Internet wiring question
 

For home up north- modem is in basement- (has to be)
3rd floor wifi is weak- there is a LAN jack on the third floor- do not want to run wires across the floor
what device would I hook into this 3rd floor jack to give wifi to the third floor- my concern that a wifi extender would latch on the the basements wifi and not provide much strength
Thanks in advance

You might look into a “mesh network” where the various nodes communicate with each other, as well as, the base. I believe each node also has internet RJ-45 jack. A cheaper alternative would be a network extender which plugs into the house wiring.

Thought about the network extender (Powerline adapter) but my concern is that the 3rd floor is on a different circuit from the basement- same panel but different breaker

Why does the modem need to be in the basement? It would be better to locate it on the second floor. Run a COAX cable up the exterior wall and drill a hole through the second or third floor exterior wall.

Moving modem is not an option- why I am looking at other options

This may be a long shot, but I understand that dual band modem/routers automatically connect to wifi devices using the 5 ghz frequency, not the 2.4 ghz frequency. But, the 2.4 ghz frequency has a longer range. So, if you can get the wifi devices on the third floor to connect using 2.4 ghz, they may work better. Good luck.

A powerline adapter will work even if the router is on a different breaker in the basement. They actually work really well.

I’m sure Village Tinker could elaborate on this subject but they don’t need to be on the same breaker. However, they do need to be on the same leg or bus bar. There is a way to bridge the signal from one bus bar to the other for this purpose but I’m not familiar with the process. I had success with the mesh network but it’s not a cheap solution. Running coax to the middle of the house to reposition the modem makes the most sense.

Have granite fireplaces interfering with wifi, tried power line extenders-they sucked. Went to Eero mesh (three units) - now wifi is great. Easy set-up.

I understand that mesh replaces router- it is a combined modem/router, so how would that work?

The mesh network consists of multiple nodes (or access points) that communicate with each other. The first one plugs into your modem/router. The other nodes then communicate with each other bidirectionally using multiple channels. It does not eliminate the original modem/router that connects you to your service provider. Think of the mesh network as a new sub network, and probably best if you assign the mesh net a new network name and password. You want your devices to connect to the faster mesh network rather than try to connect to the modem/router in the basement with the weak signal.

Mesh networks have been around awhile and there’s a lot written about them on the internet, including diagrams to help you understand how they communicate. Reviews will help you select the one to purchase. The only negative is the purchase cost. Setup is easy. Mine was a Linksys with 3 nodes and it eliminated dead spots in a 2 family home. I did not have success with the ac network extender, which would have been cheaper to purchase.

Mesh
 

Try this Amazon.com
I use it here so I can get coverage outside in the yard and throughout the house.

Since you're wired to the upper floor
 

Since you're wired to the upper floor already with LAN, here's the easiest/best option, IMHO. I have the same setup and it works beautifully, i.e. gives me an excellent 5.0 ghz signal: https://ampedwireless.com/sr20000g.html

Fred

Not many people with network experience have added incorrect advice. The mesh network description is valid but not relevant here. Don’t need a power line device. The OP states there is a lan jack on the 3rd floor and a modem router in the basement: perfect! You can hook up a new tri band AX router on the 3rd floor to the Lan jack and configure this router in wired bridge mode. You would use the same wifi configuration as the base router in the basement so no matter where you are in the house you will get good coverage. If you don’t get good wifi reception on the 2nd floor, you can have somebody pull a cat6 cable from the basement to a central location on the 2nd floor or if you have a rg6 cable on the 2nd floor, you can get an adaptor that converts this coax cable to both a coax and lan cable. Once you have another lan jack on the 2nd floor, you can get another router like you purchased on the 3rd floor and set it up exactly as you did on the 3rd fl router.
The reason I like putting routers in because they give me 4 or 5 lan ports so I can plug in devices like TV’s, game consoles, DVD players, tv receivers so I get maximum network speed, I never want to use the slower wifi speeds if I can plug into a router

I would set up a "MoCA" system to extend your network. MoCA in this context stands for Multimedia over Cable Alliance".

MoCA does use your cable coax vs lan ethernet cables to go room to room,
so you would need to have coax cable connectivity in each room you want to connect, typically.

Plenty of YouTube videos on this method of getting internet from a far flung router to a distant room or rooms.

Here's one link explaining it:

https://youtu.be/dm_Znyh7uZ0

been there done that
 

had a dead zone in room - far away from the router - here in TV - and tried ALL the boosters, Nest and meshes etc.

finally had a local electric contractor run an ethernet cable from router to powered splitter to two pcs - - through walls and soffits etc.

worth every penny !

you'll need to go to a mesh network setup. There is a potential to extend the network with another router via the jack ina jack to jack connection which will work fine with no "basement interference" however a mesh will give you additional coverage possibilities. You'll need something like the Omni where you can connect the satellites via LAN jack and they will also mesh wifi. not cheap as the other way but it gives a lot of flexibility.

I have a 3 node TP Link X-20 mesh system which covers 5800 sq ft and costs about $200 on Amazon. It works great. You need to connect.to a separate modem. I purchased mine and save $10/month on my Xfinity internet bill.

Since we invested in an Orbi mesh wifi system, we've had great connectivity on all three floors of our 3000sqft home up north and in our 2700sqft block and stucco here in Florida. A mesh system is the answer to your problems, well, at least your WiFi problem. Lol

Weak WIFI
 

Suggets you use an ORBI WIFI Extender with two Satellite's. It is expensive. I got mine at Best Buy. The main unit plugs into your router in the basement. Then one Satellite would go on the main floor and thd second Satellite would go on your top floor. Youcan see and test the system on your snart phone using the Orbi App.

Just use the lan jack and connect an additional wifi router on the third floor. Doesn't get any easier than that.

This was my first thought- only concern is if the basement router would interfere somehow if the 3rd floor devices picks up both signal albeit weaker from basement router

MOCA is a great technology: relatively inexpensive and high speed!

Just have to be careful on the specs of the MOCA device being purchased. All of the ones I've found cannot be used with Satellite TV (Dish, DirecTV) and some cannot be used if other signals are on the wire (Comcast, etc.)

However, you can isolate the cable in the box in the garage and it will work perfectly.

Powerline Ethernet Adapters are also quite good. I'm using them and getting 200 MB/s.

FWIW.... In my Lantana my wifi was so weak on the Lanai that it was about useless. I went to Best Buy and bought an extender, plugged it in by the sliders close to the Lanai and have full bars on the Lanai now. NO issues. The modem/router is in the front room. The electric outlets could care less the device is one whatever circuit. It works by taking the weak signal and boosting it using two antenna. One brings the signal in and one sends it out. Easy Peazy...

This is what I use;
Access Denied.

Weak Wi-Fi in the Home
 

You need to add a WiFi Network Mesh system. You can do it for less than $200 and it will come with a device for each floor. It plugs into your current modem and broadcasts the signal to devices on the different floors. This will get rid of all the dead spots in the house and give you the coverage you are looking for without running wires. Eero is a very popular brand and works flawlessly. There are many other good brands including one by Google. Good luck.

Although some companies sell a combo modem/router, they are generally two separate boxes.

The best and simplest solution is to buy a MESH 2-pack router system such as the Google WiFi (Best Buy link Access Denied). These are much easier to setup and maintain than a adding WiFi extender (comes with an easy phone app for setting it up; automatically installs security updates).

Keep you modem in the basement. Disconnect & discard you current router. Connect the modem to the input of the primary MESH unit via a short LAN cable. Connect the output of this primary MESH unit (in the basement) to LAN cable that runs upstairs. Then connect the 2nd MESH unit to the upstairs LAN jack. That should get you excellent coverage. If the WiFi signal is still weak in part of the house, you can place a 3rd MESH unit in that location and let it link wirelessly to the other MESH units.

This is the exact configuration I put in my 2-story house with basement, and then brought with me when I moved down here.

Good Luck

My modem has combined router

I think that would double the cost of your internet service because you can only have one modem/router.

I had limited WiFi reception within my Villages stucco home. MMD Computer in Lady Lake, recommend and installed, for a reasonable price, a device called UniFi. It connects to an app on the computer. It is the same system hospitals and large offices use where people have to bring their laptops from room to room. It works great, much better than the range extenders or boosters that plug into an outlet. Get the facts from MMD in Lady Lake. Perhaps they can sell you the equipment and you can install it yourself up north. Good luck!

Untrue
 

You can have only one modem, the unit that connects to the cable company's incoming cable. You can have as many routers as you want, each one will connect to an Ethernet port on the modem.

Maybe, but you would need a continuous wired ethernet connection from the basement to the third floor. If the house is fully wired for ethernet, then I don't understand why the modem needs to be in the basement. It sounds like the house may not be fully wired. I tried to Google this, but it seems complicated. The internet provider may not allow two routers to send out the same wifi signal.

wi-fi extender
 

cheapest way is with a wi-fi extender. you can select which wi-fi you want to connect to. If it doesn't work always send back to Amazon

Try moving the existing router to somewhere else in the basement.
Then try a different router. Your may be defective. If it's provided by your internet provider, call them and ask for service.
If your router is separate from the internet modem, and the two are connected with an ethernet wire, you can relocate the router to the 3rd floor.

Routers or switches? With the proper router with NAT capabilities, the cable modem Ethernet goes to the router, and from the router to switches/splitters for multiple drops/access points. You can have multiple access points on a NAT router