Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => Ctrl-Alt-Del => Topic started by: PaulF on 11 April, 2020, 07:44:46 pm
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I’m looking for a solution that can extend my home WiFi without using the ring main - there aren’t enough spare sockets near the master phone socket. But I’m not sure what I should be looking for.
I used to have a box from Sky that did this: it connected to the router via WiFi near the edge of the range and extended the network. As opposed to the ring main devices I also had it kept the same network so wireless printers were visible anywhere in the house. The ring main devices each created their own distinct network with unique ids.
So what am I looking for and can anyone recommend something?
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I bought some Netgear thing the other week to improve the signal in the garage and motorhome (I was going to WFH in there but HR...)
It basically connects to the main WiFI network and then creates it's own network with the same name and _EXT (can override that if you want).
Think it was this one:
https://www.ebuyer.com/671887-netgear-ex2700-wireless-n300-network-range-extender-ex2700-100uks
There's a couple of others with more features.
If you're short on sockets then there's also
https://www.ebuyer.com/775027-netgear-ac1200-wallplug-passthrough-extender-ex6130-100uks
Don't know how windows networking works on it as I haven't yet used a laptop that wasn't a work one on it.
and I never bothered to look at what subnet was in use on them.
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WiFi Extenders are covered here https://www.tomsguide.com/uk/us/best-wifi-extenders,review-2225.html
But, is that really what you want? Your description of your mains extenders is likely inaccurate (ethernet connectivity is Layer 2, making separate networks only happens at Layer 3) and, while each mains device is likely paired to another(s) using a non-networking protocol, the networks can likely be configured to join at ethernet and IP level, but I'd be guessing how that might help.
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I'd not rule out mains extenders in this scenario.
Your objections are not consistent with my experience.
Insufficient mains points near the router? Most mains extender sets will have at least one with a 'pass-thru' socket, so it essentially does not use up a socket that is needed for something else.
The 'separate network' thing is not right; it's straightforward for everything to be on the same network.
The powerline adaptors are basically a virtual ethernet cable.
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Yep, TP Link adaptors work for me, including pass-through types.
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My experience with mains extenders may be out of date but what I experienced:
- They used up a socket, but I can see from Google that may no longer be an issue.
- They created their own network so if my network was called HOME they would create a new network called HOME_EXT which, whilst I could rename, will be different from HOME meaning that the printer connected to HOME is not available from HOME_EXT. That is what I’m trying to avoid.
- They don’t always work well if “upstairs” and “downstairs” are on different ring mains
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They created their own network so if my network was called HOME they would create a new network called HOME_EXT which, whilst I could rename, will be different from HOME
...unless you rename it to "HOME" and use the same encryption settings. It ought to just work.
Then you're into the murky world of WiFi roaming (or lack thereof): Ultimately, it comes down to the client to decide to roam, and - in the absence of some of the tricks employed by high-end access points - they're often disinclined to. Which is why people seem to like using different-named networks, so they can control the process manually.
meaning that the printer connected to HOME is not available from HOME_EXT. That is what I’m trying to avoid.
Shouldn't do, if they're on the same L2 network and there isn't any "client isolation" or firewalling shenanigans going on at the router.
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Or look for a "Whole home wifi system". It should make it all work as a single network, so devices can switch between points.
Most of these systems can work with wifi connections between the points. Or there is an option to use ethernet, may be faster/more reliable.
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I agree - I found that the extenders increased coverage but reduced speed. I got a mesh system. Coverage is great and speed is the the same as being by the router.
Google make a fancy one
https://store.google.com/gb/product/nest_wifi
Amazon make a fancy one
https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/new-amazon-eero-mesh-wi-fi-system-is-here-to-tackle-google-wifi
I got a poundshop TP-LINK (deco M5) one. There's a well rated Netgear one too. 3 units would really cover a family house.
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I got a Tenda mesh system which is probably the bargain basement option in the world of mesh.
It does what I bought it for, which is to cover the bits of the house and garage that the Plusnet router was struggling with. But, when my Google Home Minis connect to the Tenda devices I get frequent drop outs despite the claimed (app reported) speeds of the mesh.
The mesh network and the router have the same security set up.
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I got a Tenda mesh system which is probably the bargain basement option in the world of mesh.
It does what I bought it for, which is to cover the bits of the house and garage that the Plusnet router was struggling with for laptops and security. But, when my Google Home Minis connect to the Tenda devices I get frequent drop outs despite the claimed (app reported) speeds of the mesh.The Minis are now blacklisted on the Tenda app.
The mesh network and the router have the same security set up.
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Interesting that this topic has come up just as I received the Netgear EX3700 from Mr Amazon . . . . and a BT Broadband Extender Flex 600 kit from the same source.
The BT kit should enable our PCs upstairs to connect to the BT hub downstairs via the electrical ring main (all sockets in the house are on the same circuit) . . I'm assuming that the "slave hub" we have by the PCs will enable 4 connections (two PCs and two printers)
Not now sure that I need the Netgear extender as we initially thought that we'd have to run the PCs on wifi and wanted to beef it up - it can go back to Amazon if necessary. Wifi around the house for tablets and phones seems to be OK.
At the moment our (business) broadband isn't connected - long story to do with moving house (just 1.4km), taking original number with us and BT/Openreach not doing any internal connections to fit a new master socket for the high speed fibre deal that we have - so we are using the BT "always there" 4G dongle over the cellphone network. Have to say I'm impressed with it - speed is good and TV stuff is coming down the line without a hitch.
Rob
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We shall be buying one of these (https://www.scan.co.uk/products/netgear-nighthawk-mesh-x4s-ex7500-wallplug-wifi-range-extender-tri-band-24plus5plus5ghz-400plus866pl) when they become available again.
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There is a reason why we don't tend to use these technologies in a corporate setting, which is they are largely pants, the whole mesh network thing is a realm of conflicting standards and half hearted implementations which work ok in a lab but fail to live up to real world conditions.
I went with the quite cheap mini access points from mikrotik (less than 30 quid each) and a single non wifi router, the router manages all the access points and you can roam happily between them, the downside is you need to run some cable about the place, however as the AP's are power over ethernet they at least don't need sockets.
Frankly anything doing power over the mains should be fired into the sun, they produce so much rf pollution they screw over some of the amateur radio bands chronically, producing so much noise they technically should be banned, I know a couple of neighbours have got them because I have to listen through the noise of them on 40m.
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, they produce so much rf pollution they screw over some of the amateur radio bands chronically, producing so much noise they technically should be banned, I know a couple of neighbours have got them because I have to listen through the noise of them on 40m.
40m has always seemed to be where most of this interface is present. I rarely listen these days, but thankfully here it's not too bad.
I'm waiting for a few more sunspots and 10m (& maybe 12) to open up again - that seems to be relatively free of buzzes and whistling things.
Or my half-size G5RV is deaf!
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Frankly anything doing power over the mains should be fired into the sun
A bit extreme, no? :)
Agreed that the correct solution is wires, with however many managed APs you need to ensure coverage. (We're fortunate in that we can cover the whole house with a single strategically-positioned Unifi UAP-AC-Pro.) But the premise of this thread is presumably that that isn't an option.
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I use powerline adapters to get internet to my shed. The garage, however, is on a different ring main and powerline doesn't work. So I have a BT Whole-Home disc system connected to the powerline adapter in the shed, and that beams internet to another tranceiver disc in the garage (about 20m away), The BT Home Hub 6, Devolo Powerline and Whole Home wifi, all use the same SSID and password so that users can seamlessly pass from one network to another. It all works very well.
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I went with the quite cheap mini access points from mikrotik (less than 30 quid each) and a single non wifi router, the router manages all the access points and you can roam happily between them, the downside is you need to run some cable about the place, however as the AP's are power over ethernet they at least don't need sockets.
Mikrotik stuff looks interesting, not seen that before.
Could be a lot cheaper than Ubiquiti Unifi. Though more complicated to set it up?
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I use powerline adapters to get internet to my shed. The garage, however, is on a different ring main and powerline doesn't work. So I have a BT Whole-Home disc system connected to the powerline adapter in the shed, and that beams internet to another tranceiver disc in the garage (about 20m away), The BT Home Hub 6, Devolo Powerline and Whole Home wifi, all use the same SSID and password so that users can seamlessly pass from one network to another. It all works very well.
Samsung phones seem to have issues with this kind of thing. They like to hang on to the first AP they connect to even if its signal gets weak when you move and your stood right next to a different AP. Turning WiFi on and off forces them to reconnect to the nearest AP.
A proper controller based WiFi system would force them to re-associate when they moved.
Mind you my home network is a lash up of powerline stuff even though I have installed networks of hundreds of proper controller based APs. It works well enough that I cant be bothered with the expense of a proper setup. When they finally all die and need replacing I might get round to it now prices have dropped. Still cant afford the several thousand pounds for a Cisco based system like I have installed for customers though. Enterprise WiFi is amazingly flexible and easy to control compared to home grade stuff, even automagically sets the transmit power levels and channels so the APs don't interfere with each other.
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Yes, I guess it would be reasonable to call mine a lash-up! But it works amazingly well, and none of my non-Apple mates have reported any problems using it. The advantage of having the disc in the garage is it's the nearest bit of my property to the pub next door, so I can get my own wifi at the bar at around 30mbps (it's 200+ in the house). As the pub's is crap, I have Grate Fun being able to LMGTFY or stream stuffs quickly while they struggle in the mire of 56kbs 'broadband'!
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Samsung phones seem to have issues with this kind of thing. They like to hang on to the first AP they connect to even if its signal gets weak when you move and your stood right next to a different AP. Turning WiFi on and off forces them to reconnect to the nearest AP.
iPhones would move to a newer, more powerful device with a dash of random. It would have been good enough, but more than often they'd shout out for the password (even though both devices had the same password and SSID). I used different SSIDs now, fortunately, the BT home hub is so useless that nothing willingly connects to it unless I clamber into the space under the stairs. As that's where the cats' litter tray is, it's not something I'm keen to do either.
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Interesting that this topic has come up just as I received the Netgear EX3700 from Mr Amazon . . . . and a BT Broadband Extender Flex 600 kit from the same source.
The BT kit should enable our PCs upstairs to connect to the BT hub downstairs via the electrical ring main (all sockets in the house are on the same circuit) . . I'm assuming that the "slave hub" we have by the PCs will enable 4 connections (two PCs and two printers)
Not now sure that I need the Netgear extender as we initially thought that we'd have to run the PCs on wifi and wanted to beef it up - it can go back to Amazon if necessary. Wifi around the house for tablets and phones seems to be OK.
At the moment our (business) broadband isn't connected - long story to do with moving house (just 1.4km), taking original number with us and BT/Openreach not doing any internal connections to fit a new master socket for the high speed fibre deal that we have - so we are using the BT "always there" 4G dongle over the cellphone network. Have to say I'm impressed with it - speed is good and TV stuff is coming down the line without a hitch.
Rob
UPDATE - none of it works >:( so it's going back to Amazon. In fairness it may be because, as I mentioned, the BB isn't working down the phone line - that's unlikely to be fixed before the end date for return of the items to Amazon. Once we have real BB I'll revisit the issue, in the meantime we can live with it using the cellular network dongle.
Rob
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I went with the quite cheap mini access points from mikrotik (less than 30 quid each) and a single non wifi router, the router manages all the access points and you can roam happily between them, the downside is you need to run some cable about the place, however as the AP's are power over ethernet they at least don't need sockets.
Mikrotik stuff looks interesting, not seen that before.
Could be a lot cheaper than Ubiquiti Unifi. Though more complicated to set it up?
It's substantially cheaper then Ubiquiti, I think our entire house lan infrastructure cost less than a pair of unifi AP's. (Currently 4 AP's, 1 Router, 2 Managed switches).
The router interface isn't actually that bad, it's just not as flashy as Ubiquiti and expects you to understand at least a bit of what you are doing.
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Another approach is to plug a boosted wifi dongle into your PC. It has more cons than pros in a domestic setting. But theoretically it might be the cheapest, fastest solution.
Eta: and you can connect the dongle with a 10 metre active USB lead, so you can avoid having an aerial sticking out of your laptop and you can move the dongle around to avoid interference from your wiring, walls and floors.
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Been thinking of getting something like this to extend wifi to the part of the house where other wifis cannot reach. I see some are described as single and some as dual band. Is there any way I can know which band I need if I don't currently have physical access to the router?
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In the end I went for the BT discs as I got a good deal on them. A doodle to set up and full speed throughout the house. Oddly if I introduce a third disc it seems to slow the system down. At least that’s what my son reports...
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Been thinking of getting something like this to extend wifi to the part of the house where other wifis cannot reach. I see some are described as single and some as dual band. Is there any way I can know which band I need if I don't currently have physical access to the router?
It just means 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. Most modern stuff will feature both. They invented a special naming soup to ensure that you can't translate from the specifications to anything meaningful. They had a b then a g then an n then an ac because that's how the nunderguffins behind all this do their alphabet. For god's sake, no one ask them to count.
I can say all this with relative confidence as I spent Friday evening looking at stupid device wifi spec.
2.4 GHz wifi rays can get further and are less admonished by walls and sturdy masonry but don't offer the same bandwidth, 5 GHz have more bandwidth but don't get as a far. Most modern devices will use either but some stuff still uses the 2.4 band exclusively. Most devices have some clever stuff to decide which it prefers and like all clever stuff it probably won't work.
In the end I went for the BT discs as I got a good deal on them. A doodle to set up and full speed throughout the house. Oddly if I introduce a third disc it seems to slow the system down. At least that’s what my son reports...
I am tempted by this one but for the lack of ethernet ports (it has one, but there's a place behind the living room foliage were having two would be very useful).
There's a TP-Link Deco M5 (oh, don't get me going on product names, I defy anyone to figure out Netgear's wifi offerings) which seems OK and broadly similar. There's also a Tenda something-or-other which actually seems OK, I don't need massive performance, there's two of us, no teenagers and the cats are banned from the internet after last time. Or could spend several hundred quid so I can brag to people at parties about my massive bandwidth.
That's what our attenuated social skills will be like post-Covid.
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Interesting that this topic has come up just as I received the Netgear EX3700 from Mr Amazon . . . . and a BT Broadband Extender Flex 600 kit from the same source.
The BT kit should enable our PCs upstairs to connect to the BT hub downstairs via the electrical ring main (all sockets in the house are on the same circuit) . . I'm assuming that the "slave hub" we have by the PCs will enable 4 connections (two PCs and two printers)
Not now sure that I need the Netgear extender as we initially thought that we'd have to run the PCs on wifi and wanted to beef it up - it can go back to Amazon if necessary. Wifi around the house for tablets and phones seems to be OK.
At the moment our (business) broadband isn't connected - long story to do with moving house (just 1.4km), taking original number with us and BT/Openreach not doing any internal connections to fit a new master socket for the high speed fibre deal that we have - so we are using the BT "always there" 4G dongle over the cellphone network. Have to say I'm impressed with it - speed is good and TV stuff is coming down the line without a hitch.
Rob
UPDATE - none of it works >:( so it's going back to Amazon. In fairness it may be because, as I mentioned, the BB isn't working down the phone line - that's unlikely to be fixed before the end date for return of the items to Amazon. Once we have real BB I'll revisit the issue, in the meantime we can live with it using the cellular network dongle.
Rob
FURTHER, REVISED, UPDATE - we now have BB working on the phone line (long story to do with a number being issued as a stopgap and our original number being reinstated)
The BT Extender kit works connected to the power beside by the router (with a through socket) and the power next to the PCs in the office - and that in turn has a 4 outlet network hub connected to it for 2 PCs and 2 printers - the connection is now faster than the excrement departing the chromium plated digging implement.
The aforementioned WiFi extender has been returned - all that remains to do is for BT/Openreach to change the socket + filter arrangement on the phone line for a new "master" socket which, allegedly, will make it even quicker as it's designed for our high-speed fibre deal. Engineer is supposed to be here on Tuesday (tomorrow) but we'll see if he comes into the building.
Rob
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Based on comments above I've removed two of the Tenda units from my set up, and put the remaining unit fairly central in the house - and hey presto! Improved speeds and no drop outs (yet)
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The problem with any multi-unit mesh is that they need to communicate with each other, which takes up bandwidth (one of the differences between the cheap and spendy units is that the more spendy ones have a dedicated channel for 'backhaul' – either another radio or wired ethernet). Cheaper, consumer units, rely on existing bandwidth.
Hence more might not be better in some situations.
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And then there's the problem of overlapping channels. Ignoring the 5GHz band for simplicity, of the 11 available 2.4GHz WiFi channels that USAnian[1] kit understands, only three can be used at once without the signals overlapping. And your neighbours are already on channel 11[2].
The correct solution for large buildings with lots of users is to turn down the transmit power and use more access points to prevent overlap (creating smaller 'cells'), but that's only practical with wired backhaul.
[1] You occasionally come across devices that don't believe in channel 13, because the drivers were written USAnians, which scuppers the "use channel 13 for better bandwidth because none of the neighbours will have configured their kit to do so" scheme.
[2] This seems to be a popular default for $ky and Verging Media kit.
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I gave up jiggling channels and left it to the computers, even in a detached house in semi-suburban Surrey there's radio saturation. Like everyone in the world, we have a neighbour with an SSID named PrettyFlyForAWifi.
I punted the dosh for a middling TP-Link M5 on the grounds I've got other TP-Link stuff and it's generally behaved and worse case, I have a duo of Powerline adaptors so I could turn them into overpriced access points (which is basically what they are, I suppose). Also on the grounds that it was 'in stock.'
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Like everyone in the world, we have a neighbour with an SSID named PrettyFlyForAWifi.
Ours disappeared a couple of years ago, along with "Life in the fast LAN". The current list[1] is an uninspiring mixture of ISP and manufacturer defaults, interspersed with the names of people's phones that walk past. The most interestingly named nearby access point is "2nd Floor".
[1] One of the important benefits of a Unifi managed system over the consumer-grade stuff, is that it automagically maintains a database of any amusing SSIDs it's seen.
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One line at least of that came true. Though it's usually upside down fake-Polynesian or neo-Celtic swirls rather than numbers.
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Sadly it's mostly dull ISPHub3435x though there's a Bubble&Squeak. I have two SSIDs, and the third shouts NETGEAR64. There's also some BT crap that I really ought to turn off, but frankly, that involves performing the virtual equivalent of a colonoscopy on my BT account to find the settings.
While I'm there I ought to probably just find some cheaper broadband, I'm paying a small fortune. There are probably entire countries paying less than me for connectivity.
Though like choosing any utility these days, they discourage you with a swamp of incomparable despair. Plus even if you wade through the numbers, there's the fearful abyss between suppliers.
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And then there's the problem of overlapping channels. Ignoring the 5GHz band for simplicity, of the 11 available 2.4GHz WiFi channels that USAnian[1] kit understands, only three can be used at once without the signals overlapping. And your neighbours are already on channel 11[2].
I know on paper this is true but I’d love to know if it’s ever been demonstrated to have a real effect. With digital spread spectrum other access points should show up as a bit of background noise, and only when they’re actually transmitting. It’s not like you’re broadcasting a constant big fat carrier wave.
(And I bet there’s much noisier things intruding on the 2.4 GHz band than other people’s WiFi)
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I once spent evening jiggling channels manually based on wandering around the house with a laptop scanning the wifi environment.
It made no discernable difference (if anything, it made things worse). I'd frankly leave the channel selection to the hardware and software.
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The channel 13 trick seems to improve things here when all the BloodyStudents are in residence. But it doesn't work on vintage-netbook-with-the-keyboard-barakta-actually-likes.
TBH, congestion on 2.4GHz is better solved by the move to 5GHz. Manual tweaking makes sense if you control several APs in a large building, but it's an arms race against the neighbours in most residential settings.
The thing that really seems to obliterate WiFi are those gadgets that transmit analogue video (usually for CCTV or baby monitoring purposes) in the 2.4GHz band. They seem to be dying out in favour of Internet-of-Shit devices, fortunately.
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Seriously considering buying some 5Ghz APs now that the working from home frenzy has resulted in saturation of the 2.4Ghz spectrum, and I've been relegated to the spare room where Ethernet isn't yet an option.
For anyone considering / using any kind of WiFi extenders, just check they aren't using uPNP to open ports on your router to the Internet. That seems to be a thing that some of them do. You can check by running a full port scan here (https://www.grc.com/shieldsup).
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For anyone considering / using any kind of WiFi extenders, just check they aren't using uPNP to open ports on your router to the Internet. That seems to be a thing that some of them do. You can check by running a full port scan here (https://www.grc.com/shieldsup).
Eeew.
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I had pegged my expectations low, but I received a TP-Link Deco M5 yesterday. It's a newfangled wifi mesh thing and anyone with enough time on my hands to have waded through my wireless travails in The Asbestos Palace over the years will know that I and the wifi do not get on. And despite knowing a demon with expertise in this sort of eternal torment. She's a demon though, it's in her nature to torment, even if you're friends and get invites to their executive townhouse in Hell's most up-and-coming suburb, Dress Down Friday.
So I installed it last night. Fairly painless (it's all swanky app rather than web interfaces*) – the only head-scratcher was that it installed as a router which I didn't want as I'm keeping the BT hub as a modem/router. It didn't offer an alternative (oddly, despite having two routers, two LANs, competing DHCP controllers, it still happily connected to the internet). I ran with it and found the 'access point' toggle after the fact. The main widget is dangled off a powerline adaptor so it's not hidden in the Faraday cage under the stairs.
Plugged the other two mesh widgets in. Did the firmware update dance. Prepared to be underwhelmed.
So far it's really, really good. I get the full 70 Mbps promised by BT throughout the house. Wifi connections are all >500 Mbps and on 5 GHz (the powerline link will be the rate limiter anyway). The Arlo and Sonos work fine (I took out the Sonos Boost for now so it's just on the wifi). Microsoft Teams has been glitch-free all morning.
I am aware at this point that I'm doing the equivalent of tweaking Finestre's pert little nose.
*I actually prefer this, the connection is via bluetooth so none of that faff of having to have a network to access the network settings, which is great unless that's the problem you're trying to address.
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I actually prefer this, the connection is via bluetooth so none of that faff of having to have a network to access the network settings, which is great unless that's the problem you're trying to address.
There's a great deal of sense in being able to configure notworking devices by some out-of-band method[1], but Stan or Finestre or whoever came up with the idea of using The Devil's Other Radio to configure a Devil's Radio really is an evil genius.
[1] An RS232 serial terminal would be the traditional approach, just to stop that Psion 5 being completely redundant.
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It might be evil, but it worked.
TP-Link used to use an ad hoc wifi network approach to configuring their devices. In principle, also fine, but I still have hellish flashbacks to the long battle I had a with wifi print server once.
I suspect we've all done the web thing where you can't connect, so you end up jibbling with your phone trying to google the default IP of the router, wait it's not that, followed by endless reboots, 404s, more reboots, a factory reset, more reboots. Etc.
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I'm old and cynical and now own a label printer, so my preferred approach is to stick a label bearing relevant settings[1] and factory defaults on such devices.
Pro-level kit with serial terminals and L2 discovery and such require proper unisex spaceadmin skills, so get a pass on being cryptic. It's the mother-in-law's DSL router that fills us with dread. Especially now that the password isn't their phone number.
[1] We have a The Internet (https://theitcrowd.fandom.com/wiki/The_Internet) for "What's the WiFi password?" moments, with configuration details printed on the underside, and an NFC tag inside it for automagic connection of suitably equipped phones. This is easy to hand to visitors, on account of it being wireless.
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I have a reserved IP range for devices I don't remember (at the bottom) and a memorial range (at the top) for devices that have gone, usually with a curl of smoke, to the place in the sky.
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Allow me to present the once-explanatory notes field from the archeological section of my DHCP server's list of reserved MAC addresses. None of these have IP addresses statically allocated to them, or are currently active on the network. And, for the avoidance of doubt, I removed several that were definitely defunct when I replaced the router a few months ago.
While some of these appear to tell a story, I seem to have no memory of them...
LinksysPAP
Sheila toshiba laptop wired
e1000 card
Dodgy Procurve
Videophone 1000
Dog-eaten Dell D630
garmin vm
iuana (old motherboard)
DLSS Acer 102
winxp in virtualbox
module 2
acer netbook wired
former willow motherboard
Fun Factory Raspberry Pi
3com PC Card 10/100
krstie vaio
Via C7 onboard NIC
stupid acer
e1000 card
Dimension 2350
b0rked realtek gigE
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Following ian's recommendation, and also cos it was the cheapest one that was available, I got a TP-Link extender. It arrived today and it just works. Very simple to set up.
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I'm actually officially non-ranty at my Deco M5 purchase, it's really very good. Just works, wifi everywhere. The Sonos got a bit twitchy, which I figured it would, it might be fixable by turning off the roaming (the speakers would disappear occasionally, presumably because something was reassociating with another mesh unit, and then appear several seconds later). Possibly fixable, but I have a Boost box and very little patience, so plugged that in.
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Bizzarely, the extender seems to give a quicker connection than the main router. How is that possible?