I hate reading endless nerd forums regarding this topic so figured I'd ask here. Situation: wireless router upstairs transmits a good signal throughout the main floor and most of the basement. The signal is lost when in the back basement bedroom. Besides moving the location of the router (which I can't) what do you guys think are my alternatives? I've researched antennas, extenders, router to router setups but haven't decided on one good solution I want to commit too.
how dense is the wireless network popluation in your area? It may be interference from 2.4Ghz range devices more than it's just a range issue. I'm struggling with about 12 ssids within range of my router, and they're all annoying, channel hopping ****s. Soooo many error packets it's not even funny. Repeaters suck, because they can effectively half your bandwith when you're connected to 'em. Any chance you can run a Cat5 cable from the top to the bottom, and add another AP?
I was in a similar situation, I went to microcenter and picked up a wireless usb adapter that was "n" and had an antenna sticking out of it. It definitely helped. You could also try an antenna on the router too if it has a spot for it. Just make sure you're antennas are pointing in the same direction ex. Router antenna is pointing up then make sure the other antenna is also pointing up. Wireless G can still transfer more than what companies can offer as far as bandwitdth goes but "N" will give a stronger signal and a lot more bandwidth. What devices are you trying to connect?
Get off B and/or G if you can help it. I had good luck with switching routers too. Picked up a Netgear WNDR4500 N900 and all was right with the world again. Almost frightening decrease in signal attenuation. It's a beast in both form factor and price, but there is a good reason for it. I had reasonable luck setting up my old linksys as a wireless bridge with OpenWRT as well. It's true you'll take a bandwidth hit, but frankly even at half of available throughput a lot of people won't come anywhere close to pegging their capacity when it comes to "internet" traffic. You'll notice with internal activities, like transferring large files between computers connected to your home network.
The router is old and I don't believe it's N capable. Running a cat5 isn't a possibility either. There are no electrical devices in between router and device being used in the certain room. The devices being used are tablets and smartphones so can't use an external signal receiver. I think it's the building itself dampening the signal because devices only pickup about 3-4 other ssid's. maybe upgrading the router is the only rational way to solve the issue.
The router is old and I don't believe it's N capable. Running a cat5 isn't a possibility either. There are no electrical devices in between router and device being used in the certain room. The devices being used are tablets and smartphones so can't use an external signal receiver. I think it's the building itself dampening the signal because devices only pickup about 3-4 other ssid's. maybe upgrading the router is the only rational way to solve the issue.
From the sounds of it most of the devices you are trying to connect with are N capable. I would strongly recommend upgrading to an N router as well I would have to bet that will solve your problem.Your distance is ofcourse relevant, how far are we talking from router to basement bedroom?
Distance isn't the issue it's only about 20-25 ft. It's the obstructions that are the issue. I'll recommend they buy a new N router if they really want. Thanks for the help!
Dear god... N DOES NOT INCREASE RANGE. N increases throughput at range. If there's no signal, there's no signal. If it's really weak, but not due to interference you may get a bit more speed or more reliability. if you have an android device, install Wifi Analyzer. It has a great function for helping you pick which channel your router should be on. That alone can help alot. beyond that, a high-power router may help. moving to N can't hurt, but it's no silver bullet to range issues. beyond that, if you can't run a wire, a repeater is your last option. for that, you definitely want to move to N for the added throughput, as a repeater pretty effectively halves your available bandwidth. so 54 goes to 26, is noticeable... 300 to 150 is less.
Install dd-wrt, and if you don't end up bricking your router, you can turn up the power through one of your new settings.
Yes, but a newer N router likely has 2 or 3 radios and antennas versus an older G router which probably has one. Also, depending on the router placement in the house and whether it can accept a different external antenna, a directional antenna may be better than an omnidirectional.
Honestly, I've never seen a single band, multi-radio access point. I think a lot of people are mixing up radios with antennas. Yes. N devices usually have 3 or more antennas, which can help thanks to switching, but putting more radios in the same box doesn't really make sense if they're all on the same band.This is the same for SSIDs. you can have multiple SSIDs on a single radio. If you know of one, i'd love to see it, but it just seems that putting two radios in a single device would generate more interference at the point of origin. just feedback like putting mics next to speakers. Now, there are some routers that do have two radios on board, but for very different purposes. one will be operating on the B/G frequency set of 2.4Ghz, and the other will be running on the A freq set of 5Ghz. both bands can use "N" spec for throughput, but having both bands present does not increase the range or throughput of either band, but gives you the option to use the less populated freq for better clarity. People love doing this, but it's very limited in it's benefits, especially if you're just using the stock antennas. Remember, it's a 2 way street. While you can amp up the output, and may "see" a better signal at the device, you may not gain any throughput or stability as the radio in your end device will not magically have an increased output to match it.
Here's the deal. It has two antennas (both omnidirectional). Can I attempt the home remedy of making them directional antennas facing towards the room without a signal and if I do this will signal strength be less on the opposite side of the antennas? The router is by the modem in the living room upstairs and the room without signal is on the opposite side of the townhouse on the level below. The router is centrally placed on the main floor. I think I'll try as its not my router or devices therefore its not my money to spend to upgrade network devices. It will be fun to try and get what I can out of the cheap router right? This whole thread was very informative that's for sure.
Here, buy this: http://www.l-com.com/item.aspx?id=27246 I was able to steal internet from a hotel about a mile away with this thing, granted i was on top of a hill and was in line of sight. On a more serious note, yes, you will lose power with a directional antenna behind it, you only have some much power radiating from the antenna and if you focus it in one direction, there's going to be less in the opposite direction. Think of it like a light bulb and trying to use a reflector.
I recently took an old wrt54g linksys router and turned it into a access point for my network. I now have coverage pretty much all over the house where before the back of the house had 0 coverage. Basically turn off DHCP service on the 2nd router. Give it the same IP address range as the main router and set up the wifi the same as your main router. Your devices should jump from your main router to the one you turned into an access point as needed.
So I thought I needed a cross-over cable to connect the routers, but I guess thats old news? From what I've read the newer routers can translate the signal using a straight through cable. Do you know what you used? I don't want to run a cable through the wall that isn't going to work.
Regular cat5. Before you run something in your wall make sure you hook it all up fully configured to test.
