Need to increase my wireless range

[luclucas]

Hello community ,

I will like to ask some questions about how to increase my wireless range. I hope this I'm not too boring 😛 :

The problem is that my router (Thomson twg870) is 12 meters, arround 40 feet, from my computer. So I get really low signal from my WIFI: 2 out of 5 "sticks": the signal passes throw the kitchen, 2 walls.

There is only one connection for the router in all the house, the router is at a central location and I could not change it's position. So the options will be to place a repeater (and have 50% off speed) or remplace the router.
The money should not be a problem, I want to be sure that the range will be enough after the buy.

I think that the obstacles doesn't let the signal arrive properly to my room and that my computer has a bad signal reception (I get the same signal as another computer if that computer is at 1.5 times more distance).

So my question is:

If I buy a good new modem, will this be largely enough to get good signal (like the ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band). Or is the repeater the best option to get the signal (and loosing that 50% speed).

And, what about an access point?

Thank you very much for your help and attention. And have a nice day 😉

 

[bill001g]

I would have to look that router up to see but most routers transmit very close to the legal maximum power so a new router would not likely transmit at higher power. That said the routers provided by the ISP most people say tend to not work the best but not a real clear indication why.

As you said a repeater drops your speed by 50% but unless you can locate the repeater in a proper location it will not help. If there is good signal say on one side of the wall and poor signal on the other. If you put it on the good side of the wall it will also not be able to send its repeated signal though the wall. If you put it on the bad side of the wall the repeater will not get good enough signal to repeat.

It must be located in place that it can get good signal from the main router and also provide good signal for the end device. This normally works well when the problem is distance. When you have obstruction causing the signal loss a repeater is not the best solution.

Generally the only way you get though a wall that blocks signals real well is with a wire of some form or another. Obviously if you could run a ethernet cable though the wall you could put in a AP to tranmit the wireless the rest of the way.

I would look at powerline devices to go from your room to the router.

 

[plaintuts]

Its better to just get a stronger router.

Since you're already aware of the limitations of the wireless repeater.

 

[luclucas]

I would have to look that router up to see but most routers transmit very close to the legal maximum power so a new router would not likely transmit at higher power. That said the routers provided by the ISP most people say tend to not work the best but not a real clear indication why.

As you said a repeater drops your speed by 50% but unless you can locate the repeater in a proper location it will not help. If there is good signal say on one side of the wall and poor signal on the other. If you put it on the good side of the wall it will also not be able to send its repeated signal though the wall. If you put it on the bad side of the wall the repeater will not get good enough signal to repeat.

It must be located in place that it can get good signal from the main router and also provide good signal for the end device. This normally works well when the problem is distance. When you have obstruction causing the signal loss a repeater is not the best solution.

Generally the only way you get though a wall that blocks signals real well is with a wire of some form or another. Obviously if you could run a ethernet cable though the wall you could put in a AP to tranmit the wireless the rest of the way.

I would look at powerline devices to go from your room to the router.

So you are saying that if I buy a new router, it may be not compatible with my internet company? Do you mean signal range when talking about power? What is ISP?

Thank you

 

[luclucas]

Its better to just get a stronger router.

Since you're already aware of the limitations of the wireless repeater.

So you think Router is better than Repeater... Anyway, I can't use a cable to connect the repeater with the router. As bill001 said, powerline could be an option, but what is the speed loose in this case?

 

[bill001g]

You are correct since your router has a cable modem built into it you would need one that works on the ISP (internet service provider) you have. They generally have lists of ones that work.

The distance that the signal travels is purely a function of the amount of radio transmission power. 2 router that transmit at exactly the same power level will go exactly the same distance. This is a function of physics it has nothing to do with what the radio signal is being used for.

A router with a larger radio transmitter will go more distance. The only reason you can't just keep buying larger radio transmitters is the government has restricted the maximum power to 1 watt. So it depends how much power your current router is transmitting. If it near the max then you won't be able to buy a "stronger" router because it would be illegal to sell.

Still more power does not always solve the problems with walls. A wall absorbs the signal and many times it will just absorb the increase you attempt to Pass

 

[luclucas]

You are correct since your router has a cable modem built into it you would need one that works on the ISP (internet service provider) you have. They generally have lists of ones that work.

The distance that the signal travels is purely a function of the amount of radio transmission power. 2 router that transmit at exactly the same power level will go exactly the same distance. This is a function of physics it has nothing to do with what the radio signal is being used for.

A router with a larger radio transmitter will go more distance. The only reason you can't just keep buying larger radio transmitters is the government has restricted the maximum power to 1 watt. So it depends how much power your current router is transmitting. If it near the max then you won't be able to buy a "stronger" router because it would be illegal to sell.

Still more power does not always solve the problems with walls. A wall absorbs the signal and many times it will just absorb the increase you attempt to Pass

Ok, thanks! Does the powerline reduce the speed? But if I connect the powerline, it may not follow the same electric cable as the one near the modem no?

 

[bill001g]

It depends what powerline unit you get. The low end ones most people get 30-40m. The so called 500m ones many people get about 60-80m and the newest ones that say 600m people get just over 100m.

Unfortunately just like wireless it greatly depends on your house. If you could put it on the same electrical circuit as the modem you would likely get very fast speeds, I have seen people claim 300m on the top end devices.

In general they work ok in most houses. You want to plug them directly into the wall with no surge protectors or extension cords. You really can only try and see how well they work it is impossible to predict just like wireless in your house has problems with a couple of walls.

If this doesn't work the only other easy option (ie not paying to have ethernet run) is to use MoCA. These devices use the Coax tv cable. You would need a coax tv jack in the far room.

 

[luclucas]

It depends what powerline unit you get. The low end ones most people get 30-40m. The so called 500m ones many people get about 60-80m and the newest ones that say 600m people get just over 100m.

Unfortunately just like wireless it greatly depends on your house. If you could put it on the same electrical circuit as the modem you would likely get very fast speeds, I have seen people claim 300m on the top end devices.

In general they work ok in most houses. You want to plug them directly into the wall with no surge protectors or extension cords. You really can only try and see how well they work it is impossible to predict just like wireless in your house has problems with a couple of walls.

If this doesn't work the only other easy option (ie not paying to have ethernet run) is to use MoCA. These devices use the Coax tv cable. You would need a coax tv jack in the far room.

Cool! Thanks again! Unafortunately the tv cable is at 17 metres from the room...