Buying a second modem

Life Hacking
1

Hi all!

I currently have internet in my home using G.Fast DSL (Wingo). I’d like to get better coverage inside my home, and would like to avoid any additional cabling. Since I already have phone outlets on several floors, I am thinking of purchasing a second G.Fast modem. I’m not entirely sure whether that would work in addition to the existing Swissbox. Does anyone have experience doing that?

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2

One thing is clear: with a second modem you need at least a second DSL subscription. This results in monthly costs. From this perspective, additional cabling* is often cheaper.

*or things like wifi repeaters etc.

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Really? I know certain providers allow renting a second modem. I wanted to avoid the rent.

Obviously paying a second subscription defeats the whole purpose!

4

Are these phone outlets LAN connections from A to B?

You can simply use a wifi repeater then. Plug in a LAN cable from your router to A and the wifi repeater in B. The repeater then acts as another wifi sender.

Alternatively a wifi repeater can just double the wifi signal (hence the name).

So you place it in the middle of your router and where you dont have signal anymore. It repeats the signal and gives you more coverage.
But also increased latency. So not good for gaming. But normal internet usage no problem.

And absolutely zero need for a new subscription. This is an easily solvable problem, for which there are even more solutions then I presented :slight_smile:

D-Lan could also be a solution for example.

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They’re not LAN connections, but phone outlets that connect to the local copper network. I can send a picture later.

Edit: here’s a picture:

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image300×400 48.2 KB

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if you don’t want to lay down new LAN cabling, the easiest might be to use power socket networks to connect a separate wifi AP.

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I’ve used such technology (CPL) in the past and found it unreliable.

My provider (Wingo) just got back to me and said that what I have in mind should work. I think it’s worth a shot.

I’m not yet in my new home (moving in a few months), but I’ll try sending an update when I am.

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The Deco M4 looks good, but is it really going to work as well as two separate boxes directly connected to the provider network?

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Are we speaking of wifi coverage? Have you looked into a wifi mesh net that you can easily extend deploying additional extender?

E.g. https://www.digitec.ch/de/s1/product/ubiquiti-unifi-u6-extender-4800-mbits-access-point-22910530 (unifi gateway required)

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Yes, that’s what I mean. Maybe I’m biased by rather poor equipment in the past, but I haven’t found the technology very satisfying, especially in a house with a concrete slab over the basement (where my home office will be located)

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I’m 100% happy with my unifi network, serving 50+ clients. There is no notable difference using a cable connection, (direct-) wifi access point connection or a connection via a indirect wifi access point / extender…
As the whole network is centrally managed (via the unifi gateway), client roaming is also working like a charm…

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I know that it’s not a problem from a technical point of view, but I’m surprised that providers in the private customer segment offer something like this (they usually have standardised processes and want to avoid complexity as much as possible). So I’ve learnt something again! :slightly_smiling_face:

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But this creates two separate internal networks, no? Which would make it quite complex if you have devices that need to talk to each other.

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Mesh and repeaters have very bad performance. Maybe not an issue with light browsing tasks, but annoying for heavier usage.

Personally, I run ethernet as powerline performance itself is not great.

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On a tangent: before spending considerable time in a basement in Switzerland, I’d check out general radon concentrations in your area and, if elevated, the level of radon protection or the actual radon level in the basement. (Disregard if you have already of course.)

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Does this have a direct connection or an impact on Wi-Fi coverage?

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No, on life expectancy.

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Is this really applicable for a recent home (built ~2000)? Also, the basement has windows, so I think if I ventilate once in a while I should be fine.

21

being dead might also impact on the ability to utilize wifi :stuck_out_tongue:

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I am a network engineer and it is hard to read this thread for me.

  1. I don’t know any provider who would give you a second modem which yo can plug into a phone socket
  2. Network over power lines aka Powerline can may or may not provide good results and you only find out too late (when you have already spent your money)
  3. A wireless repeater has no network cables, picks up the wifi and re-broadcasts it. You would want to buy a system like Deco or another device that can be put into repeater mode to make sure your client device roams seemlessly and clients connected to the modem/main access point and those connected to the repeater can see each other. You can only install a repeater in the area where your current coverage is ok-ish because every packet needs to be sent to the main access point/modem over the air. If the connection between those to is unstable you will end up with wifi but no internet. If you have been to Asia and Africa knou know what I mean. Deco system will help you to set this up.
  4. Access Point is the device that has a network cable and provides wifi to an area without the need for coverage by it’s neighbor. Most providers will sell you these.

Beware of people selling you a ‘stronger’ Access Pont or repeater. Power is regulated and all vendors are maxing out the powers permitted. Differences in strength are very limited between brands these days

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