Moved a few months ago into a 2 story house. The internet coax is on the top floor in the middle of the house, which I'd like to keep there if possible. The signal gets bad on the ground floor bathroom, and immediately outside. I also have my Xbox in the basement(downloading, streaming) where the signal is poor and drops out from time to time.
Right now we just have the default wireless router from Cox. So I know I need to upgrade, I'm just not sure the best way to do it. Does anyone have any experience with signal boosters? Or is it worth the extra money to just upgrade my wireless router. And what brand/model?
On a quick glance I saw boosters around $50, and new routers around $75-$100.
I'm assuming your router from Cox is also your modem? That seems to be the typical configuration nowadays..
If that's the case, and you buy a new router, unless you (or Cox) can disable the wireless signals from the default modem/router, you'll have extra wifi signals just causing needless interference. It's not a huge deal because you can avoid it based on the channel.. but still something to consider.
When it comes to signal boosters.. Are you referring to a signal extender? That's certainly an option, with the tradeoff being you're adding an extra step into the signal path, so it will hurt performance, and it's not ideal from a gaming perspective. Granted, this only really matters if your internet speeds are in excess of 20-30 Mb.
As far as buying a new router goes, it probably won't make that much of a difference unless you invest specifically in a high-powered router (even then, check the reviews to see if people experience what the marketing claims). If you have a router which has external antennae, probably the best thing you can do to extend that router's range is to purchase new high-gain antennae to replace the stock ones.
Of course, all this assumes that you're not trying to get wifi signals through brick walls and sheets of metal.. cause that isn't gonna go terribly well no matter what you do.
Another option to consider is power-line wifi. Do a search for it -- basically you transfer ethernet over your home's power lines. So you'll have two hookups, one that gets internet from your router, and then another where you want to have an internet hookup (or wireless access). As long your wires aren't super old, this could be perfect for you.
