Bad WiFi connection upstairs

[Katie1976]

Really bad WiFi connection upstairs. I have a Hub 3 in my living room down stairs, I live in a 2 bedroom house with stairs running from my living room so no hallway walls or doors between the living room and up stairs landing. My iPad and android phone does not connect to WiFi when upstairs but no problem when in the living room where the hub is located.

I have also tried to connect a TP link extender but can’t get internet connection on it. It’s driving me mad!

[jbrennand]

If it is a wifi only issue, then on a Hub3, you can try separating the SSID's of the 2.4 and 5 GHz wifi bands by renaming them in the settings and at the same time switch off "channel optimisation" apply and save the settings. All wifi devices will need reconnecting to the best SSID at each location. Also use a wifi scanning App to find the best wifi channels to use (just select and use channels 1,6,11 on 2.4GHz) - this often helps Hub3 users get better wifi performance - but its still no substitute for getting your own better kit 🙂

What model of TP-Link "extender" do you have

[Katie1976]

Thanks John I will try separating the SSID's, I'm guessing this is quite straight forward through settings?

I have TL-WA850RE. I had no problem with it until I moved from Talk Talk to Virgin, I've tried to re set up several times and it's not worked.

[jbrennand]

Yes - protocol is below. The extender should still work with VM but if it isn't receiving a good enough signal from the "poundland" Hub. Try moving it to another plug socket closer to the Hub.

But TBH they are never great solutions. The best way to ensure full wifi coverage in your property is to connect Wireless Access Points directly to the Hub - or your own better router by ethernet cables.

However some would say a good Mesh will be the best/simplest/most flexible for most average users who dont want to run ethernet cables. A Tri-band Mesh system is better for the "backhaul" and for users on high speed packages and umpteen simultaneous connections. Wifi6 is future proofing too.

Another option is to extend the ethernet connections (and wifi) via powerline adaptors - they work well for lots of people - including for my "gaming son" in his bedroom and they can be "cheap and cheerful". These are far better than the "extenders" like yours.
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Type in  http://192.168.0.1  into your web browser’s url box and login with settings password on the Hub's base sticker (or your own if you changed it). Then in Advanced>wireless>smart wifi - tick the disable “channel optimisation” box or “Smart Wifi” box and save settings.  Then, go to advanced>wireless>security, rename the 2.4 & 5 GHz network ssid's.  Just change 'em to whatever you like and something that will differentiate them (e.g - xxxxx_2 & xxxxx_5) -- use the same password for simplicity,  Then, apply settings and restart the Hub.  Your 2 wifi networks will now be clearly separated - and you can then select the network you want to connect to individually from the "available networks" list on each device. 

Note all your wifi devices will need re-connecting to the new SSID's and passwords.
5 GHz is always better/faster and subject to less interference (and is better for iDevices ) than the 2.4 one - although the 2.4 one has the better "range" and some older/cheaper/dumber devices can only use this one. 

You should also use a wifi analyser App to check which 2.4 channels are being heavily used around you and move yours to one of numbers 1,6,11 that is least so, but it wont help if there is other interference.

See if these changes help - you will lose any “seamless roaming” benefits but it may not matter and you can always change the settings back by doing a " pinhole factory reset " if you prefer the way it was - or it doesn’t help.