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A good friend of mine has a very big house with thick walls in the middle of the forest...
He has a router in the house office, which provides wifi to the rooms, but leaves the dinning room and the kitchen without wifi as it doesn't reach those buildings.
He asked me for a good and cheap solution to give him wifi in those rooms where the wifi signal doesn't arrive.
Clearly, given the house is big, a WIFI MESH system would be the way to go, as in a future he could expand the solution.
I've seen an introductory kit from DEVOLO in Amazon... that KIT includes:
1x MAGIC PLC -> Magic 1 LAN: Home Networking via magic Powerline | devolo AG[^]
1x MAGIC WIFI -> Magic 1 WiFi mini – for smart Mesh-WLAN | devolo AG[^]
I have a doubt though...
Will the MAGIC WIFI device create a copy of the router wifi? or will it create a new wifi?
I understand any new MAGIC WIFI device added would be part of the MESH wifi and therefore the cell phones at his house would not need to change wifi network manually...
And after all this... he is searching of a cheap solution to have the same wifi network at rooms and at the kitchen and dinning room... what would you recommend him?
He eants to be able to connect the TV to the network too. (The MAGIC WIFI I proposed should be placed just at TV back.)
Thank you all!
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I have devolo myself since mid 2016 and set it up on my relatives house too (end 2017 or beginning 2018).
I have a 1+1 satellite and my father-in-law has a 1+2 satellites.
Every satellite gives a new WiFi with its own password, then transfers it to the main unit through electricity wiring and the main unit translates it to LAN.
I must say , that in my case, it is more reliable than the direct WiFi of the FritzBox and I am very satisfied with my devolo.
EDIT:
My main unit is connected to router and offers you a switch. I have connected the cable of my PC to the main unit and with a shorter cable from the main unit to the PC. I don't notice any significant loss. I download with max speed of my contract (checked with laptop connected directly and download tests), stream, online playing... nothing.
Satellite has a LAN port too. I use the Wifi for mobile devices and the LAN port for the laptop connected to the TV.
EDIT2:
Only "bad" thing is (I don't exactly know why but it doesn't bother me that much, so I didn't dig it deeper), that they get second priority while connecting. I mean, if you get in reach of two different WiFi at the same time with more or less same signal strength, the other one gets selected.
I have got rid of it placing the devolo a bit nearer to the door, so it gets to my mobile phone first when I come home. Problem solved.
Sometimes if I come back walking from the other side, then the Router gets first there, I somewhen realize that WiFi doesn't work, manual switch problem solved.
EDIT3:
Installation is pretty easy. Just pair them correctly (press the buttons in the described order) and move them to the spot where you want to put them (I have had to re-teach them 2 times in 4 years, both after missing power supply for a relative long time).
My devices won't let you change configuration, I have added policies in router side to avoid surprises. Costs were around 60€ back then.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
modified 13-Apr-20 9:04am.
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Simplest I've seen is a WiFi extender that connects via main supply: seems to work pretty well, if you avoid the cheapo Chinese ones. I've seen a BT "Powerline Adapter" work pretty well locally (about 1Gb/s locally) in places you just can't reach through the 2 foot of solid granite that is a wall round here.
Pretty cheap solution, and very quick to install as well since no extra cables.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I'm glad you posted the obvious solution (a lot of cheap routers can be configure as repeaters - we're talking about "good enough" for something like US$ 20-30.
But that 2-foot granite walls comment. It never occurred to me that you actually were a caveman living in a community of such. So much of Europe I've not yet seen.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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The advantage of the devolo system is, once configured correctly, you can move them with you if /as you want. And it doesn't get affected by the thickness of the walls, because they communicate through the power wiring.
No router does this. I think the price is not that expensive considering the usability.
EDIT:
Use case: we have successfully used it in a garden party, by connecting it to a 25m extender plugged in the terrace. Worked perfectly. Distance losses are much smaller for the satellit than any other systems.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
modified 13-Apr-20 9:34am.
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I agree. I have three power line carriers in our house and they work exceptionally well. The main use for me, however, to to extend the network to devices that don't have wifi as you can just use a network cable at the other end.
A Fine is a Tax for doing something wrong
A Tax is a Fine for doing something good.
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Hss he got an old router? Most people have.
It can be used as an extender, either connected by Ethernet or WiFi.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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For more or less static extensions, yes.
See my answer to WBalboos above, devolo is way more flexible and comfortable for non-static solutions.
OP (or better said OP's friend) has to check the relation price - functionality - usability and see if it is worth for him or not.
no needing long ETH cables and being that flexible is for me worth the price delta.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Nelek wrote: no needing long ETH cables and being that flexible is for me worth the price delta.
For me, it's more about being able to get it up and running half an hour, and not have to spend ages reading and trying to compare specs printed in tiny letters on boxes in stores.
Router: Check. Cables: Check. Put the coffee on; I'll be finished by the time it's ready.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Mark_Wallace wrote: Router: Check. Cables: Check. Put the coffee on; I'll be finished by the time it's ready.
You, possibly me too...
My devolo was 5 to 10 minutes reading and 3 to 5 minutes execution (plug both new devices, click in satellite, click in main unit, wait to sync, move satellite to other room, test). Done.
With the one with 2 satellites I needed a bit more because I didn't paid attention at the beginning and had to repeat it 2 times (finding out the hard way, that each satellite brings its own wifi and own password). After a  while, and taking the required notes properly, it was running after 10 minutes.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Joan M wrote: good and cheap
Good luck with that, it's much easier to find expensive crap.
Anyway, the little experience I have with Powerline networking is not very good to be honest. It's sensitive to disturbing equipment, and if the house has a modern electric net, where every appliance has its own circuit breaker instead of a few old fashioned fuses the function might get severely limited. (A circuit breaker has an electric coil)
Anyway, I have experience with so called mesh networks, which is a fancy name for using repeaters. It works fine as long as you keep your expectancy at a reasonable level. In the same way that every user share the bandwidth, the repeater uses twice the bandwidth as the connected users.
I also have no experience from Devolo so I can't say how they cope with it.
But I have personal experience with Ubiquiti[^], and I can recommend them. They have better range and speed than any access point I have tried.
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I'll second Ubiquiti - cheap, well, not so much ... I had to design/implement a Ubiquiti network on a 'property' here in Aus that has high-end cabin/cottage accomodation, spread out, and couldnt lay cables etc
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Just make sure that:
a) If possible, make sure your powerline network extenders are on the same breaker circuit, that will give the best results.
b) If you have a three phase electrical connection ( as I have ) make absolutely sure that your powerline network extenders are on the same phase, otherwise the extenders will never see each other, let alone communicate.
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Winds today promised at sustained speeds reaching 45-50 mph and gusts to 70 mph. Tree, power lines, and electricity will most likely suffer pretty much in that order and in rapid succession.
The mess is expected to last, although not at full intensity, for about 12 hours.[^]
I'm up on the early side - been observing the small tree just outside my window starting to shake more and more - not much yet.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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After reading the subject I was expecting another thing   
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Remember to put your "KSS" and "Lounge" filters in place
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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They are... that's why I didn't say "what"
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Why do they call it that, when the last thing you want is "inflation"?
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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And why is it so contradictory? I mean, "inflation" actually comes when the system is not that "robust"
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Very bad winds here in Upstate New York, too.
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Where I live those wind speeds are called a light breeze. I have a 130 MPH roof on my house because of the daily winds we get.
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Silly me!
When I put stuff down, outside, I usually like it to still be there when I come back.
People live in all sorts of places - maybe the real estate is cheap? Usually, it's cheap for a reason (see "supply and demand").
If I knew where "there" was I'd add it to my list of places not to live.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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obermd wrote: I have a 130 MPH roof on my house
That's a fast roof. Can the rest of the house keep up with it?
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M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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That was our weather last night and yesterday. I live in Xenia, Ohio which had 55% of the structures in the city destroyed in the 1974 Super Outbreak.
Our reaction is "Pfft; it's just an EF-3." 
Software Zen: delete this;
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