WIFI RANGE

**jx2mad** · 19th November 2012, 03:30 PM

My situation is that my daughter is trying to use her laptop through my wifi setup. However the range is too far for a good signal. It is impossible for her to bring her computer closer and I cannot shift mine or the wifi modem. Is there any way of boosting the signal. She uses a laptop but is in her study.

**Barefoot Dave** · 19th November 2012, 04:44 PM

Mate, sme rules as any other radio transmitter；
Relocate the antenna to give as close as possible to line-of-sight
Minimise absorbtion by walls, se above
Use more power, some (most?) wifi units have variable power output. Note- you may give your neighbours more signal than the other end of your house. PASSWORD!! You should also make it invisible.
When all else fails, add a repeater. These can be had for ~$100
Hope this helps.
Dave.

**isuzurover** · 19th November 2012, 05:12 PM

Or the cheap option, drill a few holes and run a cable between the modem and her room.

**101RRS** · 19th November 2012, 05:18 PM

Wifi will transmit over the whole house and around the nearby neighbourhood. If you are not picking up the signal there is an issues with either the modem or the WiFi in the computer.

You should have no issues.

Garry

**Benz** · 19th November 2012, 05:30 PM

you can get wireless routers with different strengths of wifi output.

what kind of router do you have and how far are you trying to transmit?

**Pedro_The_Swift** · 19th November 2012, 06:41 PM

I would suggest a large tin foil reflector,,
but you guys would probably laugh

**goingbush** · 19th November 2012, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

I would suggest a large tin foil reflector,,
but you guys would probably laugh

dont laugh, it works
get a parabolic dish, a wok will do

get somone to hold it behind the router so that the signal bounces off it into the direction of the laptop, once you got the best signal then work out a way to set it in that position.

you could also buy a Linksys WAP repeater / range extender

**Ferret** · 19th November 2012, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by garrycol

Wifi will transmit over the whole house and around the nearby neighbourhood. If you are not picking up the signal there is an issues with either the modem or the WiFi in the computer.

That's pretty much what I thought also. We have no trouble around our house using WiFi -all walls are brick (double brick in some cases) and line of sight distances to some rooms would be ~ 20 meters in some cases, plus can see the neighbours networks.

Interference may be an issue. Is the modem or your daughters laptop located near another device generating RF radiation, ie cordless phone or something like that.

**isuzu110** · 19th November 2012, 07:19 PM

Jaycar have a wifi extender Universal Wi-Fi Extender - Jaycar Electronics

**DeanoH** · 19th November 2012, 07:22 PM

Poor wireless signal may be due to signal quality as opposed to strength. Electrical interference is quite common from compact flouros and cheap Chinese LED lighting. Try turning all your lights off and see if this makes a difference. Another cause of poor signal could be interference from a neighbours wireless equipment. Try changing channels in your router and see if this improves things.

As for tin foil reflectors (as opposed to hats

), I once had a customer who used a pair of USB WiFi adaptors (the ones that look like a large USB stick)mounted in the middle of a wok. Line of sight it worked very effectively over a distance of about 1/2 Km between two PC's.

As mentioned earlier some wireless routers have variable output. ie. The original Telstra 2-wire brand routers when cranked up from default gave in excess of 10 dB gain, but remember this does not affect the transmit power from the laptop back to the router.

Deano

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