Requesting Some Tech/WiFi Advice

I have Verizon fios providing internet service to my house. I have their ?extreme? plan, which is a gigabit of speed. I?ve checked it and I?m getting d/l 949.46 mbps and upload if 876.12 mpbs

I purchased my router outright and it?s the standard Verizon quantum gateway g1100 (not to be confused with Rhom). Verizon installed it in a my laundry room, right next to my circuit breaker, some hot water pipes and directly above my washer and dryer.

When I check my WiFi from the room directly next to my laundry room, my family room, I?m getting 437.18 mbps/426.12 mbps vis Verizon?s speed test on my iPhone X.

I have about 14 devices connected when we?re all home. 3 iphones, baby monitor, a few smart devices like my google homes/next thermostats, smart TVs, etc.

However, when I go upstairs, and on the other side of the house (not a huge house - 2k square feet), my WiFi drips tremendously. I get 1 or 2 bars, if I can connect at all, and max out at speeds like 24.7 mpbs d/l and 66.1 mpbs upload on a good day..

This obviously sucks. I called Verizon and they said they?d charge me to come back out and move the ont/modem/router. So that?s an option. But I can also buy a stronger router like a heavy duty nighthawk meant for gaming or the new Verizon heavy duty router. Or I can try a WiFi extender. But I don?t know which is the proper way to go.

Any advice on what is the best course of action to take here? Is it mainly the location that?s the culprit? Is the Verizon router shitty? Should I just go for a google mesh or netgear extender? What do those with more knowledge on this subject recommend?

Nik

I have Verizon fios providing internet service to my house. I have their “extreme” plan, which is a gigabit of speed. I’ve checked it and I’m getting d/l 949.46 mbps and upload if 876.12 mpbs

 

I purchased my router outright and it’s the standard Verizon quantum gateway g1100 (not to be confused with Rhom). Verizon installed it in a my laundry room, right next to my circuit breaker, some hot water pipes and directly above my washer and dryer.

 

When I check my WiFi from the room directly next to my laundry room, my family room, I’m getting 437.18 mbps/426.12 mbps vis Verizon’s speed test on my iPhone X.

 

I have about 14 devices connected when we’re all home. 3 iphones, baby monitor, a few smart devices like my google homes/next thermostats, smart TVs, etc.

 

However, when I go upstairs, and on the other side of the house (not a huge house - 2k square feet), my WiFi drips tremendously. I get 1 or 2 bars, if I can connect at all, and max out at speeds like 24.7 mpbs d/l and 66.1 mpbs upload on a good day..

 

This obviously sucks. I called Verizon and they said they’d charge me to come back out and move the ont/modem/router. So that’s an option. But I can also buy a stronger router like a heavy duty nighthawk meant for gaming or the new Verizon heavy duty router. Or I can try a WiFi extender. But I don’t know which is the proper way to go.

 

Any advice on what is the best course of action to take here? Is it mainly the location that’s the culprit? Is the Verizon router shitty? Should I just go for a google mesh or netgear extender? What do those with more knowledge on this subject recommend?

 

Nik

I had a similar issue and I rectified it by using a second router as an access point. Basically you run a line from your verizon router and connect it to a secondary router in any room of your choosing. Once that's done go into settings and make the second router run as an access point for other devices. It doesn't create a second network it just extends the one you already have to other rooms in the house. Works fine for me.

Here's an example. There are plenty of sources online for this.

https://www.lifewire.com/connect-routers-on-a-home-network-818060

I have Verizon fios providing internet service to my house. I have their “extreme” plan, which is a gigabit of speed. I’ve checked it and I’m getting d/l 949.46 mbps and upload if 876.12 mpbs

 

I purchased my router outright and it’s the standard Verizon quantum gateway g1100 (not to be confused with Rhom). Verizon installed it in a my laundry room, right next to my circuit breaker, some hot water pipes and directly above my washer and dryer.

 

When I check my WiFi from the room directly next to my laundry room, my family room, I’m getting 437.18 mbps/426.12 mbps vis Verizon’s speed test on my iPhone X.

 

I have about 14 devices connected when we’re all home. 3 iphones, baby monitor, a few smart devices like my google homes/next thermostats, smart TVs, etc.

 

However, when I go upstairs, and on the other side of the house (not a huge house - 2k square feet), my WiFi drips tremendously. I get 1 or 2 bars, if I can connect at all, and max out at speeds like 24.7 mpbs d/l and 66.1 mpbs upload on a good day..

 

This obviously sucks. I called Verizon and they said they’d charge me to come back out and move the ont/modem/router. So that’s an option. But I can also buy a stronger router like a heavy duty nighthawk meant for gaming or the new Verizon heavy duty router. Or I can try a WiFi extender. But I don’t know which is the proper way to go.

 

Any advice on what is the best course of action to take here? Is it mainly the location that’s the culprit? Is the Verizon router shitty? Should I just go for a google mesh or netgear extender? What do those with more knowledge on this subject recommend?

 

Nik

I had this problem - two good solutions. As a rule of thumb, your WiFi signal will be around 25-33% of your max; in the case of your top speed, that won't really be felt, but WiFi will almost always be significantly slower than your max. Getting 2.5% of your max is out of sorts bad.

1 - Metal and glass interfere nicely with a router signal. I might see if you can move the router away from those pipes. You can probably use a splitter or even use your cable box as a throughput for the coax cables to move your router to any location you've got a box. Try that, and test it out.

2 - You can buy a repeater or a second router. A repeater will grab your signal and rebroadcast - again, you'll lose strength; definitely better for overall coverage than strength of signal. A second router might be better for that.

I might also see if you can log into your router settings and mess with channels. Traditionally, 1, 6, and 11 are used for like...everything. You might want to try going to a less busy channel and seeing how your devices respond. Most modern routers pick the channel that's most open at all times and cycle through, but you never know.

I had a similar issue and I rectified it by using a second router as an access point. Basically you run a line from your verizon router and connect it to a secondary router in any room of your choosing. Once that's done go into settings and make the second router run as an access point for other devices. It doesn't create a second network it just extends the one you already have to other rooms in the house. Works fine for me.

 

Here's an example. There are plenty of sources online for this.

 

https://www.lifewire.com/connect-routers-on-a-home-network-818060

This what I did upstairs in my house .

Or plug in a second router upstairs in one of the rooms ,but you might have to pay for it

Can you move the router yourself from the laundry room for testing purposes with a couple of ethernet cables?

I bought a 25 foot ethernet cable and a coupler. The problem is, I believe I also need to connect the COAX for my cable tv guide/dvr services.

I had a similar issue and I rectified it by using a second router as an access point. Basically you run a line from your verizon router and connect it to a secondary router in any room of your choosing. Once that's done go into settings and make the second router run as an access point for other devices. It doesn't create a second network it just extends the one you already have to other rooms in the house. Works fine for me.

 

Here's an example. There are plenty of sources online for this.

 

https://www.lifewire.com/connect-routers-on-a-home-network-818060

This is an interesting way to go. Problem is, I only have 1 ethernet port in my entire house.

I had this problem - two good solutions. As a rule of thumb, your WiFi signal will be around 25-33% of your max; in the case of your top speed, that won't really be felt, but WiFi will almost always be significantly slower than your max. Getting 2.5% of your max is out of sorts bad.

 

1 - Metal and glass interfere nicely with a router signal. I might see if you can move the router away from those pipes. You can probably use a splitter or even use your cable box as a throughput for the coax cables to move your router to any location you've got a box. Try that, and test it out.

2 - You can buy a repeater or a second router. A repeater will grab your signal and rebroadcast - again, you'll lose strength; definitely better for overall coverage than strength of signal. A second router might be better for that.

 

I might also see if you can log into your router settings and mess with channels. Traditionally, 1, 6, and 11 are used for like...everything. You might want to try going to a less busy channel and seeing how your devices respond. Most modern routers pick the channel that's most open at all times and cycle through, but you never know.

I figured as much. I'm going to try and move it around again.

I have no idea what FiOS charges to move the equipment, and I'm not sure what the floorplan of your place looks like, but a simple solution to this would be to invest in a range extender or wifi access point that's more centrally located to boost the frequency going upstairs.

I'm open to this. Verizon would charge me $100 just to come out. They said that they no longer go thru walls though. So I asked if they would basically just be taking a long ethernet cable and stapling it to my wall and the tech said "I believe so", which is ridiculous. Firstly, that's horrible looking, lol. Secondly, I could do that myself. They charge $60 per to put in a new ethernet port in the wall, (if they can). It might be worth having them come out to see what's what. I have COAX in almost every room in my house. I don't know how difficult it would be to convert that.

Update: I used a coupler and a 25 foot Ethernet cable to move the router out to another location. It greatly improved speed and range through out my house. Now I just have to fight Verizon on actually moving the equipment.

Excellent and I'm thinking the same for me as my router is in the garage and not the greatest performance.