WiFi Advice/Help

[juss]

I picked up my PC today which has this WiFi card installed:
TP-Link TL WDN4800 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter

And it's hardly picking up a signal. The Router is in the next room but it's behind some thickish walls. I don't think there's a problem with the router, as I can get decent wifi anywhere else in the house but I think maybe the adapter in the PC is no good or not very strong?

Looking for some on advice on the either the following options.

1. Replace/upgrade/Check if internal WiFi card is working correctly? Maybe these cards aren't that good.

2. Run a Powerline adapter. I have read decent things about them.

3. Get a WiFi range extender, put it in the same room as the PC, and hope that improves or fixes the problem. Or are there WiFi range extenders that you can then run an ethernet cable from?

I assume when running an ethernet cable from the WiFi extender directly to the PC that it ignores the Wifi card inside the PC so even if it's not a great card it won't matter?

Any advice would be much appreciated,

 

[dav3]

I picked up my PC today which has this WiFi card installed:
TP-Link TL WDN4800 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter

And it's hardly picking up a signal. The Router is in the next room but it's behind some thickish walls. I don't think there's a problem with the router, as I can get decent wifi anywhere else in the house but I think maybe the adapter in the PC is no good or not very strong?

Looking for some on advice on the either the following options.

1. Replace/upgrade/Check if internal WiFi card is working correctly? Maybe these cards aren't that good.

2. Run a Powerline adapter. I have read decent things about them.

3. Get a WiFi range extender, put it in the same room as the PC, and hope that improves or fixes the problem. Or are there WiFi range extenders that you can then run an ethernet cable from?

I assume when running an ethernet cable from the WiFi extender directly to the PC that it ignores the Wifi card inside the PC so even if it's not a great card it won't matter?

Any advice would be much appreciated,

Are you connecting at 2.4ghz or 5ghz? 5ghz doesn't travel through walls that well. Grab some kind of Wifi Analyser software (there are plenty of free ones for mobiles) and make sure there's no congestion on whatever channels you're using.

 

[juss]

Are you connecting at 2.4ghz or 5ghz? 5ghz doesn't travel through walls that well. Grab some kind of Wifi Analyser software (there are plenty of free ones for mobiles) and make sure there's no congestion on whatever channels you're using.

Yeh I think this is exactly the problem. Where the router and and desktop are, there's a pretty thick wall with tiling too, and a stove/oven pots/pans in the way too. Basically there's a fair bit the signal would have to travel through. Unfortunately can't avoid it given the layout of the house, so I bought a power-line adaptor and will give that a go as next option.

 

[Helfarch]

Yeh I think this is exactly the problem. Where the router and and desktop are, there's a pretty thick wall with tiling too, and a stove/oven pots/pans in the way too. Basically there's a fair bit the signal would have to travel through. Unfortunately can't avoid it given the layout of the house, so I bought a power-line adaptor and will give that a go as next option.

EoP adapters can be iffy sometimes depending on the quality of the wiring and the route it has to take etc.

Your initial issue is likely a combination of the interference and TP-Link's shitness.

 

[dav3]

EoP adapters can be iffy sometimes depending on the quality of the wiring and the route it has to take etc.

Your initial issue is likely a combination of the interference and TP-Link's shitness.

TP-Link have upped their game in recent years, my Archer D9 is still going strong and has no issues other than the need for the odd reboot every few months. Having said that, those cards are around 5 years old.

 

[Helfarch]

TP-Link have upped their game in recent years, my Archer D9 is still going strong and has no issues other than the need for the odd reboot every few months. Having said that, those cards are around 5 years old.

My ubiquity hasn't needed a reboot since...I can't remember, over 18 months at least.

TP-Link upped their game from dumpster fire to functional garbage. TP-Link are working to handle the Google device keep alive bug (flood after wake), could even be the cause of your reboot requirement.

The issue with TP-Link is still that you can't be sure they aren't the cause of any network issues.

 

[dav3]

My ubiquity hasn't needed a reboot since...I can't remember, over 18 months at least.

TP-Link upped their game from dumpster fire to functional garbage. TP-Link are working to handle the Google device keep alive bug (flood after wake), could even be the cause of your reboot requirement.

The issue with TP-Link is still that you can't be sure they aren't the cause of any network issues.

That bug appears to be related to Home and Chromecast devices, which I don't run.

I'd also expect a $200 dedicated Wifi AP to have better Wifi than a $200 ADSL modem/router

 

[juss]

Okay, I purchased a Netcomm 1201 Powerline passthrough adapter. I can't speak highly enough of it, that was the easiest thing I have ever set up, literally just plugged it in and either end and it worked perfectly, no drivers or installs required. I went with Netcomm because it was the only one that was the right shape for how I needed it to sit (horizontally). It's a passthrough, so I plugged in the powerboard into it.

I'm getting speeds of 1gb/s, which is far better than any of my wireless connections. I'll probably get another adapter and connect my PS4 to it.

 

[Helfarch]

Wired is usually better than wireless for speed and stability.

Wireless was making some stride with speed but 10Gb isn't too far away from replacing 1Gb as the standard in wired set-ups.

 

[typeclub]

I picked up my PC today which has this WiFi card installed:
TP-Link TL WDN4800 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter

And it's hardly picking up a signal. The Router is in the next room but it's behind some thickish walls. I don't think there's a problem with the router, as I can get decent wifi anywhere else in the house but I think maybe the adapter in the PC is no good or not very strong?

Looking for some on advice on the either the following options.

1. Replace/upgrade/Check if internal WiFi card is working correctly? Maybe these cards aren't that good.

2. Run a Powerline adapter. I have read decent things about them.

3. Get a WiFi range extender, put it in the same room as the PC, and hope that improves or fixes the problem. Or are there WiFi range extenders that you can then run an ethernet cable from?

I assume when running an ethernet cable from the WiFi extender directly to the PC that it ignores the Wifi card inside the PC so even if it's not a great card it won't matter?

Any advice would be much appreciated,

Leave WiFi behind...

Go Ethernet over power.

 

[juss]

View attachment 456195

Leave WiFi behind...

Go Ethernet over power.

Yeh that's exactly what I did. Wifi is shit compared to this. I had never heard of it before.

 

[HerveyBayTiger]

Ethernet if possible for sure.