Improving the Performance of Your Wireless Network

So you got yourself a snazzy new router and you've got big plans.  You're going to have computers and video game consoles and wireless music systems running on your wireless network in every nook and cranny of your house and even outside on your pool deck.

But then something awful happens.  You try to implement your plan and what you thought was a fantastic, high-tech router suddenly gets labeled a piece of ....! 

Been there. 

Well, don't give up just yet.  There are some things you can do to improve the performance of your wireless network.

             Here are some tips:

• Change out your wireless router's stock antennas.

Your wireless router probably came with some pretty wimpy antennas.  Give 'em the heave ho and slap on some antennas that are ready to do some dirty work. 

Example:  The Linksys WRT54G router might be the most popular router in use today.  Linksys makes a 7dbi Gain antenna kit call the HGA7T that replaces the stock antennas.  You can find those here

Another option is to switch to a directional antenna.  This is more useful if you have a specific point in your house/office that you need to "hit" with a wireless signal.  Stock antennas are omnidirectional, meaning they radiate (and receive) the wireless signal across 360 degrees around the antennas.  This also means that transmission power is spread out over the entire circle.  If you have your router at the very edge of the house/office, you're more than likely blasting your wireless signal outside your home towards an area that doesn't need any coverage.

The benefit of a directional antenna is the ability to focus transmission power on a very specific area. 

The drawback is that your wireless network coverage will be focused in one specific strip within your home/office.  Stray outside that strip and you'll probably lose signal strength/throughput, or lose your connection altogether.

• Move your antennas away from your router

If you're like me, your wireless router also has some wired cables hooked up to it's switched ports as well. This makes placement tricky since you've got 3-6 cables running to the router.  This makes it difficult to move the wireless router around in order to get better antenna positioning.

The trouble with this is that you often see wireless routers jammed into a corner next to the main PC in a house or business and it's sandwiched in between a ton of stuff that can interfere with the wireless network signal.  That's bad.

The solution may be an antenna stand.  Most wireless gear manufacturers make optional antenna stands and hi-gain antenna kits for their devices.  This allows you to remove the stock antennas, and screw on extension cables in their place.  The other end of the extension cable leads to an antenna stand that supports high-gain antennas.  This high gain antenna can either be directional or omnidirectional.  Cables are typically 6-ft long, though specialty wireless gear sellers often offer longer cable runs. 

The beauty of this system is the ability to hide your router away wherever you want and still place the antennas in a location favorable to signal distribution.

You can find the Linksys solution, the AS2TNC (for 2 antenna products), and the AS1SMA (for single antenna products) here.

There is a slight drawback this solution.  The extension cable setup does degrade the strength of the signal a bit.  The idea is that you'll see enough of an improvement in moving your antennas that any small loss will be offset.  Whether this is true or not for your situation is for you to determine.

• Move your antennas away from your PC/Mac/Device

Just as we suggest moving your router's antennas, on the other end of the network is your PC/Mac/Wireless Whatever...  That device has an antenna as well.  If it's tucked away behind your computer it's stuck behind a bunch of metal and electronics that are degrading the wireless signal. 

A good example of this is the Wireless PCI card for desktops.  This is the dumbest design in wireless networking.  The antenna is buried behind your PC, stuck next to a bunch of metal.  Who designed this?  The solution?  Replace/Move the stock antenna by using an antenna stand.  This will let you get the antenna out in the open.

If you have a PC card for a laptop, see if it supports an external antenna add-on.

If you have a USB wireless adapter, you could always buy a USB extension cable and get that adapter to a better location for the network.

• Change the positioning of the router/device antennas.

Many users are attempting to distribute their wireless signals upwards or downwards, across floors vertically.  Wireless antennas typically broadcast their signals in an omni-directional (360 degrees) manner horizontally.  Try positioning one or both of the antennas so that they're parallel with the floor.  Experiment with the placement and the resulting signal strength.  Feel free to point one antenna up and one antenna outward.  And definitely combine those attempts with the next tip.

• Check your wireless channel, and change it if necessary.  

Wireless routers use one of 11 possible channels to broadcast. If another wireless network nearby happens to be broadcasting on the same channel your router is using, both networks will experience severe loss of range and power. You can use the wireless software on your notebook to find out how many wireless networks are active in the area, and which channels each is using. If you discover that another network is using the same channel as your router, log into the router via your browser and use its built-in configuration screen to select an unused channel. Chances are your signal strength will improve significantly. (You don't need to adjust your notebook; it's designed to automatically detect the network's new channel.)

• Update your router's firmware and your network adapter's drivers.

Hardware vendors are always upgrading and improving their wireless equipment to increase range and performance -- and most of those upgrades are free. Check for new firmware updates at your router manufacturer's Web site, as well as the site of your wireless adapter card. Microsoft also updates the drivers that Windows uses to communicate with your network adapter. To get those updates, visit Microsoft Update and click "Hardware, Optional."

• Reduce wireless interference.

Cordless phones, microwave ovens, and other wireless electronics in your home or office can interfere with your wireless network. To improve reception, look for cordless phones and other electronics that use the 5.8GHz or 900MHz frequencies. They won't interfere with your 2.4GHz wireless network.

• Use equipment from a single vendor.

While every router will work pretty well with every network adapter (assuming their respective flavors of 802.11 are compatible), you will often get better performance if you match a router and network adapter from the same vendor. Some vendors like Linksys offer a boost of up to twice the performance when you use their hardware exclusively.

• Move the router off the floor and keep it as far as possible from walls and metal objects.

Metal, walls and floors wreak havoc with your router's wireless signal. The more of these obstacles your router needs to punch through to reach your notebook, the worse the interference, and the slower your connection will be.

• Place your router (or access point) in a central location in your Home/office.

If your wireless router is at one end of the office (or your home), the signal will have farther to go to reach the other end. Using a central spot splits the difference.  This is where the omnidirectional antenna previously mentioned comes into play.

• Use 3rd party firmware on your router

OK, for the novice user this is a bit of a last resort step.  And we're not advocating this unless you're a bit of a geek, or you have some $ to replace your router if you brick it when trying this.  But...  As an example the Linksys WRT54G router is based on Linux, and as a result the code that it runs is open source, and has been modified by many groups.  You can read more about this and get more links here.

WE HOPE THAT HELPED.  GOOD LUCK!