Laptop and wireless ??

[RollTideRam]

I bought my wife a laptop for Christmas/Anniverary. I got a router so we could share internet access. I was hoping that the signal would be strong enough to reach to my mothers house next door. I tested the laptop over there and got no signal. The router is in my bedroom on the side of the house next to my mothers house. Is there any way to boost this signal? Thanks, JC

 

[sellercreek]

How many feet from the router to your Mom's?

 

[sellercreek]

Some good info here:

Wi-Fi Tip - Position the Wireless Access Point / Router for Best Performance
Boost Wireless Range - How To Expand the Range of a WiFi Network

 

[MossRoad]

What make/model router and the distance may be helpful.

 

[RollTideRam]

The router is a Linksys wrt120n. The distance is roughly 100', maybe 120'. JC

 

[Cat_Driver]

Get a wireless booster to extend your range.

 

[MikePA]

The router is a Linksys wrt120n. The distance is roughly 100', maybe 120'. JC

Based on the support page, this router doesn't use MIMO technology which increases range. The reviews at Amazon aren't all that good either. 100' might be beyond it's capability.

 

[MossRoad]

The one I read said it did use MIMO.

I also read something about "good neighbor mode" which detects other wireless routers in the vicinity and apparently turns down the power so it doesn't "gobble up" the radio waves. Maybe look into seeing if that mode can be disabled.

 

[MikePA]

The one I read said it did use MIMO.

If it does, 100' - 120' shouldn't be any problem.

FWIW, I used Linksys routers for years until I got this same model. After a few months it started dropping connections, wouldn't consistently support a VPN connection to work, and required a power off/on to straighten things out. I replaced it with a Netgear that has a nice feature of supporting 2 guest networks. Now when people visit, I can give them access to the Internet without having to define their MAC address to my router and give them my security key. When they leave, I shut off the guest networks.

 

[MossRoad]

.... I replaced it with a Netgear that has a nice feature of supporting 2 guest networks. Now when people visit, I can give them access to the Internet without having to define their MAC address to my router and give them my security key. When they leave, I shut off the guest networks.

Hey, that sounds like a handy feature. Just the other day one of my kids' friends wanted to bring her laptop over (she's 12. why does a 12 year old need a laptop?) and use our wireless network. I forgot the key and didn't feel like hunting it down, so I told her not to bring it over!