Starlink

[IXLR8]

I had the same range problem with my Verizon LTE Home internet. I bought a fairly cheap Netgear router and connected it to one of the two Ethernet jacks on the Verizon router. I now get a strong signal throughout the house and even out to my garage.

Verizon tech support advises against doing this but it seems to work fine.

I thought about doing this, I have extra routers, but there is no Ethernet port on the Verizon LTE box that I have.

 

[IXLR8]

Thanks for the WiFi repeater/extender suggestions. They look like what I need, I will look into those. They are cheap enough to try to see if they will do the job or not.

 

[BigBlue1]

We don't have T-mobile here, I just picked up Verizon LTE Home Internet. If I am in the same room with the unit I get 35Mb/s down and 12Mb/s up, if I go to the farthest point in the house from the unit, I get 0.8Mb/s down and 0.3Mb/s up. Works good enough for us in 80% of the house. If I could find a way to boost the signal throughout the house, I might just cancel my Starlink order. I am totally surrounded by 80-100 ft trees and the Starlink app keeps telling me to find a different place to mount the unit. When I suggested cutting some of the trees, SWMBO said no way. She said if they did come down I would have to hire a tree service considering how tall they are and how close to the house they are. I even tried on my roof and got the same result. I am having a dock built in July, I should have good coverage there but I can't wait that long to get decent internet access.

Look into wifi mesh systems. Much better coverage and no signal loss like wifi repeaters. You'll be very happy with one.

 

[rekees4300]

This article has best 2021 mesh systems and a list of Black Friday deals.

The Best Wi-Fi Mesh Network Systems for 2021

 

[Oaktree]

I thought about doing this, I have extra routers, but there is no Ethernet port on the Verizon LTE box that I have.

Well that's stupid. Don't they realize that desktop computers and some other gadgetry needs an ethernet connection? Other than a Roku (which is hard-wired too) and a laptop I don't think I have anything that uses wi-fi. Laptop has an ethernet jack too, but I mostly use it away from home.

 

[BigBlue1]

Well that's stupid. Don't they realize that desktop computers and some other gadgetry needs an ethernet connection? Other than a Roku (which is hard-wired too) and a laptop I don't think I have anything that uses wi-fi. Laptop has an ethernet jack too, but I mostly use it away from home.

Any modern (Windows 7+ or Linux) desktop computer with only an ethernet port can be switched over to wifi very easily with a sub $20 USB wifi adapter. I have a lot of tech an I don't believe there is anything that isn't wifi capable.

That said, if you absolutely need a wired ethernet connection in an environment with only wifi, get a wifi repeater with an ethernet jack. Set that up near the wired device and connect it to the device.

Rob

 

[Oaktree]

Any modern (Windows 7+ or Linux) desktop computer with only an ethernet port can be switched over to wifi very easily with a sub $20 USB wifi adapter. I have a lot of tech an I don't believe there is anything that isn't wifi capable.

Yes, but it's another gadget you need to buy that hogs a USB port. Why is it such an imposition to put a couple RJ45 jacks on the modem in the first place?

 

[IXLR8]

Look into wifi mesh systems. Much better coverage and no signal loss like wifi repeaters. You'll be very happy with one.

Spent some time looking into a mesh system, so far all that I have seen require a WAN connection. My Verizon LTE box doesn't have an Ethernet port so I can't connect to the WAN port on the mesh system. Unless I am missing something.

 

[ponytug]

Spent some time looking into a mesh system, so far all that I have seen require a WAN connection. My Verizon LTE box doesn't have an Ethernet port so I can't connect to the WAN port on the mesh system. Unless I am missing something.

Some can; look for "WiFi as WAN". As @BigBlue1 points out, you can use a WiFi repeater with an Ethernet jack to generate the port you want, if you have no other way.

All the best,

Peter

 

[BigBlue1]

Yes, but it's another gadget you need to buy that hogs a USB port. Why is it such an imposition to put a couple RJ45 jacks on the modem in the first place?

Likely for cost reasons and the fact that most devices out there are wifi capable these days so they go with the 'works for majority' situation. The solutions to the issue are easy and cheap for those of you that need it. USB wifi adapters are ubiquitous and cheap. USB hubs are ubiquitous and cheap if ports are scarce.