2 likely problems:
1) Interference from other WiFi hotspots. This is almost certainly the problem, you're in a tiny apartment in NYC.
Use a Wifi scanning app like inSSIDer (I use an Android app called WiFi Analyzer) to detect the hotspots around you. You'll probably see a lot. Pick a Channel for your router it isn't commonly used (the app will suggest some).
That will help, but you might also need to add a WIRED repeater to boost the signal as well (a wireless repeater will just make more noise).
2) If it's not that, it's a possibly unshielded wiring in the wall (common in pre-WWII construction). But the recommendation would be the same, run a wired repeater into the other room.
interference could be an issue, but it seems like you have done your best to mitigate that. I would still look for the simplest solution such as "shaping" the wireless signal with a reflector. Strategically placed, it can help weaken signals to areas you dont want it to go, and strengthen in other areas.
>I can't reliably get devices to pair with the router with the most RSSI.
That is going to be difficult without some software on each device telling it to do that. The default on most devices is to connect to the SSID you allocate priority, and not based on signal strength.
If I remember right AC is 500mb/s per channel. Are using more than 1 ap in mesh mode?
How many devices do you have connected to wireless during this test? Do you have both 5ghz and 2.4 enabled for the same ssid?
Netsh is a great tool to gather more info. http://sourcedaddy.com/windows-7/troubleshooting-wireless-connections.html
On Mac it's airport http://osxdaily.com/2007/01/18/airport-the-little-known-command-line-wireless-utility/
OpenDNS has free web filtering. They take care of all the categorization, and you just select what types of sites should be blocked (or allowed). All you need to do is point the machine's DNS servers to theirs and it will work across all browsers.
What you need isn't a router, it's called a WiFi Bridge, just like this one on amazon.
PCI Express Adapters are usually a lot better than USB adapters. I think having a wifi bridge separate from your PC is the best option since it allows you to place it where it gets the strongest signal.
Ok quick primer. RSSI (received service signal indicator) is a measure of loss. The further negative from zero, the weaker the signal. Up to a -65 is usually considered strong. SNR (signal to noise ratio) lets us know what the quality of hte signal is, or is there a lot of extraneous noise. Usually you want >20 for good throughput. You can find these values easily buy holding the option key while clicking the wireless indicator. This will also show your data rates, channel, and frequency in use very easily.
http://osxdaily.com/2011/06/15/get-detailed-wifi-info-from-the-menu-bar/
Can you show the connection details when on both bands? On a Mac you can press and hold the option key, then click the wireless icon - it will look like this: http://osxdaily.com/2011/06/15/get-detailed-wifi-info-from-the-menu-bar/
Directly above, and directly below an omni directional antenna are the absolute worse places for reception.
Using the image linked you can see that right above the antenna is a radiation hole in the vertical axis.
You're getting some connection due to reflected radiation, but you'll get a much stronger signal if you move your desk and/or the modem to get within the primary beam. (or adjust the antennas on the modem to get your desk into more of the beam)
NOTE: This is just a generic pattern, that which is radiated by your particular modem/antenna may vary - but it gives you an idea of where the sweet spot might be. of course, you still probably don't want stuff in the line of sight. If you've got an antenna that's on a cable, try putting it below the desk, or pointing it straight down.
ADSL is set to "auto sync up" in AP settings. I actually got the RSSI with inSSIDer originally, here is a graph... couldn't upload to imgur for some reason, probably too much lag again, so here is a dropbox link instead https://www.dropbox.com/s/d482p00qoy874ks/Untitled2.png
edit: Also might be worth noting that It's 2 am, so no-one else is using the wireless right now.
Get a USB wireless adapter if you suspect there's something wrong with the adapter in the laptop.
If you suspect the OS, create a bootable Linux flash drive and see if the issue still occurs. The software at http://www.linuxliveusb.com/ is a simple way to do that.
Since you know the make/models of each AP, you have to check the manual(s) to see IF you can change power settings. If you can not, don't stress it.
Now, if you would like to learn more about wireless connectivity, infrastructure, and monitoring the health of wireless STAs (clients devices = cellphones, laptops, tablets, TV, gaming platforms, including WIDS [wireless intrusion detection systems] etc.)... look up DD-WRT and its database of compatible APs.
DD-WRT is da bomb for managing wireless networks (lite business and residential), and can be used for wireless intrusion methodologies.
Don't forget Kali
Anyway, wireless is the future. People want internet connectivity and mobility. That means WLANs and cellular networks. Great field, great pay.
Thanks both for sharing your knowledge. Good to know that the linked article, although it may work in some situations, may not be the best nor a good solution.
I arrived at it when doing my research while preparing to go to a client's home to improve the WiFi coverage on his two-floor house. As I wasn't sure which kind of wireless network devices I was going to find (I knew there were two TP-Link routers, but wasn't sure about their capabilities), I looked into some solutions that may not need any kind of repeater/bridge/WDS (in case devices didn't support it).
When I arrived there, I found out that there was two (different) TP-LINK routers, and also a Cisco DPC2420 broadband modem-router (also wireless). I wasted 2 hours trying to set up a WDS between any of the TP-LINK (remote device) and the Cisco device, only to find out that WDS between different brands may not be possible in most cases.
I ended up doing a WDS setup between the two TP-LINK routers, one of them connected directly via wire to the Cisco modem/router. It worked pretty well, and I was able to extend WiFi coverage across the house.
Then, after returning home and doing some more research, I found that I could have done a better setup by having both TP-LINK routers (connected via WDS) use the same SSID, thus, letting people move around the house without having to (re)connect to different SSIDs. I may go back to client's house to improve the setup with this new knowledge.
BTW, this answer at SU shed a good amount of light too: http://superuser.com/a/122508
You can build your own print server (along with 50000000+ other even cooler things) with a RaspberryPi for pretty cheap. Might be the best/cheapest option for you if you don't have a desktop environment to work with.
Here's a thought .. connect your laptop .. connect to your VPN.
Then use a utility to create a hotspot from your laptop. http://www.mhotspot.com/ is free.
Connect Roku to the new hotspot coming from your laptop.
Might work.
Why not connect everything to the wifi router? That will eliminate one potential problem.
Seems like you have it "too loud" in there... apartments notoriously have too many wireless devices. Use a wifi scanner and make sure you're on a channel that has the least utilization. 1, 6, 11 don't overlap. Your USB dongle thing could also be too close, not sure on this model but you may be able to turn it down.
You can also try one of these things, but I'm not sure how well they work.
I use one over ethernet but ran the cat5 through my attic. (It works great).
5 GHz and 2.4 GHz are completely separated. They don't interfere with each other. Changing this setting will do absolutely nothing to anything on the 2.4 GHz band.
You can buy a really good USB 802.11ac adapter for $25 or so on Amazon. Like this TP-Link T4U. Much better than old 802.11g stuff.
For Android only (IOS doesn't let you grab this info) there is an app in the Play Store called Aruba Utilities. It will tell you what AP you're connected and even let you connect to a specific AP. It will also query the controller to give you more info as well.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arubanetworks.arubautilities
If this is a home setting, you don't have to worry about it. The advantages would be if you had a lot of active devices using the AP and would want say, heavy users like streaming on one channel band and then the casual web browsers on the other channel. All of this is to avoid channel congestion.
You should also run a WiFi scanner to determine which channels are also being used by your neighbors in order to get the best quality of service using INSSIDER or this nifty Android app.
WiFi 6 will shoot the price up, but I’d be comfortable recommending this model—as long as you don’t have tons of IOT devices (smart plugs, etc.) that you want to isolate on their own VLAN.
TP-Link AX50 (you should be able to find it easily on Amazon or wherever)
If you need to do stuff like create VLANS for IOT devices or for a guest network, you’ll have to either spend $250 or forego WiFi 6. That could be a smart course of action regardless, as the number of devices that support WiFi 6 isn’t super high at the moment. I have a PC that supports it, but it’s connected via Ethernet, so I haven’t had any real chance to experience it. My phones and tablets and other devices aren’t WiFi 6 capable.
Also, the The AX21 is $50 less. I’ve never used either of these routers, but they have a ton of positive reviews on Amazon and are highly recommended by sites like TomsHardware, etc.
If you like running custom firmware, I used to run a Netgear Nighthawk (AC1900) that I really liked. I’d check the compatibility list for the firmware you like to use before buying. It seems like newer versions of the Nighthawk don’t let you flash some of the custom firmwares that are out there. I used to run Tomato on it, but I don’t think it’s compatible with the newer models, while DD-WRT probably is. I ran Tomato with a pi-hole (https://pi-hole.net) for DNS ad blocking and it was always excellent.
I use Ubiquiti stuff now, which is nice, but it’s total overkill for almost all home WiFi setups.
Adding another router or a firewall will only block Layer-2 access to the network. This can help prevent an ISP from directly identifying the devices on your network, but that's all. If the ISP charges by device, they'll get the count using traffic analysis - probably from their DNS servers.
Assume zero privacy on any ISP network - then scope your privacy as needed.
And don't be afraid to air-gap shit if you think there are leaks that could be bad - too many folks are unwilling to unplug when they play.
I was interested by that quote too.
DNS does have a small role in WAN performance. Basically since public DNS is configured to not save your geographical location when performing lookups you might get routed to a server that is farther away that it could be.
04/03/2011 - http://lifehacker.com/5788230/why-you-might-want-to-stick-with-your-isps-dns-server-after-all
I personally have not come across a scenario where a specific DNS made a noticeable impact on performance. The optimist in me would think that these kinds of performance issues have been naturally corrected over time as systems became more complex and able to load balance or adjust to scenarios. While it may be technically worse to use one DNS or another I'd think the tradeoffs of a public DNS would tend to outweigh that of using the ISPs preferred DNS.
10/22/2014 - http://www.howtogeek.com/167239/7-reasons-to-use-a-third-party-dns-service/
Using Speedify bonding in a RaspberryPi router has revolutionized my home internet experience: _Internet/comments/sq0bjg/have_you_seen_smoothwan_yet_speedify_on_rpi/
But, if both your 5G connections are fast and unlimited data, you may not be that desperate. A more basic load balancing and/or failover router may suit your needs fine (and with no monthly fee).
Source for DNS reflection (one of many, many):
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/hh972393.aspx
Source for router vulnerabilities:
I've not done this process on a Mac before, but a cursory search seems that it is certainly possible, though I'm not sure if it'll act as a true AP versus NATing your client devices.
Also keep in mind any traffic from or to the host OSX operating system will likely end up in the capture.
You can also use a "router" if it can be configured into AP mode (Disable routing, DHCP, NAT, SPI Firewall, etc) - sorry I didn't clarify that earlier.
Best answers I could find by googling "force wifi association to a mac address".
This is probably slight overkill for your needs, but as it's a newer device will have a longer useful lifespan. but I'd suggest the TP-Link Archer C7; check out this review: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wi-fi-router/ - it regularly drops to ~$90: http://camelcamelcamel.com/TP-LINK-Archer-C7-Wireless-1300Mbps/product/B00BUSDVBQ?context=browse
Nah, I would say adding another device in the chain is going to increase complexity and decrease reliability. Just get an external antenna for your WiFi NIC if the signal is bad. Like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JVDNDCR/
I managed to find this, But im not sure if its the right product. Would this device plug straight into the ethernet port in the router and boost the signal? http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/1620391967/VONETS_wifi_repeater_outdoor_wireless_wifi.html
So just to clarify, your wireless network works perfectly all day long until the PS3 connects to it. It is then and only then that you encounter problems?
What wireless router do you use?
Have you thought about dd-wrt or tomato as replacement software on your router? This will often times clear out software related bugs. Of course if this is a unit that you lease from your ISP then it may not be an option.
EDIT: nevermind, I just saw your other post and I don't think that the software replacement is an option for you.
Will do. Yes I prefer RSSI in dBm also. I just tried to download InSSIDer Home for Windows and it seems the program is now $19.99? I found a free alternative called vistumbler on sourceforge that was free. UI is a little rough compared to others, but it works fine and gives RSSI in dBm and also shows channels. http://www.vistumbler.net/
When password security is in question the rule of thumb is the longer the better. A password with the high entropy should be used to rule out any easy breaches such as a dictionary or brute force attack. Basically jack up your password length as high as you can feasibly go. As you add characters the variety of the password becomes less important such as adding capitals and symbols but it never hurts to include a few.
If I understand correctly, the other answers assume you specified "connected to the same network as the router". I reply with the assumption you're interested in nearby devices, regardless where they're connected to.
WiFi cards can "sniff" packets being sent in the ether. Usually unconnected devices will send "probe" packets to try and connect to the network they've connected to in the past. They'll do this on all available channels, so your card can "sniff" those while staying on a specific channel to serve its regular users.
But to be able to cover all cases, the router should try many frequencies. If it stays on a single frequency, it won't be able to sense devices connected to a different AP on a different, far channel. But if you make it loop through all channels its radio would then be busy with the device sensing, and it would be unable to serve its primary purpose of WiFi connectivity. You could still plug a secondary wifi card into the OpenWRT and use one card for device detection and the other one for regular communication.
Have a look at the airmon-ng program of the aircrack-ng suite.
I've sold and installed a ton of these. Needs line of sight and power and switches at the end but works great for your application.
TRENDnet 14 DBI WiFi AC867 Outdoor Poe Preconfigured Point-to-Point Bridge Kit, 4 DBI Directional Antennas, for Point-to-Point WiFi Bridging Applications, 5GHz, AC867, TEW-840APBO2K https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SZW99NM/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_297MRSXYPC3PDJRE9SWW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
If you know your nearest 4G relay then I guess something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RJQ8RGC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_M0PW41VH6AHZB6R1763A
This is a Yagi antenna that you should point to the antenna of the nearest relay.
Since you specifically mentioned the backyard, you could put an Outdoor AP out there to get great coverage, and it would bleed into the nearby indoors as well.
You would not have x2 coax +x2 Ethernet going into a MoCA device, these are simple and dumb keystone plastic enclosures, like this, https://www.amazon.ca/N236-004-WH-Surface-Mount-Pre-Configured-Unshielded-Punchdown/dp/B0784CFN31
I used to live in some employer provided housing that totally whacked the signal of my wireless ISP. my solution was to buy this enclosure and mount it on the outside of my housing unit. kept the box dry and was invisible to the 5ghz wifi signal. Just ran power and my network cable through an existing penetration to the enclosure. Nobody would bother mine but for your application i think there are holes for securing with an appropriate padlock to prevent tampering. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005T57OLY
good luck!
I ended up buying a TP Link T9UH, which apparently can only be put into 'monitor mode' on Linux, but not Windows. So then I bought a software package from Acylic, which apparently has done something to reverse engineer the TP link drivers to enable monitor mode on Windows. Looks like you can buy their "Professional" software and see the packets in their software, or you can buy their "Wi-Fi" product and have an integration with Wireshark.
If anyone finds a Wi-Fi adapter that can be put into 'monitor mode' without paying for additional software, that would save the Acrylic software license cost.
> Could a proxy server help with the delay? I've done it without Speedify and it works, but sadly does not work with any steam games.
You're going to have to elaborate on this.
As for the latency, it adds the hop to the vpn server. There's nothing you can do about it if the connections you are providing it are bad.
Haha.. I probably shouldn't be laughing. He is definitely devious enough but I believe too lazy to have gone to the trouble. I think we will try TunnelBear until she moves out of the house in 2 months. Thanks for all the help you guys!!!!
Thanks, I was about to buy the Asus 1300 today but now I see a sale on Netgear AC1750 (R6700) making it the same price as Asus 1300. It's going on sale now on Amazon and I am confused if I should get the Asus 1300 or Netgear AC1750? Do you know if Netgear one is an older model when to compared to Asus?
Netgear AC1750 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R2AZLD2
Here is the link to the sale - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R8W11Z
I love Ubiquiti stuff, and with that in mind, don’t buy either of these. The directional one isn’t designed for a house, and the 3pack is an old model.
WiFi is inherently not as fast as a wired connection. Newer WiFi standards like 802.11ac can be quite fast, but for the vast majority of devices, will never reach gigabit speeds. For instance, ~500mbps is the fastest any smartphone will ever go. Some laptops may reach ~700mbps. This is because WiFi speeds are limited to the weaker device. Phones (and most laptops) are usually 2x2:2 ( two receiving radios, two transmitting radios, and two spatial streams. If you have a 4x4:4 Router/AP, and your phone is 2x2:2, you are only ever going to get 2x2:2 speeds, ~500mbps. It gets even worse, the two extra streams don’t go to other devices, they go unused. Nominally MU-MIMO allows you to send the extra streams to a second device, but in practice, the Router/AP and device have to support it, and even then its situational at best.
Also, all wifi has massive overhead because only one device can transmit at a time, so practical speeds are about 60% of listed speeds. So a 2x2:2 Router/AP would be advertised as 867mbps even though you will only get 500mbps in real life.
Also, ubiquiti has changed their lineup around in the last 2 years, so not all reviews are actually relevant to the most current units.
TL,DR; Wifi is a complex beast, sales people lie. This one is probably your best bet. get one of these
Just buy an access point and plug it into one of your lan drops in your house. It would be a separate wifi network than your AT&T one but it will work just fine and is super easy to set up.
or
$180 3 pack omni: https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-UAP-3-802-11n-Wireless-Access/dp/B00HXT8RDI/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1513915055&sr=8-10&keywords=ubiquiti+access+point
Thanks for the reply! That option seems like a good one. I'm still convinced that there's a way to make a folding directional 2.4GHz antenna that'd be packable, though...I could probably build a Yagi myself. I'm also thinking of some sort of folding quasi-parabola, sort of like those collapsible steaming baskets: https://www.amazon.com/Amco-Stainless-Steel-Collapsible-Steamer/dp/B000Q4N2LO
As you've noted, directional antennas are typically rather bulky, I can't think of one I would want to throw in a backpack regularly. A different strategy is to use an external usb wireless card that has higher power than your laptop, and can be positioned into windows or other places to get a better signal by using a 15 foot cord.
Mine is old and looks like this: https://www.amazon.com/Alfa-U24N-Wi-Fi-Adapter-Compatible/dp/B01G3ZOPY2/
This newer one looks interesting too: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Adapter-External-Antennas-Warranty/dp/B074FRMDJ2/
USB2 is fine. If you want a good cheap recommendation. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XMZ4Y4B/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_mY8WzbXGKY77P
If you want to get something higher quality then I would look into PCI based wireless cards.
Hey, so I bought and installed
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01IEU7UZ0/
It's defo connecting via ac instead of n and it's using 5GHz and internet is much faster so thanks!
But- I notice that the link speed between my pc and router is only 86M. This doesn't seem very high to me. Do you know how I can improve it? Especially since fibre in my area is meant to go to 100M but I'm not going to upgrade unless I can actually use it. Do you have any advice on how to increase the link speed between my pc and the router?
Hey, so I bought and installed
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01IEU7UZ0/
It's defo connecting via ac instead of n and it's using 5GHz and internet is much faster so thanks!
But- I notice that the link speed between my pc and router is only 86M. This doesn't seem very high to me. Do you know how I can improve it? Especially since fibre in my area is meant to go to 100M but I'm not going to upgrade unless I can actually use it. Do you have any advice on how to increase the link speed between my pc and the router?
Usually, if you look on youtube, you can find pretty detailed instructions on how to swap the wireless card. Now, if you can do this, maybe you could change your router to something a little bit better? I don't know what this one is, but the speeds you have are kinda... meh.
My boss has an iphone 7 and he gets 433 Mbps link speed from our Ubiquiti wireless access point.
How in the hell does that thing has a wireless-G card??
Depending on the model, you might be able to replace the internal card with something better. You can get something like this for $20 and it'll be so much better. Also, no pokey things sticking out.
Honest, it's probably simpler and cheaper to just buy an RF wireless keyboard. Also, have you used a Bluetooth keyboard before? I've used several and I've never experienced any latency and I would consider myself a relatively fast typer.
The following driver software is linked for my laptop:
"Killer N1525 Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Driver for Windows 10 64 BIT"
It was an upgrade I didn't choose at the time. So if I grab this card:
https://www.amazon.com/Doubleshot-Wireless-AC-Bluetooth-Wireless-Network/dp/B00VQF1IHW
it seems I should be good to go?
If you can't get a clear line of site between the 2 points, that's gonna be tough. 75 feet of assorted building materials, and the stuff people put inside buildings, is exactly NOT an asset for accomplishing your goal.
The M2 probably can do 5K, under the proper circumstances: clear line of sight/fresnel zone between both antennas, matched devices on both ends, clear RF spectrum. You don't have any of these facts going for you.
If anything, since you're stuck with trying to push RF through walls, I'd be trying a P2P link with 900Mhz gear first, as lower frequency will attenuate less. Check out the 900 Mhz Nanobridge M, but I would consider it a pleasant surprise if it works. The construction materials of the apartment will influence this a lot.
okay I would get this then one as it is the cheapest here
I don't see any problem with you using their wireless if you're in range, especially if you're a student there. You could try something like this - https://www.amazon.com/High-Gain-Long-Rang-Alfa-9dBi-Mount/dp/B0038Q4AIG/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1481462090&sr=8-17-spons&keywords=alfa+networks+awus036h&psc=1
I use one of these and am able to get wifi from across the street from starbucks with at least 3 bars when I am working on the road and need to use my laptop. I've used other extenders but this one seems to be the best especially if they are using a 5ghz AC wireless router.
> xaomi miwifi
Thank ya!
I used openwrt around a decade ago on what turned out to be one of the most prized routers of all time, or at least I think so: https://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Dual-Band-Wireless-Gigabit-WRT1200AC/dp/B00UVN20T0/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1478740412&sr=1-10&keywords=openwrt
I doubt that's the same one, but it looked like that. In any case, appreciate the response!
Wifi radiation patterns from monopole antennas often look like a doughnut laying flat. It could be the room you're having issues with is sitting more or less in the hole of the doughnut.
Don't get a range extender, they're absolute garbage - trying to repeat a weak or unreliable wifi signal is going to throw speed into the crapper and will probably be just as spotty.
I'd suggest an Ethernet Over Powerline kit with a wifi AP on the remote end like this one on Amazon.
It's easier than running new ethernet cables and still gives you wifi on the remote end.
An access point would be wired to your other router rather than being completely wireless in both directions. A lot people accomplish this by using a Powerline-type adapter to conduct the signal through your electrical wiring into the room where the TV is, then setting up another Router as an AP in that room. This would allow you to have both reliable Wifi and a wired connection for your television/streaming box/game console at that end of the apartment. Obviously running an actual wire would be ideal, but I can understand why that's not possible in an apartment.
I've admittedly never used one, but they seem to generally get good reviews. I have used a couple different wireless extenders and I would try to steer clear of them if possible. I believe they make models that have the wireless AP built into one of the Powerline units, as well, so you don't need a second router/AP. Definitely one of those things you could try and return if it's not up to snuff.
Thank you both! That info helps out alot. Is there a particular model you would recommend? Maybe this? https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Nanostation-NSM5-802-11a-Hi-power/dp/B00HXT8KJ4/ref=zg_bs_3015438011_9
I think an option 4 should be added - its a little more than option 3 ($174) but the Asus RT-AC87U is newer and will give you better capacity with that new Razer laptop of his.
Wifi is shared between all devices. The more devices that uses it at the same time, the more everyone has to "wait his turn", which results in lag.
I would suggest you look at "dual band" routers that supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. This way, you can have everyone in the 2.4 GHz band and connect your PC in the 5 GHz band. This means your wifi won't be shared and should be much faster and more stable.
Have a look at the TP-Link C50 and C7, they are very good. The C50 is EUR 50 on Amazon.es and would be a good choice for you.
Here is the exact part you need. Buy 2. If that's not enough you could go crazy with high-gain yagi antennas.
It will work just fine for 5ghz. Here's some that say 5Ghz.. Notice how they look exactly identical?
You don't have to get that one. You just need any antenna with a RP-SMA connector. That one's just by TP-LINK and it's cheap.
OK so with the lack of Ethernet ports as proposed by others you need to convert wifi to eithernet then plug in a router and broadcast your own wifi (you do not need to hide your SSID but you should make sure it's not on the same channel as everyone else).
It should be noted that this will mean that your INTERNET will be a bit slower than a direct connection but you can have multiple devices. I personally would put my gaming/main PC as one device and the relay as the second.
This is a device that may work to convert wifi to eithernet . You will need a higher quality router to relocate dhcp (eBay and something like a cheap enterprises would work. )https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Universal-Ethernet-Adapter-WNCE2001/dp/B003KPBRRW
The upper range on quality would be 2x ubiquiti bullets one in bridge mode and the other as a DHCP server but they can be a bit fiddly to setup
The steel of a ship is downright hostile to WiFi- it's a battle with physics that you're not going to win. I'd be looking into something in the ethernet over power category..
I just read about the whole 20MHz and 40MHz thing, I'll have to stay with 20MHz so thanks for the heads up.
Another question, do you know if all Ubiquiti routers have repeater mode?
There's this one : Unifi AP Outdoor+, but it's $150.
You can also have a look at the other brands, I'm not super familiar with all the choices in outdoor gear.
Thank you for the reply, Im still fairly new to reddit and all of the numerous subs so Im likely to put things in the wrong place.
I ordered this last night, a while after my past with no responses,
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UTG3354/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" rel="nofollow">This</a>
edit: for a guy starting a web design job why cant i figure out why this doesnt work
Thanks! 1) Will it work even though my current Century Link modem/router is 2.4G only and does not accept ac?
2) I have this one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049YQVHE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
SHoudl I get another one (AC) instead?
As you're finding out, what you pay is what you get. If you care about high performance, you want to avoid USB adapters for WiFi unless it's a last resort or there's a technical limitation of the device you're trying to get on WiFi.
I'd go for a PCI/PCI-E wireless NIC with actual, physical rubber duck antennas (assuming you have a free PCI/PCI-E slot). The antennas are critical regardless; you can find these on USB adapters too, but usually only 1 (and you want at least 2 for high throughput). You're probably looking for something like either of these, depending on the exact model of your wireless router:
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN881ND-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/dp/B0079XWMEI (for 2x2 wireless routers, 2.4 GHz B/G/N only)
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Wireless-Express-Adapter-TL-WDN4800/dp/B007GMPZ0A (for 3x3 wireless routers, dual band 2.4/5.0 GHz A/B/G/N)
I would probably recommend the first one as baseline, but urge you toward the second. If your wireless router supports the 5.0 GHz band (A/N), then it'd be worth looking at the second card instead. The second card is overall of a higher quality regardless. Note that with either card, your computer will need a PCI-E slot.
Buy these:
Linksys Powerline AV 1-Port and 4-Port Network Adapter Set (PLSK400) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JG5S6U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_9WDCxbMH2J90D
Plug in another AP to it for your upstairs. Make sure they are on different channels but use same SSID and password.
The thing with chromecast is it needs to have internet connectivity to work.
If you have plenty of content on a portable drive i would just get a roku or firetv (the box versions, not the sticks). Each has the ability to play directly from an external attached device (USB drive or hard drive), and will always work even if you don't have internet connectivity.
If you want a simple travel router there are tons of options, but i have this and it works great.
Some stop working completely, others will start being intermittent or rebooting at random, others will just lag more and more until you throw them in the garbage. I would suggest you replace it with a dedicated wired router and a dedicated access point, this usually gives you the best results and allow you to only replace the part that fails if it happens.
Ubiquiti makes great stuff that can be had for less than you might think. I good combo is the EdgeRouter X with a Unifi AP AC Lite. This will give you awesome performance, excellent wireless range and stability, for under $150 combined. It's night and day compared to 99% of consumer routers in that price range.
The best thing to do is to replace their router with something better. If you can't replace their router (modem router combo, I know some ISP don't allow you to change it) then you need to turn off it's wifi and plug your own better router behind it.
A very good combo to get high speed wireless is to get a wired router and a wireless access point. Ubiquiti makes excellent stuff and I highly recommend it, setup is easy and wifi is night and day compared to cheap ISP provided stuff.
Wired router : Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X
Access point : Ubiquiti Unifi AP AC Lite
Both together will be under $150 and you won't regret it.
USB wireless adapters are a double-edged sword; on the one hand, it's easy to install and use, but the tiny antennas inside of them aren't very effective at receiving signal. You CAN buy USB adapters (for a bit more $$) that actually have rubber duck antennas, and you definitely get a bit more bang for your buck.
Something like this:
You can find out easily enough if your card is removable just by removing screws on the back of the laptop- you're looking for a hatch around 2"x3". It's not very big. You should NOT need to take half the case apart to get at this component. You're looking for something like this:
http://www.laptoprepair101.com/wp-images/wi-fi-card/install-wireless-card.jpg
The card in there will have wires connected to it that you can pop off, then unlatch the card and remove it. There are guides aplenty for doing this that can probably do you a lot more good than I can describing it for you.
Amazon reviews are your best source of information on how good a particular product is, so take note!
I think that comes down to how many devices they have that will be on the wireless network.
ie, will the TV need an internet connection? Will it be by a jack or on wireless?
How many phones/tablets/laptops?
Are they 5Ghz compatible?
Also, what is their current internet connection? Do they want/have any sort of internal file share/nas or media server?
Its cheap, but not that cheap. There are cheaper out there.
it is 300mbps up/down and supports 2.4 and 5ghz.
Also make sure they are on different channels, and you can also see what channels their neighbors are on.
Or maybe you could use an wireless Ethernet extender (transparent bridge) and add a second access point.
Router----Ethernet----Ethernet Bridge---5 GHz RF (or other frequency)---Ethernet Bridge---Etheret---Access Point
Router: Asus RT-N56U.
It's Comcast Cable. I own the modem as well. It's a Motorola/ARRIS SURFboard SB6121 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem. (http://smile.amazon.com/SURFboard-SB6121-DOCSIS-Retail-Packaging/dp/B004XC6GJ0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage)
Well I originally had a better speed when my room was only wall away from the Router; Now I am 4 walls away. The drop off seems to only effect my computer though, not other wireless devices such as phone, TV, and laptop. Here is the router that's being used.
With a small bandwidth connection I have used this:
MikroTik RB951Ui-2HnD 5-Port Wireless AP 1000mW https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JO48OP6/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_4KiYwbZSFPZZH
With that I can limit the bandwidth of any device. It is pretty easy to.
You might consider using some kind of cable management, for instance something like this.
Unless you are able and willing to cut a groove into the door you might be best just running the cable naked across the frame in the usual gap between the bottom of the door and the floor.
Here's what you wanna consider:
>i have 3 TV's about,4 iPhone's,3 desktops, one PlayStation 4 and one laptop
You have a significant number of devices being utilized on one $20 300mbps (that's max throughput, not what you're really gonna get) router.
I'd look into one of the cheaper Asus AC routers, something like this because it'll be able to handle the number of connections you're making as well as the speed.
This might be overkill, but works great for me
>pinpoint accuracy isn't required
Came here to say this. It's not a laser. Every antenna has a specification for the degrees. A compass would be a good way to do it. Get the azimuth required for both sides and aim.
for Acesspoints I would look at ubiquiti. they have a hole range from jsut single band wireless n to wireless ac. I would probably get this one for that many connections. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ubiquiti-Networks-UAP-AC-LR-access-point/dp/B016K5A06C/ its 15.95 more then you are looking for but will work great. I currently have one of there older ones serving up about 60 devices at a local church i help out at. to set it up you install a peace of software on you computer that doesnt need to be always running. and then its good to go for use.
There is another unit that claims 108 Mbs, but you're right, the one I posted is lousy. I'm going to call a cable guy to see what can be done.
EDIT: this is the unit I was thinking about that claims to be fast - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Z53K8Q/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2MY2F6JJLHEKV&coliid=IS7AJ2GWJ57I9
Video of Airwire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpDKVgDAR3E
I am curious if it would be better than WiFi for remote computers running the Steam Link hardware.
This is a decent one. Better than that rented POS.
Here is the exterior grade cat6 cable. Although, as rshanks mentioned, you could put it in conduit then you could get away with normal cat6. That is for the max length of 300ft, but there are links on the page for shorter sections. This already has the connectors on it, which while not ideal in a professional enviorment, should be sufficient in your setup. If you'd prefer a nicer more professional looking installation, you'll need raw cable, RJ45 ends, a crimper, and some wall plates. Also, be sure to get something to mount the cable so that it doesn't just hang loose and risk being snagged when moving near it.
Cable: http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Waterproof-Ethernet-Direct-Shielded/dp/B002HFOL0G
Netgear R7000 shoud do the trick. I would not use it if he lives in an apartment though.
>What equipment
Some type of wireless CPE device. Lots of WISPs around here use these (or similar): http://www.amazon.com/UBIQUITI-NETWORKS-NBE-M5-400-NanoBeam-Wireless/dp/B00KG7WS5C/
>how do they set it up
It's nearly point and shoot. They all have some type of signal indicators (lights or audio) on the radio so they tech will align it for the best signal.
>where
Somewhere with a direct view of the base station. These base stations are typically located on a tower, grain bin, water tank, etc.
>I read somewhere that antenna needs to have clear line of sight to their access point, is that true? My balcony is facing some house, so I don't have any visibility. Does it go on the roof then?
This is correct as I mentioned above. Your radio needs to have a clear shot to the base station radio for optimal performance. You can sometimes get away with shooting through trees (more so on the 2.4 band) but you aren't going to to be able to shoot through your neighbors house. Where then depends on where the base station is.
get some ubiquiti unifi Aps and connect then to your router and place them where there 's no connection of wifi.this means running Ethernet cable.powerline adapters and wifi 'extenders' will cut your bandwidth considerably.
http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-Enterprise-System-UAP-3/dp/B005EORRBW
Get you something similar to this for your desktop.
repeating a signal isnot really the best way to extend the network neither is wifi extenders or powerline adapter.they will cut your bandwidth allot.try measuring your wifi speeds on the repeating router.Buying a pair of access points and hooking them up to your router and placing them will help greatly in getting you full bandwidth wherever you have network(wifi) reception.A nice access point brand is ubiqiuti
have a look at them
http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-Enterprise-System-UAP-3/dp/B005EORRBW
Hmm I cancelled the order. This the one your refering to? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ubiquiti-Networks-UAP-AC-LITE-access-point/dp/B016K4GQVG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445525291&sr=8-1&keywords=AP-AC+%28Lite%29
Is it better just because of wireless AC?
I use and really like the Edimax adapter here:
This is a great answer. +1 for the Ubiquit AP mention and the edge router lite. A lot of people do this setup!