Hi Ozbargainers, just wondering if anyone can help me out with this situation.
I am using an ASUS RT-AC 68U Router (Placed in the kitchen) as the main WIFI router for the whole house. Everything had been fine and I was getting a decent connection in my room. But my roommate recently purchased a CHEAP wifi extender and used it in his room. Since then I've been getting a very slow connection and I think because his room is next to my room and his wifi extender is closer than the ASUS router in the kitchen, therefore, my devices are getting signal through his extender, not the ASUS router. Also, I was testing the connection speed and I got 3 times faster connection if I was standing in the kitchen.
Is there a way to modify my devices to take the ASUS router in the kitchen as the priority to the Extender in his room? I am the ADMIN of that router so I can adjust settings and everything.
Also can't really tell him not to use his extender as well.
Thanks in advance
How to Ignore Roommate's Personal Wi-Fi Extender
Last edited 03/05/2018 - 00:38 by 1 other user
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Do you mind elaborate how I can do that? I am a noob :D
Go to your browser on a PC, open up your ASUS controls page by going to the link:
It will look like this Screenshot, You need to go into Wireless Settings on the nav bar on the left. On the "band", pick 2.4ghz, then pick a Control channel.
It was on the 5ghz band before, is it better if I pick 2.4ghz?
Which channel should I choose, it was on "auto" and there were like a lot of difference channels.your router has both 5ghz and 2.4ghz running at the same time. what you are choosing there (in that screenshot) is picking which band you want to configure.
Change it from Auto to a specific channel, like I said, first you need to analyze the wifi in your surrounding area to see what channel is already being used up by your friends
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wi…
Then pick a channel that does not overlap.
@Kelvin0911:
It was slow when you were on the 5Ghz band before?Might need to check out what extender your mate has and check out the specs on it. The aim is to avoid connecting to the same band and channel that the extender operates on.
@bobbified: I don't really have access to his extender though. But now that I renamed the 5ghz band to a different name and password and connected to it. My devices speed tests are back to normal. I probably just keep that for my self (Admitted being selfish here).
Is it okay to keep using the 5ghz band all the times? My house is not very big, and not a lot of walls in between the router and my room (2-3 walls)@scrimshaw: Thank you so much for all that. Quick question, does it differ from times to times regarding the best channels in the area? If I change it not on "auto", will it be better all the times or do I have to keep checking at different times during the days?
@Kelvin0911: Why is he using an extender then? You shouldn't ever have to extend the wifi from that machine in a normal house.
If his speakers were making a noise 24/7 you'd get upset, why not get upset about this? It's fair.
Well if you decide to stick with 5ghz for all of your devices, and your friend is only on 2.4ghz single band wifi, then call it a day and mission accomplished, you already have allocated all the dual-band 5ghz spectrum to yourself :)
Anyway, your friend is pretty silly to be using a wifi repeater in his room. Wifi repeaters work their best when they are placed in a spot where they can still receive strong signals, so in a bedroom, behind closed doors, probably right next to his PC, is actually the worst spot for a Wifi repeater to be. All it does is push weak signals around (and also halving the effective bandwidth, as it's probably a half duplex repeater — it has to receive and then retransmit packets, so there is a speed penalty).
Repeaters need to be placed at a half-way point, and still within a decent range of the primary router. This halfway point in my house would be the stairwell, because the primary router is in the living room and all my client devices are upstairs in bedrooms.
Im not familiar with your particular router, but there should be a setting called "Control Channel" (according to http://m.setuprouter.com/router/asus/rt-ac68u/wifi.htm, under the heading "Change the WiFi Settings on the Asus RT-AC68U").
- Go to http://192.168.1.1
- Select Wireless on the left hand side
- Change Band (Top option) to 5GHZ and save.
- Screenshot
Check that you're still connected to the main SSID that the router uses. A Wi-Fi extender will typically mirror the original SSID, adding _EXT on the end.
Yeah I checked but my devices are still connected with the original SSID. Say a strange new SSID with the same name but adding_5G on the end. Tried connected to that with the same password and successful. But I was just using the original SSID
strange new SSID with the same name but adding_5G
That would be the 5Ghz band. If your housemate is using a 2.4Ghz extender, then connecting to the 5Ghz connection should solve your problems.
Overlapping signals, get his channel number and set your channel to one that Wifi Analyzer recommends.
Your ASUS Merlin firmware also has a feature that can recommend what channel you should use to avoid overlaps.
also most cheap repeaters always use 2.4ghz signals because low frequency signals always have the best range and wall penetration.
So if you use 5ghz signals (but usually has crappier range and worse penetration) you can avoid the interference.Your problem is the wifi SSID or name.
The ASUS is a powerful router, create a guest wifi with your original wifi details and that should be for everyone (except you as Admin) to use and your roommate’s extender will use it as normal.
Now, go to the main wifi settings create a new unique wifi for you only.
Use https://www.acrylicwifi.com/en/downloads-free-license-wifi-w… to check channels and quality of nearby networks.
Give it the silent treatment and make sure it can overhear you talk about exciting social plans you have that don't involve the wifi extender. You won't even notice it's there within a week.
Move the extender closer to the router so it gets better signal from the main router.
Speeds will improve if you can get the Extender to get 50% signal and your housemate to get 50% signal in his room than for the extender rather than the current setup of 10% signal from the router and your housemate gets 100% signal from the extender.
remembering that as signal drops, so does speed and the network will run only as fast as the slowest point.If possible, move the router to a position closer to your housemate's room so that the extender is no longer required.
Also worth trying to elevate the router so that it doesn't have to transmit through furniture as well as walls.Assuming it is a cheap extender that just rebroadcasts on the same channel, all the advice about changing WiFi channels on your router will do nothing as the Extender will simply jump to the new channel.
"as the Extender will simply jump to the new channel"
Yeah you're right, I've been trying to change channels but seems like getting an excellent channel rating for like 2 seconds then drop down again.
Now that I am keeping the 5ghz band wifi for my own, solves almost all the problem except my PS4 and my HUAWEI phone don't support 5ghz band. I am thinking should I cable wired from the ASUS router to another router in my room and plug it directly to ps4. OR should I just use another router to connect wirelessly to the ASUS router in the kitchen and put it in my room?https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wi…
wifi analyzer will help you to pick a clearer channel. 1,6,11 are usually the best for 2.4ghz.
If you can cable, then you should.
There's excellent flat cable available if you're running room to room along skirting.
If you don't want to confront him directly, try resetting or turning off the router regularly to 'troubleshoot' the slow connections when he is home.
If he asks, you can 'resolve' the issue together with him.
Change the password for your wifi so his extender cannot connect to it and when he starts to whinge he cannot access the internet, tell him to get his own connection.
housemate is probably contributing to the internet bill.
It's possible that the wifi extender is operating on the same channel as your router. That could be causing your issues.
Try changing the channel settings in your router and see how that goes.
Or if your devices support 5Ghz, switch to that.