Best configuration?
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After some help/advice please?
I am looking to try and improve my home network which like many has been added to and modified over many years.
I have a Draytek Vigor 2762 Modem/Router on which wifi has been switched off but DHCP left on.
This is hardwired to my main Deco an X50 which wirelessly links to an M5.
The X50 is also hardwired to a Deco M9 at the other end of the house, which is then linked to a further two M9 's wirelessly.
the Decos run as access points.
I am trying to see if I can improve the signal to a couple of security cameras i have on the outside of my house, and was wondering if I switched off DHCP on the Draytek router, swutched the Decos to WiFi Router operation mode am I likely to see any improvement?
Many thanks for any help or suggestions
Alex
This is correct. You may need to review how your Satellite Deco nodes are placed and if you can place them differently, to boost WiFi signal to these security cameras.
Also, it is possible that your security cameras have problems not with the weak WiFi signal, but with their inability to handle WiFi mesh. WiFi mesh technology uses new protocols that might confuse older cameras and other IoT devices. For example, WiFi mesh may tell security camera connect to different WiFi node, if security camera does not understand that it might disconnect briefly instead.
If your security cameras report WiFi signal strength, you'll know where the problem is. If not, you may wish to install WiFi analyzer app on smartphone and measure WiFi signal levels at each of you cameras. That'll clarify where the issue is.
For WiFi analyzer app I would recommend WiFiman from Ubiquiti. It is free app, not overloaded with unnecessary info and with minimum if at all ads. It can be found in Android and Apple app stores.
When measuring WiFi signal, at every location toggle off/on WiFi on smartphone first to force it rescan WiFi networks and provide you correct readings for the place you are standing at. Then, check what it says for Deco SSID.
See this picture for reference of what is considered good (and not so good) WiFi signal:
Below is app main screen from my Android smartphone. It has "Scan" at the bottom, also at the top it has SSID of WiFi network my smartphone is connected to (I redacted it for privacy reasons), WiFi band (WiFi 5 in my case) and signal strength of that connection (-53 dBm).
If your screen does not have that either, perhaps an app needs permissions to access that info you didn't grant to it.
It is not a big deal: if you can't figure how to make that app work, try different WiFi analyzer from app store - there should be plenty to choose from. All you need from WiFi analyzer is tell you which WiFi band it is using to connect and its signal strength.
