Router for 5 room hdb

revhappy

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Hello guys,

We just moved to a 5 room HDB and the router we have is cheap asus N56U. It is placed at one corner of the house and our bedroom is at the other end. The speed reduced from 100 Mbps near the router to almost 2-3mbps in the bedrooms with 2.5ghz.

Would buying a longer range router help? I see very cheap routers for sale on carousel. Mostly d link routers those sold by starhub. Dir 868L and dir 655. Would these perform better?

Also will these starhub routers work with M1?

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dryteletubby

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2 routers with one acting as AP is better than just one router. The d-link 868l is available used on carousell for under $20. Long range routers is not a thing. WiFi has to comply with regulations which makes most routers range anout the same compared to each other. To expand range you can use another router as AP or if you can't run ethernet cables then get a mesh router
 
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Montoya

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have you tried switching to the 5Ghz band? sometimes the speed degrades due to wifi congestion.
 

LoneTraveller

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If you moved to new BTO with data points in the bedrooms, just buy a cheap router and use as access point using ethernet. Problem solved.
 

revhappy

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2 routers with one acting as AP is better than just one router. The d-link 868l is available used on carousell for under $20. Long range routers is not a thing. WiFi has to comply with regulations which makes most routers range anout the same compared to each other. To expand range you can use another router as AP or if you can't run ethernet cables then get a mesh router
Thanks. I am a newbie with this stuff. So by AP do you mean, connect a LAN cable from the router's LAN output and run the cable to closer to bedroom and then connect it to the WAN port of second router and use that WiFi when in bedroom? In this case there will be 2 separate SSIDs or can there be a single SSID for both the main router and the AP?

But then I could just simply run a LAN cable from the M1 OTN output to closer to the center of the house and place the router there and this will have better coverage to whole house.

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revhappy

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If you moved to new BTO with data points in the bedrooms, just buy a cheap router and use as access point using ethernet. Problem solved.
Hi, no it is an old 20 year old flat.

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revhappy

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have you tried switching to the 5Ghz band? sometimes the speed degrades due to wifi congestion.
Hi, the 5ghz doesn't reach the bedroom. 2.5ghz just about manages to reach.

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dryteletubby

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Thanks. I am a newbie with this stuff. So by AP do you mean, connect a LAN cable from the router's LAN output and run the cable to closer to bedroom and then connect it to the WAN port of second router and use that WiFi when in bedroom? In this case there will be 2 separate SSIDs or can there be a single SSID for both the main router and the AP?

But then I could just simply run a LAN cable from the M1 OTN output to closer to the center of the house and place the router there and this will have better coverage to whole house.

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I think for most routers to work as AP you will connect the LAN cable from your main router to its LAN port. You can put the same ssid for both routers.

One router in the centre of the house may work if there is not too much obstruction
 

revhappy

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I think for most routers to work as AP you will connect the LAN cable from your main router to its LAN port. You can put the same ssid for both routers.

One router in the centre of the house may work if there is not too much obstruction
Thanks. How about high power antenna router like this one

https://www.asus.com/sg/Networking/RTN12HP/

I am trying to optimize cost and also try to avoid long cables, if possible.

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LoneTraveller

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Hi, no it is an old 20 year old flat.

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I see. Maybe you might want to consider showing us a layout of your flat and forumers here might be able to give you better advice.

Or you could consider
1.running lan cables to the room or a central location of the flat. Depending on your renovations, you could hide the cables in the existing trunking around your flat.
2.moca.
3.powerline
4. Mesh unit using wireless backhaul if option 1 is out of the question though it might be more expensive than option 1.
 
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LoneTraveller

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Thanks. How about high power antenna router like this one

https://www.asus.com/sg/Networking/RTN12HP/

I am trying to optimize cost and also try to avoid long cables, if possible.

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Or you could consider putting your existing router out of any cabinets and into the open whereby the signals might be stronger and able to reach your room. You could also consider increasing the power of your router signals but a lot also depends on the client devices you are using as Internet connections is dependent on both router and client devices ability to recieve and transmit.
 

revhappy

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I see. Maybe you might want to consider showing us a layout of your flat and forumers here might be able to give you better advice.

Or you could consider
1.running lan cables to the room or a central location of the flat. Depending on your renovations, you could hide the cables in the existing trunking around your flat.
2.moca.
3.powerline
4. Mesh unit using wireless backhaul if option 1 is out of the question though it might be more expensive than option 1.


Thanks, this is the layout of the house:

floor_plan_17.jpg


The router is placed in the living room, almost at the North-West extreme corner of the layout. Actually there is no balcony, I dont know why it says balcony. That is also where the TV and the fibre termination point is placed. I also use a roku device connected to the TV and the router placed near the TV helps roku with streaming seamlessly. Roku connects only 2.4Ghz, cannot connect to 5Ghz

The bad signal is mostly in the master bedroom and bedroom 3.

The router is placed in the open on top of the TV cabinet next to the TV, not inside the cabinet.
 
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yusoffb01

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you can put a $20 repeater at bedroom 2, or move main router towards middle
 

revhappy

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you can put a $20 repeater at bedroom 2, or move main router towards middle
Thanks! The repeater sounds like the most interesting option. I see a few aztech and Xiaomi repeaters for sale on carousel for $20-30. I will try this option.

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LoneTraveller

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Thanks, this is the layout of the house:

floor_plan_17.jpg


The router is placed in the living room, almost at the North-West extreme corner of the layout. Actually there is no balcony, I dont know why it says balcony. That is also where the TV and the fibre termination point is placed. I also use a roku device connected to the TV and the router placed near the TV helps roku with streaming seamlessly. Roku connects only 2.4Ghz, cannot connect to 5Ghz

The bad signal is mostly in the master bedroom and bedroom 3.

The router is placed in the open on top of the TV cabinet next to the TV, not inside the cabinet.

No wonder you have bad signals as there are too many walls in between bedroom 3 + the master bedroom and the router. You could use any of the options I have advised earlier and see how. You do not necessary have to put an Access point in the master bedroom if you are diy-ing lan cables yourself. It will do as well if you are able to put an access point in the common corridor of the bedrooms(outside wc 1).
 

revhappy

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No wonder you have bad signals as there are too many walls in between bedroom 3 + the master bedroom and the router. You could use any of the options I have advised earlier and see how. You do not necessary have to put an Access point in the master bedroom if you are diy-ing lan cables yourself. It will do as well if you are able to put an access point in the common corridor of the bedrooms(outside wc 1).

Thanks. I just got a good deal on DIR 868L and RT N15HP. The DIR 868L will replace the N56U and my guess is that should improve things as it is a better router. If thing dont improve, I will then use the RT N15HP as a repeater. I am reluctant at this point to run LAN cables or bring a more expensive mesh like setup. I will update you guys tonight. Thanks a ton! :)
 

limcc

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I will advise to use your old N56U as repeater instead of N15HP?--never see such model, do you mean N14UHP? either way, these N1x models are bgn--2.4GHz; the speed is severely limited, you will get less than 100Mbps, most likely ~50Mbps.

The N56U is a abgn dual band router, it has 5GHz radio. most wireless device sold in last few years are dual band. With 5GHz, the 11n can transmit ~100Mbps in real world.

high power antenna is for outdoor uses, in crowded resident area, the problem is radio interference. these HP signal only add more interference to your neighbour and won't solve your low signal issue. Try Multiple router/AP connected with wire--because wireless connection between them will also be interfered or placing the router centrally. Like mentioned above, using 5GHz radio will likely solve your problem as 2.4Ghz is overcrowded, you only have to use a wifi scanner/analyzer app is see for yourself.

With dual band router/AP, you can use one band/radio to receive the signal from the main router than use the other to serve the client devices. N56U with Padavan firmware can be used as repeater, read ASUS RT-N56U as secondary router in wireless bridge - Possible?
 

revhappy

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I will advise to use your old N56U as repeater instead of N15HP?--never see such model, do you mean N14UHP? either way, these N1x models are bgn--2.4GHz; the speed is severely limited, you will get less than 100Mbps, most likely ~50Mbps.

The N56U is a abgn dual band router, it has 5GHz radio. most wireless device sold in last few years are dual band. With 5GHz, the 11n can transmit ~100Mbps in real world.

high power antenna is for outdoor uses, in crowded resident area, the problem is radio interference. these HP signal only add more interference to your neighbour and won't solve your low signal issue. Try Multiple router/AP connected with wire--because wireless connection between them will also be interfered or placing the router centrally. Like mentioned above, using 5GHz radio will likely solve your problem as 2.4Ghz is overcrowded, you only have to use a wifi scanner/analyzer app is see for yourself.

With dual band router/AP, you can use one band/radio to receive the signal from the main router than use the other to serve the client devices. N56U with Padavan firmware can be used as repeater, read ASUS RT-N56U as secondary router in wireless bridge - Possible?
Thanks, sorry it is N12HP.

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revhappy

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Hi guys, just to update. I replaced the N56U with 868L and the result is amazing. In the extreme end of the main bedroom and bedroom 3, I get around 20-30mbps compared to 1 or 2 Mbps with N56U. This is on 2.4g. 5g doesn't reach the bedrooms with this router as well. Anyways, I am happy with this setup for now. :) I will monitor it for a few days.

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