Router placement and ethernet cable connections

[TimmyBGood]

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@GMG wrote:

. And of course, they did say they would “normally put you back in the same position you were before you accepted this offer, however, if we're unable to put you on the same products and services as you were previously (for example because that product or service is no longer available) we can put you on an equivalent product instead”.

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That's generic wording which I suggest cannot be taken literally in the absence of any 'equivalent product' to the one which has ceased to be available.

Relocation of the ONT might be possible, but typically these are ground floor installations.

[GMG]

Many thanks for all the ideas and suggestions everyone has given. There is no wireless upstairs so I will need to get Sky to sort this issue whichever way they choose to do it.

Ideally, I would like the router located back on the first floor to accommodate my non-wireless equipment so I’m hoping that the ONT could be re-positioned on my gable end wall 3 metres directly above where it is now. Incidentally there is a hole already drilled in the wall on the first floor in this position where the original Sky sat cable was fed through many many years ago. Failing that, I’m thinking I could drill a hole in the gable end wall myself adjacent to the current downstairs router position and run an external ethernet cable on the gable end from it up to the old Sky Sat hole and feed this into my bedroom which will be near my non-wireless CCTV DVR.  The ONT feeds from a pole in my next-door neighbour’s garden and is mounted on the back external wall of the house. (it could have been located on my gable end at time of install) Cable is then run round the corner to gable end and taken in where the current satellite cable already enters the house . These finish up in an alcove in my downstairs living room so the sky q hub and router are now together with I believe the Sky Q hub already acting as an access point

When the engineer said he was re-locating the router on the ground floor I knew I would lose the direct Ethernet connection but hoped a good powerline would work. It does work but very very poorly. Perhaps If as suggested mesh has an  ethernet facility its maybe worth considering this but I don’t know anything much about this system and cost involved.

Any further thoughts from everyone much appreciated.

[JimM1]

@GMG IF you want mesh and you want to do it right then little change out off £600 at least! Any you still may no be happy, moving your hub is by far the best way, but install done now and getting it moved is going to be no mean task! 

[Chodley]

Amazon are doing great deals on Eero 6 at the moment. You can get 2 "routers" as they call them which will work together and have ethernet ports, for £149 at the moment and 2 of those packs would be enough for most homes.

no wifi 6E or 7 support but the old Sky router didn't have that either.

[GMG]

Thanks for this Chodley.  Will need to read up about Mesh . Is this the type of thing I would be looking at https://www.amazon.co.uk/amazon-eero-6/dp/B086PL9KPT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38OJDX1CKSABE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9....

In the absence of ethernet upstairs and wi-fi upstairs is very very poor at the moment how would  I set these up. Your help much appreciated.

[Chodley]

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@GMG wrote:

Thanks for this Chodley.  Will need to read up about Mesh . Is this the type of thing I would be looking at https://www.amazon.co.uk/amazon-eero-6/dp/B086PL9KPT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38OJDX1CKSABE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9....

In the absence of ethernet upstairs and wi-fi upstairs is very very poor at the moment how would  I set these up. Your help much appreciated.

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Yeah like this double pack (or 2 of them to get 4 devices) - plug one into the router via ethernet then position the others around the house so they only have a minimum of walls, floors or other obstructions between any two and they will find each other and intelligently route all the traffic.

You can use the extenders too (no ethernet on those) but they're actually not any cheaper with these deals at the moment. Maybe a bit smaller/more discreet.

[2muchTV]

@GMG I would say that what is currently a set back  from the old system can be turned into an opportunity.

My broadband provider does not supply any equipment, so I had to purchase and set up my own WiFi network.

So here's the potential opportunity.

I now have a semi-smart home e.g. electric blinds I can open and close via Alexa and/or phone, fan, aquarium lighting, smart led bulbs (excellent for mood lighting and activating via voice), 24/7 camera feed from garden pond, smart plugs to turn devices on & off, TVs, WiFi which reaches all parts of garden and garage, security and more.

If you get the right mesh system, you can have fun exploring the various possibilities.

I currently use a combo of Asus mesh and 2 powerline plugs for the garden (in a waterproof outdoor box) and garage for increased WiFi coverage.

Do I need all this stuff?

Not at all... but it is fun and practical.

Most importantly my spouse works from home and she is able to hold her various Teams & Zoom meetings flawlessly using the WiFi network I've set up.

[GMG]

Many thanks for this 2muchTV. I'm a great gadget lover myself whether I need it or not - as my Amazon account will testify to😊.You are definitely a glass half full kind of guy. The way forward for me I think is to get an ethernet connection upstairs to my bedroom. This is a very old red sandstone property with ultra thick walls and I honestly don't think mesh will cut it. Powerline works in certain areas of the house but due to a rather "confused" electrical wiring  system its a bit unreliable. I'm in the process of trying to locate someone in East Ayrshire who can run an external ethernet cable for me  but this is strangely proving difficult. If anyone knows anyone out there who could do what I think is a relatively straight forward job (I'm too old to do it myself) I will be eternally grateful. Thanks again 

[2muchTV]

@GMG ... go for it with the ethernet wiring! No denying that proper brick and stone walls can affect WiFi signal strength.

I live in a 3 storey new build (paper mache) house, so the WiFi signal travels fairly easily 😀

Undeniably a wired network is preferable to WiFi.

Our home office  is on the floor above the main hub and ONT in the hallway. I use one  Asus XT9 as a wireless node and I'm able to get 600/90 speeds with computers connected to the ethernet ports on the node. 

If you have any old mesh equipment knocking about, I'd certainly suggest experimenting... I started out using cheap Tenda mesh equipment and purchased another 2 mesh systems(which I no longer use) but  which were necessary to getting to what we have now (well I told my spouse it was necessary 😉)

[Doc5907]

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@GMG wrote:

Many thanks for this 2muchTV. I'm a great gadget lover myself whether I need it or not - as my Amazon account will testify to😊.You are definitely a glass half full kind of guy. The way forward for me I think is to get an ethernet connection upstairs to my bedroom. This is a very old red sandstone property with ultra thick walls and I honestly don't think mesh will cut it. Powerline works in certain areas of the house but due to a rather "confused" electrical wiring  system its a bit unreliable. I'm in the process of trying to locate someone in East Ayrshire who can run an external ethernet cable for me  but this is strangely proving difficult. If anyone knows anyone out there who could do what I think is a relatively straight forward job (I'm too old to do it myself) I will be eternally grateful. Thanks again 

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@GMG 

Have you tried These guys.

[GMG]

You read my mind Doc5907. I've been trying PWR Electrical Services Ltd Prestwick but for reasons unknown they are not getting back to me so my next stop was indeed KIT-Help. I'll let you know how I get on. Meantime I've been in touch with Sky purely explaining my Wi-Fi issues and they are sending a new router and a booster so hopefully when I get that at least the Wi-Fi problem should be taken care of. And if KIT-Help can do the business with the Ethernet then that will be me sorted – well really just back to where I was before I opted for the Fibre upgrade. Incidentally Sky for whatever reason are upgrading my fibre 150 to fibre 300 at no cost.

[Chodley]

Nice. Hopefully the booster can be positioned somewhere viable that isn't too affected by masonry 🙂

[GMG]

Thanks Chodley. Just a wait and see business now. Damn these old extremely well built houses😊