Boosting wireless internet signal

[forgop]

So, I want to finally tackle the issue with my wireless signal strength because I think hard wiring will be a major PITA. All told, my house is a 2 story, approx 4400 sq ft, and the router is at the far end of an upstairs room. At the far end of the house downstairs, I can barely detect the network, and if it does, it never connects or is so slow it's not usable as it goes in and out.

The router is a Netgear wireless N. Any suggestions on how I can "boost" the signal and make it functional throughout the house?

[TheRiddick]

Just buy a few repeaters and space them out throughout.

[T.G]

Put an 802.11N repeater somewhere in the middle.

[forgop]

Ok, dumb question, but would there be any worry of going with a different brand? I'm just not sure how well this stuff works together if they're different.

[T.G]

Typically there shouldn't be any problems, but once in a while someone makes a device that isn't fully compliant with standards.

Additionally, if your base router has removable antennas, you can also replace them with hi-gain antennas for some increase in range, although it sounds like your situation requires more range increase than hi-gain antennas will give you, so you would still be into a buying a repeater or two.

[SvilleKid]

So Duane.... Any reason you can't move the wireless to a more centralized location? Just thinking. Might be easier and more cost effective to run some extra cable (or phone line - depending on the source) than to buy one or more repeaters (at $59 to $130 each?). I've got my wireless in an upstairs room that is mostly central to the rest of the house. Pretty much get service in all rooms. BUT..... I'm in a house just a little over half the size of yours, so.......

[CigarNut]

I used to use a wireless repeater -- for years. I finally relocated my router to a more central location and no longer needed the repeater (I donated it to the Cigar Bar, which had a lousy signal -- repeater helped them a lot).

As others have said, you can use any brand as long as the signal at home and the wireless repeater both conform to the "N" standard. I ended up buying the same brand repeater as my router, because there are always some "gotchas" in each vendor's implementation and I did not want to worry about it.

If a repeater is easier (less expensive) than moving the router then just do that, otherwise move the router.

[markem]

My advice, which is worth what you paid for it, is this ...

Go to a local tech store with solid people (of all things, for me this means Best Buy over Frys - your solid people may vary), bring the manual for your router (or at least the make and model), and ask for advice. Indicate that you aren't planning to buy that day but are open to options. Best Buy (for example) has a 30 day return policy, which I find useful for trying out devices that I am unsure about. I've also had them spontaneously offer me 10-20% discounts.

Once you find what you really want, you can shop at various online and B&M stores to find the best price. Interestingly, for the past several months, Best Buy has been beating out NewEgg, which is quite strange in my experience.

If you want to experiment with antennas, there are some really good resources on the web for that. It's often tedious (says the man with the FCC Amateur Extra license) but the results can be both cheap and amazing. FYI, I gave up experimenting with antennas 6 years ago (did I mention tedious?).

[LostAbbott]

Is there dd-wrt for your router? If so go get it. I have flashed mine with it and can now walk about a block away before I loose signal.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index

[LostAbbott]

Seems to be a bit of interest in dd-wrt. Here is an article on how it works and some basic things you can do with it. The article is old but will give you a good idea of where to start and basic benefits. Mostly it will allow you to boost power to your antenna(which will boost signal strength), as well and allow you to increase your security.

http://lifehacker.com/178132/hack-attack-turn-your-60-router-into-a-600-router

[mmblz]

http://www.cantenna.com/
:)

no i don't know how well it works, but it is cool you can build it yourself...

[357]

Ok, dumb question, but would there be any worry of going with a different brand? I'm just not sure how well this stuff works together if they're different.

Since 802.11N is still not an officially adopted standard, if you go out and buy repeaters, your best bet is to stay within the brand.



I don't mean to ask a dumb question, but what is the mobile device (laptop, etc) capable of? If it is capable of only 802.11g, then that is your problem. 802.11N has a much wider range. If you have 802.11g devices on your wi-fi, often that will bring your 802.11N devices down to that level. If you need both, you might want to setup two wi-fi networks. One exclusively 802.11g and the other 802.11N. Both can be plugged into the same internet router/cable modem, just on different wi-fi networks. You'll have to make sure not to overlap the DHCP pools. If you get that far and need more help PM me.

[T.G]

Since 802.11N is still not an officially adopted standard,


Not sure what you mean by "officially adopted", but IEEE ratified and adopted it as a standard in '09.
http://standards.ieee.org/findstds/standard/802.11n-2009.html

I would be leery of some of the pre-ratification product, aka "802.11Pre-N" if it's never been flashed with post-adoption firmware. Some of that stuff was definitely buggy.

[Silound]

Here's a rundown of your options (and I added a note difficulty and knowledge):

Option 1: Hard wire your house. Best performance option overall, heavily labor intensive. If you opt for this, plan ahead and make sure you run extra wires to every room and leave them coiled for future expansion. This option is probably best anyway if you have a lot of other wireless networks nearby causing channel congestion.

Option 2: Add a repeater to your current wireless setup. This is the best option for wireless coverage, but would at least require you to know how to set up your devices correctly or take them to someone who does know. If you have to get outside advice, you can pay Best Buy to come do it via Geek Squad, or take them in to a tech shop and have them configure them properly. To repeat 802.11n with maximum effect, you have to have a pure-N network, which prevents you from using any older 802.11a/b/g devices on your network. This is the easiest option to have set up if you know nothing and don't mind paying someone else for that knowledge. The downside is that if you ever have problems, you have to pay for that knowledge again.

Option 3: Router hardware upgrades. You could possibly upgrade the antennas or even replace the router itself with a better one. This option would be most ideal if you have a cheap consumer-grade router and wish to upgrade to a more powerful business-class dual-band router. This option can be expensive, but generally will produce good results. If you have a recent model quality consumer grade router, this option is likely to waste your money. Keywords: recent model and quality :) This is fairly easy to accomplish as a DIY, but if you're just following the instruction booklet that comes with the router, this won't guarantee better results. Again, you may end up paying for knowledge.

Option 4: Relocate your router. Generally speaking placing your router in a far-away corner of the area you're trying to cover is not an efficient solution. Placing the router in a central area (and adjusting the antenna or floor to maximize broadcast area) will result in a better signal coverage. Good news is this is the easiest option you can do yourself, and unless your house was built like a bomb-proof bunker (concrete floors and walls with steel rebarring) this will probably make the most noticeable difference. Make sure you keep the router away from other radio-frequency emitting devices to help signal coverage.

Option 5: Router firmware changes (firmware is the programming built into the router...similar to an operating system on a computer in some ways). Depending on the model of router you have, you could upgrade the firmware to an open platform such as DD-WRT or Open-WRT. These unlock a whole host of options you can get yourself in trouble with, and the process to upgrade the router can potentially destroy it in the process. Not an amateur move to make, this can possibly give you amazing results if you have the right model router. Or it can give you nothing but trouble. That's very model dependent. Definitely one of the more knowledge intensive options, but a good way to squeeze every inch of performance from your router.

Option 6: Change your broadcast mode. 99% of people think that because they have an 802.11n router, they have an N network. This is simply untrue, as most routers are set up to make a mixed-mode network that offers 802.11a/b/g compatibility. Setting your router to N-only and configuring your devices correctly will directly increase your network performance. Pure-N networks have a "dome" of coverage that's smaller than older standards, but anything within that "dome" is going to connect and do fine, regardless of signal strength. The downside here is that non-802.11n devices are effectively locked out of your network. This is relatively easy to do in most router interfaces. Advanced users can also set up subnets that support legacy devices, but not all routers allow this option with the stock firmware.



Overall, there are other options that exist, but they're mostly variations on these 6. If you tell me what model and revision of the router you use, I can probably be more specific to your options.

[shilala]

I'd grab a repeater and move it around until you have the coverage you want. It's cheap and easy. Worse case scenario, you buy two. Still way cheaper than a good box of cigars.
I have a Netgear G that I spent a couple extra bucks for when it was new. It covers this whole house inside and out and does a good job of it, even when it falls behind my desk where it usually is.

[forgop]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I bought 3 Netgear range extenders off ebay just a bit ago and will have them at each end of the house on each floor.

Ideally, I would hard wire to everything and that's the way my first house that I built was. I had an On-Q system and could easily go from network/phone/cable to any room in the house. This house is large with some vaulted ceilings and the excessive run of 125' from end to end less than appealing to run wire in the attic. I also just don't feel like getting down in the crawl space and doing the work underneath either. Will let you know how it turns out next week. :tu

[Kneo]

DD-WRT FTW! I have it on my main router and on two repeaters set up around the house.

[GolfNut]

I also just don't feel like getting down in the crawl space and doing the work underneath either.

Damn straight! That's where SPIDERS live! NO THANK YOU!

[forgop]

Holy cow...I just set up 2 of the 3 extenders on my 2 desktop computers downstairs. They're hardwired to the desktops, but I've gone from very low signal strength and 1-5 Mbps speeds at times all the way up to full strength and 54 Mbps. :tu

Now I'm downloading the DD-WRT...

[Kneo]

Holy cow...I just set up 2 of the 3 extenders on my 2 desktop computers downstairs. They're hardwired to the desktops, but I've gone from very low signal strength and 1-5 Mbps speeds at times all the way up to full strength and 54 Mbps. :tu

Now I'm downloading the DD-WRT...

DD-WRT is awesome. Just because not to set your wireless strength to high. I found that out the hard way and burnt out a router:)

[Kreth]

Here's a rundown of your options (and I added a note difficulty and knowledge):
Great post, except for this:
you can pay Best Buy to come do it via Geek Squad
I wouldn't trust Geek Squad to install a mouse pad... :r
Posted via Mobile Device

[CigarNut]

Great post, except for this:

I wouldn't trust Geek Squad to install a mouse pad... :r
Posted via Mobile DeviceAs with any big business there are good people and not-so-good people.

Some of the Geek Squad people around here (Portland Metro Area) are pretty good -- especially compared to the other options...

[357]

DD-WRT is awesome. Just because not to set your wireless strength to high. I found that out the hard way and burnt out a router:)

You can do it, but only if you want to add some sort of more effective cooling to it. Running at 100% power output will cook the hardware. It also causes problems at shorter ranges.

I am a DD-WRT fan too. I highly recommend it.

[WyoBob]

My wireless G's signal was low by the time it got to my shop so I recently bought a "D Link" that uses the house wiring. My old laptop's speed is now 8 megs instead of 2.5. The downside is that the laptop is "hard wired" but the laptop stays in one place. I think you can use the D link to power another wireless router.

WyoBob

[waffle]

You can do it, but only if you want to add some sort of more effective cooling to it. Running at 100% power output will cook the hardware. It also causes problems at shorter ranges.

I am a DD-WRT fan too. I highly recommend it.

:tpd: I only install DD-WRT routers in friends & family's house. It makes it easier for me to work on, I can give them greater configuration and I'm rocking a 3 AP setup at my house... 2 purely N and 1 for all the stragglers... My neighbor throws me a 20 a month to piggyback (thats how strong my network is) and I'm in about the same size pad as you.

[GolfNut]

I actually downloaded the dd-wrt file for my router, started reading how to do it and it gave me a headache. I HATE wireless network stuff. One day if I actually have 4 hours (it seems) to dedicate to mind bruising computer geek work, I might try it. It would be nice to get the extra range and solve the router drop issues.

[waffle]

its really not that bad... its written to scare you and not in so much common sense, but really its just pushing firmware updates... and then LOADS of configurability.