Who do I hire to fix my Internet connection in the basement?

[Anonymous]

I'm a clueless woman who just moved to DC and I really need stronger Internet in the basement, which is also my office. I am a tech idiot and I would like to hire someone to come to our house and wire it so I don't need to think about it. Suggestions? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Where is your router? Change the router location or get a better one.

[Anonymous]

We are going through this now. We got a better router (from Verizon, because we have FIOS) but that has not totally solved the problem. We also have a range extender, which helps but it depends on how strong the signal is to the range extender and then in your case to the basement. Our tech guy recommended splitting our Ethernet cable from the outside and hardwiring to the spot where we are having signal problems and installing a second router (I think I am right about the router). He said an electrician would do the Ethernet cable.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a clueless woman who just moved to DC and I really need stronger Internet in the basement, which is also my office. I am a tech idiot and I would like to hire someone to come to our house and wire it so I don't need to think about it. Suggestions? Thanks!

If you want to connect by a wire, an electrician is your best bet for running a wire. We might be able to offer better advice if you describe more what you want to do:

1) do you connect via wifi and simply want a stronger signal?

2) where is your current router located in relation to the basement?

3) what other Internet devices do you use and how do you connect with them? (eg. iPhone using Wifi, etc.)

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a clueless woman who just moved to DC and I really need stronger Internet in the basement, which is also my office. I am a tech idiot and I would like to hire someone to come to our house and wire it so I don't need to think about it. Suggestions? Thanks!

If you want to connect by a wire, an electrician is your best bet for running a wire. We might be able to offer better advice if you describe more what you want to do:

1) do you connect via wifi and simply want a stronger signal?

2) where is your current router located in relation to the basement?

3) what other Internet devices do you use and how do you connect with them? (eg. iPhone using Wifi, etc.)

Yes I have my laptop so would like to connect through wifi. We also have Hulu down there so would like to watch that as well. The box is on the 1st floor right now. So one floor up from our basement. It's s small house fyi. Right now we have two iPads, a laptop and two smart phones all of which connect through wifi with no problem on floors other than basement.

To the person who suggested an extender, do you recommend a brand/ model?

[Anonymous]

If the rest of the house gets signal, but not basement right below the router, then something is blocking the signal. Use your phone to measure the signal strength as you walk around, so you can figure out where it is strong and where it gets weak. Metal and concrete are likely culprits. Is there a big metal beam right below your router? Does the router sit on a metal file cabinet? Is there a brick basement wall between the router and the basement sitting area? Signal can pass through wood floor, but will struggle with other blocks.

[Anonymous]

We got a signal extender. The cable ran in to the basement to begin with, and the router/signal extender came with a signal splitter. We put the extender in my office and my laptop is usually hard wired with an Ethernet cable to the signal extender.
We bought the extender authorized by Verizon, our service provider.

[Anonymous]

http://www.verizon.com/support/residential/internet/fiosinternet/networking/setup/questionsone/124311.htm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the rest of the house gets signal, but not basement right below the router, then something is blocking the signal. Use your phone to measure the signal strength as you walk around, so you can figure out where it is strong and where it gets weak. Metal and concrete are likely culprits. Is there a big metal beam right below your router? Does the router sit on a metal file cabinet? Is there a brick basement wall between the router and the basement sitting area? Signal can pass through wood floor, but will struggle with other blocks.

Two other possible blocks: tile or stone floor below router? Nest of metal ductwork in basement ceiling below router?

[Anonymous]

Here's the range extender I got.

http://www.amazon.com/Amped-Wireless-802-11ac-Extender-REC15A/dp/B00HWMP6CQ/ref=sr_1_13?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1434740010&sr=1-13&keywords=amped+range+extender

You have to be able to put it in a place where it gets a strong signal from the router, and has a less obstructed signal to the basement. As suggested you can test your speed at various points in the house (I used ookla speed test).

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a clueless woman who just moved to DC and I really need stronger Internet in the basement, which is also my office. I am a tech idiot and I would like to hire someone to come to our house and wire it so I don't need to think about it. Suggestions? Thanks!

If you want to connect by a wire, an electrician is your best bet for running a wire. We might be able to offer better advice if you describe more what you want to do:

1) do you connect via wifi and simply want a stronger signal?

2) where is your current router located in relation to the basement?

3) what other Internet devices do you use and how do you connect with them? (eg. iPhone using Wifi, etc.)

Yes I have my laptop so would like to connect through wifi. We also have Hulu down there so would like to watch that as well. The box is on the 1st floor right now. So one floor up from our basement. It's s small house fyi. Right now we have two iPads, a laptop and two smart phones all of which connect through wifi with no problem on floors other than basement.

To the person who suggested an extender, do you recommend a brand/ model?

If it would not be too difficult to drop an ethernet cable down to the basement, I would connect a second base station by eithernet to the current one. Set both to have the same SSID and they will create one network. Your devices will automatically switch between the two.