Mesh Wifi Query

I have Googled for an answer but so far I am just getting more confused. Up until two weeks ago our Internet was ADSL which was pretty bad but although we have a long house the WiFi was reaching all over it using a TP-Link Archer D9 modem. Now we have been connected to the National Broadband Network (no choice, had to have it) and using the TP-Link VR900 we are having WiFi issues. Watching Netflix is almost impossible in some rooms, constant buffering so I am looking at ways to extend the WiFi reach. I have used Ethernet over Power before but am having trouble setting it up. In any case I am looking at using A Mesh WiFi system but I have one query only. Namely, because the Mesh systems, eg Orbi have their own routers can I still use my Archer modem for my PC which is connected by Ethernet? Is it as simple as just turning off the TP-Link WiFi and using the separate router alongside the Ethernet Modem?
Sorry if this seems involved but before spending a fair bit of money I need to have it clear in my head.
Any information would be very welcome. Thanks

 

The problem is not likely your VR900 but your new Internet connection. Buffering typically happens between your gateway (the modem) and the distant end (in this case, Netflix) and is dependent on the Netflix servers, but also on the bandwidth your ISP provides to you.

Let's also clear up some terminology. It gets confusing today when so many devices are integrated devices.

The modem serves as the "gateway" device - the device that connects your network to your ISP.
The router has just 1 input and 1 output and is used to connect (or isolate) two networks - in this case, your network and the Internet.
A WAP (wireless access point) connects your wireless devices to your router.
An Ethernet switch (typically 4-port) lets you connect 4 Ethernet (wired) devices to your router.​

Understand the modem, router, WAP and Ethernet switch are 4 discrete (separate) network devices.

There (technically) is no such thing as a "wireless router". That is a marketing term used to describe a single piece of hardware that integrates a router, WAP and switch into one box. These are 3 discrete devices that just happen to share a common circuit board, case and power supply. A wireless router typically connects via Ethernet cable to a separate modem.

More and more often today, we see "residential gateway" devices. This is another integrated device like the wireless router, but it is also includes the modem in the same case. 4 discrete devices in 1 box.

In some cases, they even have 5-way devices - one that includes all of the above, but also VoIP (voice over IP or Internet telephone).

Clear as mud, huh?

I think what you should do is move your Netflix viewing device closer to your new router (like in the same room) and try connecting via Ethernet and wifi and then see if buffering occurs. If it does, then you know the problem is your ISP and you may need to increase the bandwidth by paying for a higher tier service.

Other things to consider. It can still be on your side where the problem lies. So if possible spread the load of your connected devices. When possible, use Ethernet for a wired connection to eliminate any wifi interference problems. For those wireless devices, use 5GHz for those in close proximity to the wireless router and 2.4GHz for those greater distance away. 5GHz offers superior performance over 2.4GHz, but it has much limited range. If not using a wireless device, turn it off. This may include "smart" TVs, DVD/Blu-ray players, cell-phones (when home), and other computers that use wifi.

Last, some times just power cycling your Netflix device will eliminate buffering issues. Just last night I was watching "Blown Away"(a great competition program, BTW, about glass-blowing). I watched 2 episodes with no problem and suddenly, it kept buffering over and over. A quick check with another computer showed no problems with my network or my Internet connection. So I power-cycled the Netflix device (in this case, my LG "smart" TV). When power came back up, a new connection to Netflix was established and the rest of the evening was buffering free.

 

As you say, as clear as mud!! In Australia we now have the NBN which is a dog's dinner. Some lucky people have what is called Fibre to the Premises, this give max speed up to 100Mbps. The next tier is Fibre to the Phone pit which is not as good but still okay. The last and bottom tier is Fibre to the Node which everybody I know has, including us. The speed to our house is capped at 33 Mbps, no matter what we do. This is terrible, bearing in mind we all pay the same amount to our ISP no matter what tier we are on. Considering how wealthy our country is it is really bad, go to Bali (third world country) and it is far better Internet than ours.
We have a new top of the range Samsung Smart Tv which is in a line with the Modem, through two windows and streams with no problems. It is the devices in other rooms which are having problems, the Router is right at the back of the house in my computer room. I watch a lot of Netflix on my iPad in the front room and will try turning off and on, that may help. I have a second PC in another room which is on WiFi so will follow your advice and get an Ethernet port in that room so that will take some load off the Wifi.

The NBN has been a big disappointment for many households, it cost an eyewatering billions of dollars and in many cases the result is worse than ADSL. Originally the plan was for Fibre to the Premises for everyone but a change in Government resulted in the cheaper and far inferior system we now have. However it doesn't do any good fussing about it, only raises my blood pressure.

Many thanks for your informative answer and help. I will have a look at "Blown Away", looks good.

 

My guess there is the new TV supports 802.11n or maybe even 11ac which offers better range and speeds. Your other devices may not support the latest wifi protocols, and/or they have more or denser barriers (walls/floors/ceilings) to get through. Note it is not just about the barrier construction (solid brick vs wall board, for example) but the contents of those barriers. Those filled with metal pipes and wires will degrade RF propagation more than empty walls.

Any way you can move the wireless router to a central (and perhaps higher) part of the house? Some have detachable antennas that can be mounted up higher on the wall. Or just moveable antennas that can be reoriented. If your antennas are internal, often just rotating the wireless router 90° can help.

Yeah, that's too bad because fiber is capable of supporting speeds many magnitudes higher than that - well into the terabits per second (1000s of Gbps).

I understand governments wanting to ensure all its citizens having Internet access (especially those with school-aged children). It is like here where it costs the same to mail a letter to some remote location in Alaska as it does to mail a letter next door. Same with cell phone coverage - the goal is access for everyone. But that means city dwellers are subsidizing those who live out in the boonies. Not sure it is fair, but I don't know of a more fair method either. Many didn't choose to live in the boonies, and we just can't have everyone living in the urban areas either - many are already way too overcrowded.

 

Very true, country people should have the same services as city folk. Australia is so huge and the population is so spread out it makes infrastructure very pricey. In the city NBN tiers can vary from suburb to suburb. It is a lottery.

I am going to install a TP Link mesh system to extend the reach of the Wifi, I can't move the modem/router so that will be the next best thing. I don't care about the expense, we spend so much time on the internet it will be worth it.

It really came home to us last Friday night when our internet stopped working how important it is in our lives.. Our grandchildren stay over every Friday and play online games etc. and you should have heard the screams of anguish when they had to stop. I suggested other ways of getting amusement but to no avail, they don't have the internet on at their mum's house so were inconsolable.
It was a real First world problem, poor little petals!!

 

I can well imagine. I live in Tornado Alley and a few years ago, we had a bad storm rip a huge tree branch off, which took out my power and my cable TV/Internet - for 5 days!!! I was screaming too.

Slowly! But of course, that problem exists with all programs that require regular updates - like security apps.

If you have not already, from your Digital Trends link, check out FCC's interactive Fixed Broadband Deployment map. Pretty cool.

 

My thoughts exactly.
And don't forget the never ending updates to 'fix' Windows 10.

 

It's bad enough already in '7 even with MSE updating every other day and evidently can't be turned off. I even made a rule in the firewall but it still gets through. When I buy gbytes @ 10$ a gig I wonder how much is used up by MS.

 

Huh? Why would you do that? Security updates are critical.

Every other day? Most programs update (or at least check for updates) at least once a day by routine, and often multiple times a day - if needed. And that's a good thing! Definition/signature files tend to be tiny. But MSE and other security programs also need to check their associated cloud-based databases regularly too. These actions should not be blocked - regardless how limited your Internet access is.

Keeping operating systems current is also critical but I accept those can often be delayed (for a short time). Just about all other updater can be disabled and only run manually. But security program updates should not - regardless if using MSE, Windows Defender, Avira, Norton, or whatever.

 

That assume all updates average about that same size.

 

Actually MSE was installed by the seller of this machine. I don't use it. It is set to only scan on Sunday nights @ 2:00am. Since I work full time and turn my pc off when I'm done, I assume it never scans. So the updates are never actually used. So after a few months I do have MS using a portion of my allotment for no reason. I do notice times of funcky network issues and wonder if it's caused by these background updates. I have other malware and virus utilities that I run every so often but nothing in 'real mode'.

I have also been following the same routine as a few others here of no updates, minimal security except the space between my ears. 'The best protection is the user.'

I not advocating this for other users, but for me all has been well!

I also have a couple Win 10 pc's that do just well.......without the internet!
I don't believe I owe MS a portion of my wireless allotment until I desire to download something they have that I decide I want.

When true high-speed internet in the US is affordable, MS will be more welcome to waste some of it..

 

I agree, those that play around with updates thinking they are Tech savy are their own worst enemy.

In todays online environment all updates are critical in keeping the wolves from the door......its not the 90's anymore!

 

Then you do use it. While it may be set to scan on Sunday nights, it is still running in realtime in the background, all the time your computer is running.

It is not about one thinking they are tech savvy. It is about one thinking they are smarter than the bad guys. No one should assume that. Nor should we assume we are so disciplined, we will never ever, not once, accidentally click on a malicious link, download, attachment or popup.

 

Really odd since the MSE page itself says Real Time not enabled. Anyhow, found a couple entries in autoruns for EPP related to MSE, so we'll see if it stays quiet now.

You two do realize there is nothing that says anyone has to run MSE, updates or not, right? As I said I have other products. I don't think there is any website that checks if you're running MSE as a requirement before viewing a page.

 

Really? That's odd. I don't have a W7/MSE computer here now so I really cannot comment on that. But if you are connected to any network, unless you have another real-time scanner running, I would advise you to enable MSE's real-time component immediately.

Of course there is nothing that says you have to run MSE. But plain old common sense says, if you connect to a network with other computers and/or to a network with Internet access, you should be using a real-time anti-malware solution.

And "practicing safe computing" principles and disciplines dictate we keep our operating systems and security programs current.

Of course not. Why would they? The worry is something malicious on that website will infect your computer, not that your computer will infect the website.

 

After unchecking the 3 items I found in 'Autoruns' it looks like it is now not updating. There were 2 'EPP' listing in different areas showing as shellext.dll and 1 listing in another area showing as mpcmdrun.dll . Now it's quiet. Even at a conservative .5gb in 9 days that would still be 1.5 gig in a month. Out of a 5gb allotment that's a huge hunk. Imagine what Win 10 could eat up.

 

And in that case with my backups and images, I can probable be back up and running faster than downloading the latest updates and definitions and running a full system scan. And it cost me no gbytes to create either my backups or images.

Many times when I come here to MG's, as well as other sites I visit I'm on a virtual machine. If it takes a hit, oh well. The same with a live system. I'm not locked down to any one mode of operation.

And since I'm on a limited bandwidth I am not going to a thousand sites a week so my exposure is also limited to an extent. I know my normal actions and my activity is small compared to someone with high speed access. ( I have had it so I know the difference between 5gb and 168gb in a month! I never quite reached the old cable limit of 250gb a month, which I understand now is much higher!) So with 300 or more gb a month I would care less! ....If the price was right...

 

I can't imagine how you can manage on 5Gb a month, you must be very disciplined. I am ashamed to say we churn through about 500Gb a month, but as we are both retired and have grandkids who give the computers a big bash we can't manage on less. Until NBN we were paying $60AU for unlimited download. Now it is $70Au for 500gb for a vastly inferior service to our old slow ADSL. Granted although it is three times as fast on my one ethernet PC it has dropped out twice in two weeks and WiFi is very weak, constant buffering, the reason for this thread.

 

As for security, I have never had a virus in the many years on the internet, I use the paid version of Malwarebytes on all computers and the Microsoft virus protection, can't remember its name. I go all over the internet and my husband uses the dark web as well now and then so we have been lucky. I don't bother about the Microsoft updates, I am not clever enough to distinguish between the good and bad so just let them get on with it and so far never had any issues. If that changes I will no doubt be back here looking for answers from all the Geeks.

 

I have used some wireless usb like what would be behind a cover on a laptop. About the size of a man's thumbnail and very poor performance. I've used some others in usb cradles, with extension cables, where they could be moved around, raised above, and gotten away from power cords.. some the size more as 2 butane cig lighters. I feel these must have room for a better antenna and maybe a better amp in the circuit, though I have no specs to know for sure. I do know the bigger ones have reached a 100 ft or better and that's through my walls and another's residence exterior and possible interior walls.

 

Further to my OP, in case anyone is having WiFi problems, I ended up getting a really good cable guy who replaced our old phone line which almost doubled our download and upload speed. He also installed a wired little frisbee type Ubiquiti Unifi access unit on the ceiling of our family room. Happy to report we are charging along at a fast rate, no more dropouts, slow speed and lousy WiFi. So happy!!!
thanks for your interest.