Wifi help

[harrydawg.sixpack]

I use a net gear wireless modem from the dip ***** at Comcast. It works fine but does not cast a wide enough signal to cover my whole house. At about 15 feet the signal drops off.

What should I expect as far as distance?

Would it increase with a new one purchased from say Best Buy and if so what should I get?

Thank you oh people of knowledge.

 

[sleepy dawg]

... Even for a crappy one. You should easily be able to cover 40 ft indoors, maybe more. That said, it's surprising that yours is so bad. I have a Netgear combo wireless router/modem. I can even pick up a signal on mine from my street in front of my house.

It's hard for me to believe that a Netgear modem would only travel about 15 ft., as Netgear is one of the top brands. It sounds as if you may have a problem with that particular modem, or you have some kind of interference.

What model modem is it?

 

[harrydawg.sixpack]

Nm

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

will cover my house. Any system from a cable company should cover a reasonable area. A lot more than 15 feet.

Only suggestion, place the router as high as possible, above obstruction.

 

[sleepy dawg]

What model Netgear router is it?

 

[rebchuck1]

located on the bottom shelf of a end table on the first floor on one end of my house and have no problems connecting to a work station on the 2nd floor on the other end of the house. Multiple walls, furniture, stairs, TV, etc..... <div>
</div><div>You have lead walls? Probably just a crappy router. Go to Best Buy and spend $79.</div>

 

[MeridianDog]

Wife spent hours on line with them troubleshooting. The third one they gave us works nicely. Signal is fine at 60 feet and second story of house. Multiple walls, etc.

Demand they give you a new one. Don't take no for an answer. Your router is bad.

 

[benatmsu]

If it's a wireless G router, theoretically you should have no problems getting a "Good" signal as far away as 30 or 40 feet given ideal circumstances.
Things you may want to try:
-Before you try something drastic, try some simple things like making sure the router isn't sitting on the floor and make sure there aren't any obstructions between you and the router... while you shouldn't require line-of-sight for a good signal, it might be worth checking out.

- Interference can be a problem. - You may want to try to change the channel you're operating on from 1 to 6 or 11. Also the 2.4x GHz frequencies are pretty crowded these days. Our baby monitor operated on that frequency. Took me forever to figure it out. But my signal kept dropping after our son was born. At first I blamed the baby... but then I unplugged the monitor and it worked fine. Also your (or your neighbor's even) cordless phone or garage door opener could cause some interference. And if all else fails you may want to look at an N router... while your internet connection won't be any faster, N has a wider range and the one I have broadcasts on 2 frequencies(2.4 and 5.0) simultaneously - which could eliminate interference as a hindrance.

 

[dawgoneyall]

router I have works at 60 feet. Got it at Walmart....nothing special. Disclaimer....I own cisco stock.

 

[jakldawg]

as some cardboard and aluminum foil. Or if that seems too sketchy, just Google "parabolic wifi booster."

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

when I get on the net.

Works for me.</p>

 

[xxxWalkTheDawg]

I have a cheap Belkin Wireless router from wal mart I bought back at State and I get half signal on the other side of the house. I am about to have to replace it too. It freezes and I have to unplug it for about 20 seconds to reset it. But anywhere i'm at in the house, I got at least some signal. Tablet even picks it up till about 60 feet.

 

[Sutterkane]

n-band will work almost all the way down your street and most new routers work with a, b, and g as well.

As always, make sure you password protect your wireless network with a strong password. Don't want the cops coming to your house accusing you of downloading Sandusky-style porn because some pervert leeched off your open network.

 

[Indndawg]

I was hoping someone would test drive before I take the plunge. Otherwise, we use comtrend modem. Its been very reliable w/NO reboots.

 

[macpappy]

Just a heads up, Comcast doesn't carry wireless routers anymore. You can still have wireless service, but you have to buy your own router now. I think its pretty obvious why Comcast had to start doing this and i totally agree with it. Get you a wireless N router and you will be much happier.

 

[kcomphlint]

What kind of house you live in matters too. My boss lives in an old house that has plaster walls and he can't get a signal more than 10 feet away from his main wifi spot. So what he did was purchase a bunch of Apple Airport Express units and put them all over the house to extend the wifi signal of his base station (apple airport extreme).

 

[The Usual Suspect]

I agree that if you are losing signal at 15 ft., there is a problem with your specific modem.

 

[Cohendawg]

I've owned d link, netgear, linksys/cisco. The apple is hands down the best of the bunch. I've had it for about 2 years and it's only needed to be unplugged maybe twice.

 

[harrydawg.sixpack]

untilsomeone started themicrowave started and Ipissed on myself.

Thanks for the info