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Community Fibre Linksys router not strong

zudecke233

Casual Member
Hi,

Despite my modest 600sqft ground floor flat footprint, my new Community Fibre-sourced Linksys (SPNMX56) router's WiFi signal is unable to reach the far side of the property.

Aside from any cabling, what is the best solution if money is no object (we can work backward from there).

I've seen some suggesting buying another Linksys MX* router.

Someone else suggested powerline adapters.

I also have a trio of Deco M5s from my old (Virgin Media-based) set up if anyone thinks that's a good idea.

I can't take any ore of this crap!

Thank you community!
 
Interesting that you have a trio of Eeros from Virgin Media. Did you end up with 3 of these units by default or did you need multiple Eeros to get coverage in your flat previously?

Just trying to connect the dots - if you've had multiple Eeros deployed that would kinda make me suspect that there is something structural that is preventing the WiFi signal propagating.

I would be looking at using the Eeros as a complete replacement as you already have them sitting on the shelf at no cost, at least to establish that multiple units can penetrate or get round whatever the structure is that is blocking the signal. Try to work out what is blocking the signal.

You could keep using the Eeros, or move onto a 2nd Linksys Mx unit from ebay to keep your support with CF unhampered. Or any other mesh solution you care to choose - ubiquity is expensive but good.
 
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Interesting that you have a trio of Eeros from Virgin Media. Did you end up with 3 of these units by default or did you need multiple Eeros to get coverage in your flat previously?

Just trying to connect the dots - if you've had multiple Eeros deployed that would kinda make me suspect that there is something structural that is preventing the WiFi signal propagating.

I would be looking at using the Eeros as a complete replacement as you already have them sitting on the shelf at no cost, at least to establish that multiple units can penetrate or get round whatever the structure is that is blocking the signal. Try to work out what is blocking the signal.

You could keep using the Eeros, or move onto a 2nd Linksys Mx unit from ebay to keep your support with CF unhampered. Or any other mesh solution you care to choose - ubiquity is expensive but good.
Hiya - I don't have any Eeros.

I have a trio of Deco M5s, which I bought myself during the Virgin Media days.

They provided better coverage in my modestly sized flat than the Virgin Media Hub 4 ever did, however they too were prone to weak signal between the 3x units, and often resulted in total drop outs.

My situation was worsened due to frequent broadband outages (officially recognised by Virgin) that affected the neighbourhood. Often for days on end.

So to be clear, I had two issue - 1) Virgin themselves with frequent outages and 2) sketchy WiFi distribution via both the Hub 4 and the Deco M5 units (although Deco was better than the router alone, for sure).

So, I needed to change ISP anyway. 3 days into CF, I'm optimistic, but am noticing dropouts in the next room (latency between 70ms at best, and 250ms at worst) and often 0 connection in the furthest room (about 10m away from the router, with minimal obstruction).

The router is within an MDF TV unit (with MDF doors closed), but I wouldn't have thought that would be much of a limiting factor.

So options that I've thought about/read about:
1) Procure another Linksys router (is this basically a "mesh"?)
2) Buy a better router
3) Powerline adapters (which another poster above has advised against)
4) Use my old Deco M5 nodes for a mesh (even though it was prone to dropouts in the old Virgin Hub 4-based set up)
5) Procure a new mesh set up (new hardware)
6) Pay an extra £10p/m for CF to "guarantee" the signal (not sure what their solution would be)


Whilst repositioning the router and/or physical cabling might solve the issue, I'm really hesitant to that. With such a small flat, I am really hoping to achieve a wireless solution.

Thanks again

Z
 
Sorry for the double post, but on a similar note, what is this talk of 2x router set ups?

Again, I see a suggestion to use another router (e.g. another Linksys router) - is this effectively the same as the "mesh" network vernacular, without the marketing talk applied?

How straightforward is the set up of a 2x (Linksys) router set up?
 
My setup with CF is, and I've never just used the provided router as the main, router, is a GL.INET MT6000->SPNMX56 (parent node)->4x SPNMX56 (child nodes) most ethernet backhaul...overkill but the I bought the SPNMX56s from ebay for about £40 each..branded CF and have them in a mesh

Sitting 2 floors up in a loft room from the MT6000 I'm seeing 480/230 on a 1Gb.

I bought the MT6000 from Amazon with the intention of returning it if it was crap, it's working really well. Yes I'm double NATing but that doesn't bother me.
 
My setup with CF is, and I've never just used the provided router as the main, router, is a GL.INET MT6000->SPNMX56 (parent node)->4x SPNMX56 (child nodes) most ethernet backhaul...overkill but the I bought the SPNMX56s from ebay for about £40 each..branded CF and have them in a mesh

Sitting 2 floors up in a loft room from the MT6000 I'm seeing 480/230 on a 1Gb.

I bought the MT6000 from Amazon with the intention of returning it if it was crap, it's working really well. Yes I'm double NATing but that doesn't bother me.
Wish I knew how to do the same. Is there a guide anywhere that you know of? I'm talking spoon feeding it for a real technophobe 😭.

Would the paid-for solution (£10p/m) that CF be similar to the set up you explained?
 
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You can usually buy an additional Linksys MX to match your existing master unit off of eBay for £40-50. That would be cheaper than paying CF £10 a month.

When you set up the Linksys MX additional node the initial config to pair the two units to work together in a mesh is done using WiFi but you can subsequently switch to Ethernet backhaul between the two.

I suggest you need to consider is why the WiFi is unable to get from one side of your flat to the other and if this is an ongoing issue it will also affect the slave mesh node to use WiFi as backhaul - unless you can work out what is the blocker/interference and position the master and slave WiFi units with direct line of sight and/or located where the WiFi is not getting blocked. If you can't resolve the above then you probably need to plan for an ethernet cable between the master and slave unit.
 
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Do you think MDF cupboard doors (about 1.5" thickness) would be obstacle enough to stifle the signal?
No, it's more likely to be something metal or water that is the blocker. WiFi can generally penetrate wood, brick and plaster.

But it could be something you can't see. Metal lined plasterboard. Steel reinforcing in structural concrete or steel beams. Utility pipes servicing other flats that you can't see within walls. A high density of electrical cables or something creating EMF interference impacting 2.4 and 5GHz.

For a start, just to eliminate the cupboard can you take the router out and see if it makes any significant difference. But make sur your TV isn't in the way of where you want the signal to go. Is there a bookcase nearby to this cupboard - being able to raise the router up onto something high like a bookcase above the heads of humans can help, we're mostly water and hence block WiFi.
 
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Wish I knew how to do the same. Is there a guide anywhere that you know of? I'm talking spoon feeding it for a real technophobe 😭.

Would the paid-for solution (£10p/m) that CF be similar to the set up you explained?
It's not that difficult, you could get your 'router of choice' and just plug it in, ONT into the WAN port, and disconnect the supplied router. If you leave the supplied on then your devices will have no internet access.

The ROC will have it's own WiFi name and password (bottom of router normally) connect your phone to the new WiFi and run speedtest......keep repeating it at different locations...if all good keep the router and maybe repurpose the Linksys (and maybe others) or other mesh routers of your choice.
 
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It's not that difficult, you could get your 'router of choice' and just plug it in, ONT into the WAN port, and disconnect the supplied router. If you leave the supplied on then your devices will have no internet access.

The ROC will have it's own WiFi name and password (bottom of router normally) connect your phone to the new WiFi and run speedtest......keep repeating it at different locations...if all good keep the router and maybe repurpose the Linksys (and maybe others) or other mesh routers of your choice.
Hi - so you're in favour of a better router as the solution, is that right?

No mesh, no router pairings?

If so, would you mind letting me know your thoughts on the best home WiFi router on the market?

I wonder - If there is something blocking my signal, would that mean ANY router on gods green earth would have the same problem? A blocked signal is a blocked signal?

Thanks

Z
 
@zudecke233 solved a similar problem in a long apartment with a cheapo tplink range extender.
Likely one of the Deco thingies placed strategically will solve your problem.

ps: I think investigating why the wifi is poor in the first place, as has been suggested, is worth the time. Did you try rotating the wifi router 90 degrees for example? Some of these things aren't as omnidirectional as they claim.
 
@zudecke233 solved a similar problem in a long apartment with a cheapo tplink range extender.
Likely one of the Deco thingies placed strategically will solve your problem.

ps: I think investigating why the wifi is poor in the first place, as has been suggested, is worth the time. Did you try rotating the wifi router 90 degrees for example? Some of these things aren't as omnidirectional as they claim.
Hi - I've attached a floor plan of my property and it shows where the router is denoted by the purple blob, and where the signal struggles denoted by the yellow bubble - effectively the opposite end of the property (bedroom).

To answer your question, yes, I've tried rotating the router 45 degrees each rotation, to no avail. More importantly, I've tried opening (keeping open) the cupboard doors, again, to no avail.

I can't just stick a single Deco M5 unit down (halfway for example), as I believe their setup requires one of them to be the router, so I'd need to replace my Linksys. If I'm not mistaken...
Do you think this "Tp-Link range extender" might be a good option then?
 

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Hi - I've attached a floor plan of my property and it shows where the router is denoted by the purple blob, and where the signal struggles denoted by the yellow bubble - effectively the opposite end of the property (bedroom).

To answer your question, yes, I've tried rotating the router 45 degrees each rotation, to no avail. More importantly, I've tried opening (keeping open) the cupboard doors, again, to no avail.

I can't just stick a single Deco M5 unit down (halfway for example), as I believe their setup requires one of them to be the router, so I'd need to replace my Linksys. If I'm not mistaken...
Do you think this "Tp-Link range extender" might be a good option then?
It cld be the waterworks to do with the kitchen & the bathroom in between the router and the far side bedroom or even devices like microwaves in the kitchen and so a range extender (in the hallway) might be the cheapest possible solution you can try, something else to consider - as you are on the ground floor it seems, something about the top floor flat might inadvertently be causing the interference.
 
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It cld be the waterworks to do with the kitchen & the bathroom in between the router and the far side bedroom or even devices like microwaves in the kitchen and so a range extender (in the hallway) might be the cheapest possible solution you can try, something else to consider - as you are on the ground floor it seems, something about the top floor flat might inadvertently be causing the interference.
Any suggestion on which extender to go for?
 
Any suggestion on which extender to go for?
Something like this one -

TP-Link RE450 AC1750
 
I would always advocate for a mesh WiFi over a range extender.

The problem with the extenders is that they don't collaborate with the router to direct WiFi clients to the best device - and WiFi clients are relatively dumb and just stick with the last access point they connected to until it's such a crap signal it's unusable. So it can result in a poor experience in itself.
 
I would always advocate for a mesh WiFi over a range extender.

The problem with the extenders is that they don't collaborate with the router to direct WiFi clients to the best device - and WiFi clients are relatively dumb and just stick with the last access point they connected to until it's such a crap signal it's unusable. So it can result in a poor experience in itself.
So, range extenders emit their own SSID? I'll have two ssids? If not, how would I manually decide which devices to connect to which emitter?
 
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