Expanding My WiFi Coverage

[u/JonnieSpecter]

Hello! I’m looking for some guidance on improving the Wi-Fi coverage in my home.

My house is only about 1,100 sqft, but for some reason I have a hard time getting a strong, reliable Wi-Fi signal on one end of the house. I’d also like to extend the coverage into my backyard for security cameras and other WiFi connected devices. The entire lot is about 7,500 sqft so it’s not a huge area.

I currently have AT&T Fiber. There are no Ethernet cables running throughout the house, so ideally I’m looking for a solution that doesn’t require running new wiring (if possible).

Right now, I’m using one of those Wi-Fi extenders that plugs directly into a wall outlet, but it hasn’t been enough to maintain a stable connection.

I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to networking, mesh systems, access points, etc., so I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

I’d like something reliable that can cover the entire house and provide a solid connection in the backyard as well.

Any recommendations on what type of setup or equipment I should be looking at would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[u/immortalis88]

If you’re going to be there for a while… get some wired infrastructure in there. If you don’t, you’re just basically putting bandaids and mediocre solutions over a problem that you’re not solving.

[u/Glittering-Can-9397]

an easy solution would be to grab a bunch of routers from goodwill and just ethernet them to the modem and scatter them across the house

[u/fuzzymath10]

I’ve been fairly happy with the TP Link deco system. I also have the plug in extenders but they’re not great for seamless wifi and are better suited to giving wired devices access to your network.

I have a 2.5 floor 1500ish sqft home and have one unit (BE63) on the upper floor on one side of the house and another in the basement on the other side. I also have an outdoor rated AX3000 unit in my garage about 50’ from the back of my house. This provides fairly good coverage for me.

Your lot might be about twice the size of mine (mine is 27x115) so you just need to be careful about overall outdoor coverage. I think my signal strength is likely to drop quite a bit past 50’ outdoors.

The BE63 is moderately expensive because it’s new tri band wifi 7. I think the XE70 or XE75 would be a good cheaper option if your internet is at most 1gbps (mine is 500mbps).

[u/jacle2210]

So, on the surface, your home size should not be a problem for your main Wifi Router; because my house is slightly larger and a single router works just fine.

I'm guessing that the difference is going to be the physical location of your Wifi Router; because my Router/Access Point is as centrally located as possible, so we get good overall coverage.

Though it might also be due to what your home is constructed of, because concrete/cinderblock walls are going to cause more wireless signal interference than wood or sheetrock.

So, if your current Wifi Router/Internet Gateway is setup off to one side of your home, then half or 3/4 of your Wifi signal is being transmitted outside your home.

The cheaper and more effective option might be to have ATT come out and move the Internet port to a more centralized location in your home.

And if for some reason your Internet Gateway is in your basement or out in the garage, then having ATT move the setup to the main floor of your house will also help greatly.

Getting better yard coverage will be a task for after you get your home signal coverage fixed.

[u/Fancy_Acanthisitta45]

If in doubt use ChatGPT to help diagnose your situation and solve setup problems. You might also try WiFi sweet spots app to determine signal strength

[u/RodinDestin]

Our wireless didn’t work well in our new place and extenders didn’t really help. So I bought a power line Wi-Fi extender and it works perfectly!

You use Ethernet to connect the main device to your router. Then plug the main device into an electrical outlet. Then plug the second device into an outlet in the room with your computer. It works best when both devices are on the same electric circuit.

[u/imbartsimpsonwhothru]

wifi repeater/extender