How to improve wireless signal?

How to improve wireless signal?

How to improve wireless signal?
How to improve wireless signal?
2024-09-14 20:55:57
Model: RE220  
Hardware Version: V4
Firmware Version: 1.0.0 Build 20200923 Rel. 71554

Standing right next to my TP-Link AX21 router Hardware version 4.6, my cell phone gets 112 Mbps, which is wonderful considering my ISP's stated speed. I am connecting to the 5ghz network.

 

45 feet away, on the same level with no obstructions is my OneMesh RE220, I disconnected my cell phone from the router's wifi and connected it to my RE220 OneMesh device.  All lights are green. My cell phone gets 42 Mbps which is slower than expected, but still is satisfactory for my uses. Again, 5Ghz network.

 

Upstairs and another 30 feet away from the RE220 I connected my cell phone to the extended network on my TL-WA855RE.  I get 5 Mbps, which is not satisfactory.  As a temporary measure, I moved the TP-Link TL-WA855RE 20 feet closer by using an ethernet cord to connect the extender to a wired device that cannot be moved. This is not acceptable long term.  With this long cord my cell phone gets 15Mbps on this extended network.

 

Goal is to improve the signal on my TL-WA855RE range extender. Questions:

  1. Is my range extender too old or weak?  I believe it is marketed as 300 Mbps, which would be fine with me.
  2. Why is the signal from my OneMesh RE220 so weak? Does it not like being 45 feet away from the router?
  3. From what I read, daisy-chaining OneMesh devices does not work.  Correct?
  4. At the end of the network is a plugged in device.  I could buy two powerline adapters - plug one into the network and another into a plug near the wired device.  Would this work?  If so, I guess my other devices on the TL-WA855RE are on their own. That may be fine. 

 

Some common items. 

  • All 3 devices have the latest firmware.
  • I am using Speedtest by Ookla for speed.
  • My cell phone picks whether it wants 2.4 Ghz or 5 Ghz based on signal.
  • My house is wood frame and drywall. 
  • None of the devices are near a magnet or other electronic interference. 
  • I have 30 devices on my network.  Most are wired to the router through a series of unmanaged switches.  Maybe 10 are wireless. Maybe 5 are on my OneMesh extender and 2 are on my TL-WA855RE. 
  • I am not a gamer. No massive downloads.  Although I have 30 devices on my network, most use very little bandwidth and right now, they are not doing much.  In other words, no streaming devices are being used.

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

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#1
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7 Reply
Re:How to improve wireless signal?
2024-09-16 15:30:41 - last edited 2024-09-16 15:32:33

Hi @OldGeezer,

 

Welcome to the community!

 

Regarding your questions:

 

1. You're pretty much on the mark. The TL-WA855RE is a single-band (2.4GHz only) Range Extender that does not support OneMesh. In your application, it would be the most obvious bottleneck.

 

2. Again, your intuition is sound. 45 feet indoors leaves ample room for obstructions (walls, furniture, appliances, etc.) to significantly impact the connection between the Archer AX21 Router and RE220 Extender - especially for the 5GHz band, which is more susceptible to obstructions.

 

3. We recommend connecting all repeaters directly to the router for optimal performance. While it's possible to chain one repeater to another, we advise limiting this to two repeaters in a row to maintain adequate Wi-Fi bandwidth and quality. Depending on the model of the repeater, the concept of chaining may be significantly less ideal (e.g., in the case of your TL-WA855RE)

 

4. Powerline adapters can conveniently expand/extend Ethernet connectivity if both adapters are plugged directly into wall outlets tied to the same breaker panel. It may be an option to consider if you do not want to explore more modern and convenient whole home Wi-Fi solutions like Mesh (e.g., our Deco Mesh Product Line)

 

Hope that helps clear a few things up for you.

 

 

That said, for your case, my initial recommendations would be:

 

1. Relocate the RE220 closer to the router (depending on your home's layout and existing obstructions) while maintaining enough distance to optimally extend Wi-Fi range.

 

2. Consider replacing the TL-WA855RE with a more modern, dual-band Wi-Fi Range Extender that supports OneMesh or EasyMesh. You can reference our OneMesh Compatibility Page here, and our EasyMesh Compatibility Page here.

 

3. This one is more food for thought than a direct recommendation, but as referenced earlier, our Deco Mesh Products provide a more streamlined whole-home Wi-Fi solution for numerous connected devices since that's their primary design purpose and may be worth a look. One of our Wi-Fi 6 Deco Systems might suit your needs well, since Wi-Fi 7 may be a tad overkill for your existing Internet speed. However, if Mesh isn't something you're really looking for at the moment, then no worries—I just wanted to mention it in case it's a viable solution for your long-term networking goals.

 

Feel free to follow up with any questions you might still have, and I or other members of our community will be happy to chime in.

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#2
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Re:How to improve wireless signal?
2024-09-16 19:12:49
Thank you for replying so quickly. I understand all of your recommendations except one part of the powerline adapter one. Is the term "breaker panel" the same thing as what I call a "circuit breaker box"? Some call it a "circuit breaker panel". Sorry for my limited vocabulary.
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#3
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Re:How to improve wireless signal?
2024-09-24 18:32:36

  @OldGeezer 

 

Yes, the term "breaker panel" in this case refers to a Circuit Breaker Panel or Circuit Breaker Box.

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Re:How to improve wireless signal?
2024-09-24 18:37:53

  @Ryan Can I plug a wireless access point in to the end powerline adapter?

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#5
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Re:How to improve wireless signal?
2024-09-25 01:03:56

  @OldGeezer 

 

Absolutely. As long as there is a reliable connection between the two Powerline Adapters, you can treat the endpoint adapter(s) as a LAN port in your network and connect a wired device, like a Wi-Fi Access Point.

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#6
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Re:How to improve wireless signal?
2024-09-25 11:52:17
Thanks.
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#7
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Re:How to improve wireless signal?
2024-10-01 12:11:03
OP, here. with Ryan's help, I have picked a solution that worked for me. I am listing in case this helps some future person. My router is 57 feet from one end of the house. Signal at that end is a problem. Moving the router to a central location would be harder than Hannibal moving elephants over the Alps. And the house is 75 feet wide so it still would not get both ends. I have at TP-Link Archer AX21 - AX1800 router that I purchased 2 years ago. It has been great. It does OneMesh. My five year old range extender TL-WA855RE is not very powerful and it does not do OneMesh. Plus, I found out that range extenders don't like being more than 30 feet from the router. I recently (5 months ago) purchased an RE220 range extender. It does OneMesh, which is pretty nice. It is dirt cheap and helps get signal 50 feet or so from the router. I still had another chunk of my house not covered and range extenders don't like being daisy chained, so I purchased a TL-WPA8631P kit. This is a OneMesh powerline adapter. I ran it to the far end of my house. It can connect devices wired and wireless. This was important to me as I have an OTA DVR that wants to be connected wired. This OTA DVR device is at the far end of my house. This powerline adapter or PLC as TP-Link calls it was reasonably priced. I could have gone cheaper but this was has 3 wired ports and some other features. Typically, one connects the software side of this type of device with the Tether app on your phone. In this case, the PLC is not supported by the app. Once I figured that out, it was easy to connect with my laptop. Another thing they tell you is that the base unit of the PLC must be connected directly to the router. I don't why they say that as mine is not plugged directly into the router and it works just fine. It is plugged into a switch which then feeds into the router. It appears that TP-Link is moving away from OneMesh and moving toward Deco. Ryan suggested I consider replacing my whole infrastructure with Deco devices. This would not have helped as Deco does not appear to support daisy chain. And it would not have been cost effective.
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