Large brick house - looking to extend wi-fi coverage

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Level 1

8 points

Large brick house - looking to extend wi-fi coverage

Hello,

My home is all brick single floor construction which means that it is next to impossible using apple's star configuration and the present Airport technology to set the system up to cover the entire house. Even with multiple AEBS and AX units the best i can do is cover about 50%.

I just bought a Belkin 500 mbps powerline network adapter and am hoping this will finally give me internet in the rear of the house. One end of the powerline system would be connected to the main AEBS, where the cable modem signal enters the house. The other powerline unit would be connected in a bedroom at the other end of the house, to another AEBS or AX unit. I am hoping i can get the second Airport transmitter to transmit internet to the bedrooms in that area.

But i'm not sure this will work. Would anyone out there be able to tell me if this set-up actually would work, or if not help me find an alternative solution? Otherwise I am going to have to order a second cable modem from my local provider and fork over another $49 a month into perpetuity.

Help! (And thank you in advance).

Macbook Air 1.86ghz, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Apr 9, 2012 3:49 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Bob Timmons

Community+ 2024

Level 10

159,266 points

Apr 9, 2012 4:29 PM in response to artdlr007

Ethernet over the powerlines is always an "iffy" proposition.

That is because there are too many variables to be able to make any kind of accurate prediction about how the network might function. Some examples.....

Bandwidth is lost with distance over the powerline

Bandwidth is lost as the signal changes from one circuit to another

Noise on the AC powerline may affect performance

Filtering in the powerline adapters may not allow routers to function correctly

The bottom line....you won't know how well the system will work until you try it in your home. For that reason, it would be a good idea to understand the store's return policy in case things do not work out as hoped.

Let us know how things are working there when you can.

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Answer 2

artdlr007 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 9, 2012 4:35 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thank you Bob. Yes, i think i realize that already. The house was built in the late 40's and while we had a bunch of electrical work done last year i'm not really sure where the wires will take the signal once i plug in these ethernet devices.

But what i'd like to ask you is does this configuration work, at least in theory? I am not connecting the AEBS to the extender AEBS/AX using ethernet, but rather using the powerline. Can the second AEBS/AX still distribute the ip's to my various devices or will it work with one device at a time only. This may be a dumb question but I'm not sure how these things are intended to work, and all the literature i've read on them discusses hooking them up to individual network devices, like game consoles or wi-fi'd DVD players.

I bought the item from Amazon - Best Buy didn't have it - so i think i'm safe. I'm a pretty active customer so let's see them try and refuse the return if it doesn't work...

Thanks again for your help. Just another reason I am pleased with my decision years ago to forsake Windows for Apple.

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Answer 3

Apr 9, 2012 5:02 PM in response to artdlr007

does this configuration work, at least in theory? I am not connecting the AEBS to the extender AEBS/AX using ethernet, but rather using the powerline.

Yes, this is the theory behind powerline. But, you will need some short Ethernet cables to connect the Apple devices to the powerline adapters.

This may be a dumb question but I'm not sure how these things are intended to work, and all the literature i've read on them discusses hooking them up to individual network devices, like game consoles or wi-fi'd DVD players.

If you look at the documentation with the adapters you will see that you would connect a short Ethernet cable from one of the LAN <-> ports on your main router to the powerline adapter, which is plugged into an AC socket near the main router.

On the other end of the house, you would install another powerline adapter in the AC socket and connect another short Ethenret cable to the WAN "O" port on the Apple router at that location. The Ethernet cables can be any length that you need.

If you are not sure how to configure the Apple routers, this support document will provide the details:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260

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Answer 4

Apr 22, 2012 7:55 PM in response to Bob Timmons

I had a similar problem and I got one of these. Now I'm getting much better wifi coverage in my house.

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