Networking

Greg has to extend his Wi-Fi in order to stream to the TVs around the house. What kind of extender should he get? Leo says the farther he is away, the less signal and speed he'll get. So he'll need to boost the signal. If he's using a modern Wi-Fi router that uses 802.11AC, then it'll be easier. But if he has to use a router provided by the cable company, he should try and see if he can put the router/modem in bridge mode and use his own router. Then he should turn off the modem's Wi-Fi radio as well.

Dave has bought two iMacs and they've both died after two days. Leo says it sounds like a power surge in his house that's causing it. Leo advises a power conditioning surge suppressor. It'll have a battery and circuitry that cleans up the power so there's an even flow without surges. Leo likes Tripp Lite and APC, but CyberPower is Leo's current favorite.

Eric uses the Hotspot mode on his Note 8, but not every device can see the Wi-Fi connection. Leo says that there are two frequencies, 2.4GHz and 5GHz. The phone does both. So he should check on that. He should also check on the encryption he's using. His devices should at least see it, though. It sounds like SSID hiding may be turned on in the phone's hotspot settings. If it is, then he should uncheck it. He may want to take it into his carrier store.

Bill has powerline adapters for his internet access and his Wi-Fi signal isn't very good. Rich says when powerline adapting, he will need to be on the same circuit in order for the router to work right. A better solution is to go with a new mesh router. He can expand the network with a simple access point beacon. Rich uses Eero. It's a little more expensive, and there are others including Plume. But this is a better way to improve the wireless signal in his house.