Wifi Antennas

[minestrone]

Do these things actually make a difference?

The modem/router has an internal antenna and I am struggling to get a signal in the furthest corners of the south and west wings so considering getting some kind of extra antenna to screw into the back.

The antenna might look as if it will make a difference but with the same total power output from the device will it really matter?

[doodab]

They can help. WiFi performance depends on the AP being able to hear the client as well as pumping out signal and the antenna benefits both of those, although obviously it needs to be better (i.e. higher gain) than the one you are using now.

You might also want to scan with something like inssider to see if changing channel might help.

Personally I would consider the repeater / bridge option.

[xoggoth]

I brought one. Arial is about 8" compared to 2-3 on router, made no obvious difference. However, it does have about 8' of lead so if I could get it closer without drilling a hole in the wall that might help.

[doodab]

The important parameter is the gain. There may also be an element of directivity involved.

[doomage]

Is it a decent router to begin with? Or just the free one which your broadband supplier provides?

I went and spent about £100 on one of those asus-rt n56 routers earlier this year, best IT expense this year by far.

[Pondlife]

Hopefully not too far off topic...

If I have two wireless routers in different parts of the house, is it possible to use the same SSID and passcode for both so that a device can move to whichever has the stronger signal? Should they use the same or a different channel? The two are connected by plug socket Ethernet connections.

[minestrone]

It's a linksys so it is OK but I am sure the internal anntena is probably crap.

I use a wifi extender in another part of the house which will never get the signal (extension the other side of thick sandstone walls) but this time I might just need a bit of a boost as the signal seems to die once you walk pas tthe middle of a few rooms. I can get wifi on one side of my bed but not the other etc.

[Support Monkey]

This is all you need, i have one in my office to extend the wired network but it also gives good coverage around the house

Netgear Universal WiFi Range Extender: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

[Support Monkey]

I once setup wireless in a castle and the signal would not go through the wall to the next room however when we put the router as high as possible on top of a wardrobe it worked fine

[Sysman]

I once setup wireless in a castle and the signal would not go through the wall to the next room however when we put the router as high as possible on top of a wardrobe it worked fine

I had the same problem with a building going back to 1450(ish). I went for a router that had 3 aerials and claimed good coverage and stuck it on its own shelf near the ceiling.

I was still getting patchy coverage so installed DD-WRT on it. That proved more stable than the manufacturer's firmware and I could use it to increase the signal too.

P.S. Various jokers kept on telling me to drill a hole in the wall. They hadn't seen how thick the wall was.