Proto
Legendary Member
- Location
- East Devon/West Dorset
Firstly, forgive me if I use the wrong terminology, I'm not an IT professional (or even an amateur), so I may use the wrong names and terms to describe what I'm trying to do and what the problems are. I know a bit but my knowledge is very thin.
So, bought a house near Lyme Regis, no possibility of fibre broadband so I pursued the the 4G Broadband route. I want good BB for streaming TV, films, Skype and usual internet stuff. My wife does online work, so we need something half decent. The 4G signal here is okay for phone calls but is only giving 1-2Mbps to my phone and iPad. Had a long chat with a local BB/Network installer and he advised with the right kit he could provide a solution.
Nearest phone mast is only 2 miles away but I'm in a valley and there are a million trees around my house so a home 4G modem/router wasn't going to cut it. I signed up with EE, SIM only, unlimited data contract. So BB/IT man installed a Mikrotik STX combined directional antenna/modem on a gable end of the house, ran a Cat 5 cable to a Microtik WiFi router/access point (which also powers the modem over PoE) in the sitting room next to the TV. All good, works well, depending on time of day, weather, etc. I'm getting between 20 and 40Mbps. I'm happy with that. Netflix, Breaking Bad, Grey's Anatomy, woohoo!
Problem is that the house has some very thick solid stone walls, like 30cm thick, more in places. WiFi reaches the bedroom above the sitting room but drops off dramatically beyond the sitting room. No problem, thinks I. Put a couple of power line WiFi adaptors in and that should cover the house. I've got a couple of old D-Link power line adaptors (not WiFi though), tried them out and they worked fine. So, I invested in a couple of Devolo WiFi adaptors, and plugged them in, and after a bit of faff with stupidly long passwords got them working. Now got internet access throughout the house.
So, here's the problem. I now have four networks in the house - two from the Microtik router (2.4 and 5GHz), and another two from the two Devolo WiFi powerline adaptors.
Is there anyway I can make this into one, seamless network? Moving around the house, devices (phones, iPads, laptops) have to be manually switched to get the best signal and it's going to drive me nuts.
I have heard of Mesh networks but know next to nothing about them. Would Mesh be an answer to my prayers? Help!!
So, bought a house near Lyme Regis, no possibility of fibre broadband so I pursued the the 4G Broadband route. I want good BB for streaming TV, films, Skype and usual internet stuff. My wife does online work, so we need something half decent. The 4G signal here is okay for phone calls but is only giving 1-2Mbps to my phone and iPad. Had a long chat with a local BB/Network installer and he advised with the right kit he could provide a solution.
Nearest phone mast is only 2 miles away but I'm in a valley and there are a million trees around my house so a home 4G modem/router wasn't going to cut it. I signed up with EE, SIM only, unlimited data contract. So BB/IT man installed a Mikrotik STX combined directional antenna/modem on a gable end of the house, ran a Cat 5 cable to a Microtik WiFi router/access point (which also powers the modem over PoE) in the sitting room next to the TV. All good, works well, depending on time of day, weather, etc. I'm getting between 20 and 40Mbps. I'm happy with that. Netflix, Breaking Bad, Grey's Anatomy, woohoo!
Problem is that the house has some very thick solid stone walls, like 30cm thick, more in places. WiFi reaches the bedroom above the sitting room but drops off dramatically beyond the sitting room. No problem, thinks I. Put a couple of power line WiFi adaptors in and that should cover the house. I've got a couple of old D-Link power line adaptors (not WiFi though), tried them out and they worked fine. So, I invested in a couple of Devolo WiFi adaptors, and plugged them in, and after a bit of faff with stupidly long passwords got them working. Now got internet access throughout the house.
So, here's the problem. I now have four networks in the house - two from the Microtik router (2.4 and 5GHz), and another two from the two Devolo WiFi powerline adaptors.
Is there anyway I can make this into one, seamless network? Moving around the house, devices (phones, iPads, laptops) have to be manually switched to get the best signal and it's going to drive me nuts.
I have heard of Mesh networks but know next to nothing about them. Would Mesh be an answer to my prayers? Help!!
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