Extending telephone line to back of the house for WIFI

magicnumber7 · 11 Feb 2020

In a ground floor victorian terrace flat with the master socket at the front, is the best way to get a decent WIFI signal in the rear of the flat simply to extend the telephone line and plug a second router in there?

I've considered alternatives like WIFI signal boosters or a 'stronger' router in the front, but they both seem less reliable.

Advice welcome folks! Thank you.

stem · 11 Feb 2020

Faced with the same issue, I left the original WiFi router where it was and connected a second WiFi router to it by simply plugging in an Ethernet cable between them. Now with one router at the front of the house and one at the back there's an excellent signal everywhere including the back garden.

There are lots of 'how to' videos on line that show how to configure the second one as an access point. I managed to find one for the exact router I had purchased.

magicnumber7 · 11 Feb 2020

Thanks. Agreed. Have you (or anyone) tried the extender plug units? They immediately look like something that's not bothering with, but not sure if that's unfair and they actually work!

stem · 11 Feb 2020

Originally I looked into using a range extender unit, and they do appear to strengthen the signal OK, but as I understood it, because of the way that they receive the signal wirelessly and then rebroadcast it, that process reduces the available bandwidth and so slows the connection to other devices.

Also, a new router had been installed by my ISP, and they left the old one behind, so I only had to buy the interconnecting Ethernet cable.

Diver Fred · 11 Feb 2020

magicnumber7 said:
Thanks. Agreed. Have you (or anyone) tried the extender plug units?

To be honest I hate them... Designed for use in houses with a 'Low Pass Filter' on the incoming mains - i.e. the USA with 110v plugs and lighting circuits with a Transformer on the incoming mains.

magicnumber7 said:
They immediately look like something that's not bothering with, but not sure if that's unfair and they actually work!

But if you wish to use them check to see which of your neighbours are on the same electrical phase - if it's neighbours and they already have such extenders then you will interfer with each other.

I much prefer to cable out networks and use WiFi as little as possible. I know it is not always possible to only use cables. Where I live there is so many WiFi signals that WiFi is not useable above the ground floor in my house.
How many WiFi signals can you see on your devices?

OwainDIYer · 11 Feb 2020

You can't have two modem/routers on one phone line.

You'd need to extend with ethernet and a wifi access point

Mottie · 11 Feb 2020

Some on here will rubbish them but I find them fine. A powerline adaptor should be fine for you. Plug one in to an electrical socket near to your router, plug the other one into the room you need the internet connection ....and that’s it! Some just do wired connections but others (such as these) will give you a wired and a wireless connection. Buy it from Argos and if by any remote chance it doesn’t work for you, just return it, get your money back and feel free to call me an idiot!

magicnumber7 · 11 Feb 2020

Thanks, all!
- Several WIFIs signals in the area, so will consider plugging in.
- First order of business I will try an extender/adaptor and see how it works over WIFI, failing that I will plug it in via ethernet cable.

Mottie · 11 Feb 2020

The main powerline adaptor does not transmit to the secondary one by WiFi. It transmits through your house wiring to the secondary units and they can be connected to your units either by cable or they transmit their own WiFi.

pete50 · 11 Feb 2020

An ethernet wired connection will always beat a wireless connection hands down at least in a domestic enviroment. I do use Home Plugs for convenience but where I have run a wire the speed and the connectivity is much much better.

If the OP is going to extend a telephone line with the idea of connecting another router and connecting directly to his ISP then that cannot be done as OwainDIYer says. He can use a second router and "bridge" it by ethernet cable to the main router.

magicnumber7 · 11 Feb 2020

@pete50 thank you, makes sense

Chud · 12 Feb 2020

I'd say you've got a few options depending on what level of access you have to run cables etc, generally it's best to avoid plugging your router into anything other than the master socket:

Run a longer ADSL (RJ11) cable to where you want to place the router, you normally get provided something like a 1m cable with the router but you can use up to 30m - cheapest option!
Use a wifi booster - if you're with Sky they'll often provide one FOC if you are having issues but using one will halve your wifi speed if you use it wireless - a better option is to run ethernet cable (Cat5e or pref Cat6) between the router and the booster.
Buy a wireless access point/router and connect it to the router via ethernet - you can get dual band ones for under £50 - site it in an ideal location for coverage, you may want to disable wireless on your main router for this scenario to avoid your devices switching from one network to another.
Buy a mesh router to replace your current one - not cheap but most of them come with 3 units that you place throughout your house to get even fast coverage.

Considerations:
- Where cable running is an issue powerline adapters can be a lifesaver but if you're going to go down this route it's worth trawling ebay for some cheap 2nd hand ones as not all houses are wired up in a way to use them...if the cheapies (under £15) work (usually rated up to 200Mbps) then think about grabbing some gigabit ones - can be had new on amazon for £30+
- Many wifi routers will start having a bit of a fit with 20+ more devices connecting to them even if they claim to support up to 64 etc so a good rule of thumb is to hardwire what you can with ethernet - I go on the basis if it's static (TV, Sky box etc.) then it gets cabled up leaving wifi for stuff that you pick up or that doesn't have network sockets. To facilitate this I've got my router connected to a couple of 8 port switches which then provide connections for TV's etc. I have Cat6 feeding the switches but if you can't run that then this is where your gigabit powerline adapters come into play.

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Extending telephone line to back of the house for WIFI

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