It’s a story as old as time. I moved into a new place with great fiber internet - but the modem is in the garage, my desktop PC is not, and the place is a rental so I have limited options for making modifications. The signal is not bad, but I’m getting dropouts.

Since the PC and router are fixed in place I thought maybe a directional antenna or two would help? 5GHz directional antennae are kinda scarce which makes me wonder if I’m on the wrong track. Does this new “beamforming” thing supersede directional antennae?

I have 802.11ax (a.k.a. Wi-Fi 6) on both sides of the connection. Maybe I could upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E and give 6GHz a go? Maybe that would be worse due to the intervening wall…

  • shanghaibebop@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Get an access point with a healthy uplink. Mesh networks work too.

    I wouldn’t recommend powerline unless it’s the last resort. It’s really hit or miss depending on your circuitry.

    • hallettj@beehaw.orgOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Thanks for the heads-up about powerline. My house is oldish, and the wiring might not be amazing. It’s good to be warned before I put money into that option.

      I’m not sure what you mean by a healthy uplink? Like put a Wi-Fi device in a spot with a better signal, and run a cable there?

      • shanghaibebop@beehaw.orgEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Yea.

        1. Try to get the Wi-Fi node to a better place using Ethernet.

        2. Get a Wi-Fi “repeater” or better yet, a mesh network, where the second access point is placed in between your computer and the router to “rebroadcast” to the router.

      • Mr_Will@feddit.ukEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Power line adaptors aren’t bad, but they are hit or miss. If they hit, they’ll work well and solve all your problems for minimal cost and effort. If they miss you’ll probably never get them working properly. It’s a bit of a gamble, but I wouldn’t rule them out.

        Wireless range extenders/access points/mesh networks are the reverse. They’ll almost always work, but they make the inherent problems with WiFi worse. More latency, more congestion, more interference. They’re not without downsides.

        Running a cable so you can move your router to a better location would be my number 1 choice. Ideally somewhere where you can plug multiple devices (TV, consoles, pc, etc) into it so they aren’t competing with the devices that really need the WiFi.