Help setting Up home network

[Blablabla234]

I am looking for some help with setting up a home network. I have fibre broadband from Singtel, but the signal doesn't reach all the areas in my apartment. I bought a range extender but don't seem to be able to install it well. Can anyone in the area of KK hospital/novena come help install it for a small fee? Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes.

[taxico]

I am looking for some help with setting up a home network. I have fibre broadband from Singtel, but the signal doesn't reach all the areas in my apartment. I bought a range extender but don't seem to be able to install it well. Can anyone in the area of KK hospital/novena come help install it for a small fee? Shouldn't take more than 30 minutes.

yikes. a house call just for that? if you're willing to take the time to post details and perhaps photos, i'm sure someone here will try to help you out. probably not me.

where is your main wifi box located in the house? does it have pointy antennas that swivel? can you try to describe the layout of your home? where have you installed the extender? what do you mean by "(i) don't seem to be able to install it well"? what brand/model is it?

does your laptop indicate better reception than before or still the same lousy signal? if it's got better signal/recept, does it mean internet speed is still awful?

[Strong Eagle]

Range extenders are completely worthless. Buy a powerline extender and an access point, or cheaper router if you know how to program.

[xvguard]

I dont think he'll be able to set it up from the sounds of it, may be too technical for the poster

[darren_c]

Range extenders are completely worthless. Buy a powerline extender and an access point, or cheaper router if you know how to program.

What is a powerline extender? Any recommeded brands?

Thanks.

Darren
darren_cam@cncconsvcs.com

[Tanuki]

Range extenders are completely worthless. Buy a powerline extender and an access point, or cheaper router if you know how to program.

What is a powerline extender? Any recommeded brands?

Thanks.

Darren
darren_cam@cncconsvcs.com

You can plug in a couple of these devices and they'll act like an ethernet cable across your home. The main unit connects to your router or switch, and the others feed from that. There are a number of brands around. Here's a link to the Powerline:

http://www.tp-link.sg/products/?categoryid=206

While I haven't used these myself, nor do I have any connection to that firm, I am happy to note that the traffic is 128-bit AES encrypted. Some of the similar things in the past were not encrypted. Read some reviews to see if the units you like have a decent history with people. I tried D-Link in the states and it was a little hit and miss on stability.

As SE noted, the wifi extenders are normally very low quality and don't last very long. You can also use another wifi router and bridge the existing wifi from it to give you a larger reception area. I do that with Apple routers at home.

Have fun!

[whiplash00]

I have 3 walls between the tiny router at my place and my room and am using homeplug which totally solve the problem.

http://www.aztech.com/sg/prod_homeplug.html

The downside is you have to use ethernet cable instead of wifi signal if you dont want another signal generator in your room.

[securedude69]

Forget WiFi extenders, unless its within the same floor and without walls and odd corners within the signal radius. What I do is to use PoEs - Power over Ethernet devices.

Power over Ethernet (PoE) does exactly what it says — it carries power over ethernet cables. So, an ethernet cables caries both data and current together to operate devices like wi-fi access points. This is very helpful to install wi-fi access points in ceilings, where it is hard to find power outlets. Only smaller devices can be powered using the PoE, as it carries limited power over the ethernet.

I tend to go with Aztech products, but there are other brands out there that is also pretty awesome too eg. TP-Link, cheap and good stuff. Sample list of PoE devices now include PoE Adapters, PoE Wireless Access Points, PoE Switches, etc.

If your usual data traffic falls into the voice skype, normal usage category, then a typical 200Mbps speed bandwidth rated or below PoE devices will suffice. If its for video-streaming and media entertainment, I would strongly suggest you go with something higher like 500MBps models, believe me, you will thank me for that tip.

[Steve1960]

This is not for everyone but I find it easy enough to live with. You could also run plastic trunking between rooms allowing you to extend the Ethernet hard wiring.