So I currently have a D-Link DGL-4500, which for some time was considered one of the better routers you could get. It's served me well for a few years, but now the WiFi is being very cranky. I am loath to point at the router and go "Hey bud, you're outta here", as it could also be that my apartment is acting like a Faraday Cage. Here's the issue:
I use WiFi in my house almost exclusively for iPad viewing. Most of this viewing is done in my bedroom, where I watch Twitch.tv streams and such as I fall asleep at night. I am getting terrible wireless signal though. I can watch the signal strength bounce back and forth between 20-50%, but I am less than 20 feet from the router. I thought perhaps it was signal having to pass through walls, but even if I leave an almost clear path between the router and my room, no dice. My XBox, which is on the other side of a load bearing wall from the router, has no signal strength issues. The iPad loses those signal strength issues if I get close enough to the router.
Now, the iPad is known to have a pretty crap WiFi antenna, so that could be contributing.
So my questions are:
1) How do I go about trouble shooting the real problem? I think it's a signal strength issue, but could that issue be caused by the router going bad? It's had strange WiFi issues in the past, but not this bad.
2) Is there an app or piece of software I can run that will let me test for WiFi interference? I have several other broadcasting routers within range of my house, and I don't think I am getting cross-channel interference, but it's hard to say. I would like to be able to get a list of all the WiFi in my area and what channel it's broadcasting on (the iPad does not show this info in it's stock WiFi setup).
3) If the router is fine, and it is just my house acting like a Faraday Cage, what are my options? Can I get some kind of signal booster and place it close to my bedroom?
4) If I do need a new router, what is sort of the top of the line option people are recommending these days? I don't want a cheap Target/Wal-Mart special, I want a good router with good firmware and decent features. Cost is really not that big of a concern (within reason).
Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
Steam: Brainling,
XBL /
PSN: GnomeTank,
NintendoID: Brainling,
FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
Posts
As for routers, I tend towards dual-band ones, and I was able to get the Netgear N600 (WNDR3700 model) recently. This guy broadcasts on the 2.5 and 5 GHz spectra, as well as having native Gigabit Ethernet and builtin DLNA server capabilities. I can't seem to find the benchmark I used to cement my purchase, but this one has some solid numbers
Guess it's new router time. Buying the WNDR3700 Premium Edition, because for 11 bucks, I like the dark gray/red face.
e: The answer is no. It doesn't support the WNDR4500. Blarg...guess I am getting the 4000.
Also, damn Netgear for the confusing nomenclature.
1) I was kind of confused by your posts, but in general there are wireless bands (g and n being the most common) and within those bands there are wireless channels (usually numbered 1-13 or something). As far as I know any device that is wireless g compatible can use any channel on the wireless g band. Wikipedia has a decent write up on the "band" vs "channel" thingy. The bottom line is that switching channels can alleviate signal congestion if you think that is the problem, and should still be compatible with your currently working wireless devices.
2) dual band is not a be all end all for wireless signals. It just means you have access to both the 5GHz (wireless n) and 2.6 GHz (wireless g) bands simultaneously. The wireless n band does tend to have less congestion because not as many things use it yet, but as far as I can tell, it's pretty rare to have congestion be the main issue. Also I don't know if ipads support wireless n, but that would obviously be important. Wireless n does have a higher throughput, although I'm not sure that will effect the signal strength. Finally, you don't need a dual band router to get wireless n if all of you devices support it, you can just get a wireless n router. You only need a dual band router if you need to access wireless g and wireless n simultaneously (so that wireless n devices can use the higher throughput, while maintaining wireless g for devices that don't support wireless n).
3) With some routers, the DD-WRT software can boost the output signal, giving you better signal strength. Not sure if it will apply in your situation, but it's worth looking into.
4) If you have a laptop you can get wireshark. It lets you do all kind of neat signal testing things, but it is somewhat complicated.
My iPhone, my iPad, my XBox 360, Wii and PS3...and soon my Nexus 7. You'll almost never find all of those in simultaneous use.
The reason the 900 entices is me is becuase my entire issue is one of signal strength, and the 900 supposedly pushes the most broadcast power. How big is the house where you have the N600?
I'll try DD-WRT'ing my DGL-4500 tonight, and see if I can't boost the signal strength...but I am half tempted to order a dual band router anyway.
e: Except DD-WRT doesn't support the DGL-4500, so that's out too. New router is seeming very likely.
We'll see. If it does't work, I'll just send it back to Amazon. Gotta love Prime.
Definitely a problem. Probably all running on the channels 1 or 6 too. And some will try to get clever and boost their transmit power making the problem worse for everyone. Plus any signal reflections, auto transmit power changes, other router's channel changes, 2.4 cordless phones, microwaves, baby monitors, and bluetooth devices nearby can cause all sorts of issues. There are various utilities to view the wifi signal strength/noise like netstumbler you could use to choose a better channel.
My apartment complex is still congested as shit, but the N900's channel auto-select and beefier radio seem to have fixed the issue for me.