wifi router/extender questions and help

[ScottyP]

I have a Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 DST router that I bought about 4 years ago from Best Buy. It came with a DST adapter so I can have enough range to reach my office computer in my basement. A few months ago, my DST adapter stopped working but my router can still barely reach my office. Now that I am working from home, I was hoping to get my wifi in my basement office to a stronger signal.

the questions I had were:

• Is my Nighthawk AC1900 router still adequate? If not, any recommendations? (need to consider a budget as my wife's hours have been reduced)
• Can I get some sort of help/tech support on my DST adapter even though the geek squad support ended a couple years ago?
• If I can't fix my DST adapter, what would be a good extender without breaking the bank.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

If it's 4 years old you are probably on the tail end of it's shelf life. Have you checked to see that your router is up to date?

 

[ruxCYtable]

There are lots of good, cheap extenders out there. Here's one from Walmart for $30:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/NETGEAR-...NpE4sAhu3mi5HWso4i_WuJhLIqlvi4dUaAsl9EALw_wcB

You also might consider a powerline adapter. Basically runs internet through your electrical wires. Sometimes the speed can be better that wireless but may not be significant enough to be noticeable.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/NETGEAR-...NpE4sAhu3mi5HWso4i_WuJhLIqlvi4dUaAsl9EALw_wcB

 

[3GenClone]

I had a Netgear N300 for a while that I used as an AP. I thought it worked OK for what I needed it to do, but it would need to be reset every couple of weeks. Also, one thing about Netgear is that it required periodic FW updates that I was only aware of via their email notifications. A lot of those updates were to prevent network vulnerabilities, so if you go this route I would recommend you have decent antivirus or VPN software.

I recently replaced our router/extender combo with a Mesh system. I found a TP-Link Deco M5 system on Amazon for $160. It came with 3 APs and it has been awesome. I have excellent coverage around my house and even my yard. I can set up user profiles which is really convenient because it is Alexa compatible so I can say "Turn off the kids WiFi" and it disables the network to the kids video game consoles and tablets.

 

[ruxCYtable]

I had a Netgear N300 for a while that I used as an AP. I thought it worked OK for what I needed it to do, but it would need to be reset every couple of weeks. Also, one thing about Netgear is that it required periodic FW updates that I was only aware of via their email notifications. A lot of those updates were to prevent network vulnerabilities, so if you go this route I would recommend you have decent antivirus or VPN software.

I recently replaced our router/extender combo with a Mesh system. I found a TP-Link Deco M5 system on Amazon for $160. It came with 3 APs and it has been awesome. I have excellent coverage around my house and even my yard. I can set up user profiles which is really convenient because it is Alexa compatible so I can say "Turn off the kids WiFi" and it disables the network to the kids video game consoles and tablets.

Definitely if you decided to replace, mesh is where it's at right now. We have google wi-fi but there are lots of great, affordable systems out there.

 

[EnkAMania]

I just bought a Rock Space extender and it does exactly what I wanted (wifi for the garage)

 

[jdcyclone19]

Definitely if you decided to replace, mesh is where it's at right now. We have google wi-fi but there are lots of great, affordable systems out there.

Big fan of the google wifi system. Have had no issues for the year I have had it and have coverage for whole yard and a few blocks down the road.

 

[ScottyP]

I updated my firmware on my router, but still can't get my DST adapter to connect to my router.

How much does the google wifi system cost? I already have a google home and 2 google home mini devices so it might work better for those.

 

[conmebol]

I think depending on your internet speed, AC1900 should be more than enough.

Have you looked into getting another DST from like ebay? Look like plenty can be had for about $10.
For example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NETGEAR-DS...S-for-Nighthawk-R7300-DST-Router/113781940190

Amazon also have it for 8.95

If you get an extender, you probably want AC extender instead of N extender

 

[enisthemenace]

I had a Netgear N300 for a while that I used as an AP. I thought it worked OK for what I needed it to do, but it would need to be reset every couple of weeks. Also, one thing about Netgear is that it required periodic FW updates that I was only aware of via their email notifications. A lot of those updates were to prevent network vulnerabilities, so if you go this route I would recommend you have decent antivirus or VPN software.

I recently replaced our router/extender combo with a Mesh system. I found a TP-Link Deco M5 system on Amazon for $160. It came with 3 APs and it has been awesome. I have excellent coverage around my house and even my yard. I can set up user profiles which is really convenient because it is Alexa compatible so I can say "Turn off the kids WiFi" and it disables the network to the kids video game consoles and tablets.

I just connected the same mesh system, except P9, in my house late last week. I’m still trying to decide if it’s any good or not, to be honest.

 

[JimDogRock]

There are lots of good, cheap extenders out there. Here's one from Walmart for $30:
(Link redacted for readability)

You also might consider a powerline adapter. Basically runs internet through your electrical wires. Sometimes the speed can be better that wireless but may not be significant enough to be noticeable.
(Link redacted for readability)

These 2 options are pretty decent. Also easy and fast to set up.

Something to keep in mind -
With range extenders like this you are adding some latency/delay because it's adding another wireless hop.
Router <--> end device
vs
Router <--> range extender <--> end device
That can add a noticeable delay. If this is a situation where you are connecting to a work VPN or other more data heavy things it exacerbates any existing slowness or problems quickly.
Also, if there are a lot of wireless devices near the extender it will not perform well due to interference. So if that is a possible problem, and not strictly the distance, then I would say a range extender would be the wrong choice.

I've used a powerline adapter while at an apartment and also in a house until taking the time to run a new network cable myself. It worked really well for my situations.
Both electric circuits that the powerline devices are plugged in to should to be in the same electric box. I've heard that having one on a subpanel and the other on a main breaker box does not play nicely.

The cheapest and best performing option would be if you or someone you know can run a network cable where you need it from the existing router. This might not be realistic and that's okay.

For a band-aid fix I would recommend the powerline option. You can find them with a source and destination side that strictly have network cable ports or you can also find some that have a wireless access point built in on the destination side.
Here is the one with WIFI that I bought and had success using.
NETGEAR-PowerLINE-1000-802-11ac-Gigabit

As BillBrasky4Cy noted, your router is a few years old already, and wireless tech tends to advance quickly. So a replacement might be advisable as well. For people looking for wider coverage I seldom hear about people having issues with the mesh wifi setups (as long as they are from a solid company)

Good luck!

 

[ISUKyro]

Have you checked to see that your router is up to date?

This. So much THIS! Regardless of age, everyone should be checking to see if their router needs a firmware update.

 

[kirk89gt]

I just connected the same mesh system, except P9, in my house late last week. I’m still trying to decide if it’s any good or not, to be honest.

I would appreciate your unvarnished opinion of that system as I was looking at it as well for my home.

 

[dawgpound]

Big fan of the google wifi system. Have had no issues for the year I have had it and have coverage for whole yard and a few blocks down the road.

This is my next purchase. Can't wait to have a mesh system

 

[enisthemenace]

I would appreciate your unvarnished opinion of that system as I was looking at it as well for my home.

It does appear to have filled in the dead spots in my house (ie basement and a bedroom that is pretty far from the modem), as I have full bars everywhere (and outside some distance), but I’m not convinced that means anything. I’m not a techie guy, so I don’t know how to tell what my speeds are, but I do seem to have a reliable connection now in spots I didn’t before. I wasn’t expecting faster speeds (as that’s not the intent of a mesh system), but I do feel like it’s a touch slower, now, in previously reliable areas.

I will say this...the set up was extremely easy.

 

[ScottyP]

I decided to find a replacement DST adapter for about $10 as a band-aid approach. It is cheaper and is more of a powerline device. After things start to get back to normal, I'll look into a potential router upgrade/mesh system. My internet is only 20 Mbps right now but I am getting 40 Mbps next week.

 

[DSMCy]

It does appear to have filled in the dead spots in my house (ie basement and a bedroom that is pretty far from the modem), as I have full bars everywhere (and outside some distance), but I’m not convinced that means anything. I’m not a techie guy, so I don’t know how to tell what my speeds are, but I do seem to have a reliable connection now in spots I didn’t before. I wasn’t expecting faster speeds (as that’s not the intent of a mesh system), but I do feel like it’s a touch slower, now, in previously reliable areas.

I will say this...the set up was extremely easy.

Two sites to check your speed
https://www.speedtest.net/
https://fast.com/

I'm holding out another year or two before I upgrade to mesh. I want to buy a 6g system when they are hopefully more widely available.

 

[DSMCy]

I decided to find a replacement DST adapter for about $10 as a band-aid approach. It is cheaper and is more of a powerline device. After things start to get back to normal, I'll look into a potential router upgrade/mesh system. My internet is only 20 Mbps right now but I am getting 40 Mbps next week.

I think your router is fine as long as you've kept up with firmware upgrades. The AC1900 is solid. You already have 5g bands. I don't think you'd notice much better performance with a new router.

As others have said, if you do want to upgrade, I'd look at a mesh system for $200-$300.

 

[cyclone618]

In January I replaced my Mediacom modem/router with a Netgear CM1000 modem (Best Buy) and Netgear Orbi (Costco) mesh with 2 satellites and have been very happy with this system.

 

[Cyguy1984]

I have a Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 DST router that I bought about 4 years ago from Best Buy. It came with a DST adapter so I can have enough range to reach my office computer in my basement. A few months ago, my DST adapter stopped working but my router can still barely reach my office. Now that I am working from home, I was hoping to get my wifi in my basement office to a stronger signal.

the questions I had were:

• Is my Nighthawk AC1900 router still adequate? If not, any recommendations? (need to consider a budget as my wife's hours have been reduced)
• Can I get some sort of help/tech support on my DST adapter even though the geek squad support ended a couple years ago?
• If I can't fix my DST adapter, what would be a good extender without breaking the bank.

I had a 4 yr old Nighthawk and due to house size, 2 extenders. Have been having sped issues and blaming ISP. As last resort I bought a mesh network (eero) and wow, what a difference.
Speed is now up to what is advertised (10x what I was getting before) and is a consistent speed.
I wouldn’t waste $’s on extenders. Just invest in the mesh.