Wi-Fi Range extender?
Hi, i have a linksys wireless router upstairs in my house but my room is downstairs so when i try to go on the internet or youtube via my ipod touch i often have a very weak signal or lose it all together. I looked on ebay for a range extender but they were either alott of money or they needed a 1/4 inch external antenna port. i was wondering if there is a cheap wi-fi extender that connects to your router via an ethernet cable or some other way to extend the range of my wi-fi without spending a bunch of money. plz help. thanks
Update:my wireless router doesnt have an antenna port, it only has ethernet ports
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well the external antenna port is the way to attach a better antenna on to either the wifi router or the laptop/device's own antenna.
I am not sure what you mean by expensive - as long as you have a device capable of attaching an antenna - they are cheap - I am looking at a 6db antenna that is only $20. But - it depends on the wifi device you have. I have a USB modem - and that is able to take an antenna - while my internal wifi card in the laptop is not.
How about allowing devices to connect to a computer and share its connection - then the Ipod would only have to connect to the computer (which is upstairs with you) instead of travelling downstairs for a signal
The range extender/repeater will likely be able double your range to cover the rest of your house, but that's probably about it. There's no way that you would be able to get your whole property. Here's why. Wi-Fi is a two-way connection (Tx and Rx between Access Point [Router] and client [computer]). If you have your router blasting signal outward, you'd be able to probably see the access point SSID, but would be able to connect because your device would not have enough power to communicate back to the router. It would be like talking to someone with a megaphone 100M away, they could hear you, but you wouldn't be able to hear them. There are the possibilities of ultra-high gain antennas, which this is not, but either way, the signal gets so noisy that it wouldn't be really worth it anyway. So this is a good option if you were able to move the main router down, or upstairs, then put the extender on the opposite side of the house.
Yes, you can get a wireless range extender. I have a Belkin "WURE" Wireless Universal Range Extender which works quite well. I got mine at Staples office supply store and it was about $80. It does require some setup but with a little work and a lot of patience, you can enter the neccecary information about the "parent" network (what it's extending) and it will double the range.
There are several brands that sell similar devices, althoughI haven't tried any others so I can't say if they are good or bad. I know I've seen some by Linksys and Netgear but I've had bad luck with other things made by those brands in the past so I try to stay away from them.