WiFi signal shape - where to place router

We just had a WiFi router installed at home. It's downstairs, in the middle of the house. Reception is marginal at the edges of the house upstairs, so I was wondering, before I start adding access points and cabling, does the WiFi signal have any defined shape? If it radiates equally from the router, maybe I'd be better off putting the router upstairs in the middle of the house. Any thoughts on this?

NB Model is a Netgear DGN2200.

Reply to
TD
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More or less. Try shifting it about to get coverage in the places required. Depending on what the stucture is built from there could be considerable variance in signal. Foil backed plaster board or thick stone walls will more or less stop the signal.

A wireless access point with no other function comes in handy as you don't have to run all the wired connections to its switch or the phone line if it also the ADSL modem. Even better if it's PoE capable, no mains required either. B-)

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

In theory a donut shaped radiation pattern with zero coverage immediately above and below the antenna. In practice, nothing of the sort, totally unpredictable, modified by multiple antennas, reflection and absorption of the fabric of the building. So set aside a few hours for experimentation and site survey.

If you add additional APs you will still need to be logged into a given one at any one time. Wifi repeaters on the other hand genuinely extend the coverage and handover between the antennas will be seamless.

I think that last paragraph is correct but as I don't have first hand experience I am open to correction.

Reply to
Graham.

Funny you should mention repeaters. We're currently in an apartment where the wifi works fine in the bedroom but nowhere else. I wonder if something like this would help?

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used such a beast?

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

Otoh, many old wifi router/modems can be turned into APs for free. I've done it with a couple of them here and very handy it is too.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

In message , Graham. writes

I cannot comment on the repeaters, but the AP part is certainly correct. We live in a house with thick granite walls, and the signal is killed stone dead, so we use Solwise homeplugs, which work perfectly, but are a bit of a pain with mobile devices.

Reply to
News

If you have an Android phone, try 'Wifi Analyzer' which will give you an indication of signal strength in various locations. It will also show any other WiFis nearby which might clash with yours so that you can find the least used, or empty, channel.

It's just suck and see within buildings.

Reply to
Steve Eldridge

There is usually some advantage to be had from mounting it higher rather than lower and well away from any mirrors or other conducting surfaces. If all else fails try placing a junior hacksaw near any portables with marginal reception. It has worked for me.

Think carefully about the paths that lead to the places you want to reach. Floorboards and doors are transparent but brick walls are less so. Manufacturers range estimates are based on US cardboard houses.

As does the newfangled chicken mesh that Victorian plasterers thought was a great way to prevent plaster from slumping. My 4' now internal Victorian stone wall stops all WiFi signals leaving a severe black spot.

You can get repeaters or if you have the odd ex modem with WiFi that has partially died and still offers these functions use that.

Reply to
Martin Brown

TD brought next idea :

If it has an antenna - with antenna vertical and in open air, it will radiate maximum signal out to the sides (horizontally). If it has two antennas and you need both horizontal and vertical coverage, try setting one horizontal the other vertical.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Or if you have a laptop,

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Reply to
Bill

In article ,

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with 11n, but I have with 11b and g. One thing to beware of is that a repeater halves the available bandwidth (at least it does with b and g; I don't know if it works the same with n but I would assume it must).

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

,

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Half is better than now't. ;-)

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

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might be a good compromise then?

Darren

Reply to
D.M.Chapman

In message , News writes

Unfortunately, the inevitable radiation of the wideband HF signal which carries the repeater data via the house mains wiring, is not so readily killed off by thick granite walls.

Reply to
Ian Jackson

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I'm using a TP-link WA701ND configured as an 11n range extender to provide coverage at the other end of my house (it's got well screened walls, not particularly big...). It simply plugs into the mains and, providing it can see the radio signal from the main Wireless router, it will repeat the signal to places the original couldn't reach. The 11n signal from the TP-link matches the channels used by the main router, as seen by an Inssider scanner, and a hand-over from one to the other is seamless without any interference as far as my netbook is concerned. I can't tell to which one I'm connected. There's no halving of the bandwidth apparent but I need it for coverage rather than the bandwidth.

This TP-link will also function as a wired to wireless router but was spare to requirements so was used as an range extender for my 11n network. It has good set-up instructions for the various modes.

Reply to
John Weston

There has to be at least a halving in bandwidth as in end to end throughput even if you still get an indicated full speed connection. Things are on the same channel, a packet comes in, is stored, the packet goes out. A single packet of data is thus on the air twice, instead of just once.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

A true repeater doesn't need an Ethernet feed with or without assistance from those antisocial PLA devices.

Reply to
Graham.

Mine are edimax, and can operate as router, or access point (without routing), or repeater, but they don't do 11n. They also have a mode for running lots of them as a single wifi network with automatic handoff as you move between them, but I never tried that. That shouldn't halve the bandwidth.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

Yes, and this is important because if lack of performance is due to lack of available bandwidth (e.g. other things on the frequency or RF interference), rather than lack of signal, then using a repeater will probably make it worse.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

It is a little known fact that the manufacturers of junior hacksaws put a lot of design effort into making their products focus wi-fi signals. So don't waste your time with a screwdriver, padsaw, spanner, knife, fork, spoon, beer can, or any other similarly-sized metal object. Only a junior hacksaw will have the desired effect.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

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