FiOS Network Extender

[ponsholm]

Greetings,

Does anyone in this forum have this network extender? We are having some problems upstairs connecting to 5G and since we have been very happy so far with FIOS, if this simplifies connectivity with our Quantum Gateway GS1100 and complements (Extends) the signal I would happy.

Thoughts?

https://teleproducts.verizon.com/fios/index.cfm/eh/DisplayDetails

[eljefe2]

I am using the FiOS network extender in our basement.  It was easy to install and seems to work well.

The key is having coax availbilty where you want to place the extender.   If you already have coax running to a TV upstairs I suggest you give the extender a try.   It will likely solve your coverage problem.

[ponsholm]

Thanks for the feedback. 

Yes, I have coax upstairs and I had planned to place the extender by the media room. However, my whole house is also wired with Cat6 and since there are 2 ethernet ports behind the unit as well and I have a switch, instead of splitting the coax signal can I just as well use ethernet to extend the signal or does it have to be coax?

[viafax999]

Should be able to get any cheap wap and extend via ethernet.

[eljefe2 · Accepted solution]

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@ponsholm wrote:

Thanks for the feedback. 

Yes, I have coax upstairs and I had planned to place the extender by the media room. However, my whole house is also wired with Cat6 and since there are 2 ethernet ports behind the unit as well and I have a switch, instead of splitting the coax signal can I just as well use ethernet to extend the signal or does it have to be coax?

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To answer your specific question, you can't feed that network extender with Ethernet.  It has to be coax, which then gives you those two Ethernet output ports.   But inserting a coax splitter shouldn't be a problem.

That being the case, you can do as viafax999 suggested.  If you do, make sure the WAP you buy has adequate specs for you.  The cheapest ones these days don't have 5 GHz, etc.

[ponsholm]

Thanks for the feedback. That answered my question... 

[eljefe2]

You're welcome. 

If you choose a solution that works for you, you might report back and  to possibly help another user with the same question. 

[ponsholm]

Update:

So I picked up this FIOS extender. It wasn't really "plug n play" as the 1,2,3,4 included instructions indicated, but simple enough to configure to use the same network names etc. It defaults to a couple of different SSIDs and doesn't automatically extend the current networks. (HINT: Just login to the FIOS G1100 and find the IP of the extender, then login admin/admin) 

It really works pretty good but I have to say the anoying lights on the front of the device (blinking rapidly) underneath the Media Center TV had to get taped pretty quickly with duct tape. 

Also, I noticed that iStumbler (Mac network tool) still shows the SSIDs as different (4 instead of 2) but all wifi devices only sees 2 (2.4 & 5) frequencies. It also doesn't automatically switch to the strongest signal as you walk across the house as I can tell yet. However, you can check pretty easily what MAC address I'm currently connected to depending on where you are.

Lastly, the 5GHZ band on the extender shows A + N options. I assume the A option is not AC?

Cheers

[smith6612]

A + N usually means the access point supports the legacy 802.11a standard, which is the 5Ghz equivalent of Wireless G. It runs at 54 Mbps and is made for density. It does this while supporting N. AC will show up as 802.11ac 🙂

For roaming to work, the client needs to make the choice to roam. Macs tend to stick to the original access point until the signal is almost unusable. Some other devices will usually connect to the stronger of the two so long as there is a specific difference between signal strength present. In managed enterprise environments a wireless controller can push clients to other Access Points if they tend to be "sticky" to a further away AP.

[eljefe2]

FWIW,  I prefer different SSID from different wireless access points so I can easily be sure of which network I'm connected to and manually select the one I know will give me best results at a given location.

And with my iPhone 6 connected with the 5 GHz network to my WCB3000N I get 84 mb/s up and down at www.speedtest.net.

Works for me.