Start from where you watch
The usual approach is to start at the router and see how far the signal reaches. Reversing that is more useful.
List the places television actually happens — living room, bedroom, perhaps a kitchen — and rank them. The main television is the one that matters; a phone in the garden is not worth designing around. Everything else follows from getting that first location right.
This matters because live television is the least forgiving thing on your network, for reasons set out in Ethernet vs Wi-Fi for IPTV. Designing around the hardest case means everything else is comfortable.
Where the router should go
Routers are almost always installed where the line enters the property, which is a wiring decision rather than a network one. It is frequently the worst position in the house — a hallway cupboard, a corner, behind a door.
Two options if that location is poor.
Move the router. An engineer can relocate the master socket, or a short extension of the incoming line can reach a better spot. This is the cleanest fix and the one people consider last.
Leave it and add a second point. Run one cable from the router to a better-placed access point and let that serve the house. Often easier than moving the line, and it puts a strong signal where people actually sit.
If neither is possible, position matters even within a cupboard — high rather than low, door open rather than shut, clear of metal.
Decide what gets a cable
You do not need to wire the house. You need to wire the things that care.
- The main television. Almost always worth it. It never moves, and it runs the most demanding traffic.
- A second access point, if you are adding one. A mesh node fed by cable is dramatically better than one relaying wirelessly.
- A desktop or games console, if either sits near a run you are already making.
Everything else — phones, tablets, speakers, smart plugs — belongs on Wi-Fi and always will. Wiring them adds nothing.
A useful principle: one cable to the right place beats three to the wrong places.
Getting a cable there without rewiring
The obstacle is rarely the cable and usually the route. In order of preference:
A direct run
Under carpet edges, along skirting, through an existing hole between floors. Flat Ethernet cable is designed for this and disappears under a carpet gripper.
Through existing infrastructure
Many houses have redundant coaxial or telephone runs between rooms. Where one exists, it can often be used to pull an Ethernet cable through.
Powerline
Data over the mains wiring. Genuinely useful, but performance depends on the circuit — best when both adapters are on the same ring, poor across a consumer unit. Test before committing, and see when a wired connection is worse than Wi-Fi for the failure modes.
A mesh node with an Ethernet port
Not a cable, but the next best thing: a short strong wireless hop to a node near the television, then a cable for the final metre.
Renting, and what you can do without drilling
Most of the above assumes you can make holes. If not, the options narrow but do not disappear.
- Reposition rather than rebuild. Moving a router onto a shelf and out of a cupboard needs no permission.
- Flat cable under carpet edges and around door frames, held with removable clips, leaves no marks.
- Powerline requires nothing structural at all.
- Mesh is entirely reversible and moves with you.
Prioritise the one television that matters and accept Wi-Fi elsewhere. That single improvement usually resolves the complaint.
Plan for the evening, not the afternoon
A network that behaves at three in the afternoon tells you very little. The design question is what happens when everyone is home, several devices are active and the street is busy.
Two habits help. Keep the television on a wired connection or the 5 GHz band so it is not competing with everything else on the crowded band, as described in Wi-Fi optimisation for IPTV. And move anything that transfers large amounts — backups, downloads, cloud sync — to overnight.
Neither costs anything, and together they resolve more evening problems than new hardware does.
A workable order
- Identify the one location that matters most.
- Improve the router's position if it is genuinely poor.
- Get a cable to that one location if you can, by any of the routes above.
- If you cannot, put a mesh node between router and television.
- Split the Wi-Fi bands and keep the television on 5 GHz.
- Move heavy transfers to overnight.
- Only then consider new hardware.
For the separate question of how fast a connection you need, see what internet speed you need for IPTV.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to wire my whole house for IPTV?
No. Wiring the main television and any additional access point covers almost everything that matters. Phones, tablets and smart-home devices belong on Wi-Fi and gain nothing from a cable.
Where is the best place for a router?
As central as the wiring allows, out in the open and raised off the floor. The point where the line enters is a wiring decision, not a network one, and is often the worst position in the house.
Can I improve my network in a rented flat?
Yes. Repositioning the router, flat cable run under carpet edges, powerline adapters and mesh nodes are all reversible and need no drilling.
Should I buy a mesh system or run a cable?
A cable to the main television is more reliable and cheaper. Mesh is the better answer when a cable is genuinely impossible, and a mesh node fed by cable is better than one relaying wirelessly.