Need help with very low signal strength and speed

Hi,

I recently moved and am renting a room with a family in a 3 story home. My
room is on the 3rd floor and the router and modem are on the first floor.
The owner does not want to go through any walls with cables. I have limited
or very low connection and have trouble getting on the internet. I have 1 or
2 bars. When I am on it, it is very slow to move from web pages or sites. The
speed is only 12.0 MBPS right now. I feel like I am back on dialup! I have a
desktop with windows xp sp 2. I purchased a Belkin N+ Wireless USB Network
Adapter. I was temporarily using a borrowed Linksys Ultra Rangemax Dual
Band Wireless N Network Adapter that did not get any better connection. They
have a Westell modem and a Netgear Dual Band N Router and have a package plan
from Verizon Fios.

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions of anything I can do to improve my
connection since I don't have any control over the router? Would it make any
difference if I got a more powerful adapter? Is it possible for me to have
my own router also without having a different service? What about a range
extender? I see good reviews for this Hawking Technology - Hi-Gain 802.11n
Wireless-N Range Extender at Best Buy. Would this be installed in my room or
would it have to go with the router downstairs?

As you can see, I don't know much about this subject. In the past, I had
Verizon DSL with a router they provided, and I had no problems.

Can anyone help, please?

Thanks,

Gail

"Gail" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
newsBE343BF-E3BA-43A0-856F-(E-Mail Removed)...
........
> Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions of anything I can do to improve
> my
> connection since I don't have any control over the router?

Talk to the owner? A bit of human engineering...

--pa

Uum, did that. As I said, he is not willing to do anything. Thanks anyway.

"Pavel A." wrote:

> "Gail" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> newsBE343BF-E3BA-43A0-856F-(E-Mail Removed)...
> .......
> > Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions of anything I can do to improve
> > my
> > connection since I don't have any control over the router?
>
> Talk to the owner? A bit of human engineering...
>
> --pa
>
>

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218044521646

get your family hosts to attach one to the router and to the coax at
the router. attach the second one to the coax in your room.

On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:17:02 -0700, Gail
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I recently moved and am renting a room with a family in a 3 story home. My
>room is on the 3rd floor and the router and modem are on the first floor.
>The owner does not want to go through any walls with cables. I have limited
>or very low connection and have trouble getting on the internet. I have 1 or
>2 bars. When I am on it, it is very slow to move from web pages or sites. The
>speed is only 12.0 MBPS right now. I feel like I am back on dialup! I have a
>desktop with windows xp sp 2. I purchased a Belkin N+ Wireless USB Network
>Adapter. I was temporarily using a borrowed Linksys Ultra Rangemax Dual
>Band Wireless N Network Adapter that did not get any better connection. They
>have a Westell modem and a Netgear Dual Band N Router and have a package plan
>from Verizon Fios.
>
>Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions of anything I can do to improve my
>connection since I don't have any control over the router? Would it make any
>difference if I got a more powerful adapter? Is it possible for me to have
>my own router also without having a different service? What about a range
>extender? I see good reviews for this Hawking Technology - Hi-Gain 802.11n
>Wireless-N Range Extender at Best Buy. Would this be installed in my room or
>would it have to go with the router downstairs?
>
>As you can see, I don't know much about this subject. In the past, I had
>Verizon DSL with a router they provided, and I had no problems.
>
>Can anyone help, please?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Gail
Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.digitalmediaphile.com
http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx

Gail wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I recently moved and am renting a room with a family in a 3 story home. My
> room is on the 3rd floor and the router and modem are on the first floor.
> The owner does not want to go through any walls with cables. I have limited
> or very low connection and have trouble getting on the internet. I have 1 or
> 2 bars. When I am on it, it is very slow to move from web pages or sites. The
> speed is only 12.0 MBPS right now. I feel like I am back on dialup! I have a
> desktop with windows xp sp 2. I purchased a Belkin N+ Wireless USB Network
> Adapter. I was temporarily using a borrowed Linksys Ultra Rangemax Dual
> Band Wireless N Network Adapter that did not get any better connection. They
> have a Westell modem and a Netgear Dual Band N Router and have a package plan
> from Verizon Fios.
>
> Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions of anything I can do to improve my
> connection since I don't have any control over the router? Would it make any
> difference if I got a more powerful adapter? Is it possible for me to have
> my own router also without having a different service? What about a range
> extender? I see good reviews for this Hawking Technology - Hi-Gain 802.11n
> Wireless-N Range Extender at Best Buy. Would this be installed in my room or
> would it have to go with the router downstairs?
>
> As you can see, I don't know much about this subject. In the past, I had
> Verizon DSL with a router they provided, and I had no problems.
>
> Can anyone help, please?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Gail

As you can see almost all the proposed solutions require that the owner
of the router do something, with the two solutions most likely to
succeed are MoCA (Barb Bowman) and Powerline Ethernet (which is *not*
"power over Ethernet"). Both of these require that the router owner add
a device.

If you don't want to involve the owner at all, you could possibly use a
directional antenna (if you know where the router is located). The main
problem with this is that wireless-n already uses multi-antenna
technology, so a simple directional antenna will probably make things
worse.

This claims to be a directional antenna that works with wireless-n
(http://www.wisp.net.au/directional-a...bgn-p-137.html)
but (a) it's in Australia and (b) it's expensive. Of course, in order to
use a directional antenna, you would need to have a wireless adapter
that is capable of accepting an external antenna. I haven't checked to
see if either of the ones you have tried can do that.

I'd try posting a question about "directional antenna for wireless-n" in
alt.internet.wireless, where some folks who are really knowledgeable
about antennas hang out. Be sure to use a "munged" email address when
posting there to avoid future spam.

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

Apollo 11 - 40 years ago this month:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ap...0th/index.html

Brian,

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I will check them out. Thanks for
the links. I really appreciate your help.

Gail

"Brian Cryer" wrote:

> "Gail" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> newsBE343BF-E3BA-43A0-856F-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Hi,
> >
> > I recently moved and am renting a room with a family in a 3 story home.
> > My
> > room is on the 3rd floor and the router and modem are on the first floor.
> > The owner does not want to go through any walls with cables. I have
> > limited
> > or very low connection and have trouble getting on the internet. I have 1
> > or
> > 2 bars. When I am on it, it is very slow to move from web pages or sites.
> > The
> > speed is only 12.0 MBPS right now. I feel like I am back on dialup! I have
> > a
> > desktop with windows xp sp 2. I purchased a Belkin N+ Wireless USB
> > Network
> > Adapter. I was temporarily using a borrowed Linksys Ultra Rangemax Dual
> > Band Wireless N Network Adapter that did not get any better connection.
> > They
> > have a Westell modem and a Netgear Dual Band N Router and have a package
> > plan
> > from Verizon Fios.
> >
> > Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions of anything I can do to improve
> > my
> > connection since I don't have any control over the router? Would it make
> > any
> > difference if I got a more powerful adapter? Is it possible for me to
> > have
> > my own router also without having a different service? What about a range
> > extender? I see good reviews for this Hawking Technology - Hi-Gain 802.11n
> > Wireless-N Range Extender at Best Buy. Would this be installed in my room
> > or
> > would it have to go with the router downstairs?
> >
> > As you can see, I don't know much about this subject. In the past, I had
> > Verizon DSL with a router they provided, and I had no problems.
> >
> > Can anyone help, please?
>
> Another thought ... you can get kits for ethernet over power lines. So you
> could plug one in near the router and one in your room.
>
> http://everything.explained.at/Power_over_Ethernet/
>
> For units google for "homeplug", remember that you will need two units.
>
> Hope this helps.
> --
> Brian Cryer
> www.cryer.co.uk/brian
>
>
>
>
>

Barb,

Thanks alot for responding. Unfortunately, I won't be able to buy the
adapters you referenced as I am on Social Security disability and the cost of
two of them would be quite high for me. I get the idea, maybe I can try
with a less expensive model? I really appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Gail
"Barb Bowman" wrote:

> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218044521646
>
> get your family hosts to attach one to the router and to the coax at
> the router. attach the second one to the coax in your room.
>
> On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:17:02 -0700, Gail
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> >Hi,
> >
> >I recently moved and am renting a room with a family in a 3 story home. My
> >room is on the 3rd floor and the router and modem are on the first floor.
> >The owner does not want to go through any walls with cables. I have limited
> >or very low connection and have trouble getting on the internet. I have 1 or
> >2 bars. When I am on it, it is very slow to move from web pages or sites. The
> >speed is only 12.0 MBPS right now. I feel like I am back on dialup! I have a
> >desktop with windows xp sp 2. I purchased a Belkin N+ Wireless USB Network
> >Adapter. I was temporarily using a borrowed Linksys Ultra Rangemax Dual
> >Band Wireless N Network Adapter that did not get any better connection. They
> >have a Westell modem and a Netgear Dual Band N Router and have a package plan
> >from Verizon Fios.
> >
> >Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions of anything I can do to improve my
> >connection since I don't have any control over the router? Would it make any
> >difference if I got a more powerful adapter? Is it possible for me to have
> >my own router also without having a different service? What about a range
> >extender? I see good reviews for this Hawking Technology - Hi-Gain 802.11n
> >Wireless-N Range Extender at Best Buy. Would this be installed in my room or
> >would it have to go with the router downstairs?
> >
> >As you can see, I don't know much about this subject. In the past, I had
> >Verizon DSL with a router they provided, and I had no problems.
> >
> >Can anyone help, please?
> >
> >Thanks,
> >
> >Gail
> Barb Bowman
> MS-MVP
> http://www.digitalmediaphile.com
> http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
>

Lem,

I don't think the owner would care if I add a device as long as I pay for
it. He doesn't want to run any cable through walls. Thanks for your
suggestions and taking the time to respond.

Gail

"Lem" wrote:

> Gail wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I recently moved and am renting a room with a family in a 3 story home. My
> > room is on the 3rd floor and the router and modem are on the first floor.
> > The owner does not want to go through any walls with cables. I have limited
> > or very low connection and have trouble getting on the internet. I have 1 or
> > 2 bars. When I am on it, it is very slow to move from web pages or sites. The
> > speed is only 12.0 MBPS right now. I feel like I am back on dialup! I have a
> > desktop with windows xp sp 2. I purchased a Belkin N+ Wireless USB Network
> > Adapter. I was temporarily using a borrowed Linksys Ultra Rangemax Dual
> > Band Wireless N Network Adapter that did not get any better connection. They
> > have a Westell modem and a Netgear Dual Band N Router and have a package plan
> > from Verizon Fios.
> >
> > Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions of anything I can do to improve my
> > connection since I don't have any control over the router? Would it make any
> > difference if I got a more powerful adapter? Is it possible for me to have
> > my own router also without having a different service? What about a range
> > extender? I see good reviews for this Hawking Technology - Hi-Gain 802.11n
> > Wireless-N Range Extender at Best Buy. Would this be installed in my room or
> > would it have to go with the router downstairs?
> >
> > As you can see, I don't know much about this subject. In the past, I had
> > Verizon DSL with a router they provided, and I had no problems.
> >
> > Can anyone help, please?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Gail
>
> As you can see almost all the proposed solutions require that the owner
> of the router do something, with the two solutions most likely to
> succeed are MoCA (Barb Bowman) and Powerline Ethernet (which is *not*
> "power over Ethernet"). Both of these require that the router owner add
> a device.
>
> If you don't want to involve the owner at all, you could possibly use a
> directional antenna (if you know where the router is located). The main
> problem with this is that wireless-n already uses multi-antenna
> technology, so a simple directional antenna will probably make things
> worse.
>
> This claims to be a directional antenna that works with wireless-n
> (http://www.wisp.net.au/directional-a...bgn-p-137.html)
> but (a) it's in Australia and (b) it's expensive. Of course, in order to
> use a directional antenna, you would need to have a wireless adapter
> that is capable of accepting an external antenna. I haven't checked to
> see if either of the ones you have tried can do that.
>
> I'd try posting a question about "directional antenna for wireless-n" in
> alt.internet.wireless, where some folks who are really knowledgeable
> about antennas hang out. Be sure to use a "munged" email address when
> posting there to avoid future spam.
>
> --
> Lem -- MS-MVP
>
> Apollo 11 - 40 years ago this month:
> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ap...0th/index.html
>

Gail wrote:
> Lem,
>
> I don't think the owner would care if I add a device as long as I pay for
> it. He doesn't want to run any cable through walls. Thanks for your
> suggestions and taking the time to respond.
>
> Gail
>
> "Lem" wrote:
>
>> Gail wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I recently moved and am renting a room with a family in a 3 story home. My
>>> room is on the 3rd floor and the router and modem are on the first floor.
>>> The owner does not want to go through any walls with cables. I have limited
>>> or very low connection and have trouble getting on the internet. I have 1 or
>>> 2 bars. When I am on it, it is very slow to move from web pages or sites. The
>>> speed is only 12.0 MBPS right now. I feel like I am back on dialup! I have a
>>> desktop with windows xp sp 2. I purchased a Belkin N+ Wireless USB Network
>>> Adapter. I was temporarily using a borrowed Linksys Ultra Rangemax Dual
>>> Band Wireless N Network Adapter that did not get any better connection. They
>>> have a Westell modem and a Netgear Dual Band N Router and have a package plan
>>> from Verizon Fios.
>>>
>>> Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions of anything I can do to improve my
>>> connection since I don't have any control over the router? Would it make any
>>> difference if I got a more powerful adapter? Is it possible for me to have
>>> my own router also without having a different service? What about a range
>>> extender? I see good reviews for this Hawking Technology - Hi-Gain 802.11n
>>> Wireless-N Range Extender at Best Buy. Would this be installed in my room or
>>> would it have to go with the router downstairs?
>>>
>>> As you can see, I don't know much about this subject. In the past, I had
>>> Verizon DSL with a router they provided, and I had no problems.
>>>
>>> Can anyone help, please?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Gail
>> As you can see almost all the proposed solutions require that the owner
>> of the router do something, with the two solutions most likely to
>> succeed are MoCA (Barb Bowman) and Powerline Ethernet (which is *not*
>> "power over Ethernet"). Both of these require that the router owner add
>> a device.
>>
>> If you don't want to involve the owner at all, you could possibly use a
>> directional antenna (if you know where the router is located). The main
>> problem with this is that wireless-n already uses multi-antenna
>> technology, so a simple directional antenna will probably make things
>> worse.
>>
>> This claims to be a directional antenna that works with wireless-n
>> (http://www.wisp.net.au/directional-a...bgn-p-137.html)
>> but (a) it's in Australia and (b) it's expensive. Of course, in order to
>> use a directional antenna, you would need to have a wireless adapter
>> that is capable of accepting an external antenna. I haven't checked to
>> see if either of the ones you have tried can do that.
>>
>> I'd try posting a question about "directional antenna for wireless-n" in
>> alt.internet.wireless, where some folks who are really knowledgeable
>> about antennas hang out. Be sure to use a "munged" email address when
>> posting there to avoid future spam.
>>
>> --
>> Lem -- MS-MVP
>>
>> Apollo 11 - 40 years ago this month:
>> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ap...0th/index.html
>>

In that case, see the "kits" on this page for around $100 - $130 (I
haven't checked, but I assume that the kit price is equal to or lower
than the price for 2 units, which is what you need. Some models, e.g.,
Linksys, require *different* units at the router and at your computer)

NETGEAR XETB1001 Up to 85Mbps Powerline Network Adapter Kit
NETGEAR XE103G Up to 85Mbps 85Mbps Wall-Plugged Ethernet Adapter Kit
TRENDnet TPL-302E2K Up to 200Mbps Powerline AV Fast Ethernet Adapter Kit
NETGEAR XAVB101 Up to 200Mbps Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter Kit
D-Link DHP-301 Up to 200Mbps PowerLine HD Ethernet Starter Kit
LINKSYS PLTK300 Up to 85Mbps Powerline Network Kit
NETGEAR XEB1004-100NAS Up to 85Mbps Powerline Ethernet Switch Kit
LINKSYS PLK300 Up to 200Mbps Powerline AV Network Kit

Read the reviews.

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

Apollo 11 - 40 years ago this month:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ap...0th/index.html

Gail,
As far as I know, only Netgear and DLink have MoCA kits available at
retail.

However, there is a small chance that if the folks you are renting
from have FIOS TV that they *may* already have a MoCA router. If
yes, they may be able to talk Verizon out of another "NIM". Do you
have the model number of the Westell router? They would have to tell
Verizon they want to hook up another TV...

On Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:29:01 -0700, Gail
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Barb,
>
>Thanks alot for responding. Unfortunately, I won't be able to buy the
>adapters you referenced as I am on Social Security disability and the cost of
>two of them would be quite high for me. I get the idea, maybe I can try
>with a less expensive model? I really appreciate your help.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Gail
>"Barb Bowman" wrote:
>
>> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218044521646
>>
>> get your family hosts to attach one to the router and to the coax at
>> the router. attach the second one to the coax in your room.
>>
>> On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:17:02 -0700, Gail
>> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>> >Hi,
>> >
>> >I recently moved and am renting a room with a family in a 3 story home. My
>> >room is on the 3rd floor and the router and modem are on the first floor.
>> >The owner does not want to go through any walls with cables. I have limited
>> >or very low connection and have trouble getting on the internet. I have 1 or
>> >2 bars. When I am on it, it is very slow to move from web pages or sites. The
>> >speed is only 12.0 MBPS right now. I feel like I am back on dialup! I have a
>> >desktop with windows xp sp 2. I purchased a Belkin N+ Wireless USB Network
>> >Adapter. I was temporarily using a borrowed Linksys Ultra Rangemax Dual
>> >Band Wireless N Network Adapter that did not get any better connection. They
>> >have a Westell modem and a Netgear Dual Band N Router and have a package plan
>> >from Verizon Fios.
>> >
>> >Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions of anything I can do to improve my
>> >connection since I don't have any control over the router? Would it make any
>> >difference if I got a more powerful adapter? Is it possible for me to have
>> >my own router also without having a different service? What about a range
>> >extender? I see good reviews for this Hawking Technology - Hi-Gain 802.11n
>> >Wireless-N Range Extender at Best Buy. Would this be installed in my room or
>> >would it have to go with the router downstairs?
>> >
>> >As you can see, I don't know much about this subject. In the past, I had
>> >Verizon DSL with a router they provided, and I had no problems.
>> >
>> >Can anyone help, please?
>> >
>> >Thanks,
>> >
>> >Gail
>> Barb Bowman
>> MS-MVP
>> http://www.digitalmediaphile.com
>> http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
>>
Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.digitalmediaphile.com
http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx