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Which part of my network to improve first? (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

5 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've recently bought my first home (2 floors, 1400sq.ft. / floor) after living exclusively in small apartments beforehand. I've brought over my modem/router from my apartment (Netgear C3700 2-in-1 N600 WiFi Cable Modem Router with DOCSIS 3.0). The internet plan I pay for is through Cox and should provide me with 500mbps down / 50mbps up.

The house also has only one incoming cable line, and it is on the opposite side of the house as my home office (I work from home). Also, there was some weird wiring done where I only have a male coaxial coming from the wall with a short reach, so I can't move the modem/router to a more central area of the home.

With that said, I'm not happy with the internet speeds I'm getting at my new home (especially in my office) and running any of the online speed tests show me speeds much lower than the 500/50 that I'm paying for even right next to the router. I see a couple of things I can improve on. Which of the following options would you all suggest I work on first?

Upgrade my router hardware. I've had the C3700 for a few years now and I'm well aware it's nothing close to top of the line, and also is not capable of handling 500mbps from what I can tell from the spec sheet.
When upgrading my hardware, should I buy separate modem and router so I can put the modem in the (less than ideal) corner of the house, and then run Ethernet to the router which is in a more central location?
Should I have an electrician/technician come to my house to run a new coaxial line to a better part of the house? If I do this, I could connect a WiFi extender or something similar to the new coax line to get better connection near my office.
Should I look into a mesh system to get better range to my office?
In regards to the coax line that I have in the house, it had some bad wiring done where the line was very frayed, so I had to re-crimp the ends which I may not have done super well. Would it be worthwhile to have a professional look at that as well?

If there are any other suggestions, I'll be happy to listen to those as well. Also, for upgrading hardware, please suggest some good options and/or the specs I should look for when searching myself.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

With a crappy cable line coming in, I'd have Cocks come out and run a new line from the pole, and it might as well be to a better location on your house this time.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You definitely need to upgrade, C3700 is still a 802.11n one which is too old.
Prefer to separate them.
If you hire someone to run cable, run some ethernet cables to desired places for various WiFi AP connections.
When you have the ethernet connections from #3, you don't need mesh any more, hard wiring WiFi APs together is the way to go.
If you go for #3, why not just let them fix (or re-do)?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I like the idea of running some Ethernet around the house and setting up some APs in those areas.

This might be a simple question, but what is involved in setting up an AP? I assume I will still have my modem/router connected to coax in the same location it is now, and then hook up the AP to one of the new Ethernet lines (and probably a wall outlet) in the area I want a better WiFi signal. Is that it? Or do I need to connect those Ethernet lines to my modem/router in some way? Maybe the cable runner would do that in their work, but I'm pretty naive in that world.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Hard to know which one would bring you instant relief.

I would move out on #2 in terms of getting some wiring around. If you're adding cable, do ethernet (unless you have a need for the coax for some reason). Ultimately, to improve your network in general, you want to wire around the house and provide ethernet to devices that can use it (saving the wifi bandwidth for those that can't, and convenience items). Also, you can add wifi APs (access points) to improve your wifi coverage for the devices that use it.

Not yet - do your cable planning and upgrades - or at least integrate that planning when buying hardware.
Yes. It's a good idea for separation if needed, but still a good idea if they are colocated.
Ethernet. Do ethernet. No extenders, you want access points. They will perform better in general and often have more capacity for number of devices they can each support.
No mesh. Mesh is for people who can't or won't wire ethernet. Mesh is wirelessly uplinking access points, so it's wifi over wifi. Ethernet (or MoCA, which leverages coax into near-ethernet speeds) is far preferable. Mesh is not a better network, it's just for getting around wiring things.
If you are not confident in your ability to crimp the coax, you could have someone with proper tools and connectors re-do it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Thanks for the reply! In terms of adding Ethernet, the only real device I have that could use Ethernet would be my work/personal computers (both in the same location). Should I just have one Ethernet line ran to that part of the house, or would it be better to run them to multiple rooms while I have someone here to do it anyways.

Also, for access points, when people talk about those do they typically mean using them through an Ethernet connection? I know there are APs you can get that connect wirelessly to your network, but I assume those aren't as reliable/fast. If I use wired APs, then I suppose it makes sense to run a couple Ethernet lines, one to my office area and one to the basement since both areas are dead zones and then hook up APs to those Ethernet lines?

I'll look into those routers you mentioned, I appreciate the input.