How do I get wired internet upstairs when the router is downstairs?
By Jon Grant, Manchester Home Networking. Updated .
Short answer
There are four real options. Move the router, use powerline adapters, use mesh with a wired link between units, or run a cable. Only a cable gives an upstairs room the full, steady connection, and it doesn't have to go through the house.
The four options
| Option | Rough cost | What you get upstairs | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move the router | Free to a provider’s call-out fee | Better wifi upstairs, worse downstairs | The router has to sit where the fibre comes in, unless a cable runs from there anyway |
| Powerline adapters | £60 to £120 | Anything from decent to useless | Depends entirely on your house’s wiring |
| Mesh | £400 to £600 | Good coverage, patchy speed at the far end | The units still talk to each other over wifi |
| A cable | From £450 | The full speed of your broadband, all day | Someone has to run it |
Can I just move the router?
Sometimes. With full fibre, the router plugs into the box where the fibre comes into the house, usually by the front door. Moving it upstairs means either a longer cable from that box, which is the same job as running a cable anyway, or paying your provider to move the fibre point.
Do powerline adapters work?
They send the internet through your electrical wiring. In some houses they’re fine. In others the two sockets are on different circuits, or the wiring is old, and the speed drops to a fraction or the connection comes and goes. You won’t know until you’ve bought a pair and tried.
What about mesh?
Mesh spreads wifi around the house with several units, and it fixes dead spots well. It can’t fix the link between the units, which still runs over wifi through the same walls and floors. The unit upstairs can only pass on what reaches it. In my house, the back bedroom still dropped calls with a three-unit mesh.
Why a cable?
A cable doesn’t care about walls, floors, tiles or the neighbours’ wifi. You get the speed you pay for at the socket, and it stays steady, which matters more than the headline number when you’re on a video call.
The usual objection is mess. Indoors it does mean lifting floorboards or cutting into walls. We run it round the outside instead, so nothing inside needs making good. Running ethernet cable outside a house explains how that works and whether your house suits it.
What I did
My router is in the front room and I work in the back bedroom. For six months I logged my connection twice a minute. It stalled or dropped out most days, usually mid-call. A cable round the outside fixed it. That’s why we now do it for other people.
Want to know if it works at your house?
The survey is free and takes about half an hour. You get a fixed price in writing, or an honest no.