(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Within the house, can a wireless connection ever be as good as wired ?

I am trying to improve my wifes wireless connection to the router which is located upstairs about 60' as the crow flies.
The only things in between that I can see are a staircase, bannisters, and a landing. She can see the router from her position if that helps.
She is always yelling at me about the ceaseless buffering when she watches her videos.
Well, yesterday I ran a 100' ethernet cable from her pc to the router and she is in bliss.

The hardware involved are:
Router: ATT, 2WIRE 3800, using channel 7 as that is the least cluttered.
Wireless adapters tried: Asus USB N53, D-Link DWA-130, Rosewill RNX-N180UBE, and whatever is built in for the Toshiba Laptop.

I have also tried attaching a repeater by wire about 1/2 way between her and the WAP with no luck
Also, I had laying around a Cradlepoint CTR-35 that I tried to figure out how to make use of it via Wifi-as-WAN but no luck. I think I could get it working but it was unreliable.

Maybe I will stick with the unsightly cable until guests come over. The Router does not have a provision for an external antenna.

Any ideas ?

Thanks

If you can't attach an antenna, then the only thing I can think of is to switch to wireless N. You'd have to get a new router and the appropriate receiver for the laptop. There's no guarantee it would solve your problem, but it's all I can think of to try. I guess it's also possible that the USB port in the laptop is the bottleneck.

Hetejas wrote:Within the house, can a wireless connection ever be as good as wired ?

a. NO.
I'm no super-expert, but that's my belief from information seen in my travels.

b. Was a time when I used a USB dongle network interface to connect my Sony Smart TV to my router.
It wasn't fast enough, unreliable, and eventually failed to function [inadequate signal strength].
So...

c. I now use this Devolo 1409 dLAN 200 AV Wireless-N Starter Kit.
In use since Feb 2012.
Costs about £77. has 3 sockets, and a wireless connection.
You can position it in any convenient power socket...
Unit-1 near the router and connected by cable.
Unit-2 [I have mine connected to a power strip, and see no problems] right beside where it's needed, and I prefer to connect things by cable.
VERY reliable; ALWAYS works, no hassle.
FAST data transfer via your home mains power cables.

d. At present I only connect by wire, as follows:
My Smart TV, and my Raspberry Pi [both connected at the same time].
I use the smart TV and the RPi to stream movies from the web, and very seldom is there ever any buffering, or slowness.
My broadband cable speed is 60 Mb/s max, and the router & modem can both handle that.
I have 1 wired and 1 wireless connections going spare.

e. You could choose to position unit-2 really close to where your wife sits using her laptop, and use/try the wirless [wired would be better] connection to the "Powerline Adapter".

f. My wife connects her "Nokia Lumia 610" Smart Phone, wirelessly direct to the router upstairs, and data transfer seems rather slow.
My 2 daughters each connect their laptops wirelessly direct to the router upstairs.
They haven't complained of slow connection, but perhaps they get and expect that.
I've never asked.

Thanks folks, and I have seen a recommendation similar to what Sylvander mentions, namely Ethernet over a Powerline.
I will give that a try and return it if it doesn't satisfy.

Oops, that is not what Sylvander suggests. His is a different approach entirely so worth a look.

Lol, I guess it pays to read before posting, as apparently the Devolo is Ethernet over Powerline plus an "N" router.

The throughput speed of a wireless connection has nothing to do with the signal strength. Rather, it is limited by the wireless protocol, the hardware used (both sides) and the possible speed difference between the ethernet and wireless protocols.

amigo wrote:The throughput speed of a wireless connection has nothing to do with the signal strength. Rather, it is limited by the wireless protocol, the hardware used (both sides) and the possible speed difference between the ethernet and wireless protocols.

That's very interesting amigo.

Does the consumer have a choice as to wireless or ethernet protocol ?
As to hardware, I guess that I am subject to the whims of the manufacturer.
Other than reading reviews and picking the supposedly best hardware, I don't know if there is much I could do. Though I have seen articles about unloading some of the load from the router by attaching another to handle DHCP and wireless traffic. I have yet to try it.

I bought and installed a TRENDNET TPL-406E2K KIT, and it is blazing fast.
The wife is very pleased.