Can I have two separate wifi routers connected to separate internet providers in the same house?

Question

I have a slow internet connection. (most likely due to the 6 other people connected to the same wifi in my house) And I would Like to know if it’s wise to have another internet provider, and separate router in my house solely for gaming.

I’d have my console and gaming pc connected to the new router/isp (the “solely for gaming” one) and my other devices, along with the rest of the household connected to the old one. (the one I'm Attempting to escape)

Would I be affording myself a faster connection? Or will this cause more grief, than good? Will it even work?

Solution 1

The first thing you should consider is the fact that an internet service provider and a wireless router are not necessarily connected.

An internet service provider (ISP) is the company you pay for internet access. An example of an ISP is Comcast or AT&T.

A wireless router (Typically a router which is a device that routes traffic from one network to another combined with a wireless access point) is a device used to give users wireless access to a Wide Area Network (WAN).

You could have one ISP and multiple routers, this is not advisable because having multiple wireless routers in a small area will likely result in interference which will result in a WORSE signal as opposed to a better one.

From the details you have provided, it's impossible to determine whether you need a better wireless router or ISP because you have not provided the bandwidth allowed by your ISP, this is the maximum speed you can have divided among all users connected to your network.

If you have an ISP that allows 50mb/s up and 10mb/s down and it is being completely taken by all users on your network, you might want to get a better ISP or a better plan from that ISP. If you have an ISP that allows 150mb/s up and 20mb/s down but your router can't provide more than 100mb/s up or down, you might need a better router.

Regardless of whether the problem is in your router or ISP, it would be a much better idea to use a wired connection to your console or computer because you will eliminate any possible issues with connection strength or interference from obstructions or devices between your devices and the access point. A modern ethernet card and cord (cat5+) will also typically allow speeds of 100mbps-1gbps at an almost non-existent latency compared to a few ms on a good wireless connection and several ms on a bad wireless connection.

Solution 2

Yes, you absolutely can have two separate connections in your house.

With the two separate wireless routers you would need to set them on non-overlapping channels and you will be fine.

I think you may be confusing speed, (i.e bandwidth) with latency. So, the real question here is if you actually are in need of more bandwidth, or if you just need to setup QOS on the connection you do have to designate different traffic priority. I.e gaming traffic has priority over web/Netflix/YouTube/p2p.

If you actually are maxing out your connection, upgrading your account through your ISP and enabling qos to deal with latency would be the more cost effective solution.

You didn't post what your router make/model was, so I can't give you any direction on qos without it.

It would really be a separate question to ask with separate necessary info.

Hope this helps.

Comments

[acejavelin]

Technically, as long as there is sufficient channel separation and isn't too much non-802.11 interference, it should work fine. But there is no reason that number of users couldn't use one internet connection and a quality wireless router... Unless your Internet connection is garbage. Do not confuse "Internet" service with WiFi, they are two distinctly different things.

[MichaelEvanchik]

they most likely will both use the nearest local major switch and both isp's going through the same neighborhood router

[LPChip]

As pointed out by others, it is far more likely that the problem you are experiencing is due to WiFi, rather than the internet connection itself. You would therefor do good to connect your gaming pc with a LAN cable first to investigate if your problem really is the ISP or only related to poor WiFi.