[jeff k]

Just bought a netgear, had to return, could never get it to work. Then bought D-link, works, but my speed test show it slower than when I'm not on the extended network. Puzzled.

[P]

It will be slower by design. It uses the available bandwidth twice, so speeds should drop in half, roughly.

Personally I have never been very successful with Wifi extenders. A more powerful network router has worked better for me.

[mooblie]

Originally Posted by P 

....A more powerful network router has worked better for me....

...or powerline adapters for me (by Devolo to be precise).

[Mike Wuerthele]

I like an Airport Express or second router connected through bridge mode with access coming from wired. I've got a pair of fifth-gen Airport Extremes serving N throughout the house, and a AC network as well.

More powerful router works too.

[turtle777]

Extenders don't mix & match well.
The key to success is buying from the same vendor, and devices that are designe dfor each other.
Only then you have a decent chance of it working.

-t

[jeff k]

Thanks guys, well I had Apple Extreme and it's extender before, but am now forced to be with ATT. (combo router/ modem)

That being said.

I cut the Time Warner cord, and now watch TV on the web. Hulu or direct shows.

So freezing, not total freeze, but sometimes, I'm watching and the show stalls, then moves, then stalls, super annoying.

Then I run a speed test, and sometimes it says 2mbs (poor), yet other times is says 18mbs, which is a good speed.

Anything I can do? Or maybe not? I'm not sure even how to measure what is going on or if one can...

[Thorzdad]

ATT? That's DSL, which is much more vulnerable to slow-downs for various reasons.
There's probably little you can do, especially if you don't have access to any other high-speed service. There's probably a bit of text in your contract that says "up to X-Mbs" which covers their butts in times of slow service.

[rose61]

Airport Express or second router connected through bridge mode with access coming from wired.





_________________________________
Usman

[cgc]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

ATT? That's DSL, which is much more vulnerable to slow-downs for various reasons.
There's probably little you can do, especially if you don't have access to any other high-speed service. There's probably a bit of text in your contract that says "up to X-Mbs" which covers their butts in times of slow service.

Actually you're thinking about cable internet providers who provide a pool of data to a small region (their coaxial cabling and fiber runs to numerous homes while DSL uses phone lines are go from the TELCO's Central Office straight to the users' homes). DSL is generally slower than cable but the throughput is more consistent vs cable's peaks and valleys.

[abbaZaba]

Extenders are crap.

1) You're extending a signal on the edge of the main AP's range and often times the extender only has one radio, so in perfect-world-lab-case scenarios you'd only ever get half the speed of the already weak signal.

2) The extended network is often times the same channel as the main network which causes interference.

Extenders are crap.