Wireless dilema need help

[exotic444]

I recently upgraded to VM 50meg service and they gave me a router (d-link dir-615) I set everything up with not problem and then i went onto speed test and saw that I was only getting between 10 - 30mb/s (as I ran multiple times) so I tried streching my router and getting a long ethernet to plug into my computer and test again just to make sure its wireless, then I used speedtest again and was getting a nice 50mb/s

so i unpluged that put my wireless back in and was still getting crappy results. I looked at the status of my wireless adapter and my speed was about 40 - 100 mbps. would buying a new antenna with better specs fix this? I'm only about 10m away from my router.

 

[exotic444]

Wireless speed is always less. Getting a new adapter won't help if you're only 10metres away.

If you can, i suggest going wired.

Is there anything else I could do to help the speed apart from going wired (I dont really want to run a cable 10 - 15m around my house).

 

[exotic444]

I lay network cable for offices and homes. Its not that hard, just get a snake at your local hardware store (20GBP) and snake a CAT cable through, takes you a few hours and its the most reliable connection. Just make sure that you get shielded cable if your running it in the same tube as power lines the degradation with the shielding for 20m is negligible.

You'll need an RJ45 crimper and some RJ45 connectors and rubber booties (aka snagless boot). Here are the crimping instructions.

http://www.lanshack.com/make-cat5E.aspx

You can find all the things I listed in OC.

Good luck!

I cant really go wired since I live with my family and people wont want a wire running anywhere plus I have a laptop and I want to improve speed with that aswell, are you sure just buying a super gigabit router with a good adapter would fix my problem?

 

[exotic444]

But I mean im not asking for full on 50MB im asking for at least 30 but im gettin 5-10 so buying a super gigabit router with a good adapter would fix my problem? would it not?? anyone?

 

[exotic444]

yes, buying a better modem/router with a high throughput should help you problem (but cant say by how much, as long as you have an adapter to connect to the router which is capable of handling high speeds. I beleive you can further improve things by buying a simultaneous dual band router and using an adapter which can connect to both bands at the same time. but this means you are looking at some pricey equipment.

end of the day, if you buy a router then make sure it comes with good reviews and stats as a lot of routers may claim 300mbps but often dont provide anything more than 30-50. Ive personally been lookig at the asus rt-n16 which comes highly regarded at a fairly reasonable price, or try a powerline kit

So if I got a gigabit router would it be best to buy a gigabit cat6 cable to connect my modem to the router

 

[exotic444]

The RT-N16 is a great piece of hardware but you wont need a CAT6 cable to your modem unless you have an amazing connection.

Also remember like Tripp said wireless throughput depends on many things, interference, walls, thickness of walls, type of material in the walls, if mesh wiring was used in the wall plaster (which is the worst for wireless, it acts like foil), encryption, omnidirectional antenna quality, directional antenna if any.

If your signal in your room is still not as strong as you'd like have a look at this and you can improve it with some cardboard paper and foil, or you can go high price and buy a high gain 9db antenna, although you can make a 12db directional antenna for half the price.

http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template2/index.html

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-build-weatherproof-compact-high-gain-wifi-antenna-276317/

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice man, but I think I need a new router since I have 4 computers and an xbox 360 all wireless and I just think the D-link DIR-615 can't handle it