PowerLine, or Mesh Wifi
PowerLine, or Mesh Wifi
Your apartment could benefit from some updates. There’s Ethernet running behind the wall, but you only see a mess of cables in the hole (red box). No power outlet is inside, though the green box has one. Fiber is present, but the modem needs power, so it’s hidden behind a wooden facade with the router (blue square)—a D-Link DIR-846 AC1200. Your room is in the bottom right, with your PC in the purple box. Not everything fits perfectly, and walls are reinforced concrete, which makes Wi-Fi weak between rooms. You play games there, so stability matters.
Here are your options:
1. Consider Power-Line, but be cautious—it might not work well in a high-rise with separate circuits.
2. Try WiFi-abridging gear like the DIR-823G or upgrade to a better router such as WIFI-6 or Asus Mesh 3. You could also use a PoE injector at the blue router and a PoE switch at the red box.
3. Given the age of the wiring (possibly from 2004), you might need to replace older cables for better performance.
Power lines could be restricted in apartments depending on the situation. Certain ISPs prohibit them because they might interfere with neighboring units. I personally visited my place to investigate the strong interference and discovered power line adapters were the culprit. That path is now settled. The most affordable option seems to be purchasing POE switches that can be connected in series, using flat CAT cables, double-sided tape, and routing the cable directly to your room. You might find used POE switches on eBay or other sites for a low price. Depending on distance, one or two switches should suffice. Mesh networks work well but only if installed properly; repeating existing Wi-Fi signals will significantly reduce speed and increase latency. For example, if Signal A offers 50 Mbps, a mesh network might drop to 25 Mbps with Signal B, adding noticeable delay.
I discovered some TP-Link Gigabit POE models that are still affordable. They include a 30W injector for $20 and a 5-port PoE switch around $40. A TP-link K20 (AX3000) mesh offers a comparable price with a slight edge. However, I’m a bit concerned about the cables in my walls—mostly unused for the past 5 to 6 years—and that’s why I’m weighing the options carefully.
The person suggesting this mentioned that if there was no damage from anything touching the cables, they would likely be okay. In a tough situation, simply running the cables outside and making it look neat would be the best approach.
Well that also means getting no less than 20 meters of wires around (there is also a kitchen on the top right corner... the cable will have to go high around).... maybe it's better to get the Mesh WiFi6 kit and do remodeling sometime next year and get proper Cat 6 cables in. Oh yeah, find the power source missing in that box too... or put one there... perhaps get a better WiFi 6e router and see if the DIR-846 can do wireless abriding (I got rid of the Dir-823G a few month ago)
The cable remains in excellent shape with all four pairs connected, making Cat5 suitable for Gigabit speeds. It’s definitely worth testing if you prefer it over using WiFi repeaters.
Mesh offers a solid alternative. It avoids the bandwidth loss common in traditional repeaters because each node has its own dedicated connection. I’ve set up three Google WiFi networks at both my home and a local business, and they’ve performed exceptionally well. This setup is something I consistently suggest to others.
Earlier the DIR-823G functioned properly, yet DIR-846 lacks wireless bridging capabilities which is disappointing. Considering Wi-Fi 6 isn't available, it might be time to switch to AX3000. The price is a major factor, and we're likely moving toward remodeling. I don't want to invest heavily now only to later face issues with the gigabit switch. (The PoE options I've found are limited to Gigabit.)