Wi-Fi boost suggestions

Discussion in 'Tech' started by Tacdriver, Jul 13, 2012.

  1. Tacdriver Junior Member

    Posts:
    3,040
    Trophy Points:
    53
    I have a hard wired router in the basement and my wireless AP is hardwired to it. The AP is located in the dining room. In my bedroom upstairs and in my garage, the Wi-Fi signal is pretty weak and cuts out. Should I invest in a repeater or something along those lines?
    Tacdriver, Jul 13, 2012
    #1

  2. ivwshane We are all old school!

    Posts:
    6,635
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Earth
    Is the power setting on the AP turned all the way up?

    What about just getting better antennas?
    ivwshane, Jul 13, 2012
    #2

  3. MSP Haunting a dead forum...

    Posts:
    29,470
    Trophy Points:
    78
    Yeah, I'd suggest high gain antennas too. Or a wireless bridge, an old router plus Tomato = all set.
    MSP, Jul 13, 2012
    #3

  4. tweakmonkey Webmaster

    Posts:
    7,496
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Some routers can also scan channels to see what other networks are on there -- we had a bunch of disconnects with our wifi and I scanned the channels, there were tons of other networks on the same channel. Changing it helped a lot.

    I hate wifi though. :)
    tweakmonkey, Jul 13, 2012
    #4

  5. Tacdriver Junior Member

    Posts:
    3,040
    Trophy Points:
    53
    I just changed the channel from 6 to 8. Didn't see anything in the setup on boosting power. Perhaps different antennas is the next step. Thanks for the ideas. Still curious about the power setting. Linksys WAP54G by the way.
    Tacdriver, Jul 13, 2012
    #5

  6. tweakmonkey Webmaster

    Posts:
    7,496
    Trophy Points:
    63
    I think you'll need to put on the Tomato firmware to boost the power.
    tweakmonkey, Jul 13, 2012
    #6

  7. Tacdriver Junior Member

    Posts:
    3,040
    Trophy Points:
    53
    Changing the channel has made an improvement. The Tomato firmware appears to be for routers and not Access Points.
    Tacdriver, Jul 15, 2012
    #7

  8. MSP Haunting a dead forum...

    Posts:
    29,470
    Trophy Points:
    78
    But you can use it to turn a router into an AP, bridging it to your existing router.
    MSP, Jul 15, 2012
    #8

  9. Tacdriver Junior Member

    Posts:
    3,040
    Trophy Points:
    53
    So installing Tomato on my (non wireless) router in the basement would boost the Wi-Fi signal? Wouldn't I in theory be running 2 AP's at that point? Now you've really lost me. Are you suggesting I buy a 2nd router?
    Tacdriver, Jul 15, 2012
    #9

  10. MSP Haunting a dead forum...

    Posts:
    29,470
    Trophy Points:
    78
    Yeah, with two wireless routers you could install Tomato on both, and bridge them together. Works great at extending range.
    MSP, Jul 15, 2012
    #10

  11. funkgab Junior Member

    Posts:
    2,088
    Trophy Points:
    53
    Location:
    Los Angeles, California
    is tomato the new alternative besides dd-wrt for bridging?/setting as wifi boosters?
    funkgab, Jul 17, 2012
    #11