trying to get better wifi

Arreisjwilliams

Honorable
Mar 23, 2017
38
0
10,530
hi im trying to get better wifi would you guys recommend wifi routers like nighthawk, and if so do you have to pay a monthly fee and whats the advantage of it? thank you.
 
Solution
A side from getting a more powerful router/wifi card... if your router and/or wifi adapter have de-tachable antennas, you can upgrade those antennas to bigger ones(or a different type).

Most antennas are omni-directional(meaning they'll pick up a signal in any direction). However, they also make "directional antennas". Here's a page that describes it all a bit better if you care to read: https://www.simplewifi.com/pages/how-it-works

I picked up a couple of 10dbi indoor directional antennas awhile back to use on my desktop that was pretty far away from my router. Tinkering with the direction of the antennas I was surprised that I was able to pick up the wifi from a Bestern Western hotel that's 8 blocks away from here.

ritvarsdavis

Notable
Sep 11, 2017
452
0
1,160
What do you mean by better WiFi? Where is it placed in your house? If it's on the 1st floor and you have a weak signal on 2nd floor, you can simply get a range extender, it will boost your signal. And no, there is no monthly fee if you get a router, unless you get a very expensive one and decide to pay monthly instead upfront.

Advantage of WiFi router is the ability to connect wirelessly to the internet. It also provides protection so strangers can't connect to it.
 
Sounds to me like you'd benefit from a signal booster/range extender. It's also likely to be cheaper than buying a whole new router unless you'd prefer to go that route. I'm not surprised that you're having issues with signal strength between floors. There's a lot of materials for that signal to pass through before it gets to your device.

You could also try and relocate the router to a more centralized location on the first floor and elevate it as high as possible. I'm not say this will solve your problems, but it's worth a try and costs you nothing but time.
 

toshibitsu

Distinguished
A side from getting a more powerful router/wifi card... if your router and/or wifi adapter have de-tachable antennas, you can upgrade those antennas to bigger ones(or a different type).

Most antennas are omni-directional(meaning they'll pick up a signal in any direction). However, they also make "directional antennas". Here's a page that describes it all a bit better if you care to read: https://www.simplewifi.com/pages/how-it-works

I picked up a couple of 10dbi indoor directional antennas awhile back to use on my desktop that was pretty far away from my router. Tinkering with the direction of the antennas I was surprised that I was able to pick up the wifi from a Bestern Western hotel that's 8 blocks away from here.
 
Solution