Hi guys. We are moving into a new home. It's two stories and it's long from one side to the other.

My current home is also long, but we are on AT&T fiber optic internet. AT&T sent someone to set it up and make sure we had the right equipment to have good WiFi coverage.

Basically, my only option in my new home is Xfinity. I signed up for 1200 mbps service. They mailed me a router/gateway. Great customer service so far.

The previous owner of this home had the Xfinity gateway in a closet on the exterior wall of the home. This will be my husband's office. It's really the only place to put it because this is where all the coax and cat5 cable is wired to. There is a Netgear Ethernet port the same closet. There's also Netgear Wi-Fi range extender in the front hall, which is not quite in the middle of the house.

My office is upstairs on the far opposite side of the house.

I need to get better WiFi to the far end of the house. He has these things (see photo) plugged into two electric outlets upstairs as well as an electric outlet in the office where the IT closet is located. What are these?

What's the best way to extend coverage from the far, downstairs side of the house to the rest of the house?

Lastly, my boys are 16 and spend a lot of time gaming online. They really prefer to be hardwired. The room that their computers will be in only has one cat 5 outlet in it. Is there a way to split that cat five cable so they can both use it or do I need to drop a second CAT5 cable port into that room? Would it work to plug an Ethernet port in at the wall and then wire both of them to that? That would mean that the main line coming out of the gateway would be plugged into one ethernet port and then the outgoing cable from that would be plugged into a second ethernet port. I don't know if it works to do that.

Sure would appreciate any suggestions. I'm "IT Support" in our house. I have no business holding that title. The simplest, most effective method for achieving these goals is what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

1. Your house seems like the perfect candidate for a mesh wifi system.

2. Yes, you can just plug an ethernet switch into the port in the boys' room for more ports.

3. The objects in the photos are for wifi control of lights or small appliances. Jasco ZW4101

Those are some sort of smart plug so can can turn things on and off via an app/home control or whatever. nothing to do with networking.

For your boys just buy an unmanaged switch for 20 or so dollars for a 5 port or a few bucks more if they would have a significant number of devices to plug into it.

For your office I would look at having a drop put in the ceiling and installing a UniFi access point. you need the AP and a PoE switch but honestly the price is about the same as all of the mesh solution but the performance is great and its virtually no headache in my experience.

I failed to mention that we mostly stream our tv and there are 2-3 tvs upstairs that will need to be able to access WiFi. Not sure that matters.

There is a cat5 port in my office but it seems like maybe it got pushed into the wall cavity. The faceplate is just the empty hole. There is supposed to be a cat5 cable in there.

boy09 said:

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1. Your house seems like the perfect candidate for a mesh wifi system.

2. Yes, you can just plug an ethernet switch into the port in the boys' room for more ports.

3. The objects in the photos are for wifi control of lights or small appliances. Jasco ZW4101

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How is mesh WiFi different than using the plug-in devices that Xfinity sells?

combat wombat said:

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boy09 said:

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1. Your house seems like the perfect candidate for a mesh wifi system.

2. Yes, you can just plug an ethernet switch into the port in the boys' room for more ports.

3. The objects in the photos are for wifi control of lights or small appliances. Jasco ZW4101

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How is mesh WiFi different than using the plug-in devices that Xfinity sells?

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I'm not familiar with Xfinity, but i assume you're talking about these. It appears those pods work with the Xfinity gateway to create a mesh wifi network. So there is no difference.

Yes, that's what I was talking about. Thank you!

combat wombat said:

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I failed to mention that we mostly stream our tv and there are 2-3 tvs upstairs that will need to be able to access WiFi. Not sure that matters.

There is a cat5 port in my office but it seems like maybe it got pushed into the wall cavity. The faceplate is just the empty hole. There is supposed to be a cat5 cable in there.

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Did you unscrew the faceplate? It may be directly behind it and you just snap it back in place

Not yet… I'll do that. Haven't moved in and I did t have a screwdriver.

C@LAg said:

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If you want home wiring tips, hit me up.

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Hey that's a heck of a lot better than this:

Drop their router it sucks.

Get an Arris surfboard router.
Get an eeros mesh system. It will have 3 pods. All the new Alexa dots can also work as eeros range extensions so add those as needed to help get WiFi across the space.

Sazerac said:

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Drop their router it sucks.

Get an Arris surfboard router.
Get an eeros mesh system. It will have 3 pods. All the new Alexa dots can also work as eeros range extensions so add those as needed to help get WiFi across the space.

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That is great to know!

Sazerac said:

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Drop their router it sucks.

Get an Arris surfboard router.
Get an eeros mesh system. It will have 3 pods. All the new Alexa dots can also work as eeros range extensions so add those as needed to help get WiFi across the space.

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Drop the Xfinity router?

My husband won't allow the Alexa spy equipment I to our home.

If it's Fiber, then you wouldn't need an Arris surfboard. I'd recommend looking at the 8311 Discord/PON forums on how to get AT&T equipment completely out of the mix if you'd like. Link is here. https://pon.wiki/category/att/

I heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard that you can plug a SC/APC directly into a SFP module that masquerades the XGSPON connection from your BGW320-505 directly in to an Ubiquiti Dream Machine and have complete control of your network stack. It's absolutely bliss, especially for network engineers like my friend of a friend.

Xfinity isn't fiber
She has to move from ATT

Yep, you're exactly right. Got the to/from mixed up in my head. My previous house was on DOCSIS, and I'd always used a Surfboard. I recommend a modem that supports at least DOCSIS 3.1. Something like the Surfboard 8200. Heck, I bet I have my 8200 in a box somewhere if OP wants it. I'm definitely not looking to make any money on it, I just don't need it anymore.

It's a sickness.

But the 3 eero set up from Amazon and you'll be set up in about 20 minutes. Easy peasy.

adamsbq06 said:

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ubiquity or bust

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AMEN.

Get yourself a Dream Machine Pro router for $400, and some Ubiquiti (aka Unifi) U6 LR Pro access points and never look back.

Explain to me why I want to do this. Thanks.

combat wombat said:

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Explain to me why I want to do this. Thanks.

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Why Ubiquiti?

I assume that smiley face is sarcasm?

Ubiquiti is top-notch gear used in both Small and Med. Businesses, as well as residential. It's fantastic and American based to boot. It makes a joke of most equipment.

No, not sarcasm. I know almost nothing. In plug in the Xfinity router… that's about all I know.

combat wombat said:

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No, not sarcasm. I know almost nothing. In plug in the Xfinity router… that's about all I know.

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this is why you get the eero or even better. Pay $100 for Best Buy to come install it and be done.

combat wombat said:

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No, not sarcasm. I know almost nothing. In plug in the Xfinity router… that's about all I know.

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Ubiquiti is for those that want a seriously good solution that can last years and have the following capabilities at home :

1. Dual WAN if they want it (Meaning dual internet, if you wanted to add a wireless puck as backup to your setup)

2. Your router auto-detects all things Ubiquiti attached and auto configures them in a single click (devices attach, load their configs from the router... you don't unpack and configure anything... just plug it in).

3. Home NVR for security cameras if you want - all built in ready to go. It supports adding a hard drive for camera video data storage. It's called "UI Protect" and has it's own app for your cameras.

4. Tons and Tons of accessories like excellent Wifi, Access Points, even building-to-building access points (to send internet to a barn 100 yards away for example)

5. One of the most complex, but at the same time easiest UI interfaces to use.

I install these all the time in home and businesses that we do IT for - they're amazing... and STRONG. Blows away anything Netgear or all that crap you can find in your local Best Buy/WalMart/whatever.

http://ui.com


.... but all that said, it may be too much in price and quality that you're seeking. But if you want to do it right and plan on staying in your nice house for a while....

satexas said:

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combat wombat said:

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No, not sarcasm. I know almost nothing. In plug in the Xfinity router… that's about all I know.

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Ubiquiti is for those that want a seriously good solution that can last years and have the following capabilities at home :

1. Dual WAN if they want it (Meaning dual internet, if you wanted to add a wireless puck as backup to your setup)

2. Your router auto-detects all things Ubiquiti attached and auto configures them in a single click (devices attach, load their configs from the router... you don't unpack and configure anything... just plug it in).

3. Home NVR for security cameras if you want - all built in ready to go. It supports adding a hard drive for camera video data storage. It's called "UI Protect" and has it's own app for your cameras.

4. Tons and Tons of accessories like excellent Wifi, Access Points, even building-to-building access points (to send internet to a barn 100 yards away for example)

5. One of the most complex, but at the same time easiest UI interfaces to use.

I install these all the time in home and businesses that we do IT for - they're amazing... and STRONG. Blows away anything Netgear or all that crap you can find in your local Best Buy/WalMart/whatever.

http://ui.com


.... but all that said, it may be too much in price and quality that you're seeking. But if you want to do it right and plan on staying in your nice house for a while....

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Ubiquiti may also be overkill for us normal folks. The features are things we don't even understand.

Orbi / Eero are the mainstream / dummy proof solutions for home internet that "most" of us can get setup without help. There is a place for that.

Hell, i even need help from this group with my Orbi when i wanted to change it to an "access point".

It could certainly be overkill but once you get it set up (which is really pretty easy con the consumer side), it just works.

There is definitely a place for mesh solutions but at the same time if starting from scratch, and if budget allows, folks should consider all options. the recommendation is akin to saying go buy an Acura or Lexus if you want a nice dependable vehicle. Folks certainly won't understand all of the options in those vehicles but will no enough to be able to get from point A to B.

They OP mentioned twice it was going in the office, if they are working from home dependability and reliability should be big factors, imo.

Quote:

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They OP mentioned twice it was going in the office, if they are working from home dependability and reliability should be big factors, imo.

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I have been working at home part-time since Covid and my Orbi has been very reliable. Suddenlink is always my problem.

You likely have never used one, but I have been for 10 years without any problems.

You would be wrong on that. Im glad you haven't had any problems but that would not be the case for everyone.

dubi said:

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Ubiquiti may also be overkill for us normal folks. The features are things we don't even understand.

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I don't mean to offend you at all, I know by your post you're "comfortable in your own best-buy equipment space", but you'd be shocked at the Ubiquiti pricing and quality once you tried a Dream Machine Pro and their gear.

The Lexus/Audi example is best. It's still a car you're used to, it's just a little more (but not much at all - and only on some parts) than your normal car - and the quality and longevity is outstanding as well as all the features, comfort, and electronics.

I know you're in your safe space, but seriously, open your mind on this one - their technology and expandability are fantastic and I can add a 4k camera for 120 bucks to my network, and you can't... because my UI router has a build in NVR with top-level features.. and the access points - can you set a bandwidth range of 160 over the standard 80 wide? UI can.... can you change frequencies on your wifi units to help with local interference in your neighborhood, etc etc? UI can. Can you just turn on and off mesh at the click of a button - and control EVERYTHING in a single UI (graphical interface) via the browser talking to your router? UI does that.

Did you know that MESH in busy places actually hurts you because it's double the processing power? Why? Because you're forcing your access points to use their little processors to calculate you at all times and move you from unit to unit. So in a business or really really busy home, you can change that to bandwidth snapping where all Access Points have the same SSID but they instead 'hand you off' when they detect you're bandwidth requirements to the one you're connected to are too low so you 'snap over to' a closer one. Your current setup can't do that - UI can and does.

... and their equipment and reliability in all areas is just flat-out better.+

ChoppinDs40 said:

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this is all good stuff but you're talking with someone that has no idea what any of this means and will likely never use any of those features. No offense wombat.

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So don't respond because this is the Nerdery, not BestBuy.com and yes, people are now asking more than ever before about cameras on their house and getting around how easy it is for someone to one-click jam disable all of your wifi cameras that you bought.

This forum is to help explain and to educate, give free help... and maybe, just maybe guys like you will learn something and up the quality of your life.

I got a POE NVR. I good.