WiFi Router or switch to Mesh?

[Rob Q]

I'm not sure what I should do. The laptop, printer, and the Roku that's over in the yellow area are able to maintain a stable connection but the WiFi coverage could use an improvement. Also, the wall that divides them to where the router is, is an outside brick wall. I'm unable to hard wire those devices, that would mean drilling through cement. The only option to hard wire them is to use the coax that's running to the TV by adding a MoCa adapter. The only reason why I'm planning to change the router is because it looks like my RT-1900P is reaching the EOL stage. (learned that with the Merlin changelog.) Now, could I use the mesh network and add a WiFi router to it? Only thing in the basement is my modem.

 

[degrub]

Is this a Plan (birds eye ) view or Elevation (side view) sketch ?

cement block/brick or poured, reinforced concrete wall ?
The first is easy. The second requires a rental hammer drill, 3/4 inch bit, and time. Dust mask also.

 

[Rob Q]

Is this a Plan (birds eye ) view or Elevation (side view) sketch ?

cement block/brick or poured, reinforced concrete wall ?
The first is easy. The second requires a rental hammer drill, 3/4 inch bit, and time. Dust mask also.

Well, the modem is located in the basement up against the south wall because that's where the coax comes in to the house from the street.
The desktop is in the room upstairs and above from where the modem is.
Between the desktop and the router which is located in a bedroom, there's a hallway.
As for the laptop, printer, and Roku, now that's slightly lower (3 steps down) and it's what used to be the garage. I don't plan to make any holes though.
The WiFi signal on the north side of the house is really impressive considering it has to go through that outside wall. I actually have no idea if it's block, poured, or reinforced. The signal can reach out to 2 properties down from me. I've tested that with using the 2.4 GHz connection on my phone.

What I could do is put a second router against the wall that's closest to the main router, or have a mesh node near the wall so the signal isn't too weak coming from the main router.

 

[PunchCardBoss]

the WiFi coverage could use an improvement. Also, the wall that divides them to where the router is, is an outside brick wall.

Are you using 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz WiFi? If 5Ghz, change to 2.4Ghz WiFi. 2.4 goes through walls easier.

Also, move your router and antenna orientation slightly.

• Turn your router 90 degrees.
• move 1-3 feet in all directions.
• Make sure your antenna (if external) is tangential to you hard-to-reach devices.

Even small changes can make big differences.

 

[degrub]

Is the coax going to the room unused and isolated or is it shared with the modem for TV service ?

 

[Rob Q]

Is the coax going to the room unused and isolated or is it shared with the modem for TV service ?

The coax going to that one room that has weaker WiFi is currently using to provide OTA TV but I can disconnect it and just stream the antenna TV through my Tablo app on the Roku.
If I decide to go with MoCa on that line, one adapter would be in the living room, then the other would be near the modem, unless I join the coax that goes to the bedroom where the router is, then I can just toss on an adapter and connect it directly to the router.

 

[Rob Q]

Are you using 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz WiFi? If 5Ghz, change to 2.4Ghz WiFi. 2.4 goes through walls easier.

Also, move your router and antenna orientation slightly.

• Turn your router 90 degrees.
• move 1-3 feet in all directions.
• Make sure your antenna (if external) is tangential to you hard-to-reach devices.

Even small changes can make big differences.

5 GHz even though it's a little weaker, just because there's way too many strong neighboring networks on the 2.4 GHz band that would cause a lot of connection issues.

 

[degrub]

The coax going to that one room that has weaker WiFi is currently using to provide OTA TV but I can disconnect it and just stream the antenna TV through my Tablo app on the Roku.
If I decide to go with MoCa on that line, one adapter would be in the living room, then the other would be near the modem, unless I join the coax that goes to the bedroom where the router is, then I can just toss on an adapter and connect it directly to the router.

You will need to either connect the two segments to get to your router or run another CAT5e cable to the basement where the coax segment terminates. There are two varieties of MOCA 2 or 2.5 modems. Some have a pass through coax connection to pass any signal below 1,000 MHz via a diplexer internally. i pass my OTA signal through a pair of MOCA2.0 modems via this port on each. You will want to install a moca POE blocking coupler on the path to the antenna although it is unlikely that any moca signal will cross over through the diplexer. If you are using an amplified OTA signal, this should not be an issue with the additional dB loss from the 2 or 3 coax connections. If you use a HDHomeRun tuner box, you can stream the OTA signal digitally over your LAN/WIFI.