Increasing Wi-Fi signal in my house (wireless bridge or access point, etc)?
This is my problem, my wireless router is located on the upstairs floor and I would like to increase the wireless signal two floors down in my basement. For instance, in Room A I have a Westell Versalink 327W wireless router connected via Ethernet to the desktop computer in that room. When I am in my basement (which is 2 floors down) I only pick up 1/5 bars of signal (on my laptop) if I am lucky. We will call my basement Room B. I would love to increase the wireless signal in Room B so that I could hook up my PS3 there, as well as use my laptop in there without having hiccups in the connection. I would like to be able to use these without needing an Ethernet cable (connecting wirelessly). I have read about things called wireless bridges as well as Access points. I am not sure which exactly I need in this situation, but I would like to be able to put one in Room B so that it connects wirelessly to the router in Room A, and as a result, increases the wireless signal in Room B. Sorry for being so confusing, but any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
3 Responses
Tracy L
28 Feb 2010
Mr-shock
28 Feb 2010
if you dont know much about networking, you dont know what access points are or bridges, just by yourself a new router with a longer range instead of causeing you brain damage by trying to understand it.
Rob
28 Feb 2010
could look into airport express by apple. Buy one, and put it in your current router, and you can buy another and simply plug it in the room you want boosting (mains plug) and it talks to the one in your router, hassle free 
Easy way to do it, try looking on ebay I have seen them for about £50 each. (OR buy just one and boost your routers signal to N-Draft)
An N router might be the answer notice the word MIGHT!
Wifi is very picky about walls and other obstructions. It is a line of site technology. There are range extenders and "repeaters" that can help but any of them will divide the signal and reduce the system throughput by at least 50%! (You connect your laptop to the repeater which sits between you and the router, it repeats the signal and pushes it on to the router. That is two steps thus 1/2 the speed.)
The Versalink has removeable antennas, you can get better "gain" antennas. I would say start with that. But if you are two floors away even that may be too weak. The best solution is to run a wire from the main router to the basement and add another access point in the basement, That will give you full bandwidth and full signal levels.
If you don’t want to run and ethernet wire to the basement get a couple of "HomePlugs". These little devices use your homes AC power wiring and make it into an ethernet plug.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=MxN&q=netgear+homeplug&revid=1309021689&ei=Te9HSsy2KI7-NerhhJoB&resnum=0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=6002060217838966561&ei=Zu9HSqeTD5HeMYjKnbMK&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=6#ps-sellers
or the netgear page
http://www.netgear.com/Products/PowerlineNetworking/PowerlineEthernetAdapters/XE103G.aspx
The Netgear units in the link above are good devices and work very well. Use one near the router, one in the basement. Connect the routers wired ports to the one near it, connect the one in the basement to an access point in the basement! Now you have good coverage and have good wireless speeds. This will assure coverage in both locations. (Running an ethernet wire is still better but these make it easy to do.)
Oh – the newer version from netgear is even better.
http://www.netgear.com/Products/PowerlineNetworking/PowerlineEthernetAdapters/HDX101.aspx
200mbs!