Z7+ and a Wifi dongle

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    I have just moved a Z7+ into a back room, only to find out that the wifi is terrible on them, The box is still in good nick, working with Media Centre and MOL1. But now in the backroom, She's struggling to connect to anything.

    I have tried three different dongles. Most recently this one as it is an RTL8188EUS (first on the list) but they don't seem to connect. I put them in to the USB 3 port and rebooted the box, but nothing. Is there something else that I need to do to get it working?

    Hi,
    From what you describe, the issue is very likely Wi-Fi coverage rather than the box itself.

    The Z7+ uses old Wi-Fi standards (802.11 b/g/n, 2.4 GHz only) with an internal antenna. This works reasonably well when the box is close to the router, but once you move it to another room,especially through several walls, the signal drops very quickly.

    Regarding the USB Wi-Fi dongles:
    Even with compatible chipsets, a dongle won’t make a big difference if the router is too far away. The limitation is mainly the distance, walls, and the quality of the original Wi-Fi signal. So unfortunately, changing dongles usually doesn’t solve this kind of problem.

    Best solution if possible:
    Use a wired Ethernet (RJ45) connection, which will be far more stable and reliable.

    If running a long Ethernet cable isn’t practical, there is a good alternative:
    Powerline adapters (CPL), they use the electrical wiring in the house to provide an Ethernet connection in rooms far away from the router. This is often much more stable than Wi-Fi for devices.

    So in short:
    • The box itself is fine
    • Wi-Fi performance is limited by its age and internal antenna
    • A dongle alone won’t help much if the router is too far away
    • Ethernet (direct or via CPL) is the recommended solution

    Hope this helps 👍