Really, Seriously, Strong personal Wi-Fi router

[zanat0s]

Hi all,

I have my Belkin PLAY MAX modem router in my cupboard (do not ask why- thats where the ADSL line come out). The location doesn't change.

It feels like my wireless is not very strong when i change my place within the house(higher or lower floor).

i am thinking to get an access point and extending coverage. But Belkin Play MAX should be strong enough to broadcast a good enough signal right?

what is the best affordable modem router or just router?

do i do anything wrong with my settings? Shall i just use N wireless?

 

[jsfitz54]

Just use N if all your gear operates on N. Or use G & N.

Fix Channel to 1 or 6 or 11, 6 is default so try 1 or 11.

Also, use only AES encryption, not tkip and aes.

In a cupboard adds another layer/obstacle. I imagine the dishes don't help.

 

[RejZoR]

Use AES encryption with 128 characters long random generated ASCII password.

 

[slyfox2151]

im very confident he wants a stronger signal, not a stronger password.

 

[streetfighter 2]

The good zanat0s didn't ask about security guys . . .

I can't seem to find the antenna info for the Play Max. It also doesn't appear to be MIMO so that's going to hurt it's transmission range. To be quite frank the thing looks like crap despite it being dual-band and N.

You can fiddle with the channels like jsfitz54 said, but at the end of the day the Play Max still sucks and I doubt it will help much. Also N has a greater range than G, in addition to being faster, so you should always use N when you can. My home network has three access points, only one of which is N, so the N AP is set to G & N.

What I'd do is run a line off of one of the Play Max's ports to another router set up as an access point. This one would work well as a wired AP because it has gigabit LAN like the Play Max for $65:
D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N Gigabit Wireless Router
The other option is to buy a wireless repeater or configure a router as a repeater (probably with aftermarket firmware). Given the shitty quality of the Play Max the repeater would need to be fairly close by. This thing looks decent and it would also work well as an access point ~$31:
ENCORE ENHWI-2AN3 802.11b/g/n Wireless Router With...

Try and place the new access point in a prominent place which is roughly equidistant to all of the places you access the router from.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

Hi all,

I have my Belkin PLAY MAX modem router in my cupboard (do not ask why- thats where the ADSL line come out). The location doesn't change.

It feels like my wireless is not very strong when i change my place within the house(higher or lower floor).

i am thinking to get an access point and extending coverage. But Belkin Play MAX should be strong enough to broadcast a good enough signal right?

what is the best affordable modem router or just router?

do i do anything wrong with my settings? Shall i just use N wireless?

One, Belkin sucks hard. I have never had a stable router from them, and it seems like production models have their signal strength cranked down. I am not the only unhappy consumer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000145&IsNodeId=1&Description=Belkin&name=Wireless%20Routers&Order=BESTMATCH.

Two, what kind of wireless do you have? If all of your tech is g, then we can do a wrt54-gl for you. With the right firmware you can alter signal strength, and those little boxes can take a lot of abuse. If you've got N I can recommend a d-link that's the same model I've got. It allows signal strength control and all modern security, but won't allow 3rd party firmware.

Three, tech savy? I ask this because a beginner can brick a router mighty fast. It may be more expensive, but certain routers have the features of 3rd party firmware right out of the box. How willing are you to take the risk, and if I asked you to use the jtag interface for unbricking would you look at me like I'm speaking in tongues?

Finally, how many users. An access point is fine if you've got a couple of users for wireless, but if you've got streaming and downloading most access points will start to crawl very quickly.

If I had to give you a recommendation for a router right now, I'd say go with the d-link here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127215. I'll attest to it being a tank, having a decent set of features, gig ethernet, and most importantly being at a decent price point.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Forget the BS of WiFI and go PLC. Homplug AV standard will do yea just fine. What's more you can connect it to a wireless AP if you really need to FAP on the go.

 

[zanat0s]

Idd Belkin sucks...

I had their N1 vision and the internet or the Wi-FI went down non stop....
this was the second(and last belkin) product i got..

i only shop from this store
and i am thinking which one to get
http://www.plaisio.gr/Peripherals/N...AND-ROUTER-N-300MBPS-GIGABIT-USB-WNDR3700.htm

http://www.plaisio.gr/Peripherals/N...less-Router-N-300Mbps-Gigabit-TL-WR1043ND.htm

i actually do not need an extra router but maybe an acces point.

My question to you guys can I improve my Belkin's wifi?

 

[zanat0s]

Just use N if all your gear operates on N. Or use G & N.

Fix Channel to 1 or 6 or 11, 6 is default so try 1 or 11.

Also, use only AES encryption, not tkip and aes.

In a cupboard adds another layer/obstacle. I imagine the dishes don't help.

are u talking about security or performance?