Wi-fi extenders never did much for me either... thick walls just eat signal for breakfast.
Man, I hear you on that. Tried a couple different extenders and it was like throwing money down the drain—signal barely made it past the hallway. I ended up running ethernet along the baseboards too, just like you said. Not pretty, but way cheaper than hiring someone to fish wires through plaster. Honestly, I’ll take a visible cable over dead zones any day.
Totally get where you’re coming from. I tried those “plug and play” extenders too and honestly, it felt like the signal just gave up halfway through the house. This bit really hit home:
I’ll take a visible cable over dead zones any day.
Same here. I ended up tacking ethernet along the edge of the stairs—doesn’t look amazing, but at least I can actually stream in the back room now. Sometimes you just have to pick function over looks, especially with older houses. Maybe one day I’ll get around to hiding the wires better, but for now, I’m just happy everything works. Thick walls are no joke... makes you appreciate every bar of wifi you can get.
Yeah, I hear you on the thick walls—mine are basically wifi kryptonite. I’ve thought about running cable through the crawl space, but honestly, the idea of crawling around down there isn’t super appealing. Has anyone tried those mesh wifi systems in an old house? I keep seeing ads, but not sure if they’re worth the price or just more hype. Curious if anyone’s had better luck with those compared to extenders or just sticking with good old ethernet.
Mesh wifi gets hyped a lot, but honestly, in my 1920s place with walls thicker than my patience, it was just... meh. The signal still struggled across rooms. Ethernet’s a pain to install, but it’s the only thing that actually worked for me. Extenders just felt like putting a bandaid on a broken leg.
Extenders just felt like putting a bandaid on a broken leg.
That’s the most accurate description I’ve heard. I tried mesh in my old craftsman and, yeah, those walls just eat signals for breakfast. Running ethernet was a pain (crawling through the basement with dust bunnies for company) but once it was done, it was like night and day. Sometimes the “old school” way is the only way, even if it means a few patched holes and creative cable runs. You made the right call—nothing beats reliability, even if it’s not glamorous.