Hi. I recently moved myself and my new laptop to the other end of our house and my wifi signal is pathetic and/or intermittent. I am using a Netgear router I've had for ages, which has a theoretical range of 30m. I'm probably 15m and two rooms away from it. Can anyone suggest what brand and other specifications of router would transmit a good signal in these circumstances? Thanks.
That's a big clue to problems. It may be time for one of the g/n models with dual 2.4GHz and 5GHz. I got a lesser known Router sold by Western Digital, has been great for a couple of years now. Impacting Wi-Fi can be things like in older houses with lead-based paint on the walls, insulation in walls [usually with add-on rooms or working from outside]. The type of connection from the Modem is important in knowing if the devices can be move to a location with a straighter shot to the computer/s. Wi-Fi is not much different from the CB radios, line of sight, distance and nothing in the way such as appliances in the kitchen if in direct line to impede the signal.I am using a Netgear router I've had for ages
Thanks Berton. Seems dual band is essential, so I will get one of those. I have been looking at the Negtgear R7000 but it's quite expensive, so good to hear other cheaper brands do a good job.
Unfortunately I can't relocate the router itself because my PC needs a direct ethernet connection. I forgot to mention it's satellite broadband, which struggles to give me a decent speed at the best of times, but it's adequate if not weakened, if you know what I mean. I walked through the house towards the router with the laptop and it just doesn't like my bedroom, where I get 2 bars vs. 5 in the actual office.
You're welcome. Netgear has always done good by some of my clients as has D-Link. Cisco/Linksys may be good [haven't used one for awhile] but I'm a bit old-fashioned, outer styling doesn't mean a lot to me.
In fact I rang Netgear support shortly after our conversation and they were very helpful. They recommended the 6300 because I specifically need both ethernet and wifi. I got one quite reasonably off ebay. Will be interesting to see if it makes a difference. At any rate it will mean a better, dedicated signal for my customers (I'm in tourism) so the money was well spent.
The other thing I can try besides that, if I still have a poor signal, is a powerline thingie in this room, as they are pretty cheap. Do you have an opinion on those? Not sure if I was reading that right, but I sort of gathered that although your signal improves, your throughput speed is diminished when running off a powerline.
I already have a better reception after FINALLY being gable to track down the right Windows 7 Atheros drivers for this previously Windows 8 Toshiba laptop (new). It is NOT easy getting all the drivers you need for W7, which didn't occur to me when I made the change. I am still lacking an ethernet driver, and googling reveals that driver is a problem for a LOT of people, even with an out of the box Toshiba running W8. However, I can live without that one.
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