WiFi range problem

[ncamaa]

I have a wifi router in my house, and i also have a small unit for my son in my yard. the wifi reception is very week in the unit. only high quality laptops can get the sign easily. smart phones and shitty laptops cannot. can anyone think of a solution? maybe buying a router with a stronger sign? maybe there's a device i can put in the unit that has a good reception and can get the sign from the house and spread it again in the unit?

 

[fyrye]

Depending on the type of wireless router/device (b/g/n) will determine the maximum distance the signal can be reached.
Wireless-N can reach a maximum distances of ~840 feet. As well as the band in which the router transmits can affect distance. 2.4ghz or 5ghz. 2.4ghz will generally have better signal strength at further distances. So if your router is operating at 5ghz try switching it to 2.4ghz. If you notice other issues with interference switch back to 5ghz.
If switching the band doesn't help or it does not support 5ghz, one option is to invest in a wireless repeater. This will expand the range of your network while allowing you to only maintain one router.

 

[ncamaa]

my router right now is 802.11b as far as I know.. A one i got including in the deal of the service provider. so I guess its a -b-.
so I understand one option is to buy a -g- or -n- router, and the other option is to buy a repeater.
whats exactly a wireless repeater? it gets the signal of another router and sends a signal of its own to increase the range? because if this is what it does it's exactly what i need.

 

[ncamaa]

will this one - Wireless-N Wifi Repeater 802.11N Network Router Range extender 300M - do it? if I'll place it somewhere between my house and my son's unit will it be ok? should I connect it to LAN or just to the electricity?

 

[fyrye]

Yes a wireless extender extends the range of one wireless device acting as another access point.

Connect to your router's control panel page and find out the model and wifi frequency band. If you got it with your ISP it should be at least a 802.11g. If you haven't done this already you should have set up WPA2-personal security and set a password, otherwise neighbors etc could be using your WiFi (stealing your internet and possibly accessing your network if AP isolation is disabled)

Keep in mind speeds vary from b/g/n routers, as does certain security features as the b/g/n usually defines age., so an N repeater may not work with a B router. Most (not all) are backward compatible to 802.11b
Range extender can also be misleading as it may be a signal booster rather than an access point.

See http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-Universal-Range-Extender-WN2500RP/dp/B006V72AHC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372776596&sr=8-1&keywords=netgear+wireless+repeater
You can watch the video for an idea of what it does and what you need.

 

[ncamaa]

OK. A friend of mine has a spare NETGEAR DGN2200 N300 Wireless ADSL Modem Router, will I be able to use this one as a repeater? to place it somewhere between my son's unit and my house?
just to make sure - I need only to connect it to power, right? I don't need a lan cable to go to my old router...

 

[fyrye]

According to the documentation, it appears so:
http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/DGN2200/DGN2200_UM_3Feb11.pdf

I am not 100% on this however as the documentation references AP1 AP2 and AP3 rather than specific functions assuming you own 3 of the same device. You can try it since it's your friends spare, if it doesn't call tech support otherwise restore factory defaults and give it back to him.

Specific Instruction
Set up your modem router to be the base station. (Your ISP's Modem/Router)
a. In the Wireless Repeating Function screen for your modem router, select the Enable
Wireless Repeating Function check box.
b. Select the Wireless Base Station radio button.
c. Clear the corresponding Disable Wireless Client Association check box (make
sure it is not selected).
d. Enter the MAC addresses for AP 2 and AP 3 in the Repeater MAC Address 1 and
Repeater MAC Address 2 field.
e. Click Apply.
2. Set up AP 2 and AP 3 to be wireless repeaters. (The Netgear DGN2200 N300) enables wireless repeating functionality
a. In the Wireless Repeating Function screen for AP 2 and AP 3, select the Enable
Wireless Repeating Function check box.
b. Select the Wireless Repeater radio button.
c. Clear the corresponding Disable Wireless Client Association check box (make
sure it is not selected).
d. Enter the MAC addresses for your modem router in the Base Station MAC Address
field.
e. Click Apply.
3. Verify the following for all access points:
• Each access point operates in the same LAN network address range as the LAN
devices.

As a side note you may also have to disable DHCP for the repeater since the ISP's modem/router should be controlling this, but shouldn't hurt either way, unless you want him to access your network PCs as the subnet may change due to IP conflicts between routers. The ISP modem should configure as 192.168.1.1 and the repeater may configure to 10.1.10.1 or vice versa.
You should also configure it via a WIRED connection to the router. After config it can be unplugged and tested accordingly.

 

[ncamaa]

I hope I'll succeed... dosen't sound so simple. I'll let you know on Friday.
Thank you a lot anyway!