considering a new wifi router

[Neil P]

We have 500mbps broadband (ironically it was barely more expensive than 30mbps from other providers). I have done a speed test and we do get the advertised speed at the router, and indeed on wifi too.

However I still occasionally get a "spinning wheel" when streaming video (HD, not even 4k) when I am upstairs (only a very modestly sized house). Would an upgraded router improve things? I currently use the standard broadband provider one which I assume is a "get you started" model. Do better routers deal more effectively with internal walls etc - i.e. do they have a more powerful signal?

 

[Tony Lockhart]

My first thought is that the buffering is caused by the storage where your movie is. We are on FTTC and 35mbps, watch UHD mostly, and we only occasionally see the spinning wheel.

 

[Neil P]

My first thought is that the buffering is caused by the storage where your movie is. We are on FTTC and 35mbps, watch UHD mostly, and we only occasionally see the spinning wheel.

Do you mean the problem might be at the provider end (BFI in this instance)? I will try on another couple of providers to see if also problematic.

 

[garyi]

It could be to do with your wifi signal. presumably the movies is streaming from the internet hence your discussing your speeds. Obviously the internet would not be at play if you are streaming locally, but your wifi might still be crap.

I guess the first question is what is your wifi router now?

Secondly you don't seem adverse to spending a few quid. I can highly recommend Unifi, Dream Router or Dream Machine Router. This assumes your are not on ADSL, the speeds would suggest no.

 

[Neil P]

It could be to do with your wifi signal. presumably the movies is streaming from the internet hence your discussing your speeds. Obviously the internet would not be at play if you are streaming locally, but your wifi might still be crap.

I guess the first question is what is your wifi router now?

Secondly you don't seem adverse to spending a few quid. I can highly recommend Unifi, Dream Router or Dream Machine Router. This assumes your are not on ADSL, the speeds would suggest no.

The router is the one provided by vodafone (I will try and get the model/spec later on). I don't think it is ADSL (500 full fibre, via city fibre lines).

 

[Cheese]

If you agree to invest a few quid, you could install a good old RJ45 cable to the second floor, and have a repeater installed there.

Pure wifi repeaters don’t help much in my experience (well 20 years ago).

The newer Devolos are supposed to work well, mine didn’t (15 years ago)

 

[Neil P]

If you agree to invest a few quid, you could install a good old RJ45 to the second floor, and have a repeater installed there.

Pure wifi repeaters don’t help much in my experience (well 20 years ago).

The newer Devolos are supposed to work well, mine didn’t (15 years ago)

Fortunately the room with the router and the room above it are both due to be decorated. Wouldn't take much to stick a cable up through.

 

[garyi]

When running one cable run four!

 

[gintonic]

We have 500mbps broadband (ironically it was barely more expensive than 30mbps from other providers). I have done a speed test and we do get the advertised speed at the router, and indeed on wifi too.

However I still occasionally get a "spinning wheel" when streaming video (HD, not even 4k) when I am upstairs (only a very modestly sized house). Would an upgraded router improve things? I currently use the standard broadband provider one which I assume is a "get you started" model. Do better routers deal more effectively with internal walls etc - i.e. do they have a more powerful signal?

I presume you are talking about WiFi when you refer to "more powerful signal".

So many variables here, could be one or more of many things.

It could be as simple as moving the location of your router, the higher up in the downstairs room, the better it might serve the next floor up.

Personally I'd put the supplied router into modem mode and install a mesh system - unifi is good, netgear Orbi are excellent but pricey

 

[gintonic]

When running one cable run four!

we ran two to every room including the loft. Our network is about 50:50 wired and WiFi. About 70 items on the network at any one time.

 

[Bananahead]

I have done a speed test and we do get the advertised speed at the router, and indeed on wifi too.

How are you measuring the wifi? Have you measured it in the spinning-wheel location?

 

[Tumeni Notes]

Have you examined which channel your router is broadcasting on? I don't know if this applies universally, but in the past, I've signed in to the control panel on BT routers, and changed the channel from the standard one to another, in order to get a less congested channel. Neighbours could be broadcasting on the same channel as you, and swamping your signal.

There's PC software you can get to examine other networks in your area, and sniff out which are on the same channel

 

[miktec]

We have 500mbps broadband (ironically it was barely more expensive than 30mbps from other providers). I have done a speed test and we do get the advertised speed at the router, and indeed on wifi too.

However I still occasionally get a "spinning wheel" when streaming video (HD, not even 4k) when I am upstairs (only a very modestly sized house). Would an upgraded router improve things? I currently use the standard broadband provider one which I assume is a "get you started" model. Do better routers deal more effectively with internal walls etc - i.e. do they have a more powerful signal?

Worth checking where the router is located. When Virgin installed our router originally (long time ago) they plonked it as near to the point of entry on the front wall as they could manage.
Consequence was that wifi in the back bedroom was crap. I relocated it to the middle of the house (1950s semi) on a high cupboard and this improved wifi coverage dramatically.

Also don't discount the capabilities of a simple wifi booster. I put one in the garage quite some distance from the router and it works a treat.
'Twas Netgear - about £12, so worth a punt before smashing your way through walls/floors or investing significant sums in new router, mesh, etc.

 

[Darth Vader]

We have 500mbps broadband (ironically it was barely more expensive than 30mbps from other providers). I have done a speed test and we do get the advertised speed at the router, and indeed on wifi too.

However I still occasionally get a "spinning wheel" when streaming video (HD, not even 4k) when I am upstairs (only a very modestly sized house). Would an upgraded router improve things? I currently use the standard broadband provider one which I assume is a "get you started" model. Do better routers deal more effectively with internal walls etc - i.e. do they have a more powerful signal?

As has already been pointed out there are a number of permutations and combinations that may contribute to your experience.

1. What WiFi bands are you using? The 2.4GHz band although having better reach is most prone to interference as so many other non-WiFi devices also use this band and can cause drop out of a connection. The 5GHz band is not effected by these devices and is also far less congested. Choose a band around 36 as the higher bands are shared by other non-WiFi services.

2. HD Video doesn't require much bandwidth so your spinning wheel means a wait for valid data. This might be interference on your WiFi connection or even a server overload at the transmit side. At one time we had this happen regularly late on weekends for BBC iPlayer but it was at the BBC server side as the Internet was working on other connections.

3. A better router than the one provided by the ISP really is a must. A good one is expensive but as ever you get what you pay for. Also it needs to be situated as high as you can go for maximum coverage. I have mine on the top floor in my office of this detached three floor house - the BT line entry point was installed by the builders in the kitchen on the ground floor! This router provides coverage on all three floors and out into the garden. Its a modern house so no thick stone walls. I recently upgraded to a Vigor2865ax and found that I could remove my 3 mesh nodes without loss in performance so that says a lot about the newer technology. The maximum power in the UK is limited to 100mW so you can't have more than that. However how much you actually receive at your device depends on several factors and will be a tiny fraction of that 100mW.

I suggest that you find and download a free copy of the older inSSIDer3 (the newer versions require you to log on) as this will show you if you have colliding or too many overlapping WiFi channels plus other info.

Have fun,

DV

 

[cctaylor]

I think it is unlikely that changing the router will improve your situation. A WiFi range extender is more likely to help. I had problems when I needed to get a decent WiFi signal to a telly in the bedroom when Heather was ill. The old extender wasn't cutting it. Upgraded to a TP Link AC1750 in the same location and I had no more problems. The benefit of the newer extender comes from it having a much better radio receiver section resulting in a better overall performance.

 

[garyi]

I think it is unlikely that changing the router will improve your situation. A WiFi range extender is more likely to help. I had problems when I needed to get a decent WiFi signal to a telly in the bedroom when Heather was ill. The old extender wasn't cutting it. Upgraded to a TP Link AC1750 in the same location and I had no more problems. The benefit of the newer extender comes from it having a much better radio receiver section resulting in a better overall performance.

Well a better wifi router will have better wifi so...

 

[Funk]

I think it is unlikely that changing the router will improve your situation. A WiFi range extender is more likely to help. I had problems when I needed to get a decent WiFi signal to a telly in the bedroom when Heather was ill. The old extender wasn't cutting it. Upgraded to a TP Link AC1750 in the same location and I had no more problems. The benefit of the newer extender comes from it having a much better radio receiver section resulting in a better overall performance.

This.

If your internet into the property is fine, stick with the ISP-supplied router - if nothing else it'll mean the ISP can't go slopey-shouldered in the event of dealing with an internet service issue.

As others have said, the thing to do is turn off the wifi in the router and ideally use a mesh system which will run from one of the ports on the back of the router. If you can't justify mesh then using basic wireless extenders might just do the trick.

 

[omers]

After years of weak wifi in the bedrooms and collision problems and trying a wifi repeater to no avail, I disabled wifi in the router and bought a 3 piece TPLink deco m5 mesh system to handle wifi. One of the mesh devices is wired to the router, the other two are spread wirelessly in the house (and can also act as a wired endpoint). Two years since, not a single problem.

 

[mikeyb]

After years of weak wifi in the bedrooms and collision problems and trying a wifi repeater to no avail, I disabled wifi in the router and bought a 3 piece TPLink deco m5 mesh system to handle wifi. One of the mesh devices is wired to the router, the other two are spread wirelessly in the house (and can also act as a wired endpoint). Two years since, not a single problem.

Funnily enough, I've just installed a Deco system in my daughters house on Virgin Media for broadband, areas in the house on WiFi that had either 20mbps or most times 0, went to a rock solid 120mbps.

Highly recommended.

Installed this setup:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B8F146PQ/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[foxwelljsly]

Cheapo ISP routers can struggle with a large number of devices and also have wildly overstated speeds on wired ethernet.

Domestic mesh systems, where you have one wireless access point or router wired to your broadband termination point and 2+ more wireless discs daisychained, have come on a lot in the last few years.

I'd ditch the ISP router, connect a decent full fat wireless router to the fibre ONT, buy a couple of mesh discs and go from there.

Unless your house is especially large, this should be all you need.

If you have a larger house, run a single ethernet cable from the main router to the deadspot and install a wired mesh endpoint there.

FWIW, I have found little to choose between the higher end consumer offerings from the likes of Asus, TPLink and Draytek. All are good, but not perfect, and are less stable than pro offerings from the likes of Cisco.