nbn Socket Location and Wi-Fi Boosting Options

virhlpool on 09/12/2023 - 00:34
Last edited 09/12/2023 - 00:35

The place where I am moving to has an NBN socket in the garage in the ground floor. I assume this is the only socket NBN has provided in the house. I haven't checked the wifi strength in all rooms but I have a couple of questions in case signal is poor in the first floor.

1) How hard or easy is it to extend the NBN cable through internal cabling from the ground floor to a room on the first floor?

2) If not the above option, can I use a wifi extender to improve the wifi range so that we can get a better signal in all rooms without having to extend the cabling? If yes, which exact model/ device would you recommend? I am not sure if these products work well; I don't see any deals posted here with high number of upvotes either.

Thanks in advance!

Internet Broadband nbn

Comments

  • raytriplej on 09/12/2023 - 01:56
    +1

    Look up Mesh wifi units. Old tech extenders are rubbish. Check our Google Nest wifi units with a base unit and sattelite units. Same from Netgear Orbi. I personally have the Google unit with a base and two satellites. I love it.

  • kfp187 on 09/12/2023 - 06:12
    +2

    Google Nesr and Orbi. I am not the the biggest fan of either to be honest but if it works and you are happy that’s great.
    Google Nest doesn’t allow a lot of customisation and knowing google another of their data collecting methods.
    Orbi I’ve personally just found troublesome to set up for clients. Not sure what sure it is but when I’m at the property it works fine but when I leave it’s troublesome. But others swear by them. Might be the client but who knows. ASUS mesh I hear issues and TP link some models down allow dual wifi names for each band. So they have pros and cons. I’ve had great success with TP Link if you don’t want to spend a heap of money.

    That aside I always recommend to run Cat 6 cable. You want to spend the money and get a data cabler in to do this. Even if you get them to run a cable into the next room is a win.

    The reason I say to get a data cabler… other than it keeps them in a job. But most garages are built to be pretty fire/sound proof (obviously not always the case). Some houses have these huge brick internal walls as a barrier between the house and garages. If you have your router in there your wifi is already going to be low because of the interference.

    Once the cable is into the next room then run your mesh or what ever you like from there.

    If you do get mesh spend the money on a tri-band set up. Means the “third” speaks directly to the other units as opposed to be shared with the band you also use.

    • virhlpool on 09/12/2023 - 06:15

      Thanks mate. Useful info.

    • John Kimble on 09/12/2023 - 08:41

      The reason I say to get a data cabler… other than it keeps them in a job.

      🤔

      • kfp187 on 09/12/2023 - 08:55

        He replied before I could edit… but wanted to say other than keeping them in a job they’ll be able to work out the best way to run the cable… perhaps it can go straight up through the wall cavity upstairs or into the next room and then up.

        Bloody love your user name btw… question, do you love your car as much as the OG?

    • Wort on 09/12/2023 - 11:44

      Another feature of many mesh routers is that each device can have a direct wired connection for improved performance. So getting cabling or a mesh network aren't mutually exclusive solutions. Depending on the house layout it maybe a requirement. I've lived in place where is no way the mesh nodes would reach each other without a crazy number of them to bridge the distance!

  • AndyC1 on 09/12/2023 - 06:38

    NBN cabling need to be done by NBN.

    Putting in CAT5E to extend the network will be hard as you will not have the expertise to do this and will need to get a sparky to do it.

    • virhlpool on 09/12/2023 - 23:47

      It looks like sparky is the solution for the whole issue. In fact, a room that's farthest from the NBN box/ modem has very poor wifi. So I defo need to do something abt it.

  • kfp187 on 09/12/2023 - 08:32

    No need for NBN cabling in this scenario. The NBN is setup.

    Not all electricians have the Data Cabling licence… not to say they don’t have the ability to do it but it’s an additional course.

    At minimum run CAT6.

  • avoidfullprice on 09/12/2023 - 08:39

    Assuming it is a FttP box, then i would use a powerline adapter from garage to another power outlet in the house that is on the same rcd circuit. Then use a normal wifi router there.

    1) How hard or easy is it to extend the NBN cable through internal cabling from the ground floor to a room on the first floor?

    I dont even know if you are talking about fttp or fttc or fttn. Is it a rj45 socket, or a coaxial, or a rj12 for vdsl etc. not even sure if your garage attic/underground is accessible

    • virhlpool on 09/12/2023 - 23:48

      It's HFC, with a black NBN box connected to the wall via a round pin that you screw into the round wall socket.

  • kfp187 on 09/12/2023 - 08:59

    It doesn’t matter what nbn technology he has. It will still need a router. And poweline are great in theory but I’ve never found them good is use. Issues with latency. Powerline would be worst case scenario.

    • avoidfullprice on 09/12/2023 - 21:46

      I presume you are replying to my comment?

      It doesn’t matter what nbn technology he has.

      OP wants to extend the “NBN Cable”, so it is either the fibre optics/ coaxial/ phone line before the NTD, or the cat5 after the NTD. OP also has the option of having the router in the garage, and extend the wired/wireless network to other area using long cat 5/cat 6/powerline/extender/mesh configuration.

      So yes, it does matter on the nbn technology depending on what OP means

      And poweline are great in theory but I’ve never found them good is use. Issues with latency.

      Powelines are great at several of places i have visited or lived. Suitability depends on the applications you need. Streaming movies - who cares about latency. Gaming - mesh/repeater will give you latency too

  • kfp187 on 09/12/2023 - 22:16

    By the sounds of it the setup is in the garage and most likely FTTP. But even if it’s FTTC/HFC. Best to leave the NTD in the garage and run Cat 6 cable out of the garage in my opinion… but up to the individual.

    Powerline… some properties have different electrical circuits and probably won’t work that out till after you’ve bought them and can be tricky to return. But in addition they are chunky as when attached to the wall espicially if you go for high end models… most have power pass through but often block the next point. Mesh by passes a lot of the issues.

    Again, pros and cons for both. When powerline works it’s great…

    I think at the end of the day I think we’d agree if possible run cable whenever/wherever possible :)

    • virhlpool on 09/12/2023 - 23:37

      It is HFC.

      • kfp187 on 10/12/2023 - 05:49

        Yeah wow. Why they would put HFC in the garage? It’s done now. Coaxial you could move the whole unit if you wanted. Not that you want to be putting joins into it. Or even cat 6 from the back of the unit to the next room.

  • Twix on 19/12/2023 - 11:51

    @virhlpool nbn NTD box for HFC is a DOCSIS 3.1 modem. You don't need a TP-Link VDSL modem.

    Plug in a Deco X20 router to the nbn NTD and put the other Deco's where you need them.

    • virhlpool on 19/12/2023 - 11:54

      Wow.. So all I need is Deco X20 units? Can you please check my query here? https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/821251#comment-14739876

      • Twix on 19/12/2023 - 12:10

        That's right. The line —- is an ethernet cable. The ))) is Wi-Fi.

        Setup option 1. nbn NTD—-Deco X20 router—-Deco X20.

        Setup option 2. nbn NTD—-Deco X20 router ))) Deco X20.

        • virhlpool on 19/12/2023 - 12:12
          +1

          Cheers. Any disadvantages of not having a modem? Will the Deco X20 create 2.4GHz (needed for printer etc) and 5GHz bands?

          • Twix on 19/12/2023 - 12:17

            @virhlpool: nbn NTD is your modem for HFC. There are no disadvantages and there is no point adding a second modem.

            Deco X20 2.4GHz and 5GHz appear as a single SSID and automatically selects the best band for your client devices (phone, laptop, printer and so on). Deco X20 has the option of creating an individual 2.4GHz or 5GHz guest network.

            • virhlpool on 19/12/2023 - 12:31

              @Twix: Awesome. Do you recommend X20 or any other equivalent product?

              Also, I am planning to go for 2-pack now, which I think should be sufficient. Can I buy a 3rd unit separately in future if needed and will it pair with the main unit?

              Looking at the official product page, there seems to be various versions of Deco X20 (v4 being the latest): https://imgur.com/a/46jCUo8. However, when I go on to buy from Amazon/ Officeworks etc, the version isn't mentioned. How does this work?

              • Twix on 19/12/2023 - 13:22

                @virhlpool: Deco X20 is recommended and extra Deco's can be purchased in the future. I don't know what minor changes TP-Link make with the Deco X20 V1 to V4.

                What speed tier did you signup for?

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