Stronger WiFi?

[SHRED]

I have an old Linksys "Wireless G" router in my upstairs bedroom.The house is two stories. Rather than move it downstairs would upgrading this router help me punch through with the signal to the downstairs better? If so which brand and type?

Would upgrading improve my speeds in general?

[NYC_SKP]

1. It depends on your router bandwidth partly but also your pipeline, cable or dsl or provider.

You could try this first:

If you have a laptop or can bring the desktop to the cable modem, use a ethernet cable to go online without wireless.

While online, go to speedtest.net and get a reading for your bandwidth.

Then disconnect and check your speed through wifi.

Then go downstairs and check it again.

If your wireless speed is really close to your hardwired speed, then a new router won't help.

[SHRED]

2. great tip! thanks!

[Mnpaul]

3. I would think so

I recently bought a bunch of them at auction and tested them via a bridged connection. Some seem faster than the router they are bridged to. The N600 - N750 model routers use both the 2.4 ghz band and the 5ghz band. Of course, the computer attached to them has to have that capability. Some of the newer ones even have a usb port to attach an external drive that can be accessed by anyone on your network. The Netgear unit I have is pretty quick. One of the Cisco/Linksys units are quick as well. The lower end model was faster than the higher end model. I haven't tested any for distance.

[Mnpaul]

5. I just did a test

With the Netgear WNDR3400v2 on a table surrounded by electronics(TV, two tablets, bluetooth speaker, cell phone) on the second story, I was able to get a good signal 50 ft from the house outside.

[PoliticAverse]

4. Switching to 'Wireless N' may give you a little more indoor range, does your router allow

connection of an external antenna ?

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Good thought on the external antenna

For a "standard" antenna, each 6 dBi increase in antenna gain should roughly double range.

[ChromeFoundry]

7. The best way to increase signal is to add an Access Point

The cheapest way to add another AP is to purchase a second router that is able to run DD-WRT or Tomato firmware.
Try eBay... you probably don't need anything shiny and new.

Routers that support 802.11 B/G/N operate on the 2.4 GHz band and propagate through obstacles (walls, floors, fluorescent lights) better and have a longer range.
Routers that support 802.11 A/N operate on the 5 GHz band and provide better bandwidth but at a cost of shorter distances and are more susceptible to degraded signals from walls, but work better with wireless phones and microwaves.
Routers that offer dual-band (802.11 a/b/g/n, w/ 2.4 & 5 GHz radios) are getting cheaper now that the 802.11ac routers are the latest craze.

Basically what you need to do is wire the second wireless router to the primary wireless router:
On the secondary, Disable DHCP, Disable Internet Connection, Assign WAN Port to Switch. Connect secondary WAN to primary LAN port. Configure the SSID and security settings on the secondary router to match your primary router exactly. Set the Channel of your primary and secondary to be at least 3 apart (#3 and #8 are usually good choices). You will need to assign a static IP address for your secondary router that is outside the range of your DHCP Pool offered by your primary router. (192.168.1.2 is usually good if your primary is at 192.168.1.1).
Your clients will be able to switch between your upstairs and downstairs router, transparently. All clients will be able to communicate as if they were connected to the same router. You will have better speeds because you now have multiple channels and the clients will not have to contend for "talk time".

See more info here: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless_Access_Point
and: http://www.howtogeek.com/104469/how-to-extend-your-wi-fi-network-with-simple-access-points/

Note: you may be tempted to try a wireless-repeater. Those will decrease your wireless performance by 1/2 speed and will generally force you to switch between the repeated SSID and the primary SSID. A very clunky solution in my opinion.

[DavidG_WI]

8. If the antennas are removable, upgrade them,

You can either buy retail antennas or use the plans for any of the DIY antennas online.

[Gore1FL]

9. I made an antennae director with foil and card stock and used it on one side only one side.

I simply aimed the directed antennae at the dead spot.


Simple to make:


http://www.gogi.in/boost-wifi-antenna-range.html

[SHRED]

10. Thanks for all the great suggestions!