Edonnel

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Aug 19, 2012
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So my old dell computer cannot connect to wireless internet, so it is connected to a Netgear internet bridge box. The other bridge box is in the basement where it is connect to the modem. I believe the location of the other box is almost directly below were my computer stand (and bridge box) used to be.

I recently I moved it to different corner of my house that is about 15 feet further than the previous location. Now the wired internet speed is almost unbearable and inconsistent. The wireless speed is the same, but wired is really bad. I believe it is because the bridge boxes are further away from each other.

I've tried unplugging and replugging, resetting, and etc. I would really like to know how I can fix this without moving the computer back since the furniture is in a really nice place and the computer would ruin the look. Please help!

Also, I've noticed that when I connect a decorative electric candle to the same wall that the bridge box is connected to, the wired internet just stops working. Perhaps this is related to the main problem? Thanks!
 
Solution
This is the main problem with those bridges that use the power lines for network. Some houses they work great in others they don't work at all.

They work best when plugged into the same circuit..ie controlled by the same breaker in the panel and the shorter the actual distance between them the better. The large problems tend to occur when other "stuff" is plugged into the same circuit. Things like hair dryers and vacuums tend to wipe it out.

The way they tend to have the most issues is when you plug them into different sides of your power panel. You have 2 120 hot leads and every other breaker tends to be on one or the other. To talk between circuit on 2 adjacent breakers you many times must go all the way out to the transformer...

john-b691

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Sep 29, 2012
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This is the main problem with those bridges that use the power lines for network. Some houses they work great in others they don't work at all.

They work best when plugged into the same circuit..ie controlled by the same breaker in the panel and the shorter the actual distance between them the better. The large problems tend to occur when other "stuff" is plugged into the same circuit. Things like hair dryers and vacuums tend to wipe it out.

The way they tend to have the most issues is when you plug them into different sides of your power panel. You have 2 120 hot leads and every other breaker tends to be on one or the other. To talk between circuit on 2 adjacent breakers you many times must go all the way out to the transformer on the street and back.

They will work better on breakers on the same buss side but still not as good as on the same breakers. Some of the newer arc fault breakers seem to be able to block the signal also so in that case it only works well on the same circuit with limited ability to cross between.



I guess you will need to see the path though the power panel your signal is going and see if you can improve it. It may require you to swap breakers around in the panel which you better know what you are doing to avoid getting killed.

 
Solution

Edonnel

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Aug 19, 2012
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I'm going to be honest: I understood three fourths of that, haha. But I understand what you are saying. I was wondering to myself if I could move my modem to my living room, behind the couch. The benefits of that would be that my wireless won't get weak on the top floor and possibly my wired internet would not have this problem.

Let's say I move my modem (and the bridge box) in the old spot where my computer used to be (where the couch is now). That would mean the boxes would be about 12 feet from eachother. Do you think that would fix the problem? Sorry, if it's hard to understand! My current choices are: move the computer back or move the modem upstairs.
 

john-b691

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Sep 29, 2012
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Assuming you can somehow get the internet wire coming into the house to the new location its worth a try.

The physical distance means nothing for power line devices. Lets say you had 2 rooms with back to back outlets. This means the powerline device are less than a foot apart separated by only the wall. But each room may have a different circuit breaker. So the signal would have to go from the outlet all the way to the power panel and all the way back to the other outlet. Could be 50ft and even more if its needs to go all the way out to the power pole.

You really need to know how the wire is run in the walls to be sure about power line stuff. Mostly its just keep trying until you get it to work...or not work which sometimes happens
 

Edonnel

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Aug 19, 2012
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Okay, so a new plan was made. Long story short: A LONG Ethernet cable was pushed up beside a vent duct (not inside). The vent is located directly below the computer, so it worked out well! The bridge boxes were taken out of the equation, so the cable now directly connects to the router. Thanks for the replies!