Upgrade For Range

[pepenero]

Hello community, I read all the sticky notes in hopes of avoiding any duplicate questions, but I am a lay person when it comes to technology so I am coming here to you for help.

I am currently using a Linksys WRT45GS to get wireless throughout my home. However, I have a dead spot in a room about 75 feet away. I'm not sure if that's the correct terminology, but by dead spot I mean that the connection is spotty and intermittent at best.

Based on the research I've done so far, I can acknowledge that there are some environmental factors at play. There are several walls including wood, insulation and even possibly some marble that may be interfering with signal transmission.

I've dealt with the spotty connection for many years now but I feel like it's time to upgrade, if possible. I am able to run a hardwire connection from the router to the room, but isn't really a practical option for me at the present moment.

My main question for you is whether upgrading to the latest AC router would theoretically extend the Wi-Fi signal range enough so that I will have a stable connection in this dead spot. I don't have any AC capable devices but I want to emphasize that my main desire is for connection stability.

The main devices I'd like to operate in that room are a late 2012 iMac and an iPad air, if that information matters. I apologize if this is a common question but I couldn't really make sense of the router charts when based on range.

 

[AdvHomeServer]

Your existing router is less capable than most current routers. Upgrading to AC is a decision that is personal to your network. If you don't use AC and have no plans to use it, then don't bother. A lot of 802.11n routers are very capable. Besides, AC only covers the 5GHz range and you need to use equipment specifically designed for 5GHz to take advantage of it.

There are many exceptional routers that are not AC capable and they are not especially costly. Techbargains.com often lists several on specials. The big internet stores have many on sale, although I would read reviews to decide if low price is indicative of low performance.

I'm not using AC and have a pretty good home network. I will upgrade to AC when I need the speed or need a replacement router, unless a good N router is available at a low price and I still don't need AC speeds.

 

[stevech]

The solutions for the OP's spotty-coverage problem include:

Relocate WiFi router

Add an Access Point (AP) such as a plug-n-play ASUS RT-N12, $35. Connect it to router or switch via cat5, Power Line IP (HomePlug), or MoCA.

there's no magic in buying more/different WiFi routers, in terms of range. The constraint is usually the low transmitter power of the client device.

 

[pepenero]

Ok, I will stick to N routers as I currently don't have any devices that support AC. A friendly price tag sounds good to me as well.

I actually have a Netgear N600 WNDR3400 that I lent to someone that I will get back and mess around with. The reviews on Amazon make it sound like a device that leaves more than a little to be desired. Obviously this will be an upgrade for me from the WRT45GS, but do you guys see any issues with doing this?

For what it's worth, the speed tier I get from my ISP is 50/15 Mbps, so after doing a little math, I figure it's probably not worth getting AC anyway.

I don't have much of an option to relocate the router, unfortunately. However, I'll do more research on the AP, Power Line, and MoCA options you mentioned.

Since you mentioned the low transmitter power of the client device, particularly the 2012 iMac, would it help perhaps to get a BearExtender? See here.

Thanks for the tips! Any additional feedback is most definitely welcomed.

 

[thiggins]

You might read Will A New Router Really Improve Performance? for background.

Generally speaking, you need to upgrade both ends of a wireless connection to get a significant throughput increase. The attached plot shows throughput vs. signal level for "legacy" (802.11a/b/g), N and AC client and router pairs.

The largest gains are with strong to moderate signals (left to middle of plot). Once signal levels move to very low levels (right side of plot), throughput difference drops dramatically.

All that said, the WRT54G is very long in the tooth. And you are likely to get an improvement with most any N router you put in there. There is really no need to move to AC, unless you plan on upgrading the client end to AC and use 5 GHz.

Use the Router Ranker to help choose among N600 class routers if you want dual-band or N300 if you want 2.4 GHz only.

 

[azazel1024]

Since you have only an 802.11b/g router, I'd upgrade to the twenty teens and get at least an 802.11n router. In the process, I'd look for something high output and/or with replacable antennas.

The question you'll need to answer is, are you in a 2 story house or not, because that helps determine my answer.

For a basic and cheap high output router, this comes well recommended TP-Link TL-WR841HP. It also has replaceable antennas, which goes to the heart of my next question on multiple stories.

The larger the antennas, the higher the gain on them, but it also makes them more directional. They are still omni-directional antennas on the router, but their gain is in a narrower vertical plane, so being right over the router is going to produce a lower signal strength than if it had lower gain omni antennas.

Of course, being right over the router or close to right over it, you are probably also pretty close and then the signal gain doesn't matter as much.

Anyway, you could also then upgrade the antennas to get better signal, this works for both receive and transmit gain.

Getting that router (or similar) and getting some 9dB antennas for it could get you considerably better signal than what you have now. Generally if you have spotty connection, but actually HAVE a connection, moving up several dB in gain on atenna will probably move it from spotty, to steady, if still fairly low signal strength.

Or you can go the router of things like power line adapters and an access point across the house, or stick a wireless repeater in between your main router and the area you are having an issue with, but this seriously cuts down on available wireless bandwidth.

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
Specially if you snag used one on eBay with GOOD price or even here, There
are people upgrading for the sake of upgrading for no other reason. They usually dump their
gear cheap.

 

[pepenero]

I am in a single floor apartment with 26 floors in total, but I wouldn't need to access the wireless from any other floors - the main problem is from a corner room roughly 75 feet away from the router.

For now, my game plan is to get my hands on the Netgear N600 WNDR3400 and see how that does. I've also placed an order for the BearExtender 1200 USB Signal Booster Antenna for my iMac to see if that does the trick.

I'll report back here in this thread once I have everything set up on the results!

 

[stevech]

Is relocating the WiFi router, more centrally, viable?

 

[pepenero]

Not so much. Although I have the hardwiring running thru the apartment where I could move it to a location that would be give or take 10 feet closer to the room I need it most, the room it's currently in has 2 devices connected via LAN ports - one of which doesn't have a wireless adapter and I would prefer not to have to invest in more hardware if possible.

 

[stevech]

Not so much. Although I have the hardwiring running thru the apartment where I could move it to a location that would be give or take 10 feet closer to the room I need it most, the room it's currently in has 2 devices connected via LAN ports - one of which doesn't have a wireless adapter and I would prefer not to have to invest in more hardware if possible.

10 ft. likely won't matter. But be sure the WiFi router's antennas are in the clear as much as practical.. not down low, behind furniture. A small apartment should do OK with one WiFi router - unless the walls are lath & plaster or other masonry. Common drywall doesn't attenuate 2.4GHz a lot.

So these ideas are to try to avoid buying more WiFi access devices, or spending a lot on newer routers which have nifty features but are not a panacea for better coverage. Nor are antennas that add just 3 or 5 dBi more gain.

 

[KGB7]

If you have carpeted floors in your apartment then running a wire from one end to another is super easy. Just pull the carpet up and run the wire, then put the carpet back.
Carpets are easy to pull up and easy to put it back. You dont have to remove entire floor, just run next down the wall and or across the room as needed.

Or you can drill a hole in the drywall in room A and in room B that are next to each other, then use a wall plate with rubber grommet to cover the hole and run a wire through it. Its a quick and easy solution.

 

[stevech]

flat cat5 ethernet cable. Under baseboards, under carpet, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I994X2/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[pepenero]

The apartment is entirely wood and marble floored. I actually resorted to buying a 75 ft Cat 5E cable so that I could run a hard connection from the router to the computer. I would tape it down to the floor since other people I live with are prone to tripping over the wire no matter how out of the way I made it to be. However, I would have to remove it frequently for showings and it is quite a hassle so I am once again trying to figure out the best way to get a stable wireless connection.

The hole drilling and messing with baseboards/marble sound a bit too advanced for me, but I appreciate all these ideas. Keep them coming!

stevech - I believe the walls play a big factor as the signal has to pass through about 5 of them, some of which include marble, and probably some of the elements you mentioned (had to look up what lath is). I notice that when operating both cordless telephones and cell phones in the condo, the signal becomes very weak to non-existent when operating in the room that is the issue. Sadly enough, this is the room I spend the most time in.

 

[KGB7]

Then get your self a N66 router. Merlin has good firmware with drivers that are made for wifi speed and distance.

 

[pepenero]

Ok. I will see what I can manage with the Netgear N600 paired along with BearExtender first, and if that doesn't work out, I'll take the N66 into consideration.

 

[KGB7]

Ive never heard of BearExtender, but i am personally curious. So please keep us update if the product does as it claims to do.

 

[pepenero]

Just a brief update - I've switched out my WRT45GS with the Netgear N600 WNDR3400 and I am getting full bars/signal on my iMac but no detection of networks on my iPad. This is an improvement from the WRT as I would get 2-3 bars on the iMac and there would be intermitted "drops." The iPad has never really been able to see or maintain a connection with either router thus far.

Connection has been stable for the ~12 hrs its been connected, although download speeds leave much to be desired. Again, I do not have a technical background, but I can provide the information that I pay for a 50/10 Mbps connection which I can achieve when hardwired, but current wireless connection on Speedtest.net yields 1.98/1.23 Mbps.

I figure that distance/walls probably play a big factor into signal degradation, but now I'm trying to figure out whether it's the the router or the client NIC that is the limiting factor. I am really hoping that the increased power output of the BearExtender I've mentioned will give me more satisfactory speeds.

Product should be delivered later tonight so I will update once again after it is all installed and running!

 

[stevech]

The apartment is entirely wood and marble floored. I actually resorted to buying a 75 ft Cat 5E cable so that I could run a hard connection from the router to the computer. I would tape it down to the floor since other people I live with are prone to tripping over the wire no matter how out of the way I made it to be. However, I would have to remove it frequently for showings and it is quite a hassle so I am once again trying to figure out the best way to get a stable wireless connection.

The hole drilling and messing with baseboards/marble sound a bit too advanced for me, but I appreciate all these ideas. Keep them coming!

stevech - I believe the walls play a big factor as the signal has to pass through about 5 of them, some of which include marble, and probably some of the elements you mentioned (had to look up what lath is). I notice that when operating both cordless telephones and cell phones in the condo, the signal becomes very weak to non-existent when operating in the room that is the issue. Sadly enough, this is the room I spend the most time in.

Marble walls - indeed not RF friendly, if this wall is in the bee-line of flight between user device and access device.

download speed... do you get near 50Mbps down if using a wired (not WiFi) connection to the router?
there's absolutely no substitute for near-line-of-sight from user device to access device, be the latter a WiFi router, or a $35 add-on access point like the ASUS RT-N12

the flat cat5 cable (listed above) can go on or behind a baseboard, or on face of baseboard but covered with white electrical tape.

 

[azazel1024]

Instead of the bear extender, I'd get something like this

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005UBNJ48/?tag=snbforums-20

Or

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CFATNS/?tag=snbforums-20

Or

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0054MLMLA/?tag=snbforums-20

I'd personally look at the TP link one, it shouldn't look that horrid and out of place indoors, and you might be able to slap it on the back of a monitor or similar, depending on orientation. You could go with multiple of them, but considering your current link speed and I assume intended use of mostly just connecting to the internet, a single antenna is probably enough.

If you are getting around 1.5-2MB/sec right now with whatever small antennas the Mac currently has, I'd guess even a mild 7dB gain would likely push that close to double those numbers, let alone a 9+dB gain.