What's the "best"/most powerful to detect *not range* wifi extender?

[microclue]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a wifi extender that works the best over long distances. What I mean by this specifically is not what wifi extender has the best range persay, but what wifi extender is the most powerful as to be able to detect and utilize a wifi router from far away.

For example, let's say I have a router 150 feet away from me. My computer can see this access point, but it won't connect (it'll timeout before it gets a proper DHCP assignment). Out of the available wifi extenders on the market, which extender has the greatest potential to be able to connect and utilize this router from far, far away? (reasoning behind this thread: I have no way of reducing the router-to-extender distance)

Thanks for your replies!

 

[bill001g]

Your problem is likely your conception of what a "extender" is. Most the crap they sell as extenders are wifi repeaters. These you must place 1/2 way between the device and your router. In theory they take a signal from the router and retransmit it to your pc. Problem is most try to do it on the cheap with a single radio so they interfere with themselves and greatly reduce the throughput.

There is not a lot you can do by just trying to put some magic device on one end of the connection. Your only hope is going to be to use a directional antenna and hope in increases the signals enough. Outdoors it is pretty easy to figure out how well this will work. Indoors with walls and other obstructions it may or may not make any difference. Putting a extender/repeater right next to the computer is silly since if the computer can not get good signal a repeater will not get good signal and then make it even worse by transmitting another copy of the data into the already poor quality signal.

 

[microclue]

Your problem is likely your conception of what a "extender" is. Most the crap they sell as extenders are wifi repeaters. These you must place 1/2 way between the device and your router. In theory they take a signal from the router and retransmit it to your pc. Problem is most try to do it on the cheap with a single radio so they interfere with themselves and greatly reduce the throughput.

There is not a lot you can do by just trying to put some magic device on one end of the connection. Your only hope is going to be to use a directional antenna and hope in increases the signals enough. Outdoors it is pretty easy to figure out how well this will work. Indoors with walls and other obstructions it may or may not make any difference. Putting a extender/repeater right next to the computer is silly since if the computer can not get good signal a repeater will not get good signal and then make it even worse by transmitting another copy of the data into the already poor quality signal.

I bought an ex6200 that is pretty adequate; it can detect and most pings go through (I would say something like 80% when other people are also connected and utilizing the bandwidth) whereas my phone (e.g. even weaker than a computer) would not even detect the source router. Are you saying that the only thing that would improve it are directional antennas, and there isn't possibly a better model "extender" that would provide better power regardless of the antennas?