How to improve wireless signal?

[luyang231]

I just moved to a new place.But the wireless signal in my house is very poor.
Is there a way to improve wireless signal?
Someones told me that if i played computer outside it would be more better..
But i wanna use it in my house.
Can somebody help me?

[sanddbox]

Get as close to the signal as possible. Upgrade to a stronger signal.


That's about it. Oh, and make sure people don't leech your bandwidth.

[Goatboy]

A couple of tips:

-If you only have one computer, then obviously using the computer closer to the router is best
-If you have multiple wireless computers, try to keep the router as close to the center of those computers as possible
-Sometimes you can up the strength by going into the configuration and looking around
-Not sure if it works, but this site has a cool antennae thing you can make cheaply
-If you aren't afraid of possibly bricking it, you can upgrade your router's firmware to dd-wrt which lets you boost your signal, iirc
-If your antennas are replaceable, you can buy bigger, stronger antennas that increase signal strength
-You can set up a Repeater, which acts as a second router and increases your range

Hope this helps. Haven't tried them all, but some should work. Try combining different methods.

[thedotmaster]

A very simple way that can but not always improve signal strength, is changing channel. People rage about whether this is true all the time but the truth is that if you have another wireless router nearby (or something else wireless, for that matter), and that doesn't have to be in your house for that matter, that is running on the same channel as your router - you have to compete for space on the frequency. Therefore, changing the channel to a non-default one often will boost your signal. However, if there are no other wireless devices around.. it's possible that it won't. Give it a go anyway, it's pretty easy to change.

[HeHeHunter]

I have a great suggestion.

If you are using an external wireless adapter (mainly USB), you may try to use aluminium foil to focus your signal on one location. It works for me though.

There's a link that you should read up: http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1066445

They do teach you how to make your own signal booster.

[luguaedos]

A very simple way that can but not always improve signal strength, is changing channel. People rage about whether this is true all the time but the truth is that if you have another wireless router nearby (or something else wireless, for that matter), and that doesn't have to be in your house for that matter, that is running on the same channel as your router - you have to compete for space on the frequency. Therefore, changing the channel to a non-default one often will boost your signal. However, if there are no other wireless devices around.. it's possible that it won't. Give it a go anyway, it's pretty easy to change.

Yes,it's good to stress that other wireless devices that use the same frequency can do it also. Cordless phones are notorious...

I was once assisting a friend who only had issues with his wireless connection between 6:00 and 10:00 PM. We discovered that his neighbor did not leave his wireless router on all the time. He unplugged it when he went to bed and plugged it in when he got home from work. They had the same channel, so moving to the other end of the spectrum fixed that. This was in an apartment building. In houses with a good amount of space you should not see this kind of stuff too much.

But what usually gets all users of wireless who have issues of poor signal is some other type of EMI like wiring and/or kitchen equipment. In my last place the cable Internet box came in to the building near the back of the apartment, the bed room was in the back and the kitchen was between them. There was probably only 50 feet between the living room and the bed room. But the main circuit breaker was there. The best signal I ever got was one to two bars. I had to get a range expander for 50 feet! Just awful.