Wireless Connectivity (iPhone v Laptop)

Penguin_Otaku

So pre-iPhone I lived in the dorms and my connectivity to my campus' wireless was pretty good. Constant connection... so on so forth. No I have my iPhone, love it. use the wireless every-now-and-then and it always get a 3-bar connection and is fast. but since I moved to these campus apartments, same network, my wireless is rarely ever "good" or "great" but always hovers in "low" or "Very low" and disconnects a lot. It's frustrating and I hope that surely there's something I can do.

Thanks guys.

Tinuz

Yeah, there are network boosters around. Basically a router which connects to a wireless (with a better antenna than your Iphone) and then retransmits it.

illig

you need a range extender/signal booster... they're sold specifically for that purpose, but you can also hack many routers to do that for you (especially useful if you already have one laying around)

wunderbar

considering this appears to be a campus setup, I doubt that he'll be able to gain access to a router to boost it. You might be able to get a range booster, but again, that depends on whether or not your college will allow that.

Penguin_Otaku

Well I don't get how my iPhone gets seemingly great signal, but my laptop gets poor reception. So unless the iPhone has an uber wireless chip, I'd imagine it's in range of the router, (as is my phone) but something is wrong with my wireless card.

Tinuz

Penguin_Otaku wrote: »

Well I don't get how my iPhone gets seemingly great signal, but my laptop gets poor reception. So unless the iPhone has an uber wireless chip, I'd imagine it's in range of the router, (as is my phone) but something is wrong with my wireless card.

Ah, okay, that's a different question. Yeah, your laptop may just have a poor quality chip/antenna. Still, fixing it would require a booster.

Don't worry whether the Uni allows it, to the outside world, it is no different than a computer logging on (actually, you could build one out of a computer). Just be sure to retransmit as a different, non-discoverable network, of course with a password.

Penguin_Otaku

Well I just don't see how it worked fine in the dorms but not so much here. Especially since the router was further away than it is now. And no one else is really in my apartment complex this summer.

Tinuz

The router may be further away, but there are other factors such as the mass between you and the router. Also, is it the exact same router? Or a different one? It could just be that the router you're on is shitty.

Evil_Reaver

I want to comment specifically about the OU IT department since I used to work there before I graduated.

The networking team does not like it when people plug in SoHo routers or access points and they will shut you down quickly when they see it on the network. You're much better off calling the call center and asking if this is something you are allowed to do before you do it because it takes forever to get your internet turned back on once networking disconnects you.

Penguin_Otaku

Nice to see another Sooner here.

But I'm not going to waste money on a router myself, the most I want to do is buy a card for the port on the side of my computer for an Ethernet port. The one on the back of my laptop is fubar'd because I accidentally tripped over the cable and it ripped out of the back, skewing the connectors.

Tinuz

Evil_Reaver wrote: »

I want to comment specifically about the OU IT department since I used to work there before I graduated.

The networking team does not like it when people plug in SoHo routers or access points and they will shut you down quickly when they see it on the network. You're much better off calling the call center and asking if this is something you are allowed to do before you do it because it takes forever to get your internet turned back on once networking disconnects you.

Fair enough, I was just assuming a standard University network where getting any support is near impossible. One question though, how would they pick up on it? You can mask those things to a degree where finding out they exist would be a felony.