Will a Wifi Booster Help

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chriscant

Member
So long story short

WIFI Card - WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0

Virgin Media Hub3 - Recently upgraded to 350+Mbps package

When my PC is RIGHT NEXT to the box the wifi is coming in at 200+Mbps (on Dual Band), when ethered in its coming in at 380+, happy days.

Except my home office is on the side of the house and upstairs where my speeds drop to 50-60Mbps (on Dual Band), if i force my hardware onto 5G then its 90Mbps but still not where near the lightning speeds of 200-300Mbps.

So - will a booster actually help this?
Second question if a booster has an ethernet port and i plug my PC into that will speeds be comparable to the Hub3 when cabled in?
Does anyone have any experience with the VM boosters or general good buys?
 
C

chriscant

Member
Gavras said:
Will post some stuff, unless someone beats me to it.

currently drinking a rather nice coffee, so can’t be bothered (word beginning with Ar.e) at moment lol
Click to expand...
Haha thanks appreciate it - it might not warrent a full mesh tbf its not that big a house.
 
G

Gavras

Master Poster
Whatever system you look at make sure it’s Tri band, as the backhaul channel really does help.

some bits on what Mesh is, at a basic level it’s your own home WiFi network seperate from virgin (you turn your hub in to a modem).

it usually has a hub and at least one satellite, depending on the system the WiFi coverage will go about 100ft around the outside of the house, ideal for garden coverage, cameras, alarms, etc.

it gives a fairly uniform coverage throughout the house and actually beyond (depending on system).

it will support a large number of devices (20 plus) and assign them to 5GHZ or 2.4ghz channels), and unlike say a Virgin hub not get overly congested, I have a lot of stuff hanging off mine.

Also as you have a Wifi 6 card, see if there are any Mesh setups using WiFi 6 and are Triband.

That back channel moves data between mesh hub and satellite.


blurb to read.

www.tomsguide.com

What Is a Mesh Wi-Fi Router, and Do You Need One?

If you have a large home or one with an unusual layout, you probably encounter Wi-Fi dead zones and could use a mesh-router system.
www.tomsguide.com www.tomsguide.com

www.howtogeek.com

What Is Mesh Wi-Fi and How Does It Work?

It might be time to ditch the dusty old traditional router and upgrade to a mesh system.
www.howtogeek.com www.howtogeek.com

www.expertreviews.co.uk

Best mesh Wi-Fi router 2024: Boost the range, speed and coverage of your home Wi-Fi | Expert Reviews

Boost your home Wi-Fi speeds and kill dead spots with our pick of the best mesh Wi-Fi routers
www.expertreviews.co.uk www.expertreviews.co.uk

www.techradar.com

The best mesh Wi-Fi systems in 2024: top picks for home and business use

Cast the best mesh Wi-Fi system in your home
www.techradar.com www.techradar.com
 
C

chriscant

Member
I've got Sky Q too, and a mini box about 20 ft away however it doesnt seem to add any improvement - not sure if its a virgin media problem..?
 
G

Gavras

Master Poster
chriscant said:
Haha thanks appreciate it - it might not warrent a full mesh tbf its not that big a house.
Click to expand...
It’s not so much having a large home, I set one up at a friends house, she lives in a bungalow but with her working from home and kids, the WiFi was creaking.

it’s really about having an internal network that just it’s own thing.

Working from home since Feb 2020, I spent a fair bit of time just sitting in garden with laptop working away without any problems.
 
C

chriscant

Member
So I'm in understanding all the links (and thanks so far all) a booster will do effectively half speed anyway where as a mesh wouldnt and would ensure consistency across the house. So in theory i could buy
Argos - BT Triband
And that would extend the range of the wifi throughout the house but i could also have one sat next to the PC and ethernet in?
 
G

Gavras

Master Poster
chriscant said:
So I'm in understanding all the links (and thanks so far all) a booster will do effectively half speed anyway where as a mesh wouldnt and would ensure consistency across the house. So in theory i could buy
Argos - BT Triband
And that would extend the range of the wifi throughout the house but i could also have one sat next to the PC and ethernet in?
Click to expand...
I have an Orbi Mesh setup.

the main Orbi hub is next to my Virgin media Hub, which plugs directly in to the Orbi hub.

my NAS, PC then plug directly in to the Orbi hub.

I then have various stuff like Sonos, Secondary alarm system, laptops, mobiles, iPads etc which usually hang off the hub mesh WiFi.

downstairs the satellite tends to support direct connection for alarm hub, automatic garage sensor stuff, downstairs Sonos etc etc etc.

When you turn Virgin Hub to modem mode you lose your virgin wifi and just use Mesh setup.


You do tend to get what you pay for, read a lot of reviews, some are good reviews, some are positively selling stuff reviews.
 
G

Gavras

Master Poster
Not used the BT one or read any reviews, hopefully someone else can advise.

couple other options.




it’s also handy if you have a guest network, as you can put your potentially not secure things like smart switches on the Guest WiFi.
 
C

chriscant

Member
So with the Orbi hub you have that plugged into your VM box, then you have your PC plugged into the Orbi

Do you know what the speeds would be like if you ethernet into a satellite - is it anyway comparable with the main hub.
I'm just trying to understand if i'll get close to the heights of 2-300mbps i see when downstairs or if i'll be laying out £200-£300 for the same outcomes - the blerb im reading seems to indicate it would be as if i was plugging directly into the box downstairs
(also appreciate the support so far its been very helpful)
 
G

Gavras

Master Poster
chriscant said:
So with the Orbi hub you have that plugged into your VM box, then you have your PC plugged into the Orbi

Do you know what the speeds would be like if you ethernet into a satellite - is it anyway comparable with the main hub.
I'm just trying to understand if i'll get close to the heights of 2-300mbps i see when downstairs or if i'll be laying out £200-£300 for the same outcomes - the blerb im reading seems to indicate it would be as if i was plugging directly into the box downstairs
(also appreciate the support so far its been very helpful)
Click to expand...
Must admit not tried plugging my PC directly into one of the ports on the Satellite.

I use my WiFi card rather than direct if in garden, downstairs.

you will get whatever the main wifi speeds are, however it will not be anywhere as fast as directly in to the hub.

with Triband setup, you would get closer to the system speeds, however that will vary depending what else is taking some of the pie.

A good read here on Mesh.

dongknows.com

Mesh Wi-Fi Systems 101: The Best Tips | Dong Knows Tech

It's time to make your Wi-Fi better! Learn all about mesh Wi-Fi systems and find out how to best set up one for your home.
dongknows.com dongknows.com

Also some reviews on WiFi 6 units.

dongknows.com

Best Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Systems of 2021: The Real Deals | Dong Knows Tech

Wi-Fi 6 is great when it comes to covering a large property. Here's the list of best Wi-Fi 6 mesh systems you can get right now.
dongknows.com dongknows.com

obviously you can save cash going WiFi 5 rather than 6, however the latter does have a better overall setup.
 
R

RichH

Gold Level Poster
I guess the other question is "Do you really need more than 50-60Mbps for a home office?"

Obviously, it depends on what you are doing

I (like many others) have been WFH for the past few months and untill recently got along quite happily with 30Mbps
 
G

Gavras

Master Poster
RichH said:
I guess the other question is "Do you really need more than 50-60Mbps for a home office?"

Obviously, it depends on what you are doing

I (like many others) have been WFH for the past few months and untill recently got along quite happily with 30Mbps
Click to expand...
It’s not so much the speed but having that speed consistently there, having the bandwidth.

However as for speed, it really depends what your job is, what you are doing, types of files, how your company architecture works.

Office 365, One drive, SharePoint, secure remote in to office PC, work applications Cloud based.

One shoe definitely does not fit all.

Some have 4K video setups with high quality mics, then during hosting online conferencing may need to run video or transfer large files during meeting.

While some just sit on a Zoom or Teams meeting just sitting and watching.


For example, pulling down 50gb data then yeah I really appreciate having 1gig broadband.
 
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