Trying to get internet in my basement

I have 2 story house with a basement. So I'm moving my gaming PC set up from a very hot upstairs room to my super cold basement. Meaning that, right now, the modem is 3 floors above the basement. However, the modem I have is connected in that upstairs room and then plugged into the PC. The signal strength in the basement right now, with the modem upstairs, is alright. I mean I can stream videos and stuff but I wouldn't play online downstairs. The reverse is true as well. If I bring the existing modem into the basement, then the bedrooms will have shitty reception.

What would be the solution here? Should I get a second modem just for the ethernet cord only and use that in the basement and leave the existing modem where it is? How would you do it?

A power line adapter is probably the cheapest option for you, but if that’s not an option, I highly recommend the Google branded mesh networks. They aren’t crazy expensive and they work really well to extend your range.

I have the Google Wifi stuff, it's great -- however! The new version of these ("Nest Wifi" I guess), is not as good apparently. So, maybe do some research if you're getting new mesh routers.

The theory with mesh routers is that you have a bunch of them spread out over your house, and each adjust its signal strength dynamically based on the devices connected to them. This means you have much less interference between devices. Even so, I installed ethernet cables to all the rooms with one of the Google Wifi access points to get the best performance out of them :)

I can't recommend a powerline adapter enough

I used a pair of powerline adapters in my last place, they were pretty good but ethernet is faster and more stable(And if you can figure out a way to snake an ethernet from router to your basement, it can be the cheapest option).

I have my last modem that's maybe 2 or 3 years old which I was planning on just plugging in and connecting to my PC.

I really like my powerline setup I have in my house. I use the D-Link AV2 2000 gigabit line. (I started way back in my last home with the 300kbps ones, back in the early 2000s; I have upgraded twice since then to faster model lines but always stuck with the D-Link setups)

These power line adapter things sound perfect actually. But how do they work? They pickup the wifi and you can plug in the Ethernet cable into it? Or is it the reverse where each one has to be plugged in with an Ethernet cable?

The second, it would go router -> (ethernet) -> powerline -> (home wiring)-> powerline -> (ethernet) -> PC.

If you do go powerline, make sure to keep a receipt. It's dependant on your home's wiring. Both in terms of speed and it working altogether.

i do think the quality of a powerline connection heavily depends on the wiring in your home. If you're living in a house from the 40's, you might not have a great time. I've also heard stories from people that one wallsocket can be dodgy, while another socket performs great. But if you're living in a fairly modern place, it probably performs quite well. But yeah, a decent accesspoint could do the job as well.

So, the one I had I connected the cable modem & router to one adapter via ethernet and plugged the powerline adapter into the power socket. Then, I connected the other powerline adapter to another power socket, and while there was some software to admin it, they synced via a button and a flashing light on each adapter. The adapters had an ethernet port on each one to which I could have added a wireless router to add WiFi to the terminal end(But there are other models of powerline adapter that have built-in WiFi)so barring any sync issues I could take the WiFi router and put it wherever and whenver I wanted to expand as needed. I think the amount of adapters in a network was expandable beyond the 2 units I was using but I didn't need it. Also, to repeat what @onemanarmyy said, when I read into what Powerline adapters were, I remember the main warning they came with was over the condition of people's home wiring.

But again, while the speeds I got were sub ethernet, they were often superior to the WiFi I had. Only problems I ever had were teething in setup, some occasional desync issues(About 5 in two years of use) and that I was paranoid about the heat they put out. Burned my toe once on it.

Thanks duders! Bought a well rated power line adapter x2 and it should be here by Friday. Seems perfect for what I need it for and the thought of not having to route coax under woodwork anytime I want to move the room around is a freaking godsend.

My house is only like 15 years old so Im not too worried about the wiring

Powerline ethernet effectively turns your home's electrical system in to a single wired ethernet system. You just have to have the adapters at every "endpoint": one at your modem/router, and then at the connection point of all of your devices you want to connect to it.

Some companies also have adapters with multiple ethernet ports for end points where you might want to connect a few devices (or you can use a simple an inexpensive gigabit ethernet switch to run the internet signal out to several devices).

My house has the dreaded 1970's aluminum wiring (which I have pigtailed to copper at every receptacle to solve the fire safety issues) plus a sub-panel to a few more recently renovated rooms all in copper, and powerline ethernet still works like a champ. In my experience, the modern D-Link ones I use needed the least futzing around to get them to work (though I imagine most of them nowadays are pretty plug & play; I originally tried another brand back in the 2000s and it was a pain in the butt)

I used a few powerline adapters in my parent's house. They're a better solution than wi-fi, but I do recommend plugging them directly into the wall and not on a power strip.

That's a great point - the documentation for many of these adapters specifically asks you not to plug the adapters into power strips or surge protectors of any kind.

Something I didn't realise: If you use a strip, only use other plugs that are mains stuff. As in, if you have something on the same strip that charges, you'll get 20% maybe. I used to use my Powerline Adapter on the strip that charged my phone and switch. I actually found out in a GB thread about how to fix it

Your milage may vary

Thanks for the tips. But the way our basement is set up, I won't have trouble getting to an outlet.

Burn the house down, use the insurance money to rebuild it with a better basement set up.

I'm interested in seeing if anyone has a new take on this. Powerline seems like a cool way to go. But I have noticed, my basement router reaches all the way up to my 2nd floor apartment, but only directly above, not in the back of the house. So maybe I can just put a mesh access point in my upstairs office and all will be well?

I still suggest powerline Ethernet to anyone who asks the question... I still think wired internet can't be beat and that powerline is the best way to get there if a) you do not have other connectivity options, and b) your electrical system plays well with it.

If you OWN the house, then I would create a proper network hub for the house. Everything else is just 'fooling around' unless fishing cables through the walls is impossible because the house is weird... or you can't afford it

If you own the house you might as well do it right. Pull two CAT-6 cables for each room you want to connect (might as well double up the runs if you are paying them to pull wires to a few rooms) A two story house might need four or five drops. So, spend then $900 to $1500 to have someone make a barebones wired network for the house.

I have my last modem that's maybe 5 or 6 years old which I was plugging in and connecting to my PC.