|
How Can I Improve My Wireless Network? |
|
|
|
Written by Roger
|
|
Monday, 04 June 2007 |
How Can I Improve my Home Wireless Network Performance?
Your Wireless Lan or Wi-Fi works great when you are near it, but as soon as you move into the other room, the signal drops off considerably and you internet connection completely drops out. What can you do to keep your Wireless Lan signal strong and keep a good connection through your house and yard?
A Wi-Fi network or Wireless LAN (Local Area Network) comes in different flavors from slowest and weakest to fastest and strongest they are 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n. All of these networks operate on the 2.4 G Hz range. The problem is, so do most cordless phones. They can create a lot of noise and severely cripple any Wi-Fi network. When possible, avoid wireless electronics that use the 2.4GHz frequency, and replace your cordless phones with ones that use the 5.8GHz or 900MHz frequencies.
Position your wireless router in a central location to decrease the distance that the signal has to travel. If possible locate it in the location that would require the WLAN signal to go through the least amount of walls. Running microwave ovens are also very bad for network signals, so whenever possible position the wireless router so the microwave is not between the router and the end device. A router that is located up against metal, walls, or floors, can have problems with signal reflections, which will cause a weaker overall signal. Keep you router a small distance from these items to guarantee the strongest signal.
You can change your Wi-Fi channel to see if you get a better signal. Wireless routers can broadcast on several different channels. In the United States and Canada, these channels are 1, 6, and 11. Try changing your wireless router's channel to see if your signal strength improves. This would be done on the configuration page of the wireless router. The wireless clients would automatically detect the change in channel and change automatically.
Check with the router manufacturers website to ensure you have the newest firmware for your router. Manufacturers regularly release new firmware, that can greatly improve performance of their equipment.
If you still need more signal, you can look at changing the antenna on your wireless router.
The antennas supplied with your router are designed to be omni-directional, meaning they broadcast in all directions around the router. You may find that having a directional antenna that only sends a stronger signal in one direction would work better. You can't get more power out of the router, but if you focus it in one direction instead of sending it out in all directions, you will get a much stronger signal that can be aimed in the direction of your choice.
If all else fails, add a wireless access port or repeater to your WLAN. A wireless access port allows you to duplicate the wireless network signal from another location, giving you more coverage. This does require you to wire a network cable from the access port to the wireless router. A wireless repeaters will extend your network without having to add any wires. It hears the signal from the router and rebroadcasts it again, extending your range.
| Find this article useful? Share it with others! |
| | | | | | | |
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 08 September 2007 )
|
Networking 
