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Netgear WNR1000 - extending wifi range/replacing antenna

kullyrai
Dabbler
Posts: 21
Registered: ‎19-05-2008

Netgear WNR1000 - extending wifi range/replacing antenna

Hi all ,
I have been on FTTC for over 18 months and had the Netgear WNR1000 for this time.
I have noticed that in certain parts of the house/property, I do not get the best of wifi coverage. This is ok when I use my laptop (it keeps wifi most of the time, though it is quite slow at times), but my wifes laptop and our new smartphones do not work so well when we are at the edge of the wifi coverage. Sometimes they will connect to wifi, but will not have any network access
What would be the best ways to extend the wifi range of the router?
- One thing I have been told, is that replacing the antenna can improve the wifi range and quality of connection. Does anyone have any experience of this?
- Can anyone recommend any replacement antenna's which are compatible with the WNR1000, or would any antenna do?
Also, could I get a boost in the wifi range/stability with firmware upgrades? I used to upgrade the firmware on my old DG834G, but have not done it with the WNR1000 since I have had it.
thanks
kullyrai
5 REPLIES 5
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

Re: Netgear WNR1000 - extending wifi range/replacing antenna

Hi there,
There may be unofficial firmwares for Netgear routers (I'm currently using dd-wrt on a d-link) that could offer improvements to the wireless, but I'm not sure what's available I'm afraid - plus doing this will invalidate the guarantee. A simpler alternative may be to make something like this: http://lifehacker.com/296367/boost-your-wireless-signal-with-a-homemade-wifi-extender
I put one of those up for my mum and it did actually help, hope it does for you too.
kullyrai
Dabbler
Posts: 21
Registered: ‎19-05-2008

Re: Netgear WNR1000 - extending wifi range/replacing antenna

Hi Matt,
I tried your suggestion. While it seemed to improve the signal quality (5db improvement to RSSI in inSSIDer), I don't think it actually helped increase the range.
Are there any other suggestions? I had a look at the WNR1000 and it seems like the antenna cannot be replaced, as it does not screw off.
My wife also had Plusnet in her place before we got married, and we still have her router (which I have tried out in bridged mode before) - I might see if I can set that up again as a second router in bridged mode in a different location to see if that can also help.
mcintoshuk
Rising Star
Posts: 75
Thanks: 1
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎17-10-2012

Re: Netgear WNR1000 - extending wifi range/replacing antenna

It sounds like bigger antennae aren't an option in your case, but what you have to remember is that just increasing the antenna gain at one end of the link (possibly only getting 2 or 3dB more) isn't going to give you whole lot of improvement - due to the inverse square law, the signal density is still going to be pretty feeble once you get any distance from the router.  I've done this but I also changed the antenna on the remote device to improve the sensitivity at that end too.  Doing that is reasonably effective but is rarely an option.  The other approach I've taken, which is not dissimilar to using another router in bridge mode, was to connect another Wireless Access Point to the router by cable and set it up to deliver another wireless network (different SSID), and set the PCs etc. up to automatically connect either of the two networks.  That way they picked whichever was the providing the best signal.  The WAP can still allow your main router to deliver the DHCP, so there's no risk of IP conflicts etc.
I did this with my Linksys WAP54G and the TG582n router until I got all my client devices configured for the TG582n and was happy that they were all getting enough signal.  I also did it with a DLink DWL-700AP (11Mbps wireless B)  way back, when I had trouble getting signal into the extension at the back of the house before I moved my main router to a better location.
NorthEasterner
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,873
Thanks: 64
Fixes: 3
Registered: ‎25-09-2012

Re: Netgear WNR1000 - extending wifi range/replacing antenna

Shimples!!
Crap the netgear!! Buy a BT homehub 3 of ebay second hand will do,  plug it into your modem via ethernet into bt infinity socket, then log into hub 3 http://bthomehub.home and enter your details
usernsame- username@plusdsl.net*
password - plusnet account password
* this is the username and password you use to log into the member centre
Ex Plusnet Fibre customer. Sky Ultrafast (G.Fast) Customer using a Sky Hub 4.2. If you wish to say thanks, please click the thumbs up Thumbs_Up
kullyrai
Dabbler
Posts: 21
Registered: ‎19-05-2008

Re: Netgear WNR1000 - extending wifi range/replacing antenna

Hi everyone,
Just to give an update, I was able to do as mcintoshuk suggested, and was able to set up the second router (TG585 v8) with the latest firmware and bridged mode configuration at a second location in the house - I had part of a wired network from where the home pc has been placed before and putting the TG585 in one of these locations with the same wifi SSID and password (but different channel) seems to have allowed me to get total wifi coverage across the property. In fact it even goes quite far into the garden now!
@Matt, don't worry I am also still using the homemade wifi extender from your suggestion as well to improve part of the signal!!  Wink