I just moved into a one-story place (around 1300 sq ft). My ISP set up the router in the kitchen (bottom-left on the layout). Speeds are great nearby, but once I head down the hallway toward the bedrooms — especially the master — things fall off pretty fast.
Not just a small drop… it actually gets borderline unusable at times.
Attached the floor plan. Right now I’m considering a few things:
maybe putting a second router somewhere in the hallway
going with a mesh system
or trying a repeater (though I’m not sure how well that would work)
What would you guys do in this situation?
I’d ditch the ISP router WiFi and just add a proper access point in the hallway ceiling. That should cover most of the house.
Don’t use a repeater. Start with a wired AP and turn off WiFi on your ISP router. A better radio in a better location will likely fix it.
If you want to be sure before installing anything, you can model it. If you have the option, you can use tools like NetSpot (https://www.netspotapp.com/) — it has a planning mode where you upload your floor plan and try different AP placements virtually.
If you’re already thinking about running Ethernet, that’s the right move. One cable to a central AP will go a long way here.
