by "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
Published 11/27/2017 at 18:53
by "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
Published 11/27/2017 at 18:53
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STARS: 1
I have a Linksys EA6400 802.11ac router that I got a few years ago. It’s worked well but its signal range isn’t the greatest. My only complaint with it is live streaming sports apps on my Roku and Chromecast in my living room don’t like to cooperate with it. So I tried to come up with a solution.
Live sports apps work fine on my old Roku 2 upstairs in the guest room, a.k.a. the same room as my router. But in my living room, neither my Roku 4 nor my Chromecast do a good job with them, in spite of otherwise being fine for HD video streaming. Other devices in the same room have no problem with the router. I think the issue comes from the streamers being inside a tv stand, combined with the less-than-great range from the router, and the live sports apps apparently needing more bandwidth than stuff like Netflix or Hulu.
Yes, I’m being cheap and using my dad’s Comcast password to get ESPN, etc. for free because I don’t pay for cable, even though I’m a gainfully employed 35 year-old man. But hey, my dad offered me his password unprompted. I have no shame.
My first go at a solution was adding a Linksys RE6700 range extender to my existing network. I tried that over the weekend. What I learned was with a range extender, you have to give the extender its own network name. But to control a Chromecast from your phone, computer, etc., that device needs to be on the same network. The same applies to the Roku, which is less of a problem because usually I control it with a remote, but sometimes I’ll search for something on my phone rather than “type” with the remote which is awful.
But with the router and extender being relatively close together, everything that wasn’t the Roku or Chromecast would randomly connect to the router or extender. Before controlling one of the streamers with a device, I’d have to first manually make sure the phone was connected to the extender and not the router. Not ideal. So I’m returning the range extender.
(You can in theory set your range extender to the same name as your router but in practice this only works out if your extender is farther away from your router so their signals don’t overlap as much. To have the same network name broadcast from multiple overlapping points, you need a mesh network.)
So today I decided to see if there were any wifi deals. The best mesh router deals were still $200+, but I found this Amazon deal on a Netgear Nighthawk R6700 that’s supposed to be pretty good, for $60 after you check a little box to “clip a coupon,” digitally . It’s not the absolute top-level router but I’m hoping it gets a decent enough signal down to my living room to steal stream live sports.
Comparing reviews of wifi routers from different sites is a terrible, awful experience. But I think I might’ve picked a good one. I can’t personally vouch for whether this router is actually good, but hey, if you’re looking for a higher-end-ish router and don’t want to spend much on it, this may be a Cyber Monday deal worth grabbing.
Worst case scenario, if it sucks, we all end up returning them.
"Nibby" (nibby68)
11/27/2017 at 18:56, STARS: 3
pretty fly for a wifi
"boredalways" (boredalway666)
11/27/2017 at 19:01, STARS: 0
And I’m sure you can find a DD-WRT build for it. Nice buy!
"Saracen" (manualdoucheelitist)
11/27/2017 at 19:40, STARS: 1
I just ordered the same router!
"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce)
11/27/2017 at 20:07, STARS: 0
I got a similar router to that one last year. I actually used credit card reward points to get Amazon gift cards and buy one. It works so much better than the old default rental that Xfinity gives you. Much faster browsing and game downloads.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/27/2017 at 20:09, STARS: 1
Apparently there’s an R6700v2 that it’s hard to tell in advance if you’ll get it but only the original R6700 is supported by DD-WRT. Honestly that doesn’t bother me much, I’ve never been much of a super tweaker with flashing stuff like DD-WRT. I just want it to work with the sports streaming apps in my living room.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/27/2017 at 20:14, STARS: 0
I’m with Charter and have always used my own router. The problem is that over time, I try newer streaming stuff that inevitably needs a nicer router.
I had an older Netgear 802.11n router that was mostly ok but to get my old PS3 I was using for Netlflix to work well in this location, I added an external 802.11n adapter since the built-in wifi was 802.11g. When I got devices that supported 802.11ac I got the Linsys EA6400 which is mostly fine.
I dunno what’s up with these sports streaming apps sucking so much. I’m sitting in my living room while my wife is watching Netflix on the Roku 4 which looks perfectly fine HD as usual and never downgrades in quality, and while that’s playing I just pulled a 65 Mbps speed test on my Macbook Pro. But the damn live streaming apps don’t like to cooperate anyway.
"Manny05x" (Manny05x)
11/27/2017 at 20:42, STARS: 0
I bought the nighthawk x6 on black friday for 160$ originally 280. I really needed a router connection in the house was almost non existent.
"Rico" (ricorich)
11/27/2017 at 20:58, STARS: 1
Maybe you can still have some use for your old router. You should be able to use it as a bridge to further extend your network if you still have dead zones.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
11/27/2017 at 21:04, STARS: 0
Thanks to this post, I bought one too. We’re still rocking a Netgear n600 802.11n from around 2011ish, so this ought to be an upgrade. Ye olde router has been starting to have issues dropping out, so a modern router has been on my mind. Since I was on Amazon, I decided to knock out more than half of my holiday shopping while I was there.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/27/2017 at 21:33, STARS: 1
I suppose that could work to set up the old router as a bridge in the TV stand and plug the Roku into an Ethernet port on it. Won’t help the Chromecast though. Hopefully the new router has good enough signal strength I won’t need to mess with a bridge. It’s not that far from the router to the living room TV, I think that my current router just has a weak signal.
"StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8" (stndibnz1)
11/28/2017 at 08:36, STARS: 0
I did this last year and holy hell did it ever help. I was using the cable companies router and only getting like 22-25 mbps instead of the 30 I was supposed to be getting. Hooked up that router and now its 30-35 everywhere in the house, even the basement! You’ll like it.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/28/2017 at 10:08, STARS: 0
I’ve never had a router from the cable company. I had a somewhat decent Netgear 802.11n router which I upgraded to this current Linksys router when I started getting 802.11ac devices.
For the most part I’ve been happy with it. I’ll easily pull 65 Mbps downloads on my phone or computer in the same room as the Roku and Chromecast. Last night, sitting in the living room with my wife, I pulled 65 Mbps on my laptop while she was watching Netflix on the Roku which was streaming perfectly.
It’s really just the problem with the live sports apps on the Roku and Chromecast. I think both of these devices have weaker wifi antennas, they’re inside a thick wood tv stand, and the live sports apps chew more bandwidth.
"MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner" (montegoman562)
11/28/2017 at 15:21, STARS: 0
Exactly what I did. I had an ASUS 900 router, then I upgraded to a Netgear Nighthawk 1400 and I use the ASUS to bridge and extend my network.
Great setup
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/28/2017 at 15:33, STARS: 0
The only thing is if the Roku is connected through a bridge, I’m not sure how that will interact with the other devices on the network. I like being able to search for something on a phone and sending it to the tv, rather than have to use the remote arrow keys to move around an on-screen keyboard and type one letter at a time.
It’s really not that far from the router to the Roku. I’m still hoping the new router will solve my issue all on its own, no bridging or any other added complexity needed.
"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
11/28/2017 at 16:00, STARS: 0
I bought an extender myself to shore up a dead spot in my house, but it uses the same network name, so my Chromecast still works.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/28/2017 at 16:37, STARS: 0
The problem with an extender for my use is my living room isn’t really a dead spot. There’s plenty of signal in there. The Roku and Chromecast just want more signal to stream live sports. Overlapping the network name didn’t work out.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/28/2017 at 23:22, STARS: 0
FYI you’re probably going to have to update the firmware. It wouldn’t work for me until I did. I have an upcoming post about it here , not sure if you’ll be able to see it before it goes live.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/28/2017 at 23:22, STARS: 1
FYI you’re probably going to have to update the firmware. It wouldn’t work for me until I did. I have an upcoming post about it here , not sure if you’ll be able to see it before it goes live.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
11/29/2017 at 09:57, STARS: 0
Good to know. Thanks!
"Saracen" (manualdoucheelitist)
11/30/2017 at 15:37, STARS: 0
Thanks man. It arrived today. I’ll update the firmware tonight.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
12/09/2017 at 00:00, STARS: 0
After a shipping snafu in which it appears my original package fell off the UPS truck, I finally got a replacement one that arrived today (and Amazon gave me a $20 credit for the trouble). I updated the firmware and it works like a charm. It is certainly an upgrade from the entry-level, g/b/n router from 2011 that was growing increasingly unstable as we’ve added more wifi devices to the house over the years.
Thanks for the original tip.