Increased demand in internet/WiFi USAGE - issues???

[Jess118]

How are other hosts (especially in California, USA) handling the increased demand in internet / WiFi USAGE?

My internet is robust and for "normal usage" has no problems. However, currently guests are mainly using my home for remote WORK / SCHOOL. Guests will commonly have 20 - 50+ connected devices and report intermittent drops in WiFi. 

When I've contacted my provider, I am always assured that there is no problem with my service or my gateway (modem / router). 

The solution from the tech community seems to be to ADD WiFi EXTENDERS. However, this is then an added cost (e.g.  Mesh WiFi systems can be $ 300- $ 1000).

How have any of you navigated this change in Internet / WiFi demand?

Do you pass the cost of the extenders onto guests?

Do you ask guests to provide their own WiFi extension devices?

I welcome your suggestions / advice.

Thank you!

-Jess

[Siegfried20]

Holy c*ap, 20 to 50 devices ??? Let's see now, everyone has a smartphone but the majority of people who rent on AirBnB do not have computers or tablets. So 20 to 50 devices would mean on average 20 to 50 guests ... which then would mean that you should be rolling in dough if you have that many guests ... and that in turn means that from what I can tell, you're juszt being very cheap with your unwillingness to add mesh extenders. Sorry, I know that's a bit rough, but c'mon now, really? 20 to 50 devices and you don't think that you should invest a little bit more for better access?

Might it be cheaper to just get another ISP account with a second or even a third router, followed by creating 10 - 15 guest accounts per router, which can then be spilt up into groups of user accounts for varying numbers of guests? Sure, that's a bit of a PITA, but it would only be a one time thing. Once everything is set up correctly, that's it and you're done. Seriously though, with that many guests money for a little re-investing shouldn't be an issue (methinks).

PS:  The problem with extenders is that each extender isn't a great solution (we've experienced numerous problems with them) and that they need to be located close to the source that's using the extender, without being too far away from the router. Mesh would indeed be a better choice.

We use a Passthrough Powerline AC Extender which provides power WiFi power literally through the electric wall outlet, (Extender must be on the same circuits as the electric fuse panel of the residence with the router). These are totally reliable. It has LAN  Ports as well as Wireless access. But because of the cost and the fact that the extender needs to be pretty much in the same location as the guest suite, we have that device locked into cabinet in order to make sure that it doesn't get stolen.

And no, why would you ask your guests to provide their own WiFi? I've never heard of any host doing that. It's a service which helps to bring you customers so it obviously benefits you to have that service! And again no, why would you roll the cost of hardware devices over to your guests? Hardware devices are generally a single time cost ... an investment ... which benefits you and helps you to make more money with more guests.
Once you get it all set up, you're finished.
Why should guests continue to pay for that?
Wouldn't it be possible that by raising the price you'll end up with fewer guests?

[Ute42]

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@Jess118 

You may soon notice that admin @Anna  is moving Your thread from the german Comminity Center where You've posted it to the english CC.

You are renting a place that sleeps 7 guests and they want to connect up to 50 devices to You wifi router? Oh boy, that's way over the top. I see no obligation for You to provide a technical setup to handle that. Guests with such requirements should rent an office space as it can be found on „we work“.

https://www.spacesworks.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw2Jb7BRBHEiwAXTR4jTNVZyGlwBFTNLD8Z2E20-p3PuG9WjFFnerocFa7b...

And I'm not sure if they will provide access for 50 devices under one rental contract. And if so, it may be costly.

[Siegfried20]

This whole posting is very strange. If it's only one rental with up to seven guests ... how do 7 guests requires 20 to 50 wifi connections? That's completely absurd ....

@Ute42 
Kann es sein das er 7 Mietwohnungen im gleichen Gebäude hat? Das gibt es doch gar nicht, das 7 Gäste soviel Geräte für das Internet benötigen? Wir haben auch unser Gesamtes Zwei Familien Haus mit Computer & WiFi für Handys verkabelt, kommen aber auch nur bei höchstens 6 Geräte an die praktisch immer den Zugang verwenden. Maximal können es sporadisch mal 10 Geräte sein, aber auch das ist bis jetzt in 2 Jahren nur einmal vorgekommen. Wenn es 7 Wohnungen im gleichen Gebäude wären, dann sollte der Kerl bei soviel verdienter Kohle gefälligst ein wenig mehr Geld investieren damit es keine Signal-Abgänge gibt. Gehört sich doch einfach so, wenn man mit so vielen Gäste immer tüchtig Kohle verdient (finde ich jedenfalls).

[Ute42]

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@Siegfried20 

Das ist ein Haus für 7 Gäste,  das sind keine einzelnen Unterkünfte. Da sind 50 Geräte am wifi schon ein bißchen viel, das ist ja auch deine Meinung.

[Huma0]

Yep, I don't get it at all. How is 20-50 devices possible? My guests are also mostly working or studying from home these days. They have smartphones and laptops and that's it.

I have had issues. Since I switched my Internet provider about three years ago, I've had fast and reliable broadband, so I put away the extenders. The only time a guest reported a problem, it turned out to be something wrong with her phone.

Then, at the beginning of lockdown, I had a long-term guest working from home who needed a super reliable connection. He complained one day of the WiFi cutting out. I rebooted it and then everything was fine for the rest of his stay.

However, the other day, another long-term guest told me he was getting patchy WiFi. He's very practical and self-sufficient so had already bought and installed an extender. I wish he had mentioned it earlier as I had extenders he could have used. A couple of days later, another guest mentioned the WiFi is patchy in her room. I can't see how I can add another extender to connect to her room.

So, I am not sure what is going on. I am having no issues at all with it and I work from home too. I have rebooted it, but not sure what solution there is. I am not that tech savvy unfortunately and Mesh seems like an expensive option for my small-scale Airbnb. What to do?

[Siegfried20]

I'm not sure what kind of Extender you're using, but there are cheap 15 to 30 Euro/Pound Extenders, and then there are the AC extenders which actually route the signal through your electrial lines. The AC extenders are expensive when you buy the first one since you have to purchase the base unit with the extender in order to work with your router. Once you have them set up though, you can buy the additional single piece (matching) extenders for around 65 Euro/Pounds or so each. They work as good as having a separate router in the other room or apartment, with user & password, etc.
We have one of them running in a barn that's located apx. 20 Meters away from the router in our home. But since the router is connected to the same electrical circuit as the barn, this works absolutely wonderful ... even when you have 5 solid stone walls in between (since the Wifi & LAN signal is actually being pulled from the electric circuit).
Those are called AC extenders because they extend the signal via AC circuits.
To my knowledge you can have as many as 6 units running together.
You do have to have your original router though, that's still required as well.

[Huma0]

@Siegfried20 

Thanks for you response. The extenders I have are the AC ones you describe which work via the electrical lines. They weren't cheap. I think the ones the guest bought are the same type but probably a different brand. I am not sure that the they will work together.

So, it seems like the solution would be to buy additional units either for the ones I bought or the ones he bought. I'll certainly give that a try if the problem persists.

First, I'm going to contact my Internet provider as my WiFi isn't cheap and it was never a problem before. Hopefully they can do something about it.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

As a family of 4 I was stunned when my ISP told me we had 14 devices connected. Turns out it was  5 phones, 4 computers, an iPad , 2 central heating boilers and 2 watches.

In today's world it soon adds up!

[Debra300]

@Jess118,

I hope all is getting better in my home town, Oakland.  I work in technology, and have been working from home for the better part of the past 8 years.  If I still have to work when I travel, I bring my personal laptop, my work laptop, a Firestick, a PC stick, my work phone, my USA phone and my St. Lucia phone.  My husband will bring his laptop, his USA phone and St. Lucia phone.  That's 10 internet devices between just the two of us.  Whenever I stay somewhere I ask about the reliability of the service and if the bandwidth can accommodate video meetings.

I know that we utilize a lot of bandwidth, and thought it's likely that my guests would also, we purchased the higher network speed, and invested in an Orbi whole home mesh system a couple of years ago.  It's been much easier to manager than a router with extenders.  It costs about $500 USD, but I've had guests stay with me while working from home, and none have had bandwidth issues.  The only complaints about the internet are when the service has temporarily gone out (that's out of my control).

[Siegfried20]

Well, we've found that the best results with AC extenders is when you're using name brand as opposed to generic ones, and more importantly for third party users, when the AC extenders are matching to the base unit, as opposed to "other" brands.
What we really like about our AC extenders from TP-Link (AV1300 plus Gigabit) is the fact that numerous devices can be on one extender via WiFi as well as 3 additional LAN ports. Another nice thing about using multiple extenders is the fact that you don't have to buy them all at once which can be rather costly. We started out with the base unit plus 2 extenders (base + 1 + 1 extra), followed by adding another one 6 months later and yet a fourth one about 3 months after that.

One of the things to look out for is what you're buying and what you're combining though. For example, if your extenders have WiFi N/AC connections at 600 mbps, that's normally for one device. So when you're using 5 or 6 WiFi devices on a single extender, that will certainly have an impact on your available speed. You also need to make sure that you have an excellent Router that's able to handle top performing extenders, in order to recognize those extenders quickly & easily.

On a side note for all of those out of the home workers ...
We've also worked out of the home with computers, multiple logins, tunnels, etc. for many years. Nothing but nothing is more secure than a LAN connection as opposed to a WiFi connection. No dropped connections, better stability, and most important of all, better security. The only time that we ever use WiFi on our computers is when we have no other choice. Just saying ....

Interesting, the person who started this thread never even bothered to respond.

[Huma0]

@Siegfried20 

Thanks for the advice. The extenders I bought are TP-link, but I am not sure of the speed. I bought them a while ago and can't even find the manual now or remember how to activate them as I never needed them after I switched service provider. I have no idea what brand the extenders my guest bought are so will  need to double check. If TP-link, then I guess they might work with mine? If not, then I will look into getting additional TP link ones. At the moment, I only have one kit which allows me to plug it into only one guest room.

[Siegfried20]

If your router is located in the same house as the guest room, then you probably don't even need an extender. Most modern newer (3 years old or newer) routers have no problem covering all of the rooms within a home / single or even two family home.

Those routers often have the ability to create a guest account for WiFi access ... complete with a separate user name and a separate password. It's literally a second and completely separate connection which will not interfere with your own connection that you've been using all along. That's what we did for a tiny little student apartment which we built over our garage this year. The router is located about 6 or 7 Meters away from the apartment with 3 walls in between, but the apartment still recveives a decent signal. We created a guest account in our router so that anyone in the apartment can use that account exclusively. The AC extenders are normally only needed for larger distances where it's practical to enhance the signal strength as well as stability ... like in our barn which is 20 meters away from our router.   😉