Improve Your Wireless Network

1. Upgrade routers and wireless network adapters to 802.11n. It will deliver far greater range and throughput.

2. Move the router off the floor and keep it as far as possible from walls and metal objects. Metal, walls and floors wreak havoc with your router’s wireless signal. The more of these obstacles your router needs to punch through to reach your notebook, the worse the interference, and the slower your connection will be.

3. Place your router (or access point) in a central location in the office. If your wireless router is at one end of the office (or your home), the signal will have farther to go to reach the other end. Using a central spot splits the difference.

4. Check your wireless channel, and change it if necessary. Wireless routers use one of 11 possible channels to broadcast. If another wireless network nearby happens to be broadcasting on the same channel your router is using, both networks will experience severe loss of range and power. You can use the wireless software on your notebook to find out how many wireless networks are active in the area, and which channels each is using. If you discover that another network is using the same channel as your router, log into the router via your browser and use its built-in configuration screen to select an unused channel. Chances are your signal strength will improve significantly. (You don’t need to adjust your notebook; it’s designed to automatically detect the network’s new channel.)

5. Invest in a wireless repeater. Wireless repeaters (or access points) extend your wireless network’s range with no need to install additional wiring.

6. Update your router’s firmware and your network adapter’s drivers. Hardware vendors are always upgrading and improving their wireless equipment to increase range and performance — and most of those upgrades are free. Check for new firmware updates at your router manufacturer’s Web site, as well as the site of your wireless adapter card. Microsoft also updates the drivers that Windows uses to communicate with your network adapter. To get those updates, visit Microsoft Update and click “Hardware, Optional.”

7. Reduce wireless interference. Cordless phones, microwave ovens, and other wireless electronics in your home or office can interfere with your wireless network. To improve reception, look for cordless phones and other electronics that use the 5.8 GHz or 900 MHz frequencies. They won’t interfere.

8. Use equipment from a single vendor. While every router will work pretty well with every network adapter (assuming their respective flavors of 802.11 are compatible), you will often get better performance if you match a router and network adapter from the same vendor. Some vendors like Linksys offer a boost of up to twice the performance when you use their hardware exclusively.

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