Posted: 1/13/2008 6:50:15 AM EDT
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We have wireless internet set up in our house. The equipment is around 6 years old and we've been having some problems. The router is located on the third floor of the house, and no matter where you are in the house the laptops constantly get a very very low signal or none at all. It's password protected, if that makes a difference. I'm using a Linksys 802.11b 2.4Ghz wireless router (BEFW11S4 V.2). I plan on replacing that today, but are there any other pieces of equipment I can get to help send/receive a stronger signal through the house? I'm almost positive the problems are caused by the old technology used, but I need some opinions from people with experience here. Thanks in advance. |
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Booster amps and external antennas are available. If you are updating, I would go with this. Linksys has treated me very well, although I use hardwire now. I used my linksys to shoot through a cinderblock wall, two stucco walls. A kitchen and gunsafe were also in the path and two drywalled walls. I didn't need an amp, but my side had a wired usb with antenna. If I stuck it on my window as high as it could go, I got 1 bar away from full strength. Moving around the router may help, or go with the amp and antenna. Cordless phones had zero affect on my router. I think I was running B at the time. |
Router is located on the top of the computer desk, there are lots of other wires and computer accessories around it, but no metallic objects. No cordless phone is used in the house. By access controls, I assume you mean only I am able to get into the setup page (192.168.1.1)? If so, then yes, I changed the default passwords. I am in a neighborhood, and there are at any given time between 2-4 other wireless networks that we pick up...could this be interfering with our internet signal?? |
Not likely. |
it's possible. Several of the channels overlap also. when you "see" the networks, does it tell you what channel you are running on? What you're gonna want to do is run on a channel as far away from the other users as possible. 1,6, and 11 are the non overlapping channels. If your neighbor is on ch 1, switching to ch2 won't help much. switching to 6 will. some cordless phones run on 2.4 ghz. same range as 802.11b/g. Bottom line, i would first check what channel you are running on, and what your nieghtbors are running on. Try to space them out as much as possible. Secondly, i'd get the rouder a little further from the computer if possible. off topic: Even if you are the only one that can get to the router homepage, that doesn't mean others can't use your connection. You will probably want to read up on WEP and WPA. There's also MAC restriction. You may think it's secured, but odds are it's wide open. |
I have a WEP key in place already. My connection was on channel 6, but I just changed it to 11. Unfortunately it isn't possible to move the router any farther away (but I will make an attempt). I am going to leave in a few to pick up a new router and some other stuff from Best Buy. Thanks for the advice, I'll try to follow up on this later. |
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Ignore security right now. That is a tangeant discussion for later. Your problem is one of signal strength. The 802.11b is not really "old tech".... sure, there is faster now.... and with "g", and "n" routers... they have improved signal strength a bit. I'd say either your router is dying and not outputting the signal it needs to, or your home is just blocking the signals.... due to construction, or interference. When you say the signal is bad anywhere... you mean like the signal is bad even if you are in the same room as the router? If so - something is wrong. What I do for customers.... is simply set up the router where I want it... NO security. We need to take that overhead and complication out of the picture for setup. Then connect to the internet. Dont pay too much attention to what XP/Vista or your wireless app utility on the laptop say about signal strength. I then open a command prompt, and type "ping -t yahoo.com" and start in the room with the router. I measure the latency in milliseconds. This should be your average latency benchmark, which is the latency of your ISP plus a little overhead for the wireless connection. For a good connection, this should be under 100ms. Then, holding the laptop, walk around the house..... as you get farther away, you should start to see the latency increase.... up to 200ms or more.... when you start to see "Request timed out" then you are at the limit of your wireless network, and packet loss is occurring. There are sexier wireless range utilities out there, but this one is real world user experience. Perform this test... and see where you stand. Dont complicate the issue with WEP and WPA.... your problem is one of signal and range. You can add that overhead back later.... it wont affect signal, just add a little overhead to the bandwidth. |
+10. sorry for the sidetrack there. security is important, but your priority shoudl be getting the signal you want. THEN look at securing it. |
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Ok guys, I went to Best Buy and ended up buying a new router. We picked out one made by Netgear (WPN824 series). The laptops are getting a decent signal downstairs and had no problems so far. The internet on them is going by much faster than before. And just in case we need to move it, it's also wireless but for now I have it connected to the desktop up here. Thanks for all the good advice guys. If anything else comes up I'll let ya know. 
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