be faster, but less convenient to set up (cut holes in the walls, install jacks...). This is fast enough for my needs.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by killjoy2012 »

Sidney wrote:Is Powerline inherently less secure than wireless?
Practically speaking, yes. All vendor powerline devices are defaulted to a common password of 'HomePlugAV' per the HomePlug standard. This is because the HomePlug Alliance wants ease of installation and interoperability across all vendor devices. While you can change the password on all your devices, very few people bother since they think the network is limited to their home's wiring. Guess what can happen in a multi-family dwelling such as apartment buildings, condos, etc? Shared wiring. How sure are you that your network isn't being broadcast to other homes in your neighborhood? (RF filtering is supposed to be in place at the pole, but is it?) And if you're really paranoid, what keeps someone from plugging into your outdoor plugs on the home's exterior? If you don't change that password, then all an attacker needs is any other HomPlug device to access your network. Newer devices use AES, which is good, but many of the original HomePlug devices were just DES. But my point is more towards the fact that very few people set a unique password on all of their devices - it's a pain. Whereas just about everyone knows & thinks about protecting their wireless network.

ieee488 wrote: And the problem you had was with their line not your equipment which is usually the case.
In effect, you are appeasing their poor service (problems with their line) by paying them even more money to rent their equipment.
I don't go for that kind of extortion.
Correct, and I agree with you in principal. I'm in a 70 year old subdivision with all wires overhead on poles where signal issues are not uncommon. And while I wish my experiences with the cable company were as smooth as yours, I've simply found that owning your modem adds more complexity to the problem calls. The cable company has come out here ~3 times over the past 10 years to deal with signal issues, and all times were preluded with "if we find the problem is with your equipment, it will be $XX per hour for the service tech's time". And my only point to this thread is that it only takes one of those paid service calls to totally throw off your perceived savings by owning.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by TomatoTomahto »

ieee488 wrote:
letsgobobby wrote:I have a cable line coming out the far side of the house, in our guest bedroom. If I could put a repeater there, it would cover the whole house. Does the fact that I have a cable outlet mean I can stick a wired repeater there? It seems like it is for TV, not internet, but hey - I know nothing about this stuff.
I don't understand what you mean.

A wired repeater? Don't you mean a wireless repeater?
With a wireless repeater you can put it anywhere in your house as long as it is near a power outlet. The wireless repeater does not need to be near or connected to a cable outlet. Its purpose is to receive the wireless signal and repeat it.
By wired repeater, I think he meant a Wireless Access Point.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

killjoy2012 wrote:
Sidney wrote:Is Powerline inherently less secure than wireless?
Practically speaking, yes. All vendor powerline devices are defaulted to a common password of 'HomePlugAV' per the HomePlug standard. This is because the HomePlug Alliance wants ease of installation and interoperability across all vendor devices. While you can change the password on all your devices, very few people bother since they think the network is limited to their home's wiring. Guess what can happen in a multi-family dwelling such as apartment buildings, condos, etc? Shared wiring. How sure are you that your network isn't being broadcast to other homes in your neighborhood? (RF filtering is supposed to be in place at the pole, but is it?) And if you're really paranoid, what keeps someone from plugging into your outdoor plugs on the home's exterior? If you don't change that password, then all an attacker needs is any other HomPlug device to access your network. Newer devices use AES, which is good, but many of the original HomePlug devices were just DES. But my point is more towards the fact that very few people set a unique password on all of their devices - it's a pain. Whereas just about everyone knows & thinks about protecting their wireless network.
And how is this any different than people who don't use a password on their networks or leave it unsecured?
I still see unsecured networks in my neighborhood.
People will either think about securing their network or they won't. Has no difference whether they use wireless or Powerline.
killjoy2012 wrote:
ieee488 wrote: And the problem you had was with their line not your equipment which is usually the case.
In effect, you are appeasing their poor service (problems with their line) by paying them even more money to rent their equipment.
I don't go for that kind of extortion.
Correct, and I agree with you in principal. I'm in a 70 year old subdivision with all wires overhead on poles where signal issues are not uncommon. And while I wish my experiences with the cable company were as smooth as yours, I've simply found that owning your modem adds more complexity to the problem calls. The cable company has come out here ~3 times over the past 10 years to deal with signal issues, and all times were preluded with "if we find the problem is with your equipment, it will be $XX per hour for the service tech's time". And my only point to this thread is that it only takes one of those paid service calls to totally throw off your perceived savings by owning.
Adds more complexity how?
A cable modem is on or off. There are not other settings or buttons with it.

If the Downlink LED on the cable modem is off. You aren't getting a signal. It is as simple as that. It is Comcast's problem.

I refused to be scared by their scare tactics. Which is what they are.

Also, paying $7/month x 12 = $84 to insure against a $150 service call is not Bogleish.
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letsgobobby
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by letsgobobby »

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TomatoTomahto
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by TomatoTomahto »

letsgobobby wrote:I see your point, but you're not being very empathic toward those of us with far less inclination and very little time to manage our wireless network.

For example, apparently I'm calling the thingamabob that I want to plug into a second cable outlet wrong. The question is whether a second cable outlet on the other side of my house helps me solve the connectivity problem I'm having?
I'm assuming that the "second cable outlet" is coax, like you would connect to the back of a cable box, TV, or DVR. If thats true, it will not help you with your connectivity problem. Sorry.

EDITED TO ADD: one way or another (powerline, ethernet, wireless repeater) you want to get network connectivity to other parts of your house. A Comcast coax would need a modem, you already have one at your router, and it's one per residential network.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by 22twain »

killjoy2012 wrote:All vendor powerline devices are defaulted to a common password of 'HomePlugAV' per the HomePlug standard.
The documentation for my Actiontec powerline adapters doesn't mention a password. It does discuss the encryption key which is apparently set to a default value "out of the box" so that new adapters can be added easily to an existing network.

There is a procedure for changing the encryption key to a new, randomly generated value on one adapter, and then syncing the other adapters to use that key also, by pressing a security button on each adapter in a certain sequence. The whole procedure has to be completed within a few minutes. After that, you cannot add another adapter to the network without repeating this procedure to generate a new key for the whole network. This prevents someone from simply slipping an adapter onto one of your outdoor power outlets.

Trendnet powerline adapters also can have their encryption key changed by running utility software from Trendnet, installed on a computer that is on the network. According to one review of the Actiontec adapters on amazon.com, the Trendnet utility software also works with the Actiontec adapters (and I suspect probably on other adapters that meet the HomePlugAV standard). When I get some time to fool around with my network (including enough time to restore everything if I mess it up :oops: ) I'll try it.
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ieee488
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

letsgobobby wrote:I see your point, but you're not being very empathic toward those of us with far less inclination and very little time to manage our wireless network.

For example, apparently I'm calling the thingamabob that I want to plug into a second cable outlet wrong. The question is whether a second cable outlet on the other side of my house helps me solve the connectivity problem I'm having?
I answered your question.

You did not come back with another question.

How am I or others suppose to help when you disappear and don't come back?
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ieee488
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

TomatoTomahto wrote:
ieee488 wrote:
letsgobobby wrote:I have a cable line coming out the far side of the house, in our guest bedroom. If I could put a repeater there, it would cover the whole house. Does the fact that I have a cable outlet mean I can stick a wired repeater there? It seems like it is for TV, not internet, but hey - I know nothing about this stuff.
I don't understand what you mean.

A wired repeater? Don't you mean a wireless repeater?
With a wireless repeater you can put it anywhere in your house as long as it is near a power outlet. The wireless repeater does not need to be near or connected to a cable outlet. Its purpose is to receive the wireless signal and repeat it.
By wired repeater, I think he meant a Wireless Access Point.
Maybe, but he already has a WAP. Confusing.

He then returns only to post that I am not being empathetic without asking for further clarification.
The Bogleheads are very knowledgeable, but if he keeps repeating that he knows nothing about this stuff, I am not sure how the discussion can continue?
Last edited by ieee488 on Mon Oct 14, 2013 9:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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ieee488
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by ieee488 »

TomatoTomahto wrote:
letsgobobby wrote:I see your point, but you're not being very empathic toward those of us with far less inclination and very little time to manage our wireless network.

For example, apparently I'm calling the thingamabob that I want to plug into a second cable outlet wrong. The question is whether a second cable outlet on the other side of my house helps me solve the connectivity problem I'm having?
I'm assuming that the "second cable outlet" is coax, like you would connect to the back of a cable box, TV, or DVR. If thats true, it will not help you with your connectivity problem. Sorry.

EDITED TO ADD: one way or another (powerline, ethernet, wireless repeater) you want to get network connectivity to other parts of your house. A Comcast coax would need a modem, you already have one at your router, and it's one per residential network.
another Boglehead posted that the D-Link DAP 1320 wifi extender/repeater worked for him http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... &p=1780339
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by linguini »

I found that our wifi was insufficient for carrying streaming video for our roku and IP security camera simultaneously in the bedroom, so I set up zyxel powerline adapters to get a wired connection to our router. It seems to work well. As mentioned by another poster, the modern powerline adapters generate random encryption keys so you can't just add a new one without having physical access to the source adapter. Just make sure you are getting something made within the past few years.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by core5 »

kenyan wrote:Buy your own cable modem. It'll quickly pay for itself, and decoupling the modem from the router will allow you much better flexibility. We bought a Motorola SURFboard to save the modem fee, which recently rose to $6.00 per month with our provider. It'll pay for itself in less than a year.

As for what router to use, that's trickier. We were having range problems with our old router, a Netgear N300. We mostly had no problems with the router, but it just couldn't handle the number of walls it had to at our new house. I upgraded to a dual-band ASUS RT-N66U, with some reservations about whether it would help. It works wonderfully. Not sure if it's the external antennas or something else, but our wireless is now flawless on either the 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz band in our entire house (and outside it, I'm sure). I may combine it with an extender just to get a network drop in the far room for my game console, but I'm still considering. They do have a new version for the 802.11ac protocol as well, though I don't see myself needing that for many years; it's a low-range protocol for very high data rates. Note that you can buy larger external antennas as well.
I can vouch for the newer Asus models' range. The RT-N66U, RT-AC66U, and RT-AC68U have enough power to get a Wi-Fi signal 50 yards through a single wall. or through 3 or 4 walls in a house. The power output is adjustable up to 200mW. Out of the box, it starts at 80mW.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by bungalow10 »

kenyan wrote:They do have a new version for the 802.11ac protocol as well, though I don't see myself needing that for many years; it's a low-range protocol for very high data rates.
A couple comments above yours I posted about my experiences with 802.11 AC - it solved all our network issues. Our wireless is flawless and fast enough to steam HD on multiple devices at once.

FWIW - there are a lot of recommendations on here to play around with lots of different devices. I would try an upgraded router first. We found we don't need our repeaters anymore and we never have contention between devices anymore. A new router was very simple to do and I prefer having fewer devices to more.
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kenyan
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by kenyan »

bungalow10 wrote:
kenyan wrote:They do have a new version for the 802.11ac protocol as well, though I don't see myself needing that for many years; it's a low-range protocol for very high data rates.
A couple comments above yours I posted about my experiences with 802.11 AC - it solved all our network issues. Our wireless is flawless and fast enough to steam HD on multiple devices at once.

FWIW - there are a lot of recommendations on here to play around with lots of different devices. I would try an upgraded router first. We found we don't need our repeaters anymore and we never have contention between devices anymore. A new router was very simple to do and I prefer having fewer devices to more.
I agree, but it's not necessarily (likely not, I would say) the new protocol that solved your problems; it's the new, more powerful router (higher power, beamforming, etc). All of our problems were similarly solved (including passing bandwidth tests with flying colors) with the brand new simultaneous dual-band 802.11n router. The the 'ac' protocol capability only matters at all if you have 'ac'-capable devices, which are very few and far between currently. What is more likely is that you have a fancy new router that can do 'ac', but all of your devices are running on 802.11n.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by bungalow10 »

kenyan wrote:
bungalow10 wrote:
kenyan wrote:They do have a new version for the 802.11ac protocol as well, though I don't see myself needing that for many years; it's a low-range protocol for very high data rates.
A couple comments above yours I posted about my experiences with 802.11 AC - it solved all our network issues. Our wireless is flawless and fast enough to steam HD on multiple devices at once.

FWIW - there are a lot of recommendations on here to play around with lots of different devices. I would try an upgraded router first. We found we don't need our repeaters anymore and we never have contention between devices anymore. A new router was very simple to do and I prefer having fewer devices to more.
I agree, but it's not necessarily (likely not, I would say) the new protocol that solved your problems; it's the new, more powerful router (higher power, beamforming, etc). All of our problems were similarly solved (including passing bandwidth tests with flying colors) with the brand new simultaneous dual-band 802.11n router. The the 'ac' protocol capability only matters at all if you have 'ac'-capable devices, which are very few and far between currently. What is more likely is that you have a fancy new router that can do 'ac', but all of your devices are running on 802.11n.
Both my smart TVs and my work laptop are AC, so it works great.

Beamforming helped too, especially with devices that move about a lot, like the Kindles.
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Sidney »

Isn't Smart TV an oxymoron?
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by letsgobobby »

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Last edited by letsgobobby on Sun Dec 15, 2019 10:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
gurujji
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by gurujji »

Frobie wrote:We use these. Work like a charm and were very easy to set up.

They seem to go on sale a few times a year but are well worth paying full price for IMHO.
+1

just watch out for a sale(usually $20-$30 off...)

1) you always need a pair (and that's how it's sold).
2) 1st POE (powerline over ethernet) , plugs to an electric outlet and connects to modem/router
3) 2nd POE , plugs to an electric outlet, and connect it to the computer.
4) POE with 200mpbs will work - CONs - some vendors limit scalability to 3-pairs of POE. (for example, scroll down to see product comparision chart)
5) to connect, multiple, devices buy a 4-port or 8-port switch (like this), and connect the switch to the POE ...
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by Kuckie »

I can vouch for the newer Asus models' range. The RT-N66U, RT-AC66U, and RT-AC68U have enough power to get a Wi-Fi signal 50 yards through a single wall. or through 3 or 4 walls in a house. The power output is adjustable up to 200mW. Out of the box, it starts at 80mW
I agree and have been using the ASUS RT-AC66U since the beginning of the year. It has proven totally reliable with whole house coverage including the yard, with much higher speeds and ability to handle many more clients compared to my 6 year old DLink DI-624. (However the DLink was also reliable and worked well for its age.) As stated above, power output can be increased but should not be necessary and will not have much effect since the signal received from clients will not change. It is like yelling louder while the other person continues to communicate back at a whisper level. However external multiple antennas will effectively improve both transmit and receive distance.

Small Net Builder recently tested the new AC class routers including the Asus RT-AC66U, DLink 868L, and the Netgear 6300. The RT-AC66U was #1 but there was not a big difference. All routers have the same FCC regulated power output so antennas, orientation, and router placement, are the major variables affecting coverage.

Test results are listed below:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless ... ess-retest
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by core5 »

bungalow10 wrote:
kenyan wrote:They do have a new version for the 802.11ac protocol as well, though I don't see myself needing that for many years; it's a low-range protocol for very high data rates.
A couple comments above yours I posted about my experiences with 802.11 AC - it solved all our network issues. Our wireless is flawless and fast enough to steam HD on multiple devices at once.

FWIW - there are a lot of recommendations on here to play around with lots of different devices. I would try an upgraded router first. We found we don't need our repeaters anymore and we never have contention between devices anymore. A new router was very simple to do and I prefer having fewer devices to more.
There is a 160MHz channel-width version of the protocol, but I don't think any consumer routers use it yet. 40MHz and 80MHz are much more common.
The theoretical max speed of 802.11ac is eight 160MHz 256-QAM channels, each of which are capable of 866.7Mbps — a total of 6,933Mbps, this is slightly short of 7Gbps.
http://techbeat.com/2013/07/wifi-802-11 ... ast-is-it/
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Re: wi fi range, extenders, Powerline, etc

Post by AnimalCrackers »

Over the years, I've bought from Amazon and installed the following three products (modem, router, powerline x3) and I've found them to be pretty cheap, reliable, and easy solutions to some annoying tech problems:

Motorola SB6121 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem

Cisco-Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router

NETGEAR Powerline AV Adapter with Ethernet Switch

I recommend them, and I'd buy them again.
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