Wireless internet range boost?
6t9chgr
Enthusiast - Level 2

Currently I have the Actiontec MI424WR Rev E router for my FiOS located in the basement of my 2 story house.  I am running a PC on my second floor wirelessly.

At times the signal strength and speed is extremely poor & slow.

Would upgrading to the new Gig N (red) router help my range signal issues?  I see this new model has 2 antennas over my units 1 antenna.

Upgrading to an "N" router would require an "N" type wireless card to take full advantage of its speed correct?

Thanks in advance!

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Re: Wireless internet range boost?
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

The rev I router does not provide greater range.  In my home, range dropped when I upgraded.

Two antennas does not mean greater range.  It's part of how 802.11n works.

The rev I router supports 802.11b/g as well.  It can be configured for b/g only, b/g/n, or just n.  802.11n is faster, and you do need an 802.11n radio to use this speed.  Keep in mind that even b/g is faster than all but the fastest FiOS speeds.  So, 802.11n won't increase your internet access speed.  It will increase speed to other devices on your LAN.

Good Luck.

Re: Wireless internet range boost?
Hubrisnxs
Legend

you really want to look for a nice 300+ mb Dual radio N router that supports 5ghz.    

They are reasonably cheap on amazon.  a while back I bought the easy n upgrader from trendnet when it was 30 bucks, and it has lasted me this entire time.  I am not sure what deals are out today, but you can find them if you are a frugal shopper. 

Use these instructions to hook it up;

Re: Wireless internet range boost?
6t9chgr
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks for the help.  maybe Ill try the secondary router option

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Re: Wireless internet range boost?
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

The Rev. E actually should have two antennas like the Rev. D-B routers. They have an internal antenna which is used to pick up nearby or less noisy devices as needed.

For this you may wish to consider relocating the router to the first floor. In many homes I've been in, a router in the basement usually does nothing good but restrict the signal, especially on the 5Ghz band or with higher speed Wireless N signals (link speeds degrade faster from a higher speed to a lower speed, naturally), since most omnidirectional antennas and computer setups tend to work better spreading out from the sides, rather than up or down floors, or for that matter along slanted walls. If the signal has to go through concrete that's another issue right there, along with the signal perhaps reflecting from other sources causing some issues. If you can get it to a Central Location on the first floor without having to disconnect any of your Wired devices but only by hooking up the router to an active Coaxial jack, that should significantly help with the performance.

Besides that, you do have the access point option too which has been recommended. You also have the option of trying some better antennas, of the directional kind to see if it makes a difference.

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