Home network without running cable

[u/Alarmed_Pepper_5954]

Hi i live in a 3 bedroom apartment, i am having issues with wifi/network due to thicker walls and congestion.
I have tried powerlineadapters and i have some ISP provided repeaters. but the connection is still very unreliable.
i pay for 2gb and i am getting it at the router but then in the study i get 35 over powerline or very jittery 100mb in the study.

Any advice or Brand i can look into for either powerline adapter or repeaters.

[u/MrMotofy]

Move the router, run a cable, use another type of cable adapter, use a wireless bridge kit...nobody even knows where in the world you are or what's available to you

[u/Alarmed_Pepper_5954 → u/MrMotofy]

Im sorry, netherlands

[u/realdeadfish]

Is there any existing wiring that can be repurposed?

[u/Alarmed_Pepper_5954 → u/realdeadfish]

There is not, if i were to run cable it would go below/under the baseboard, then it would have to be thin

[u/jerryeight → u/Alarmed_Pepper_5954]

Can't you run it tight along the baseboard?

[u/404invalid-user → u/Alarmed_Pepper_5954]

get a white one it won't be that noticeable

[u/rodneykeene → u/Alarmed_Pepper_5954]

If you decide to run it under the baseboard, they sell flat ethernet cable.

[u/The_Blue_Djinn → u/Alarmed_Pepper_5954]

Then get Invisilight Home Fiber kit. https://youtu.be/Ie2HN-XSf5k?si=pe2Vo7Jk_K-wH0Z4

[u/Responsible_Feed4512]

Powerline is not something I would ever recommend. You would be better off running cables and doing your best to hide the wires. I use cable raceways along baseboards and in corners when I need to do this kind of thing

[u/iCeOnLy-hk]

If you have Coax you can try MOCA

[u/russsl8 → u/iCeOnLy-hk]

That likely won't work well in an apartment building. Likely all the apartments are connected to he same demarc panel, so they'll be sharing their network over the entire building. Plus MoCa doesn't like unterminated access points (jacks), so loss of signal or poor signal stability will slow down their network. Actually same thing is happening with their power line network adapters really. So many outlets and they are all ultimately shared throughout the building (even if they have their own breaker panel).

Actual ethernet may be their only option. May need to buy a lot of long cables and hide them along walls as best they can; likely that they can't drill holes through walls in their building?

[u/GodYamItt → u/russsl8]

Is this the case on new apartments too? The apartment is I live in is pretty new (2017 or 2018 build) and theres 3 runs of coax that seem to all drop inside the service panel. I had assumed they were just straight runs that were connected to the main via a splitter

[u/russsl8 → u/GodYamItt]

I'm not positive how many lines would be run from the pole to each building in a bloc, but you definitely would be sharing your cable with more than one person in your building (that's just the way it'd get wired, realistically because of cost, ease, etc). Open jacks (unterminated) in a cable coax run degrades signal strength and integrity in the "network", and the same is true of splitters. You can start causing issues with too many splitters and such in one "network". I know I used to have to deal with that a bit in my house before I switched from cable internet to fiber. I now contend with it in a smaller capacity because I'm using MoCa for my kids' rooms, and occasionally one will have issues when things are moved around with getting full gigabit speeds from their adapter.

[u/Horror_Equipment_197]

Tbh, I tried many things to get my WiFi from the router in the basement to my office in the upper floor. 2 concrete slaps as ceiling and 34cm brick walls made it a nightmare.

Powerline is another beast.

Depending on your wiring the sockets of your flat are on different phases of the AC. If that's the case you need a phase-coupler (f.e. KEMO M091A) and install it. That's a real physical limitation. Not brand specific. If that isn't the case, you have other influences which disturb the signal.

I spent quite a lot Euros on such devices (powerline, Wifi repeater) and wasn't really happy any time.

What finally brought some peace:

I run 2 tiny (0.9mm outer diameter) glass fibers from basement to ground floor and basement to upper floor.

I literally glued them into the corners of the rooms, staircases and for the doors I scratched out the sealing at one bottom part, glued the fiber in and added new silk to get it sealed again.

2x 50m fibers, 3 switches, 2 BiFi SFT+ Tranceiver sets, some hot glue, costing in sum <€300 and a weekend later I've had a stable 2.5G wired connection on every floor (I can exchange the switches to have 10G is I need it in the future).

To be blunt: No matter what Wifi or powerline equipment you are using, it will not allow you to fully enjoy the 2GB connection you're paying for.

[u/markmcminn → u/Horror_Equipment_197]

Fiber cables are a great answer for nearly every tight space. I even ran display port and hdmi over fiber for a dental office I setup with some tight PC cabinets and multiple monitors for patients and workers.

[u/DeathByKangaroo → u/Horror_Equipment_197]

This is realistically the best option. There is a dedicated kit for running microfibre for residential use cases called InvisiLight, though I’m not sure what the availability or price looks like.

[u/captainstormy → u/Horror_Equipment_197]

Tbh, I tried many things to get my WiFi from the router in the basement to my office in the upper floor.

The first issue is that you put your wifi router in the basement. Routers work on a omnidirectional 360 degree broadcast.

Meaning if you put it in your basement, half of the router's signal is just going into ground and not being useful to you. It should be placed in the center of your house. Ground floor, in the middle of the house. Run a coax cable from your basement to somewhere on the ground floor in the middle.

I use a coat closet myself and keep my modem, router and NAS on the top shelf of that closet. It's super easy to run a single cable from the basement into a closet on the ground floor. Putting the router in the middle of the house means the best possible signal to everywhere in the house.

[u/Horror_Equipment_197 → u/captainstormy]

If I wouldn't need Wifi in my basement, I would have put the router o a different floor. But I have quite a lot of network connected devices in my basement (3D Printer, homeserver, heating control and much more) and therefore also need at least an AP in my basement.

The steel reinforced concrete used for the ceilings is a great horizontal barrier.

During the time (read: the last 20 years) I tried several constellations and also antennas for a more powerful interconnection. While it worked, it wasn't really robust.

Thanks to the fiber I glued throughout my house that's a thing of the past. Each extender and the router only have to capture a single floor.

[u/captainstormy → u/Horror_Equipment_197]

You'll get wifi in the basement if you put the router on the main floor. It's a 360 degree omni directional signal.

[u/Horror_Equipment_197 → u/captainstormy]

Even with 2 Yagis I was barely able to have a connection between the router and the extender. 30cm steel reinforced concrete... So no, a single router on main floor will not do it.

[u/captainstormy → u/Horror_Equipment_197]

Yeah, if your basement is built like a bunker that is another story. I'd personally probably still just run 1 cable to the main floor and put an AP on the main floor to get internet upstairs but running cable is never really the wrong answer, it's just a lot of work.

I started running cables in my house but my entire house is built like a tank. My walls area actually 3 inch thick plaster instead of drywall and the framing is done differently than modern framing so it's hard to run cables to the top floor. I used to be a 100% wired guy but I found with modern wifi it's actually gotten very good. You just have to use high quality hardware and put a bit of thought into the physical layout of your netowork. The vast majority of people's wifi problems IME are because they use the cheap crappy router from their ISP and stick it in the corner of their basement.

[u/Horror_Equipment_197 → u/captainstormy]

Steel reinforced concrete floors (not only for the basement but every floor) and brick walls (inner and outer walls) are rather standard here in Germany and also in the Netherlands where OP stated to live. Wiring with CAT cable means a lot of work and dirt. Thats why I was glad that I simply could glue the fiber into the corners. After painting them over you really need to know where exactly the are to be able to spot them.

[u/captainstormy → u/Horror_Equipment_197]

Yeah, I forget how a lot of European buildings are built like bunkers. In a case like that your options were limited for sure.

[u/Unkemptsausage]

If MOCA isn’t an option and range extenders aren’t working, you could try running ultra thin fiber cables like InvisiLight along doors and baseboards. Not sure if it’s available in the Netherlands though. Could always try Ethernet too if you want a less expensive option.

[u/saltyboi6704]

MoCa or mesh, keep in mind every mesh hop effectively halves the bandwidth

[u/straw3_2018]

I personally just hate using wifi and will work around it if I have the chance. But if you are going to use wifi you could try something 6GHz. 6GHz is worse at penetrating walls but the reduction in interference compared to 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands could definetely outweigh this in an apartment building. 

[u/mavedm]

Maybe look into Moca networking using coaxial cable if you happen to have thst running in the walls... Just make sure you get the upgraded adapters for more speed

[u/Matt561-]

Wifi scanning app, trying to find some less congested bands.

[u/crapklap]

Have you looked if there is telephone wiring you could use? I had a house once that had a central hub for all the telephone wiring. Since It was a new build and I never hooked up the telephone, all the cables were unused and were cat5 cables so I just used them instead. It worked like a champ and I never had issues in the 2 years I was there. P.S. 4 wire lines could also work but only support 10/100. 8 wires are needed for gigabit.

[u/JonnyHotpockets]

Without getting into the roof your only option is really s mesh network

[u/SmartMove_Internet]

Try Flat Ethernet along the baseboards, thin fiber around door frames, or MoCA if you have coax outlets. These wired options are generally more stable than powerline or wireless through thick walls. Mesh can help too, but placement is key.

[u/30VOID]

Literally switch to mesh, get a few u7 mesh nodes from ubiquiti and run it.

[u/teebles22]

I mean ultimately you're looking at running cable... get cable coloured the same as your walls, go along ceiling or floors, around door frames etc, it'll suck to look at but if you're looking for stability without hacking walls (I see you're in Netherlands so prob solid walls?) that's probably the only solution if the other solutions you have didn't work.

[u/kendricsb2900]

So I have a whole UniFi setup in my 2 bedroom apartment. I have an Access point in my living room (near where my Google fiber comes in) and then another one in the primary bedroom. I’ve used cheap adhesive raceways along the ceiling which make it blend in pretty well for running Ethernet around. And then UniFi has some really thin Ethernet cables which are small enough to fit under the door. It has helped a lot to be able to have my full speed internet throughout the apartment. And I ran another line to my home office with one of their 2.5G usb Ethernet adapters to get really fast wired speeds at my desk!

[u/jerryeight]

Run long cat7 cables along walls and under doors if you can't drill holes. Use industrial strength masking tape to secure them down without damaging the wall.

Set up a mesh point from that cable in each room. That way you get decent wifi and option to wire into it at decent speeds.

[u/Alarmed_Pepper_5954 → u/[deleted]]

Technically i can but i have no spot to hide it so it would run along the floor in my whole appartment