Router signal poor

[Anonymous User]

Hi there, 

I was wondering if anybody is having signal issues with the router supplied (I joined about 4 months ago). 

I was with Vodafone beforehand and the router signal is very good upstairs in all 3 bedrooms. 

now broadband router barely gets 2 bar signals in the two rooms and even if my phone is displaying 2 bars of WiFi signal, the connection drops every so often and I have to switch to 4G. 

both routers on the same place under the stairs on its own shelf bolted to the wall. 

is there any updated routers available from NOW FOC, or a firmware update ? 

I have tried using wireless boosters and it just cuts my speed from ~48Mbps down to 12Mbps. 

thanks for any help

[RoyB]

@Anonymous User 

The Now router is the subject of frequent complaints about poor WiFi coverage.

Sky used to supply this router to its customers, but changed to an alternative. You may very well think that was because of this issue; I couldn’t possibly comment.

But no, there is no better router available from Now, free or paid for, and no firmware update to fix it either.

You could get your own router, though make sure it can support SKY MER 61, which not all routers do. Lots of postings on here about how to do this.

I don’t know what wireless booster you have tried; but I recommend this:-

[RoyB]

@Anonymous User 

(Please ignore the incomplete answer above - I can’t delete it alas),

The Now router is the subject of frequent complaints about poor WiFi coverage.

Sky used to supply this router to its customers, but changed to an alternative. You may very well think that was because of this issue; I couldn’t possibly comment.

But no, there is no better router available from Now, free or paid for, and no firmware update to fix it either.

You could get your own router, though make sure it can support SKY MER 61, which not all routers do. Lots of postings on here about how to do this.

I don’t know what wireless booster you have tried; but I recommend TP-Link's TL-WPA7517, a pair of PowerLine adapters where the remote end is a WiFi hotspot. You plug the sender into the mains near the router, with a short Ethernet cable to the router, and the  remote unit in any other mains socket in your house; in your case, the main or middle bedroom, probably.

Available from Curry’s (though they are currently out of stock) or John Lewis, about £50 from either. And Amazon, probably. You can read about this pair of devices on either website.

Cheaper ones exist, but are not capable enough; avoid them.

If this works like it should (and did for me, right from the BT Hub in the house clear out to the garden room at the bottom of the garden), you won’t need a replacement router, and can use the Now one.

[Jayach]

If you still have the Vodafone router (I presume the THG3000), you could use it as a Access point on the Now router. Try googling "using router as access point".

Here is a YouTube video where they do exactly that with the THG3000. 

Gigabit WiFi for a Fiver: Making the best value high performance Access Point (THG3000 setup guide) ...