Wifi Booster/Solution on Android Box

[ddzc]

Hey guys,

I'm renting a basement appt and my wifi signal is a little weak and fluctuates quite a bit causing lag and buffering at times. I did some research and found a bunch of wifi boosters, but they're boosters from the router end, which I have no control over.

Question is....can I hard wire a wireless device or card to the ethernet port of my Android box and use that for wireless over the built in card? If so, do you guys have any recommendations for a really powerful card that will give me a good connection to the router.

Thanks!

[ChrisG8]

I would try an ethernet to Wi-Fi adapter, dual band Wireless-N if the router is dual band. I am assuming you can borrow one or might have one around as buying one might be expensive if it doesn't work. I have had great results with Linksys WGA600N but haven't used it with one of these Android mini PCs, yet.

[s73v3]

Hi ddzc,

Your simplest solution is to use EOP or powerline adapters. They are cheap enough around $40 - $50 a pair. I have the TP-Link 500Mbit adapters and get around 4MB per second from one side of the house to the other. One end connects to the modem in a spare powerpoint and the other connects next to your tv box. They communicate over the powerline saving cords or weak wifi hassle. The only consideration is to check the power in the basement is on the same circuit. This is usually the case.

If you want to choose a wireless solution then I would suggest UBNT networks. They make a range of very high sensitivity wireless equipment. Using boosters for wifi is not the best solution. It is always better have sensitive equipment. Imagine two old deaf dudes talking.They would both be yelling at each other and still not be able understand one another. Compare this with whispering your dogs name from the next room and have him come running.

I have a Nanostation M 2 (2.4Ghz). This has a simple airOS web based setup where it can be configured to act as a client or an AP.
In my solution I connected this unit to my router as a second AP. The modem AP only provided one or possibly two bars in the far bed room causing streaming music to be flaky. When I connected my phone to the nanostation I would get 5 bars. Rock solid.

In your case I would set it up as a client to the main router. The unit would connect via wifi to the router and ethernet back to your TV box or switch.


Either way, due to the high receive sensitivity it will be able to listen to the faint signals coming through. It can also boost the signal back to the router but I very doubt you need that.

Powerline adapters really are simple. If you could get future use out of the nanostation then they are just awesome. We have 2 of them running a 10km link. Well priced too.

[s73v3]

Another thought, assuming you have antennas on the router, you could try aligning them with the down stairs area. With the antenna pointing straight up, the signal propagates away from the antenna in a horizontal motion. If your room is directly below the router the antenna should be horizontal sending much more energy vertically through the floor to your basement area. Your antenna in the basement should follow the same analogy.

and here is a quick upgrade you can make in 30 mins

http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/

[jimbonice]

Powerline adopters work well. I've got a very large house and the distant from the router to the farthest android box was a bit of a hike, and the Powerline adapter worked flawlessly.

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