TPLink

Bill wants to know what's better: a router/modem combo or a separate router and modem. Leo prefers to separate a two. You want to get a cable modem that is DOCSIS 3.1 and make sure that your ISP supports it. You'll also need to call them and get them to accept the MAC address of the modem. Bill is also having issues with download speeds on his iPad. If you're having WiFi issues, then try putting the router higher up. Also, reposition it. Another option is to try powerline networking with TPLink. But it would help if you were getting at least 100MB per second down.

Rich has a room about 35 feet away from the base station, and they have issues with dropouts from it. Leo says that WiFi is a line of sight technology, primarily, and so anything that goes in between the access point and the device can interfere. One way to solve the problem is to put your access point higher up the wall. That will move the signal away from a lot of things that will get in the way.

Daisy is having trouble with slow internet. Leo says to run SpeedTest by google and see how fast your connection is. There's also Fast, which is a connection test for NetFlix. Also, make sure you're not too far away from your router. If you're more than 100 feet away, that's going to slow things down. Also, too many walls between your router and your laptop can cause issues. 

Dan has his TV set up with WiFi about 150' away from his WiFi. How can he improve the connection? Leo says the walls may cause interference. Ben could try setting his WiFi router higher up. But the better option, if possible, is to wire the TV directly to the modem. A mesh router will also help, since it can create a mesh of connectivity, with a separate backchannel. Each Satellite is connected by ethernet. It'll improve it, but it will still deal with interference. He can rewire the home with ethernet. That'll fix things. Also, powerline networking may work as well.

Sharon is getting a lot of buffering using QOS while streaming through her TPLink router. Leo says that while the TPLink is highly recommended, the QOS feature is largely worthless. You may look to see if you can put a third party firmware on it, like DD-WRT or Tomato. It would fix it. 

Seth wants to know what the best consumer-grade WiFi routers are. Leo says it's constantly changing. And now, WiFi 6 (aka 802.11AX) is here. Designed to make IoT devices more efficient, WiFi 6 will certainly change up the game. Leo recommends the new MESH routers. They are more expensive, but they are much better for homes, especially those with spotty WiFi coverage. Leo also says that the older Eero Beacons can be used with Ethernet, so if users have their home wired for Ethernet, they can plug in for even better performance. The other alternative is Powerline networking.

Phil has heard about something called a "WiFi blast range extender" which promises to solve bandwidth throttling. Is it legit? Leo says NO. The article that Phil came across was a sponsored article, disguised as legitimate content.  They make plenty of promises, but not really deliver. In this case, bandwidth throttling isn't done at the router level, it's done at the ISP level. When ISPs put a bandwidth cap on you, you can work around it, you just have to either deal with the slowdown or pay for more bandwidth. 

Bruce has Wi-Fi coverage in his house because it's long and narrow. He doesn't want extenders. So he's thinking of using Cat5 ethernet. Can he take an ethernet connection and convert it to Wi-Fi? Leo says that the TP-Link EAP225 access points will do the trick. He can also turn his router into bridge mode for that. But he can also use Powerline Networking, where he can use his electrical grid for networking and get internet access in every room. He can just plug in the Powerline adapters.

Tom has a TP-Link powerline adapter and he needs to plug it into his router, but his router is full. Leo recommends getting a hub that will attach to the router and give him more ports. TPLink even makes one. He'll just need to free one up and then plug this in and he'll have several more ports to plug into.

Frederick has AT&T for his internet access. He's switching to Time Warner Cable and he's wondering if he'll get the 100 Mbps with the modem they'll be renting him. Or should he buy one himself? Leo says Time Warner will tell him what modems they support and he can then buy that. Leo recommends a DOCSIS 3 modem.

Should he get a modem/router combination unit? Leo says no. Use the router separately and daisy chain them together. He'll save a lot of money over the course of the year by just buying it himself. Leo likes the Arris modems.