My relationship with Wi-Fi or wireless networking technology is rocky at the best of times because it is slower than wired and often flaky as balls, but the alternative is plugging Ethernet cables into phones. Some people are stuck with it, so I figured I would give you people some quick tips on making the experience as painless as possible though.
We will start with the stuff that costs nothing. Number one, position your access point, usually built into your router, correctly. The coverage area is sphere-shaped so center your access point within your intended coverage area as best as you can. Avoid putting it directly on the floor, on a thick wall or next to a large object. Nearby dense materials like stone, metal, and concrete will reduce your wireless signal strength.
Number two, check for software and firmware updates. For routers, go to the website of the brand on the box, but for many adapters instead of going to DLink’s website, you can actually find newer drivers on the wireless chipset manufacturers website directly. Examples of chipset makers include Broadcom and Ralink.
Number three; choose the right channel for your access point to run on using a free tool like Wi-Fi Analyzer for Android. It gives you a visual representation of the other wireless networks in your area. On the 2.4-gigahertz band, there are only three reusable non-overlapping channels: 1, 6, and 11. In a perfect world, you would want to pick whichever of these is open, unfortunately on apartment buildings, and even dense suburban areas, this is unlikely to happen. Even with a tool, there will be some trial and error because things like cordless phones, security cameras, and baby monitors are examples of products that might not even show up on a Wi-Fi network map but can cause serious interference. So play around with it a little bit to see how you get the best results.
Number four, this is where we start getting into tips that cost money, is to grab a more sensitive antenna, if your access point has external antenna support. They come in two main flavors; omnidirectional antennas will keep the spherical network shape but make it bigger while directional ones can be great if you have a long thin coverage area that you are trying to reach. Just make sure your aim it properly.
Number 5 is to get a repeater. Repeaters can be configured with the same SSID, your network name, and password, so you can roam between them pretty much without noticing, as long as you are not doing something like streaming a Skype call. That is likely to get disconnected as you move over a boundary.
I do not recommend repeaters that connect to both your device and your access point wirelessly. I have not had great experiences with those so make sure you get one that connects either through power lines or through Ethernet.
Finally, if not all that stuff cut it, it might be time for an upgrade. 802.11 AC access point can deliver real-world throughput over 500-megabit with a strong client. Even a dual band N gives you access to the much wider range of 5-gigahertz channel that also generally suffer from less random interference. Both these things are very good things. What is great too is that you do not need to upgrade all of your stuff immediately. Legacy devices that can be upgraded such as phone or tablets, you can connect to the 2.4-gigahertz network on your new access point and newer or upgraded devices can connect to the entirely separate 5-gigahertz network to enjoy a very different Wi-Fi experience.
I just moved my notebook to AC Wireless with a cheap Intel mini PCI Express card from Amazon. Real-world bandwidth is about twice as good as my old card, so I am pleased with the file transfer speeds and more reliable movie streaming experience.
