WiFi Routers - is it worth upgrading?

Ours is provided by Plusnet and we have issues with coverage and constant dips.

Is it better buying our own router rather than the one provided? I assume they send out shitty cheap ones but don't know how much difference it makes.

Actually, having researched common issues I think the baby monitor (we have the BT6000) might be causing WiFi interference :fp:

Put the baby up for adoption, it's the only way to guarantee better wifi.

I don't even have wifi turned on in here as it's simply not needed with my setup, the only things i connect to the internet are the PC and PS4, and both are permanently connected via an ethernet cable to the router anyways.

I currently use a tp link router too, as a couple of years ago the old O2 unit i had broke and i got it as a quick fix (a replacement from Sky didn't arrive until the following week, and i now have that set aside as a back up).

Moggy wrote:Put the baby up for adoption, it's the only way to guarantee better wifi.

Oh sure, you can make that joke but when I do, I get the cold shoulder all morning

Tomous wrote:Ours is provided by Plusnet and we have issues with coverage and constant dips.

Is it better buying our own router rather than the one provided? I assume they send out shitty cheap ones but don't know how much difference it makes.

We had a Plusnet router until recently and it was absolute dogshit. Blind spots in ridiculous places, sometimes just a couple metres from the router.

Swapped to BT and it's been much better.

Tomous wrote:
Moggy wrote:Put the baby up for adoption, it's the only way to guarantee better wifi.

Oh sure, you can make that joke but when I do, I get the cold shoulder all morning

After burping the baby, you have to clean the puke off straight away, it soon cools down.

If you want the best coverage then always get dedicated equipment.

Other things you can do is change the channel that either the 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz radio is on as they might be over staurated.

Kezzer wrote:If you want the best coverage then always get dedicated equipment.

Other things you can do is change the channel that either the 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz radio is on as they might be over staurated.

Seems its on 2.4Ghz so I've setup a 5Ghz option but the Firestick in bedroom can't seem to find it?

Moggy wrote:
Tomous wrote:
Moggy wrote:Put the baby up for adoption, it's the only way to guarantee better wifi.

Oh sure, you can make that joke but when I do, I get the cold shoulder all morning

After burping the baby, you have to clean the puke off straight away, it soon cools down.

Good tip, although it really would be better if I could stop myself vomiting full stop to be honest.

If you're getting interference you should also try changing the channel of the WiFi on your router.

Use an app on your phone like WiFi Analyzer and it'll show all of the networks you can detect and what Channels they're using. If you've got multiple networks all using the same channel they're going to interfere with each other. Chances are your router and the Baby Monnitor are both using the same channel. Ontop of that your neighbours may also be using the same channel so everything is just interfering with everything else.

If you are having issues with coverage then you might want to invest in mesh wifi. There are a lot of consumer friendly version available now that are pretty straight forward to set up.

Meep wrote:If you are having issues with coverage then you might want to invest in mesh wifi. There are a lot of consumer friendly version available now that are pretty straight forward to set up.

What is this? Have heard of it but not really sure what it is.

Lagamorph wrote:If you're getting interference you should also try changing the channel of the WiFi on your router.

Use an app on your phone like WiFi Analyzer and it'll show all of the networks you can detect and what Channels they're using. If you've got multiple networks all using the same channel they're going to interfere with each other. Chances are your router and the Baby Monnitor are both using the same channel. Ontop of that your neighbours may also be using the same channel so everything is just interfering with everything else.

Have just done this. I can't seem to find the Baby Monitor on the WiFi Analyser although think I've found a quiet channel.

Previously it was on Smart Wireless so automatically picking best channel.

Tomous wrote:
Lagamorph wrote:If you're getting interference you should also try changing the channel of the WiFi on your router.

Use an app on your phone like WiFi Analyzer and it'll show all of the networks you can detect and what Channels they're using. If you've got multiple networks all using the same channel they're going to interfere with each other. Chances are your router and the Baby Monnitor are both using the same channel. Ontop of that your neighbours may also be using the same channel so everything is just interfering with everything else.

Have just done this. I can't seem to find the Baby Monitor on the WiFi Analyser although think I've found a quiet channel.

Previously it was on Smart Wireless so automatically picking best channel.

In my experience those automated channel pickers never pick the best channel.

Make sure you check both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels. If you've only checked one of them the Baby Monitor might only be on the other.

2.4Ghz usually suffers the most from background noise / a low SNR floor - even your microwave can affect it.

Like laga says the automated channel pickers on consumer devices aren't always the best as they are only ever going to be able to do oportunistic scans of the RF environment.
As for your firestick - it should support the 5Ghz frequency. Even the oldest devices support dual band, just a note though. 5Ghz has a smaller cell size so the firestick might be out of range.

Tomous wrote:
Meep wrote:If you are having issues with coverage then you might want to invest in mesh wifi. There are a lot of consumer friendly version available now that are pretty straight forward to set up.

What is this? Have heard of it but not really sure what it is.

Basically multiple access points about the house, so you have a clear signal wherever you are.

A mesh is awesome. I have an Eero mesh network and it's brilliant.

Meep wrote:If you are having issues with coverage then you might want to invest in mesh wifi. There are a lot of consumer friendly version available now that are pretty straight forward to set up.

+1 for mesh wifi.

Bought the Amazon Eero kit when it was half price on Black Friday and have been really impressed with it.

Was using the standard Plusnet router and was having horribly slow wifi speeds (was routinely as low as 2mb/s as opposed to the up to 75mb/s I was suposed to get) but now its almost as quick as an ethernet connection (pretty much always 60+mb/s).

What's the practical difference between a mesh and just getting a Homeplug wi-fi extender?

WiFi Routers - is it worth upgrading?

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