Wireless N - Gigabit Router problems
 

I'm in a new house. Bought a Linksys Wireless N Gigabit router. No problems with the setup, but the range is miserable. I really thought a good wireless signal would get to the back bedroom, which isn't more than 25 feet away, but it's not. MIL's computer in the basement? Ha.

BTW, I tried another model router and got the same result.

I should've wired this house for ethernet, but I didn't. Any suggestions? I was expecting much better range than this.

First of all; what are you connecting to it (what kind of PC/network card)? With most models, if one device connects using wireless b or g, the entire signal switches back to that slow system. Plus, don't expect miracles from wireless N, the range is just not that good. Unless you have one of the very few dual band N routers, it's either ALL n, or no n.

The only decent way to get relaible wireless is with external range boosting antennas and a router with firmware capable of boosting the output signal.

What's in the path between the 2 devices, stud wall, poured concrete, brick wall? Your PC should have some indication of signal strength, what is that like? Usually you get a good signal at 25' unless there is some serious signal absorption going on over the path.

Do you know that you have a good Internet connection? Plug a PC into the router and see what speed you're getting. Maybe there are issues at the router. Another possibility is to change the channel from 6 to one that no one else in the neighborhood is using.

A further possibility is that you have 2.4 GHz cordless phones and they are messing things up.

A little more info on the setup would be helpful.

16Mbps advertised, I'm getting 13-14 Mbps wireless in the room where the router is.

Signal strength is fair-to-middling in other parts of the house. I think if I could increase that, I'd be fine. Just figured I'd have more -- I had my home office in the basement of the last house and got full signal.

5.8Ghz phones. Though, I've wondered about interference with some other things. I've already changed the channel to one that nobody nearby is using.

The other computer is out my home office, down the hall, in a back bedroom. Oh, and one in the basement. I've picked up some powerline adapters and they work "OK" but not stunningly.

What are the walls made of? What kind of signal strength are you seeing in the other rooms? Can you move the router from or within its current room to see how that affects signal propagation?

try add-on antennas if necessary
 

Assuming your AP has threaded antenna connectors, you can replace the stock antennas with better ones to get an easy signal strength boost. Something like http://shop1.frys.com/product/490167...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG , although you've got plenty of options, both directional and omni-directional.

Another option is to add signal boosters, like this http://www.amazon.com/Hawking-HiGain.../dp/B0009MYSHU

you can even combine better antennas and signal boosters if need be.

Bob

I didn't see it answered but am assuming that both your home office & MIL's computer are 802.11n, obviously if the computers are B/G there is no MIMO distance improvement.

On the other front most Linksys n routers can be re-flashed with dd-wrt. dd-wrt will allow you to crank up the output power above the stock firmware. Obviously the more you crank it up the more heat is produced by the finals which can shorten life. Note that this does nothing for the return channel from the computer to the AP, but if the AP transmitter strength is the weakest link it could give you the boost you need.

I heartily agree with both the antenna and DD-WRT suggestions. DD-WRT is a terrific router operating system (as is Tomato) and I use it on all my routers. If you are uncomfortable changing the router operating system, you can buy routers already converted to DD-WRT on eBay. My favorites are the Buffalo routers.

eBay is also the place to buy router antennas. You have to be careful about the antenna connectors, as there is no standardization and the terms are incomprehensible ("reversve polarity TNC", for example) but you can tell the antenna vendor what you want to connect it to and they can usually provide the necessary cable. The antenna is the way to go if signals are weak because, as pointed out above, it amplifies both received and transmitted signals. A word of caution: directional antennas work by ignoring all but one direction so don't assume you will get signals off the back and sides of the antenna as well as the front.

Using 2 Buffalo routers running DD-WRT and 14 db Yagi antennas, a client runs a nightly off-site backup to a location over a mile away (line of site).

I too love the Buffalo routers, unfortunately due to patent issues Buffalo has been issued an injunction from selling routers in the US (more here). When I saw the release I snarfed up 5 WHR-G125s from multiple Circuit City stores for use with dd-wrt. This patent issue may spill over to eventually affect the larger manufacturers like Linksys, Netgear, and D-Link but I digress.

One of the side benefits of dd-wrt is that it can make your stock wireless box into a repeater, bridged repeater, client, or a bridged client along with an AP. You'd have to get a second router but it's really flexible for extending range. Put it in repeater mode at some high spot in the house. I currently use a second router to act as a bridged client for my Slingbox.

Couple of other benefits is that for no additional cost you can add a bunch of functionality. I've got mine set up as an OpenVPN server for when I'm playing roadwarrior, Dynamic DNS client so when my ISP changes my addy the router will automatically reset a 'follow me home' domain, PPtP server so I can VPN in with my ipod Touch, as well as a Wake-on-Lan client so I can power up my home machine from the road and remote access my desktop.

I am fascinated by this, but I'm going to investigate running some ethernet around the house first. I plan on being here a long time and I'd rather spend a bit more and have the dedicated wiring and perhaps a gigabit switch.

I'll probably keep the wireless around, though, so maybe I'll try this in the future. To be honest, I'm fairly technical, but I have this fear of bricking my router by flashing the firmware.

N B C!!
 

First rule of networking: Nothing Beats Copper!! ^^

You could also try HomePlug.