How to get better wireless reception in your house
If you're looking to get better WiFi signal for your home wireless Internet, a wireless extender should do the trick. One such product that does the job is the Linksys RE1000.
Its design is about half the size of a typical wireless router. The RE1000 has the option to be plugged in to a wall's electrical outlet directly, or with an electrical cable which would allow the range booster to hide under under or behind furniture.
The RE1000, like most range extenders, works by receiving the wireless signal that your router is already sending out and "repeating" the signal, boosting reception from its location. This Linksys model in particular has two antennas for sending out the 802.11a/g/n signals.
It also has an Ethernet port, allowing it to be used as a bridge for connecting gadgets with an Ethernet cable (if they can't connect to the Internet over WiFi).
This feature works great for Blu-Ray players, older gaming consoles and even desktops. It would be nice to have more Ethernet ports here, but that might increase the size of the unit.
While testing out the RE1000 in a loft with thick concrete and brick walls, I was able to get great reception throughout the unit - and even down the hallway. By comparison, with just a router I can only use my WiFi signal in the living room and bedroom.
In a large house, the range extender boosted the speed of the Internet in rooms where a signal barely trickled in.
Set up was fairly easy. All you need is to run the included software, select your existing network and enter in its password (if applicable).
Switching between networks, as I did between the loft and the house, proved tricky but I able to sort everything out by delving in to support documents. But then again, how many times are you moving a range extender anyway?
8/10
- Maurice Cacho, MSN Tech & Gadgets
Comments
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Posted by: Bob | Oct 24, 2011 7:24:11 PM
This seems like an excellent idea if you have a lot of brick walls in your house which causes poor wireless reception.
Posted by: RLM | Oct 25, 2011 6:11:08 AM
The MSN heading suggested "Better Cellphone reception", instead we got an article on WiFi. How about one on cell phone boosters for inside my condo.
Posted by: Emile | Oct 25, 2011 7:27:40 AM
I also followed this link from MSN because it stated "How to get better cellphone reception".
Quite different than simple wifi extenders.
Posted by: zeek | Oct 25, 2011 1:12:17 PM
MSN headline should be different. I want to boost my cellphone signal not wi-fi.
Posted by: DALE | Oct 25, 2011 4:51:24 PM
There is an antenna( booster) available from most cell phone providers, but they are being discouraged from giving them out because of broadcast regs etc. ask and thow shalt receive.
Posted by: YOU'RE FIRED | Oct 25, 2011 9:05:59 PM
go fu(k youself you lying, incompetent pr1ck, i expected an article on cellphones, not wifi. you should be fired for wasting the time of everyone that read your article, it is a good thing that you don't have a life or death job like a surgeon, you would have been sued a long time ago.
Posted by: racheal | Apr 25, 2012 3:33:33 PM
was wondering who has the best wireless internet ..best bang for your buck kinda thing! Im sick of paying bell canada huge rates for nothing special.