I am becoming frustrated with my in-house wireless solution. I have ATT high-end DSL, and the modem and combination router rest in the lower level of the house, albeit on a shelf that is less than 2 feet from the ceiling. The lower level of the house is half underground, on the back side, but not underground at all, on the front side (i.e., the house is built into the side of a rock ledge consisting of iron-laden limestone). Directly above the router in the dining room, I can get a signal quite well on my laptop and the one wireless desktop I have in that area. I can even get 4 out of 5 bars on the patio, which is at least 30 feet from the router and on the other side of a host of domestic appliances (washer/dryer/freezer), our electrical intake box, and a metal and glass patio door.
But how dare me want to walk down the hall to the bedroom to use my laptop; less than 30 feet from the router, even with a parabolic enhancer on both router antennas, my wireless drops to a bar or less, and usually just is out of range altogether. This annoys me to no end! And I don’t understand it, as this is a pre-1070’s frame-based ranch house with no inside pillars, and my wireless signal should transmit easily to that part of the house.
Even my neighbor sees my wireless signal at 4 of 5 bars in his house, 50 feet away from the router. That would mean for him it is passing through two concrete walls, across his garage, and upstairs into his living room, when it can’t go merely down the hall to my bedroom less than 30 feet away.
I’m not wireless savvy enough to know what solutions I may have available. I am using a Linksys combo wired/wireless router, with four computers wired, and the rest working wirelessly. I would like for my kids to be able to use the laptops anywhere in the house, including their rooms, but right now, that just isn’t possible. Any suggestions appreciated at this point.
It may be other wireless devices in proximity to your problem areas such as cordless phones.