Setting up a wireless home network
is pretty simple now. Get a wireless router, connect the Internet port of the
router to your broadband modem and then connect any of the numbered LAN ports
to the desktop computer through an Ethernet cable.
Wireless G (or 802.11g) routers
offer fairly good Wi-Fi signal strength but if you plan to transfer large files
or stream videos around the house, you may well consider switching to a
slightly more expensive Wireless N (or 802.11n) router – these offer better
signal strength and higher data transfer speeds than Wireless G routers.
There’s however one problem with
Wi-Fi signals emanating from your wireless router – they only have a limited
range. The wireless signal strength will degrade as the distance between the
router and your laptop increases and it will further weaken if you have too
many brick walls in the house or if your computer is located on a different
floor than the router.
Ways to Boost the WiFi Signal Strength
If you too have a problem getting Wi-Fi signals in
every corner of your house, here are some tips (and accessories) to help you
extend the range of your wireless network.
1. Install the DD-WRT* firmware on your wireless router – this
might help increase the range of your Wi-Fi router by a few meters if not more.
To increase the signal strength,
you can increase the router’s transmit power and also disable both frame burst
and afterburner (the settings can be accessed from the router’s web dashboard).
If DD-WRT firmware is not available for your router, try the Tomato firmware on
your router.
2. Wifi alumnium reflector: Most routers have
omni-directional antennas so they emit wireless signals in all directions (just
like a light bulb).
That’s fine if you have placed the
router in a central location but if the router is in some corner of your room
or against a wall, consider adding a home-made reflector behind the antennas of
your router.
3. InSSIDer is a free utility that can help you detect
the presence and strength of wireless networks. Install InSSIDer on your
laptop, walk around the house with your laptop to determine the wireless signal
strength at various places and, based on this information, you can quickly find
a more suitable location for the router.
4. WiFi Booster Antenna: Ideally, you should place the
router at a height in some central location and away from other cordless
devices. Make sure that the router is not placed near something metallic (like
an almirah or window grills) as that will weaken the wireless signals. Avoid
mirrors as they can reflect the wireless signals away from the desired
direction.
5. Wireless routers generally ship with omni-directional
antennas but you can replace them with more powerful uni-directional antennas
and that will keep the signal from getting broadcast in all directions.
If you can’t find a compatible
directional antenna for your router model, consider a booster antenna that’s
omni-directional but will still boost both the range and strength of wireless
signals.
Extend the range of WiFi signals with Hardware
If your router is placed on the
ground floor of your home, the Wi-Fi signals will be very weak or may not even
reach the basement computer or the printer upstairs. The situation will be no
different if you work in a fairly large premises or if there are too many walls
in the area.
In that case, here are some
hardware device that you can consider to extend the reach of your Wi-Fi
network:
Option1. WiFi Repeater (Range Extender): You can attach a
WiFi Repeater (also known as Wireless Range Expander) to your router and
quickly expand the coverage of your wireless network without using any cables.
The Repeater should be placed
within the range of your existing router and it will reflect the signals to
other areas where the wireless reception was earlier poor (or totally absent).
The Repeater can connect wirelessly to both routers and access points (see #3
below).
Option2. (This is my current setup) You can get another
wireless router and connect it to your existing router using an Ethernet
cable. The advantage is that this setup comes pretty cheap and the Internet
speed stays almost the same even for computers that are accessing the web via
the new router.
You can get 100 feet long Ethernet
Cable (also known as Cat5 or LAN or RJ45 cable) for less than $10 and wireless
routers start at $20. Here’s a detailed guide on how you can connect two
routers together.
Option3. Wireless Access Point: You also have the option
to use an Access Point instead of a router to extend the WiFi range but that’s
often not required because Wireless Access Points can be more expensive than
equivalent routers.
The other advantage with a router
is that is has extra LAN ports so, in future, you can connect more wired
computers for sharing files or you Internet connection.
Option4. If you have an old desktop or laptop computer, you
should consider adding an external (USB based) wireless adapter or
upgrade the internal network card to improve the wireless reception (and thus
Internet speed).
