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[Grildon Tundy]

My parents are looking to get a wi-fi booster so they can work from outside and still have a strong connection. I haven't kept up with the latest and greatest so thought I'd ask here.

They're also cutting the cord on DirectTv, but want to be able to record local TV after.

Does anyone have any recommendations for either of those? Thanks in advance

 

[Rentahamster]

If possible, I'd rather just install a mesh wifi network instead. Wi-fi boosters are old tech.

 

[SlimySnake]

Wifi boosters are awful. Dont waste their money.

Just tell them to buy faster internet, better ranged wifi routers or a mesh network.

 

[Dural]

They're also cutting the cord on DirectTv, but want to be able to record local TV after.

Does anyone have any recommendations for either of those? Thanks in advance

For recording local TV, they could get a Tivo. I used one for years and loved it. They might be able to find a used one with the lifetime subscription for cheap off ebay. Otherwise you can also go the PC route for recording, but that's way more complex and I wouldn't recommend unless you're savvy with PCs.

 

[Patrick S.]

Set up a mesh.

I needed better Wi-Fi at a remote point in the house but didn't have a device on hand that could mesh with my router, so I just grabbed a Unifi Access Point from work and set up a second Wi-Fi network with a different SSID, and my mobile devices just switch to that Wi-Fi as it gets stronger than the main network.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

Thanks guys, this has already been really helpful.

Any mesh brands you prefer? Google looks good and cheap, but that's probably because they're collecting your data.

Didn't realize OTA DVRs can go as low as like $30 these days.

 

[Mistake]

Depends how old your setup is. I’d probably get a newer router to make things less confusing. Some of them go crazy distances now

 

[JCK75]

Boosters suck, replace router with something like nest wifi that will easily let you create a mesh network.

 

[Rentahamster]

Thanks guys, this has already been really helpful.

Any mesh brands you prefer? Google looks good and cheap, but that's probably because they're collecting your data.

This isn't an endorsement of any of the products in the videos, but Linus has some informative videos on what mesh wifi is, and why it's helpful.








I have installed Google's mesh wifi system in friends' homes and while you are correct about the privacy concerns, there are ways to turn off most of the "advanced" features. At the end of the day, however, all of these potential solutions are going to have some element of privacy concern. Hell, even your parents' current system isn't completely anonymous. If you already have Google accounts, there isn't much more they're going to learn from your wifi network that they don't already know about you already.