Best way to get Wi-Fi signal boost in conservatory room

John_Adam1John_Adam1 Posts: 1,755
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Hi,
We have Sky Fibre and use their normal hub they supply which is situated upstairs in a quite big house.
The wifi signal in most rooms is good enough, but now I have bought an Xbox One which I intend to play online in a conservatory room where the signal strength is very low.
What is the best way, keeping costs to a minimum, to effectively boost the signal adequately for online gaming?
Many thanks.

Comments

  • Richard_TRichard_T Posts: 5,159
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    Homeplugs, or homeplugs with wifi built in. https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-TL-WPA4220KIT-Powerline-Configuration-Smartphone/dp/B00D
    or even better and cheaper a long ethernet cable
  • John_Adam1John_Adam1 Posts: 1,755
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    Richard_T wrote: »
    Homeplugs, or homeplugs with wifi built in. https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-TL-WPA4220KIT-Powerline-Configuration-Smartphone/dp/B00D
    or even better and cheaper a long ethernet cable

    Thanks for the reply but the link doesn't work.

    I want to avoid hard wiring.
  • AetnlaAetnla Posts: 565
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  • John_Adam1John_Adam1 Posts: 1,755
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  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
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    John_Adam1 wrote: »
    Thank you. Will the speed be sufficient with them to avoid any lag?
    That is an almost impossible question to answer.

    If everything works properly then chances are those devices will be OK. They should be faster than your internet connection at least.

    The big variable is the quality and condition of the mains wiring in your home. As they use the mains wiring to communicate between the Homeplugs any faults in the wiring can reduce the performance. As can anything plugged into the mains circuit producing noise onto the wiring.

    There is also the possibility that if the router and conservatory are on different ring mains there could be a performance hit going through the breakers in the consumer unit.

    Ultimately no-one can say with certainty what sort of performance you will get out of them as no-one knows the state of your house wiring. The only real test is to get a pair and plug them in and see what happens.
  • lonewallerlonewaller Posts: 711
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    John_Adam1 wrote: »
    Thank you. Will the speed be sufficient with them to avoid any lag?

    I would find an xBox forum and look for any threads on using homeplugs - either that or ask a new question.

    I would also look for any forum on the homeplugs you may be interested in to see what's said.

    Brian
  • stripestripe Posts: 999
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    back in the old cb radio days i used to reflect the signal with a aluminum foil which allowed me to talk to a certain lady....

    a quick google search shows some doing the same for their wifi.
  • gem123gem123 Posts: 55
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    John_Adam1 wrote: »
    Hi,
    We have Sky Fibre and use their normal hub they supply which is situated upstairs in a quite big house.
    The wifi signal in most rooms is good enough, but now I have bought an Xbox One which I intend to play online in a conservatory room where the signal strength is very low.
    What is the best way, keeping costs to a minimum, to effectively boost the signal adequately for online gaming?
    Many thanks.

    Best bet is home plugs...you can get them with wifi on them but you can also connect cable to them....you will lose a little speed but not much...I use tplink units and mine are fine ....but dont plug in any extention leads or you will lose speed.

    geoffj
  • neo_walesneo_wales Posts: 13,625
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    Home plugs will be fine, ones with wi fi will be best.
  • noise747noise747 Posts: 30,695
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    John_Adam1 wrote: »
    Thank you. Will the speed be sufficient with them to avoid any lag?

    I use Tp-link homeplugs from my computer upstairs to my router downstairs and while they are not Wi-fI, they work fine. but home plugs do differ, the ones I had before these was useless and could not cope with going from downstairs to upstairs.
    No lag, but as i said mine is not wifi, so if the Wi-fi coning will add lag I do not know.

    My Tplink plugs are over 3 years old and never had a problem with them.
  • noise747noise747 Posts: 30,695
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    stripe wrote: »
    back in the old cb radio days i used to reflect the signal with a aluminum foil which allowed me to talk to a certain lady....

    And that worked? CB is on 27Mhz, i did not think foil would have much affect on it to be honest, unlike the 934Mhz where it may as the smaller radio waves would bounce off the foil.

    That is if I remember things right.
  • Mark_Jones15Mark_Jones15 Posts: 11
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    Hi. Using a WiFi extender could work, but it might also be worth looking at some of the newer mesh wifi systems. They sort of blanket your house in WiFi via little cells:

    http://www.broadbandlondon.com/2016/12/04/get-a-mesh-wifi-system-to-solve-wifi-not-spots-in-your-home/
  • alan.walan.w Posts: 1,437
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    Can you move router nearer a window on that side/end of the house?
  • neo_walesneo_wales Posts: 13,625
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    Just get home plugs and stop farting about.
  • John_Adam1John_Adam1 Posts: 1,755
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    Thanks for all the replies.
    I bought a set of the TP-Link home plugs like the ones someone posted a link to earlier in the topic. They were reduced in Sainsbury's to £30 from £45.
    I haven't set them up yet, because to be honest the signal is working better than I'd expected even without any kind of boost. I will still use them though, because there is just a bit of lag occasionally. I'll report back once they're set up and running. :) cheers...
  • mickbirch2000mickbirch2000 Posts: 745
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    Along the same lines as the foil solution, mirrors can be used as a temporary set up to reflect wi-fi round corners & thro doorways, if you can see the router in the mirror then the signal has a line of sight path.
  • SeanWillis01SeanWillis01 Posts: 9
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    I have used the TP-Link wall plugs, from personal experience, I found they work better if plugged into a wall outlet directly rather than a 4-way extension lead.
  • Andy2Andy2 Posts: 11,942
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    Moving your XBOX may get a better signal. On 2.5 GHz the wavelength is very short, so even a few inches can make the difference.
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