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It is a frustrating feeling to pay for monthly wireless Internet service and yet still not be able to access it in your own home. Especially for those living in apartment complexes or in high-traffic areas, electronic interference can prevent you from moving around and taking advantage of being wireless.
Although it is not possible to improve your bandwith or data transmission rates without hardware upgrades, there are a few simple ways to improve your wireless connection.
Use equipment from a single vendor – Before even setting up a wireless connection, try to buy all of your hardware from the same company. Compatibility matters greatly for two-way transmission, and some companies add performance boosters that improve signal strength and speed when using their hardware.- Use password protection – It’s easy to do, and as long as you’re paying for it you should protect other people from getting it for free. The more people using your router, the slower the connection will be for you. You can set your own WPA or WEP password through your router.
- Position your router better – It seems obvious, but the location of the router can make a huge difference. It should be in a central location off the floor and away from metal objects. Filing cabinets and brick walls can make the signal weaker, so look for a place away from obstructions.
- Connect closely to the phone line – Along with choosing a good position for the router, you should plug it in to the phone line as closely as possible. Use the shortest amount of cable between the router and socket, so avoid extension cords and use the master socket, instead.
- Reduce Interference – Because wireless Internet is an electronic signal, it is competing with other similar signals in your home. This includes wireless phones, baby monitors, garage doors, and even microwave ovens. Avoid wireless electronics that use a 2.4GHz frequency.
Change the WiFi Channel – Because so many other electronics are operating on the same frequency, you may try changing the channel to avoid excess traffic. Many routers are pre-set to a default channel 6 out of 11 channels. Look for online wireless networking tools to help you change the frequency.- Replace the antenna or network adapter – This is a simple hardware fix that could pay off well. Since antennas are set to broadcast in all directions, you may be losing half of the signal if the router is near an outside wall. Consider a hi-gain antenna that focuses the signal in one direction. Your computer must also send the signal back to the router, which is where a higher-quality network adapter may help, especially with desktop computers.
- Add a wireless repeater – A wireless repeater placed halfway between your wireless access point and the computer will boost the signal strength without requiring extra wiring.
- Update your firmware or your network adapter driver – Go to your router manufacturer website to check for free software updates. This will fix bugs and possibly even give you more features.
- Check for applications running in the background – Your computer may run update programs in the background that can affect your broadband speed. These programs transfer data to a remote server, so by temporally disabling them you may increase your speed slightly.
Final Thought
So, are you using a wireless connection? Have you ever had connection issues? Your feedback and thoughts would be appreciated, so leave a comment.
This post was contributed by BroadbandCompare.com.au, an Australian website offering fast broadband plans and a range of unbiased buying guides.
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An easier way to improve your connection would be to look for a better company that would provide a wireless connection.
That is a great problem, and the thing I have done is changed my router’s name to “MOST DANGEROUS COMPUTER VIRUS”.
And also have password protected it so it helps a lot. 
The article mentions WEP and WPA encryption – please don’t use WEP, you might as well use nothing, it’s totally insecure. Even WPA ain’t *that* secure anymore, so no less than WPA2 should be the preferred encryption method.
You can always switch to a better company that doesn’t have such bad service
. Just saying…lol good post nonetheless.
Thanks. This is really something. I learned a lot from reading this blog. I actually have had difficulty in my wireless connection It is always taking time, and you know, too slow. Thanks for this, it really helps.
Well, I’ve been struggling this matter for a while now and what has worked for me is using an extra hub.
I could connect in the living room, near the wifi set but when I went to my room it didn’t work so I bough a hub to engance the internet connection and it has been working perfectly all over the house.
A friend of mine conect a copper cable, like the ones used in long internet antentas, to an old cacerole and place it in the place of the antena…. now the wifi has extended big time!
Just some tips
I like more the classical internet connection but my friends use a lot the wireless connection though I don’t like it, sometimes is less stable than the classical one
Uhmm… sometimes it gets unstable for the computer or laptop itself. Sometimes it also depends on speed of the connection also.
One point you’re right it is actually less stable but it can be really easy to use.
J
Nice information post by you. it clear explain in your article. I have also wireless connection related devices and i appreciate this article.
Great Work
Thank you for some nice tips. By the way I even do not know about tip Nr.8 “Add a wireless repeater”. I will definitely try it soon.
nice information you have there. thanks. It is very useful and helpful for me because sometimes i lost my wi-fi connection and that irritates me. Thanks
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