Do routers lose wifi broadcast range?  

Hi guys.

My router is located in my conservatory, built onto the side of my house. Effectively, this was outside the house before I built it.
For the past 3 years it has supplied my conservatory PC, printer, scanner and the main lounge TV perfectly well.
It has also supplied my other PC, upstairs in an office / bedroom via wifi to a usb dongle on the other PC.
Lately, I've been losing signal and now have wifi upstairs which is too poor to work at all.
I downloaded a signal strength meter onto my phone,
Check the best WiFi analyzer apps for Android
It shows that I really do have dreadful signal strength upstairs at -70dB compared to -25dB standing next to the router.

I have 2 options:
I can move the router to a different place in the house (not easy because I use Cat5 cables for the conservatory PC and it's peripherals
I can try a brand new router that the ISP sent me last time I renewed my subscription (but it might mean changing the passwords on everything.

What do you advise, please?

You don't have to change the password on everything. Just make the new router have the same exact SSID and password as the old one. Been there, done that. Of course you must turn the old router off after you do this - so only one router should be on if same SSID being used.

Thanks mate, I'll try that then.
By the way, when you changed yours, what benefit did it give you?

sean5302 said:

Thanks mate, I'll try that then.
By the way, when you changed yours, what benefit did it give you?

In my case I was adding more routers to extend coverage area - I added a pair of Orbi routers to my existing network to improve upstairs coverage. You might want to look into this too to increase range wirelessly Wifi Mesh Network - WiFi 6 Mesh System | NETGEAR if your yet to be tested router doesn't float your boat

Another thing to do is log into your existing router and see if there's an option to crank up the power Some routers have that feature

Also check to see if there's newer firmware available for your routers

I looked on Youtube about using a second router to increase coverage.
It looks a bit complicated setting IP addresses and suchlike, but I have all the hardware here.
It just seems strange that the router has worked fine for a few years and now it doesn't seem to be sending much wifi out.

Check that the cables are on snugly and the antenna is on properly.

You could try reorienting the antennae if they are adjustable. I suppose it's possible that the transmitter electronics is tired and wearing out.

There isn't an antenna.
The router is technicolor tg589vg vac v2
I haven't accessed it via its IP address so I don't know what version firmware it's using.

sean5302 said:

There isn't an antenna.
The router is technicolor tg589vg vac v2
I haven't accessed it via its IP address so I don't know what version firmware it's using.

Find a manual on the internet and try to log into it.

Next try the 2nd router by itself after you find the manual and figure out how to change the SSID and password. If that doesn't fix it, we can investigate other more involved options.