If the existing WLAN is too weak to cover the entire apartment or house, then a solid solution is needed.This can vary depending on the application, but there are only a handful of possibilities.You can find out what these are here.Last week my brother asked me the best way to get the internet from the ground floor to the basement after moving.Since the WiFi of the router from the internet provider is too weak, he needs a solution.This question keeps coming up.Our Head of Content also asked me some time ago.After the last Wi-Fi speed test article on the UPC Giga Connect Box, I also received three emails from readers with questions on the same topic.There are a couple of ways the internet can find its way into the whole booth.But what doesn't exist is the ultimate solution that fits everyone.Which individual solution is likely to be the best depends not only on the desired speed and the position of the rooms or the square meters to be covered, but also on things such as the building fabric.Reinforced concrete ceilings or underfloor heating can severely weaken a WLAN signal, cause latencies or even block it.If you are lucky and make it to the lower or upper floor with a single router, you will usually only be using the slower 2.4 GHz frequency band.First of all, it is important that I become aware of what I want to use the Internet for in the previously uncovered square meters of the home.How many devices should be supplied with how much juice at the same time?For example, if I want to watch films on a smart TV and surf the web with two smartphones at the same time, a low speed is usually sufficient.No provider streams its series and movies with more than 25 Mbit/s in 4K.Depending on surfing behavior, 50 Mbit/s can be sufficient in this scenario.It looks completely different when I want to stream films in original quality from my Plex server on the TV, because a UHD Blu-ray can demand 80 megabits and more per second, depending on the film.If you want to make full use of a fast 1 gigabit Internet subscription with a single device, you won't be able to avoid connecting it to the router with a LAN cable.Then the Gigabit LAN offers you 940 Mbit/s in the best case.In WLAN operation, most routers do not even come close to achieving such values ​​in the same room in which they are located.It is therefore advisable to connect a NAS with an active download station or a gamer PC that is supposed to download the 72 gigabytes of Cyberpunk 2077 installation data in eleven minutes directly via cable.But now to the five ways of solving the problem.The last one is more "exotic" in nature.This solution only works if you already have WiFi reception directly above or below the current router on the target floor.Then you can set up a second device at this point and thus forward at least part of your total capacity to the target areas.In the best-case scenario, your current router masters the mesh technology and so does your second device.This ensures that not only the range of the first router is extended, but that a dedicated second network is set up on the destination floor.The second device can be a router, a repeater or an access point.It is important that the second device, if available, has its DHCP disabled.Ideally, the second device already supports Wi-Fi 6 (AX), which, however, usually only brings noticeable advantages over Wi-Fi 5 (AC) if as many end devices as possible in the network are able to use the latest standard.Here are the three currently best rated repeaters in our shop with Wi-Fi 6:Access points with Wi-Fi 6 only have a few ratings in the shop.The following products are at the forefront:The second solution brings considerably more speed.It is the second fastest solution at all.Unless solution no. 1 already leads to a mesh system, as is possible with Swisscom customers with the WLAN-Box 2.With the second solution, you do without your previous WLAN and deactivate it.Then you put two additional devices in the apartment or house.Depending on the house, more than just two devices have to be set up.In any case, there is a mesh router that is connected to the Internet provider's router via a LAN cable.And its opponent, which is a second router or an access point/satellite, depending on the manufacturer of the system purchased.The opponent is placed on the new floor where the reception to the first device is strongest, i.e. where the mesh router offers the best signal strength.Usually this is the place with the smallest distance.I have already shown in Wi-Fi speed tests that mesh systems can be a good solution.Among the few systems tested so far, the Orbi AX6000 has the edge.In my maisonette, an average of 629.64 Mbit/s is possible with 140 m².By the way: If your current WiFi just doesn't cover the entire building, you can also buy a single mesh-enabled router and see if its juice is enough for the entire living space.There is a chance and thanks to the mesh function you can still upgrade with additional devices at any time.The currently top rated three Wi-Fi 6 mesh starter sets (available in sets of two and three):Currently the top three single mesh routers with Wi-Fi 6:Laying LAN cables is usually a complex solution, but it is also always the fastest in terms of data throughput.The most important thing when distributing the network is always a strong backhaul, i.e. the line between two network nodes.With a mesh system, for example, this usually happens via a third WLAN band, which can be a good solution, but does not offer maximum speed with minimum ping.Hence;let's cable!Those who use cables should keep in mind that not every network device can be integrated with it.Satellites, access points and repeaters do not all offer the option of feeding in the signal with an RJ45 cable.When buying a LAN cable, not only the right length is important, but above all the data throughput.With a view to the future, it is advisable to use a cable that also supports 10 Gigabit.Means CAT version 6a or even better CAT 7 or 7a, as these offer better shielding and the data throughput decreases less with long cables.Anyone contemplating CAT 8 should discard the idea again.Although CAT 8 doubles the operating frequencies again, it can only be used over short distances.Click here for our network cables.If you are overwhelmed by the mass of products, I would be happy to recommend the following cable:With powerline adapters, you can use your mains power supply as a network cable.Depending on the power line and fuse box, this works well and some of the total capacity still comes through on the target floor.Or it works rather poorly.In my apartment, I get around 450 Mbit/s through a powerline adapter with the latest “G.hn” standard on the same floor as the start adapter.On the lower target floor, however, only up to 60 Mbit/s arrive at the sockets, which are latency-free - I measure a ping of one millisecond.My brother is luckier, by the way.He opted for a powerline adapter solution and gets around 250 Mbit/s in his basement.And that, although his adapters are not yet in control of the new standard.Important to know: As with a mesh system, several adapters from the same manufacturer can also be combined with Powerline.There are also adapters that set up a WLAN at the end point.Otherwise, Powerline can of course be combined with any network device that accepts a signal via RJ45.Here are the three best-rated Powerline adapter starter sets in our shop:This solution should only be used in very few cases, since the installation is complex and it can only be used if you have two windows outside the house with a clear view of each other.You buy two directional radio antennas and install them on the outside wall of the house.Then it gets complicated, because you have to connect the antennas to the inside with cables.This cannot be easily implemented with every window, but it can at best be possible with a ribbon cable.Or through additional manual work.The data throughput can be high with directional radio.In a product review for the Ubiquiti LBE-5AC-Gen2, Digitec user Manu Outdoor writes that it gets up to 650 Mbit/s.Well, that's it for the solutions.If there is nothing among them that excites you, one last possibility comes to mind: Old telephone lines can be converted into a LAN cable under certain conditions.For example with the help of VDSL converters.What is your preferred solution for Internet to the last crack?112 people like this articleThe daily kiss of the muse lets my creativity sprout.If I'm not kissed, I try to inspire myself with dreams.Because those who dream never sleep through their lives.Do you have any questions?Then visit our help center