Range Extender or extra router as access point?

[Stilghar]

Hi,

I have an Archer C8 in the first floor of my house and to my surprise the WiFi range is not good enough to reach properly the ground level. My laptops manage to hold on to the signal but phones are tablets don't. So I'm planning to extend the WiFi network, the question is what would you say is the best approach?

Shall I buy a range extender like the TP-Link RE200 or buy another C8 and set it up as an access point? From what I see the speed of the range extender is much lower than what another ac router can give me so that may be a deciding factor.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[thiggins]

The Best Way To Get Whole House Wireless Coverage

 

[Stilghar]

Thanks, that article is from 2011 but I assume things have not changed.

I will then use another router as an AP that I will connect using homeplug. MoCa doesn't seem to be common where I am (The Netherlands).

 

[thiggins]

Thanks, that article is from 2011 but I assume things have not changed.

I will then use another router as an AP that I will connect using homeplug. MoCa doesn't seem to be common where I am (The Netherlands).

The basic concept hasn't changed. Homeplug bandwidth has improved since 2011 and so has router / AP performance.

 

[Stomper]

Keep in mind that each repeater is loosing half it's speed in duplex mode.

If speed is a concern then you should use either Cat6 cable or a Powerline adapter, Powerline can't give you a gigabite connection but 500mbps is fast enough for almost everything.

You can buy a box with 1KM of cat6 cable on ebay for 60$, so it would cost around the same price wiring all your house with Cat6 cable than buying two powerline adapter

 

[azazel1024]

A kilometer for $60? I doubt it. That or it'll be horrible quality. Standard price is around $100 for 500ft of GOOD quality Cat6. Larger bulk is cheaper, but even looking at 1000ft spools you are talking in the $200 range. Let alone for 3x that much (1km should be around $500-600 in a bulk spool).