Would a mesh WiFi system help my issue?

[cosrocket]

I have the Asus RT-AC5300 which is working well for us in most places, even though it is all the way in the front room of the house. I had Comcast come out to see about moving the modem to a more central location but they said the signal wasn’t strong enough so they were not able to, and since the house has vaulted ceilings they could not get to where they would need to through the attic to increase the signal, (that is how it was explained to me).

We have a seating area in our bedroom which is all the way on the other side of the house with a couch next to a sliding glass door. We sit there quite a bit, and when sitting on the couch we only get about 12 to 15 Mbps down, just a few steps away from the couch we get around 100 Mbps (we have 105 Mbps service and get around 115 to 126 Mbps in most of the house.

Since we cannot move the sofa I was wondering if getting one of the new mesh Wi-Fi systems (Amplifi, Eero or Luma) and putting one of the modules in or close to the bedroom would help the signal from the couch. Do you think it might help or would the glass door be a problem no matter what?

 

[whsbuss]

Do you have any ethernet in that location? Using any of the new whole house wifi wirelessly will require placing the units about 40 ft from each other, at least that's what EERO says. AmpliFi will be similar but its not yet released.

 

[cosrocket]

I have the Asus RT-AC5300 which is working well for us in most places, even though it is all the way in the front room of the house. I had Comcast come out to see about moving the modem to a more central location but they said the signal wasn’t strong enough so they were not able to, and since the house has vaulted ceilings they could not get to where they would need to through the attic to increase the signal, (that is how it was explained to me).

We have a seating area in our bedroom which is all the way on the other side of the house with a couch next to a sliding glass door. We sit there quite a bit, and when sitting on the couch we only get about 12 to 15 Mbps down, just a few steps away from the couch we get around 100 Mbps (we have 105 Mbps service and get around 115 to 126 Mbps in most of the house.

Since we cannot move the sofa I was wondering if getting one of the new mesh Wi-Fi systems (Amplifi, Eero or Luma) and putting one of the modules in or close to the bedroom would help the signal from the couch. Do you think it might help or would the glass door be a problem no matter what?

Do you have any ethernet in that location? Using any of the new whole house wifi wirelessly will require placing the units about 40 ft from each other, at least that's what EERO says. AmpliFi will be similar but its not yet released.

There are coax connections in other parts of the house where I could connect the modem, but as I said Comcast said the signal is not strong enough other than in the room the modem is currently located.

If I were to try one of the mesh systems I would get a 3 pack and connect the first to the modem, the second in the middle of the house and the third either in the bedroom or as close to the bedroom as the setup would allow as I understand it will tell you if you are placing the modules too far from each other. It's a pretty open house without a lot of walls so it's possible I would be able to place one of the modules inside the bedroom itself. I just don't know if it's the glass door that is the issue. I would think it is as other areas inside the room away from the couch and the door gets a much stronger signal.

 

[thiggins]

The glass door could only be a possible cause of signal drop if it is between you and the router. Possible metalized coating (UV protection) could attenuate the signal.

You are using a separate router for your WiFi. So you don't have to move the cable modem if you have Ethernet in other locations. If you don't have Ethernet, you could use a pair of HomePlug AV2 powerline adapters between the cable modem out and router WAN port.

To your question about eero or other mesh systems. You can think of these as wireless extenders that can automatically figure out how best to connect to each other or back to the base router in order to deliver maximum throughput. Or at least that's the intent. It's still early days and vendors are tuning their systems.

Since you already have a router you're happy with and have only one dead / weak spot, a cheaper solution is a dual-band extender. Get at least an AC1200 model and one that has automatic backhaul selection. Our rankings are here.

 

[cosrocket]

The glass door could only be a possible cause of signal drop if it is between you and the router. Possible metalized coating (UV protection) could attenuate the signal.

You are using a separate router for your WiFi. So you don't have to move the cable modem if you have Ethernet in other locations. If you don't have Ethernet, you could use a pair of HomePlug AV2 powerline adapters between the cable modem out and router WAN port.

To your question about eero or other mesh systems. You can think of these as wireless extenders that can automatically figure out how best to connect to each other or back to the base router in order to deliver maximum throughput. Or at least that's the intent. It's still early days and vendors are tuning their systems.

Since you already have a router you're happy with and have only one dead / weak spot, a cheaper solution is a dual-band extender. Get at least an AC1200 model and one that has automatic backhaul selection. Our rankings are here.

Thanks for the info Tim. I see that Netgear has an AC2200 range extender. Are you planning to review it?

 

[thiggins]

Thanks for the info Tim. I see that Netgear has an AC2200 range extender. Are you planning to review it?

Not anytime soon.

I would not mess with the newer class extenders at this point. Anything with MU-MIMO is still under development and more likely to cause problems than provide benefit. If you want to step up from AC1200, then try the EX6400 AC1900.

 

[sfx2000]

Move the modem - seriously - unplug it, disconnect the cable, and move it... and then move the router/AP.

Moving a CM inside a house isn't that big of a deal - 6 meters isn't much compared to a CMTS head end that might be 5KM away...

Cable Modems, like Set Top Boxes - they're designed for this, and they're pretty robust...

 

[TonyH]

Move the modem - seriously - unplug it, disconnect the cable, and move it... and then move the router/AP.

Moving a CM inside a house isn't that big of a deal - 6 meters isn't much compared to a CMTS head end that might be 5KM away...

Cable Modems, like Set Top Boxes - they're designed for this, and they're pretty robust...

Ditto, the ISP tech is pulling the leg. I always had too strong baseband signal level around here. My cable enters into basement. I ran cable from there to upstairs loft where modem & router resides. I could run the cable following air duct.
Using cable snake was big help.