Wireless Router not strong enough
mlaw1
Newbie

I want to bypass the verizon wireless router supplied with a better dual band router.  The router that I was supplied with is not that strong.  It will not get to my basement that well where I want to stream movies.

Can anyone help?

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Re: Wireless Router not strong enough
Hubrisnxs
Legend
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/verizonfios/3.0_Networking#12506 That gives great instructions for connecting a second router to your vz fios router
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Re: Wireless Router not strong enough
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

Keep in mind with a dual band router, you won't get range on the "second" 5Ghz band. It naturally does not penetrate as well as a 2.4Ghz router would. 5Ghz setups typically require more APs to maintain a certain level of signal quality throughout a complex as compared to a setup running on 2.4Ghz.

You are free to substitute the FiOS router's Wireless service with that of another Access Point/Router. Nothing wrong with doing that at all. If you're doing it for Wireless N, that's one thing. For the range? I'd try some other ideas like adjusting locations, antennas, and channels to see if you can find the sweet spot. Plenty of FAQ articles over at DSLReports about that stuff. HD video is, of course best done reliably over a Wired connection from the source of network access to the endpoint/device that will be connected.

Re: Wireless Router not strong enough
Robrowe
Newbie

Im with you there! My suggestion is to set up a DMZ on the Actiontec and get another router and set it up with a static IP. So say you use 192.168.10.1 for the new routers static, just go to the DMZ setting and enable and enter the static IP of your router and turn off the wireless on the actiontec. I had nothing but trouble from the actiontec for two years dropping out even when I was sitting right on top of it or connecting but not to the internet. I finally got tired or replacing the router with another POS only to have it fail again.

Even then you might want to invest in range extenders if you are on a multiple level home and particulary in the basement.

Im running a Cisco E4200 with 2 range extenders. I relocated the router to the middle of the ground floor and have an extender on the middle of the second floor and basement. Weakest signal in the house is 80%. Going true N also helps. The best internet download speed I got through wireless was 16Mbps on the actiontec and it boosted to 40Mbps as soon as I went to another router whether it be on the 2.4GHZ or 5Ghz channel. I get better connection speed to the network for streaming from one device to another at 300Mps on 5Ghz N but only get 140Mbps on the 2.4Ghz channel. The range extenders I have found only pass on 2.4Ghz though.

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Re: Wireless Router not strong enough
Hubrisnxs
Legend

great layman article I found about 2.4 VS 5ghz wireless

http://eduncan911.com/blog/the-truth-about-802-11n.aspx

Re: Wireless Router not strong enough
MrsMark
Enthusiast - Level 3

Hmmmm.  I'm not sure about Verizon in your area, but I can't replace the Verizon Router.  I can add a router to the verizon router to strenghten my signal.  My Fios router controls my Phone, STB's not to mention the internet.  Verizon STB's only see's Verizons Routers.

Let me know if it's different in your area.

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Re: Wireless Router not strong enough
Anti-Phish1
Master - Level 1

@MrsMark wrote:

Verizon STB's only see's Verizons Routers..


No strictly true.  VZ's STBs use MOCA to communicate with the router.  It's possible to replace the VZ router, but you still have to provide a MOCA (coax to ethernet) bridge.  The following FAQ lists a number of different ways to use your own router with or without the VZ router.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077

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Re: Wireless Router not strong enough
mdntblu
Newbie

I have the 150mb/75mb connection and they had to run a Cat5 cable from my ONT to my router. The Coax wouldn't allow for the 150mb download speed. So my thinking is I can replace my router now without needing to worry about the Coax connection and get a 5GHz wireless router to take advantage of the higher speeds when using wireless. When connected to Cat5 to the router I get the 150mb down but when using wireless I get max of 60mb.

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