Improve Your Wireless Signal Strength

Wireless networking and technology has been the hot topic for the past couple of years and it seems that now days users expect to have wireless hotspots wherever they are located! More than ever however, is the ease of how easy it is to setup your own wireless hotspot right in your own home. With broadband Internet increasing and with the increase in laptop sales year after year, it seems only natural that users should be able to connect to the Internet wherever they are located within their own home. Sometimes however, that seems like a big headache due to how wireless routers and signals work. Many users experience frequent disconnections or weak signal strength. With a couple of good advice from a Microsoft article, you can make the best out of your wireless router to hopefully provide you with a much smoother and faster wireless connection.

With a wireless connection, you no longer are required to physically connect a network cable to your laptop/PC in order to join your home or business network. That means you are allowed to roam freely around the premise with your laptop, wires free, all the while still being able to access the Internet. With a desktop, you no longer have to worry about running wires from your basement all the way to your living room just to be connected. That’s the good news.
The bad news however, is that due to the lack of physical wire connection, there must be some alternate way for your computer to still receive and transmit the data. That my friends, is the wireless router’s job. By emitting wireless signals, the computer within range of it can still participate and communicate on the network as if a wire was physically plugged in. This sounds all good on paper but when you think about it, in order for your computer to be able to communicate, it must then be able to send and receive those signals! So now, instead of having the inconvenience of needing a physical wire plugged in, you now have to worry about whether or not your computer can send and receive the wireless signals to and from your wireless router.

Improving the Signal

A Microsoft article tells you of 10 tips to improve your wireless signal. There are without a doubt many other tips on doing so from a simple Google search but I believe that the tips offered here makes the most sense for average computer users and so that is why I present it here. Simply head over to the site to quickly view the 10 tips. I’m covering each of them here only to give my own input on them.

1. Position your wireless router (or wireless access point) in a central location
This is one of the easiest method to perform when trying to improve your wireless network signal. Also, you’ll want to place your wireless router in a pretty high location if possible.

2. Move the router off the floor and away from walls and metal objects (such as metal file cabinets)
This is another good advice. Remember, the wireless signal needs to reach your computer and vice-versa so the more objects between the two devices, the weaker the signal can become. Obviously you don’t needs a direct path (like infrared) in order for them to communicate with each other but if you are experiencing weakness in the signal, this is another easy fix to try.

3. Replace your router’s antenna
The antenna of your wireless router has a lot to do with the signal strength. There are antennas you can purchase that can provide for a much stronger signal than your stock antennas. However, I suggest you perform this method as a last resort. If you are planning on purchasing a new antenna, please make sure that they are compatible with the wireless router you are using. For example, this antenna here can be used on the very popular Linksys WRT54G series of wireless routers.

4. Replace your computer’s wireless network adapter
This advice is for users with really old laptops! As the author have noted, laptops with internal/built-in wireless do not need to perform this upgrade and that means almost all laptops in the market today! Even the cheapest of the laptops have some sort of built-in wireless capability.

5. Add a wireless repeater
This is another last resort in my honest opinion. A repeater basically receives the transmission from the wireless router and then rebroadcasts them at a stronger rate so that your computer can receive them. Here is a Linksys WRE54G wireless repeater:

6. Change your wireless channel
This is usually one of the first recommended advice I would tell others to perform if they experience a weak wireless signal. Depending on your country location, the channel selection will differ. In the US, we are allowed to use channels 1-11 while in the UK, channels 1-13 are available for use. It is recommended that you set your wireless channel to either channel 1, 6, or 11 as explained in this article.

7. Reduce wireless interference
Wireless networks operating in the B and G mode will broadcast using the 2.4GHz frequency. The bad news is that other electronic devices also does the same. You can either switch to using the Wireless A mode (not recommended), purchase devices that uses a different frequency (unfortunately, persuading your neighbors to do the same might provide more of a challenge), or minimize their use when you are connected to the wireless network to prevent interference.

8. Update your firmware or your network adapter driver
Another simple yet effective method. Sometimes, manufacturers will provide firmware downloads for your purchased devices. This firmware can either add new capabilities to the device or fix/patch known problems. Head over to your wireless router or network adapter’s manufacturer homepage to get the latest firmware version.

9. Pick equipment from a single vendor
It’s quite common sense that if you purchase different equipments from the same manufacturers, chances are high that they will be the most compatible with each other! However, sometimes we don’t have any say in this but luckily, I haven’t really spotted any trouble due to having a different network adapter brand from the wireless router.

10. Upgrade 802.11b devices to 802.11g
Simply put, Wireless G is what you should use if you want a faster and smoother wireless connection and who doesn’t want that? Wireless B is pretty much extinct but there will be some legacy networks or users that will still utilize them. Wireless G will someday be replaced by Wireless N.

Well, there you have it. 10 simple steps to improve your wireless network. Although the list isn’t exhaustive, it’s a pretty good starting point and I usually recommend users looking at it when they want to boost their signal strength. Just remember that before purchasing any hardware device, be sure to try all the other methods first. You’ll be surprised at how doing those little things can have such a big impact on your wireless signal.

Also, don’t forget to secure your wireless router!!!