Wireless Broadband
Introduction into improving your wireless bandwidth, connectivity and speed:
In order to explain the follow statement I will in some parts use hypothetical situations in order for the non tech to understand a little clearer...Your wireless router omits a radio wave signal which carries your broadband connectivity to your mobile device, if you have ever dropped a pebble into still water you will see the small little ripples it creates omitting outwards, this is the same as your routers Aerial although you can get directional aerials which will send the signal out in a funnel or cone direction.
Bearing the ripple thought in mind, as the signal or ripples get further away they become weaker, yes you could drop a bolder or larger pebble into the still water, this will create bigger ripples that go a little further, but remember the moment you use wireless your on 30% less broadband. So as your signal radiates outwards you begin to find that the signal does not quite reach the parts of your home you would like or does not sustain its connectivity strength. As you get further away your broadband bandwidth gets less, also note that currently there are two main wireless senders/receivers within your wireless device you are using, they are enabled and enabled, what this means is your connectivity speed for a enabled device will run/operate at a maximum of 54 kilobits per second, and a enabled device will run/operate at a maximum of 300kilobits per second.
There are three things you can do.
Move your router to another location that better suits your family’s needs - but you will need to have your wiring rearranged to create a new position for your router to be plugged into a correctly newly wired or additional master socket.
Purchase an additional wireless router or wireless booster- just by plonking it somewhere that can stretch your signal is not helping you, if your 1st router created say 5 ripples your additional router/booster does not pick up the 5th ripple, it needs a stronger handshake, so it will bond with the 3rd ripple to create a stronger link. (You will need to check with your internet service provider that the additional Router/booster is compatible with your current one) once you add an additional wireless router/booster remember you will now be sharing what’s left of the wireless bandwidth between the two or between as many as you add. Normally on the back of each router there are 4 data ports, which are there for a reason. If you run a data cable connected to both routers then you will be sharing what broadband speed your 1st router is getting from your service provider, if you add a data cable from one of the ports and connect the other end into a data socket to which you then plug your wireless device into it, laptop and so forth, you will then again be using what speed your receiving at your property. Because hard wired works best and won’t give you the 30% loss to start with as if you were using wireless. There are some suppliers who claim to boost your broadband speed by at least another ten percent, this does not mean it will boost your broadband speed from your service provider to your property, but will help to increase connectivity between your 1st router and any additional, thus creating increase in speed because your connectivity is stronger, how it works is like this, let’s say you dropped your pebble into a square pond, yes a square! On two of the corners you had a wireless laptop on each and the other two corners you had none, as the aerial radiated it’s signal from your dropped pebble it would recognise that there was no devices in the direction of the two spare corners and redirect that signal in the direction of the two laptops, thus boosting your connectivity, strength and speed. The majority of routers supplied only radiate normally like a dropped pebble.
Consider having 1 or 2 hard wired data sockets, move the wireless router to a family orientated location for your walkabout devices as basic web browsing and e-mails need very little bandwidth, for your office location or gaming machine or TV or any device that requires higher bandwidth to sustain good speedy connectivity opt for 1 or 2 data sockets to be installed for those devises. Maximize your use.......
When trying to get into connectivity for wireless or just broadband there are so many variables to take into consideration and to try and explain just some into layman’s terms is no easy task, I hope I have given you some basic rules to follow and hopefully given you a good guide in going forward to maximizing your broadband and quality of experience. I also hope from what you have read will help you to better understand how it works and what you can do to improve.
Something else to consider,
Your wireless strength around your home can be blocked, absorbed, deflected and get interference, for instance:
What materials where used to build your home!
Do you have under floor or ceiling foil heating!
Do you have pipes in the walls, ceiling, and floors!
Do you have a reasonable size mirror!
When your micro wave is switched on do you lose signal!
Does your wireless phone course you problems!
Is your router too near to other electrical appliances!
Apart from the above, if you live in an urban area then you are more likely to get what’s called inference from other wireless routers close to your proximity. This is not unusual as you may think because most routers are set to transmit over the same channels, some routers can switch between channels to compensate for this but some cant, the one’s that can you will need to contact your internet service provider on how to change channels within their router they supplied to you.
If this is all beginning to sound confusing, don’t worry, just remember to give yourself the best starting point, where and how your single pair of wires gets to your first master socket.
With my many years of hand on experience one thing has always puzzled me!
I have never been able to work out or had it factually shown to me, how a mirror absorbs your broadband, whether it’s the makeup of the glass, the reflection of empty space, the coating used to create the reflection or all three combined!!
Many thanks
Steve