Cheap router with extender, or expensive router?

Hi all,

I would like to buy a new router to replace my Sky Hub SR102 (black), which, to be frank is dire (and even worse than the original Hub SR101 (white).

My ADSL maxes out at 5-6Mbps, with no alternatives so I�m having to make the best of a bad situation. The wireless signal around my house is not great. So would I be better to buy a cheaper router (like the Tp-Link D20) and a wireless extender (and run a LAN cable to it), or go straight for the Tp-Link D9?
i.e. is the D9's wireless signal going to make a big difference?

I have seen positive reviews of the TP-Link Archer range. From what I can see, the D2 has an inferior chipset, the D5 is OK, and �if you�re going to pay for a D5, you may as well buy a D7�. However I have also found the D9 on amazon at £89.99 - £20-£30 cheaper than local stores.

Any thoughts please, or alternatives suggestions?

Many thanks,

Edited by beercan (Wed 20-Apr-16 18:10:43)

So is it just the wifi that's poor? If so, what are the wireless capabilities of your devices, so you can get the appropriate wireless router?

Hi, Thanks for your reply.

We have an Xbox one, three Galaxy S5's, a Galaxy tab, Wii u and an iPhone 5s attached via wifi.

The following are also attached via LAN (which seems fine in terms of speed):
Desktop PC, Sky+HD, PS4, Denon amplifier, Blu Ray/Netflix player (all via a Netgear 10/100 switch) Xbox 360 (via powerline adaptor), Sky +HD and cheap & nasty Sky extender (via powerline adaptor).

Also I assume if I got the D9 as it's gigabit, I'd need to get a new gigabit hub and pc card to get the most from the internal network?

I would use your old hub as a wireless access point at a different location in your house connected to your new router by cable. Just disable the DHCP and make sure the IP address does not conflict with your existing router and its DHCP range.

Always best to get a second router than spending money on an expensive router.

Wireless output on a netgear D7000 was far worse than a HomeHub 5 and SR102 in terms of how far the wifi transmitted. That was a £135 router!

I would replace the sky hub with an AC router and then have a second AC router, hard wired into the main one, acting as a second wireless AP to increase the range.

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

I would use your old hub as a wireless access point at a different location in your house connected to your new router by cable. Just disable the DHCP and make sure the IP address does not conflict with your existing router and its DHCP range.

I tried this actually, using the SR102 as the modem/router and the SR102 as an extender, but my wifi ground to a halt and every wireless device failed to connect to the internet after about an hour of connectivity...? I turned off the DHCP on the extender and assigned a static ip, but what I didn't do was assign an ip that was outside the DHCP range of the main router. Would that have caused the loss of connectivity? Every LAN device continued to connect though.

In reply to a post by beercan:

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

I would use your old hub as a wireless access point at a different location in your house connected to your new router by cable. Just disable the DHCP and make sure the IP address does not conflict with your existing router and its DHCP range.

I tried this actually, using the SR102 as the modem/router and the SR102 as an extender, but my wifi ground to a halt and every wireless device failed to connect to the internet after about an hour of connectivity...? I turned off the DHCP on the extender and assigned a static ip, but what I didn't do was assign an ip that was outside the DHCP range of the main router. Would that have caused the loss of connectivity? Every LAN device continued to connect though.

What I suggest is quite a common arrangement which I use myself, with different products. I use the same SSID and password on both devices, but different Wifi channels. Routers normally have fixed (static) IP addresses for the LAN port, quite often like 192.168.0.1, 192.168.0.254. Are you sure you configured the SR102 correctly and did not change the wan port inadvertently?

In reply to a post by beercan:

I tried this actually, using the SR102 as the modem/router and the SR102 as an extender

You're saying you used 2 SR102's?

Apologies. An SR102 as modem/router, and an SR101 as an extender.

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

What I suggest is quite a common arrangement which I use myself, with different products. I use the same SSID and password on both devices, but different Wifi channels. Routers normally have fixed (static) IP addresses for the LAN port, quite often like 192.168.0.1, 192.168.0.254. Are you sure you configured the SR102 correctly and did not change the wan port inadvertently?

Thanks, I will try again and double check the settings.

When connecting 2 routers together with one as an extender, it's important to only have 1 DHCP server enabled. Also, make sure that all devices have a unique IP address and that the 2 routers don't have the same one.

I can highly recommend buying tp link routers. I was getting fed up of the poor wireless on the sr102, the actual modem part i've had no problem with and get a very fast stable connection but even in my 3 bedroom house the signal struggles to reach the furthest bedroom. I recently picked up an archer c8 ac1750 which is just a router and does not have a built in modem it was on sale for only 57 quid from a large etailor. It's basically double my WiFi range instead of getting 1 bar of WiFi signal I now get 2 bars of 5ghz and 3/4 bars of 2.4ghz. Obviously I altered the dhcp settings but it was pretty much plug and play setup especially if you use the quick setup

Edited by RBD (Mon 25-Apr-16 22:34:08)