TFOAF
11-06-2009 21:38:23
Hello. I am currently having wireless network troubles and am asking for some help. I am an above-average techy.
Previously...I was using my neighbor's DI-624 router which he kept by the window for us so we could use it. They live across the street, approx. 75 - 90 feet. I had a range extender by my front door. That was the D-Link DWL-G800AP. I used to get a pretty decent speed, and the signal was good. At home I would get a range of speeds from 300 KB/s to 600+ KB/s depending what and where I was downloading from.
Recently the range extender died. So, I was off to purchase a new range extender. I went to Best Buy, and the lovely young man who knew absolutely nothing about networking told me this specific Linksys Range Expander device would work, especially with that router since he claimed and the box claims that it works with "most" routers. I get home, set it up, and voila, it connects to the router, but the connection is extremely slow, it kept disconnecting from the router and then reconnecting many times.
After these problems I promptly returned my expander to Best Buy. Oh, and I forgot to say, D-Link does not make their range extender anymore.
So, I went on Amazon and I purchased the Hawking HWREN1 Range Extender. This is compatible with 802.11b, g, and n. It has two antennas ... so I assume further signal strength. This extender got good reviews. After setting it up in my house, the same problem ocurrs, if not worse than the Linksys range extender. After this, I discussed with my neighbor about us purchasing him a new router. He agreed, so I purchased the DIR-655 N router. This thing's got three antennas, and N capabilities. I went into his house, set it up, and the internet worked perfectly fine as it should in his house, both wired and wirelessly at both G and N speeds. I then proceeded back to my house, reconfigured my Hawking range extender, and the same problems occurred. I do not have any security enabled that would decrease range or slow down network speeds. The connection from my laptop to my extender no matter where I am in my house is 100%, however, there are problems connecting it to the router.
It just doesn't make any sense, because the older range extender from D-Link was perfectly fine and was fast. What should I do? I tried playing around with the different channel settings to see if there was any extra interference in my neighborhood, but that just made it worse, so I put it back at channel 11.
I am getting about 25-30 KB/s download speeds or less, sometimes 100+ KB/s ... when connected via N, or G. It just doesn't make any sense, because the range extender that I have now should give off a stronger signal, and the new N router should be giving off a stronger signal at well, so this entire situation is incredibly weird.
Also, both firmwares are the latest releases on all devices.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Craig