Need to add an access point?

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Sprtfan

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
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My router is a NETGEAR R7500 Nighthawk and is located in the basement. With 3 kids going to school online on the 2nd floor the signal is getting a little weak. I have wired runs to each room on the 2nd floor but their chromebooks are wireless only. I'm assuming that my best option would be to add an access point on the 2nd floor since I already have ports up there? If that is the case, any recommendations on what to get? Will they be able to seamlessly room from upstairs to the basement and have it automatically switch to the stronger signal? I don't think they would remember to switch if they had to do it themselves. Thanks for the help.
 
I'd get usb wired ethernet adapters for the chromebooks. The reduction in lag on video is quite apparent on wired vs wifi.
 
Yes, a second access point upstairs would work. Something like the Unifi NanoHD + something to run the controller software on (e.g., a Raspberry Pi) would work well. There are also some stand-alone APs that don't need a separate controller (e.g., I think TP-Link has a model or two, no idea how well they work).

Just set up the 2nd AP with the same SSID as the router's, but put it on different channels. The laptops should automatically switch to the stronger signal as needed.

Or the USB ethernet adapters as suggested above (plus a switch if two or more laptops need to use the same drop).
 
just an AP will work, tp link has a few an example here and they are very cheap, set up the SSID and PW to be the same on the AP as it is on your router and it should switch automatically...maybe not seamlessly(brief loss of connection) before it does connect to the stronger signal. And if it doesn't they'd just have to turn wifi on/off again and it should connect to the stronger signal.
 
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If you turn down the transmit on both APs, the handoff between them can be better. The signal switching becomes an issue when there's two signals present so you want them to barely overlap--think of a venn diagram.
 
Thanks for the help. I'll pick up one of the TP Link APs to start with but will also try a wired connection. I already have a USB to ethernet adapter. If it works enough better than the AP, I'll get a few more.
 
Sprtfan said:
Thanks for the help. I'll pick up one of the TP Link APs to start with but will also try a wired connection. I already have a USB to ethernet adapter. If it works enough better than the AP, I'll get a few more.
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The usb adapter will definitely be faster/more reliable, but will limit movement--that's the only drawback.
 
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