How to increase the strength of wireless signal?

Connecting many computers into networks is now a necessity in any office environment. The information required for the whole office requires to be shared among all the employees. Therefore networking of computers becomes a must. But there are many inherent problems in creating such networks. If the office is a new environment then laying cables for connecting computers becomes tedious and messy. If the building is old then the wiring may cause damages to the building. If the office space spreads out into many floors then laying cables may be an issue.

These days 'Wireless network's are being deployed in many places. These wireless networks eliminates the need for laying wires. All the problems mentioned in the above paragraph are solved by use of wireless network instead of a wired network. You can place the computer or the laptop anywhere easily without any trouble anytime.

There are times when the wireless network's signal is not strong enough and cannot be reached by some computers in the office or a home. A big wall in between may block the signals significantly. The signals emitted by cordless phones may interfere with the wireless lan's signals. Use of microwave oven may also interfere with the Wi-Fi signals. Radio may also affect the Wi-Fi signals. These problems can be solved by increasing the signal strength of the wireless lan network.

These are some of the tips to increase the signal strength and the performance of your wireless network (wi-fi, 802.11x)

Place the AP (Access Point) in the center of the hall.
Access point is an important component in a wireless network. If this AP is placed in the center then all the computers will receive signals with equal strength. AP has an omnidirectional antenna. Therefore by placing it in the center, the signals will be transmitted in all directions equally. If the AP is placed near the wall then the signal will be transmitted even beyond the wall which enables hackers to enter your wireless network and harm your network.

Increase the signal strength.
Only of the signal strength is strong, the computers in the network can effectively connect to each other. there are two ways you can increase the signal strength.

1. You can use the Signal boosting antennas
2. You can use Wi-Fi repeaters. These repeaters increase the signal strength. But the use of wi-fi repeaters will slow down the speed because between each packet that is transmitted over the repeaters there has to be authentication and security issues that slow down the speed of transfer. So you can use repeaters only if there are few computers in the network.

Make signals 'directional'
You can transmit signals in a specific direction using these directional antennas. For example in a corridor you can use these directional antennas instead of omnidirectional. Similarly between two repeaters you can use directional antennas.

New wi-fi products
Keep updating your wi-fi network with new available technologies and products to make it faster, secure and robust.

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Related: Increase Wireless Signal Strength