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Aug 2nd, 2020, 03:04 PM
#1
Range extender for Xfinity router
In my house we have computers in two rooms at the opposite sides of the house. My computer has the router (from Xfinity) and the my wife's computer is in a room about 35 feet away that we use for an office. Between the two computers is a wall that contains a fireplace. We've had this setup for several years without any problems but in recent times my wife has been doing a lot of Zooming and we've noticed that when the office door is closed that she frequently gets dropped from Zoom sessions. I know next to nothing about this type of thing but would a WiFi extender help? If so can you suggest a good one that would be compatible with the Xfinity router? Assume that cost is not a factor. If you don't think the extender would help can you suggest anything else?
Last edited by MartinLiss; Aug 2nd, 2020 at 03:10 PM.
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Aug 2nd, 2020, 07:00 PM
#2
Re: Range extender for Xfinity router
WiFi repeaters work, but they can have their troubles too. That might be why "mesh router" packages have become popular: one vendor, preconfigured to work in a group.
If you are relying on an ISP-supplied router/accesspoint or modem/router/accesspoint combo device your options are more limited. Then you might have to take your chances with a 3rd party repeater.
Older ones were 2.4GHz only, but newer ones may be selectable or dual-band. 5GHz has more limited range and penetration but the band may be less crowded in your environment. If your ISP-combo-box is only 2.4GHz you probably won't get anything from a dual-band repeater. I've never heard of one that acts as a concentrator, connecting 5GHz downstream to the 2.4GHz upstream LAN segment.
As far as price goes, just avoid the cheapest units. Something in the $25-$35 range will probably work as well as anything pricier.
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Aug 2nd, 2020, 07:05 PM
#3
Re: Range extender for Xfinity router
Er, the cheaper units do have less RAM and less powerful processors, which can limit the number of simultaneous clients they can handle to ~ 20 or so. But many home routers can poop out at 20 to 40 clients anyway.
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Aug 3rd, 2020, 04:10 AM
#4
Re: Range extender for Xfinity router
You could also consider power line adapters. These use the mains wiring to distribute the network signal. One unit is plugged into a port on your router and into a nearby mains socket. Then where you want to use the network, you plug another unit into the nearest mains socket. I use these in my house in the UK and they're great!
See https://www.amazon.com/s?k=wifi+powe...f=nb_sb_noss_1
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Aug 3rd, 2020, 07:43 AM
#5
Re: Range extender for Xfinity router
This is why I don't use the ISP router in the first place. I always buy my own. When I was with TWC, I even bought my own modem because theirs was a refurbished piece of junk. Now I'm with ATT FIOS, so I have not choice but to use their modem, but I turned off their wifi router, hooked in my own and set their router to pass-through. Now I have full control over my router again. That allowed me to upgrade to a tri-band when a storm knocked my original Nighthawk out of commission.
So that would be my recommendation - start with a good decent router to begin with first.
-tg
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