12-23-2012, 08:27 AM | #1 |
Tubby Viking
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I need to boost my WiFi...How?
We live in a brick terraced house, built in 1911. The seperating walls in the home are also brick.
We generally don't use the WiFi, I ran 20 meters of cable under the floor to connect to our XBox (as an example). Now yesterday I was sat in the Living Room (router is in the Dining Room about 5 meters away (behind a seperating wall) and I noticed our WiFi signal was rather poor on the tablets. Is there a cheap way of boosting our Wifi signal? We are Sky Broadband users (UK). Thanks. |
12-23-2012, 09:10 AM | #2 |
Grand Sorcerer
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Hmm. It would seem that a real advantage to a desktop PC is the ease of configuring a directional WiFi receiver antenna. I got one for my parents about two months ago (http://www.signalking.net/en/product...p?tid=6&id=122), and it's working great -- despite the strange-sounding advertising text in my link.
First make sure that you are using a different WiFi channel than your neighbors. I'm guessing that there is some utility built into the tablet that would allow checking competing signals, and a utility built into the router that lets you change the channel. If that doesn't work, I'm thinking you can't do anything more on the receiver side, since it is built into the tablet, and so need to boost the transmitter signal. This will likely be more expensive than a receiver-side solution. Here is a product that I haven't tried and that may or may not be marketed in the UK: http://www.netgear.com/about/press-r.../07232012.aspx P.S. It may also be possible to buy a cheap (Tenda brand is cheapest here and seems OK) router and configure as a repeater. Here is a LifeHacker page I can't vouch for: http://lifehacker.com/5563196/turn-y...wi+fi-repeater Last edited by SteveEisenberg; 12-23-2012 at 09:22 AM. |
12-23-2012, 09:14 AM | #3 |
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You need to look at your wireless router.
Does it have different settings? Short range. Long range. Boost. Does it have an external antenna? If so try moving it around. If not just move the router around. Can you move the router? i.e. Use that cable or another to move the router into the Living Room, or do you usually use your equipment in the Dining Room. Download some of the utilities like WiFi Analytics and others that give you a wifi power meter onto your tablet or other device and explore where the signal is strongest, and explore what moving the router around back in the Dining Room does. Check with the same devices to see if you are on a channel with interference from other devices, routers, etc. See if your router automatically switches channels to find the best, the least obstructed or interfered with channel. If you have access to your router antenna, you might want to put an extension on it, or a bigger antenna. Sometimes just a wire "near" the antenna will boost the signal. Be careful here, you don't want to mess up your router. Check the manual and online to see what to do. After all that you might need to get another router. A more powerful one. Again, you need to read up on this for the devices you are looking at. You can put another Ethernet cable into the router like you have already done, and move it into the Living Room and put another wireless router on it since your tablets are wireless. |
12-23-2012, 09:17 AM | #4 |
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What kind/model of router are you using? Some routers have the capability of being "repeaters" with each other, and you might find a used or recondition one for yours. I have two Netgear's. One hooked to my cable modem that is the base and another as a repeater.
Another way if your router uses external antennas, you may be able to find replacement ones that have a higher "gain" than the one (s) that are on it now. Edit: Just read the above responses and if your router is on the same channel as others that are near you, that can cause "conflicts" and your range can be cut short. Here are two free programs that you can use to "see" what is going on around you and then you can switch to a better channel. The auto shift on most routers really do not work that well. Google for: Vistumbler and inSSIDER and run ether or both to check your radio traffic in your area. Last edited by DustyDisks; 12-23-2012 at 09:24 AM. |
12-23-2012, 09:24 AM | #5 | |
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Quote:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-WA830RE-3.../dp/B006BBYXPA It'll work with any WiFi network. |
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12-23-2012, 09:30 AM | #6 |
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You can see a wide range of boosters and repeaters etc at good prices in Maplins, you could get units that plug in to the mains and re-transmit... unless there's a real reason for being in the dining room then you could move the router and use a longer cable to connect to phone socket... I use the Sky router and it's pretty good, I'm getting wi-fi connection throughout the house and in front/back garden quite happily with router in bedroom on first floor...
It is possible that the router may be low signal etc so you might also try to get Sky to check things out... |
12-23-2012, 11:00 AM | #7 |
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A wireless repeater is fine, but the single biggest determinant is what kind of "WiFi" you have. The various versions are 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n. The difference in range is substantial, with 802.11n having by far the greatest range. The going price for a good 802.11n router is ~$100 USD last I looked. You can easily get them for less, and you can spend more if there are specific features you want (such as dual-band coverage).
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12-23-2012, 12:20 PM | #8 | |
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The biggest determinant for range in the UK is usually the construction of the residence... wood framing etc is very uncommon in the UK and interior construction can range from brick through breeze block to chip board, all with or without metal supports... one of the worst ranges I found to be due to a fine metal mesh embedded within all the internal walls of a friends flat (that's an apartment for those in the US) and it acted like a Faraday cage... |
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12-23-2012, 01:10 PM | #9 | |
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A combination of powerline (which utilizes the power network) and wifi like this might also be an option: http://www.devolo.co.uk/consumer/77_...on_1.html?l=en |
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12-23-2012, 02:37 PM | #10 |
Tubby Viking
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I'll will devour all of this later. Thank you all for posting this information.
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12-23-2012, 05:08 PM | #11 |
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Villordsutch
I was trying to give you the simple cheaper ways first. Also I assumed that you also have a RG (Residential Gateway) that has voice communications also because that is what I have. If not things are easier. When I talked about attaching a 2nd router to your device, I was thinking about myself having a couple of old routers lying around. Run a Ethernet cable from the "Sky" to another room and attach the 2nd (possibly cheaper and simpler) router. Bear in mind that some routers have multiple signal sources at different frequencies. Some frequencies go through wall better. Actually one of my old routers is stronger than the newer 2Wire model I use, but it doesn't have VOIP and so would have to be piggy backed onto the 2Wire. But anyway try simple, cheaper first. |
12-23-2012, 11:26 PM | #12 |
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On my old Linksys router I tried optional high-gain antennas (larger rabbit ears that replaced the originals). They did make a difference. Also, make sure your router is up as high as you can place it and not behind any massive metal (such as a fridge or tucked between a PC tower and a metal desk).
I've read several on-line plans for directional antennas, mostly a shaped framework holding aluminum foil (I recall one was a modified Pringles can). Never tried those but they made sense, assuming you had the router in one corner or end of the home and only needed a boost in one direction. |
12-24-2012, 06:30 AM | #13 | |
Tubby Viking
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12-24-2012, 08:43 AM | #14 | |
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I don't think you will get as spectacular improvement with a transmitter-side antenna improvement as you can on the receiver side. On the transmitter side, I would instead probably go for buying some sort of repeater, such as Harry suggests in number five. But if just a modest boost would be good enough for Villordsutch, I would try this: Boost Your WiFi Antenna for Less Than a Dollar The reason I didn't try the Pringles idea for my parents (see #2) was appearance and aiming. Most pictures of homebuilt directional antennas I see on the net include a camera tripod for aiming, which wouldn't have enhanced their bedroom. It was worth $20 for the gadget I bought just to have the easy-to-aim-and-forget plastic hinge design. |
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12-24-2012, 01:52 PM | #15 | |
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Set one of the sky routers to wifi channel 1 and the other to channel 6 (or google for alternative non-overlapping channels, especially if you have neighbours also using wifi). Set the wifi SSID on both routers to the same name and the same encryption settings and key (ideally WPA2 only). Also make sure you disable "use router as DHCP server" for the 2nd router (the one not connected to your phone line). With that setup, devices will connect to whichever router has the strongest wifi connection. If you ever want to not use the sky router at all, then you'll have to google how to extract your user/pass as sky don't provide that info. Also not all connections use PPPoA anymore, some now use MER only which makes use of your routers Mac address and a custom DHCP protocol for authentication. Only a few 3rd party routers have been modified to work with skys slightly different protocol, so be careful if you decide to buy a new one to get a compatible one. Also for what it's worth, wifi is a pain at the best of times We have the router in one room and you get almost 0 signal strength stood 2 foot away in the next room. Something in the internal wall must be really messing with the single. Yet go stand outside the home and the signal is still at 40% strength a good 30 meters down the street despite passing through an exterior wall. Would prefer it the other way around :P Last edited by JoeD; 12-24-2012 at 01:59 PM. |
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