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Message
What could be killing my wifi signal strength?
Posted on 1/20/15 at 10:57 am
Posted on 1/20/15 at 10:57 am
So my router (brand new apple airport) is located in a built in cabinet with all my components(ps4, receiver, cable box, rf remote sensor, Apple TV & a battery back up surge pro). Here's the thing... Right now I'm sitting about 30 feet in front of it, cab closed, signal is full strength. If I go into my bedroom, still about 30 feet from the router, it doesn't even pick up the wifi! What could possibly be blocking the signal? Using my very limited knowledge, I've ruled out the router because I had the same problem with the previous one. There's nothing special about the walls in my house (wood & Sheetrock). Any ideas? What about some kinda signal booster to help?
5
Posted on 1/20/15 at 11:03 am to Schmelly
quote:
Any ideas?
quote:
is located in a built in cabinet
quote:
What could possibly be blocking the signal?
quote:
cab closed
Posted on 1/20/15 at 11:07 am to guedeaux
It's just a wood cabinet. Does that make that big a deal? Seems if it can go through all the other walls, the cab shouldn't be a prob. And even when it's open it doesn't work. Although when it's open its still technically enclosed on 3 sides, 1 of those sides being between it & the bedroom
Posted on 1/20/15 at 11:12 am to Schmelly
What happens if you put the airport outside of the cabinet? Still no signal in your room?
Posted on 1/20/15 at 11:13 am to Schmelly
quote:
It's just a wood cabinet. Does that make that big a deal?
quote:
I've ruled out the router because I had the same problem with the previous one
Posted on 1/20/15 at 11:13 am to broadhead
Yall gonna call me a retard for this but....
Haven't tried that, lol
Haven't tried that, lol
Posted on 1/20/15 at 11:18 am to Schmelly
quote:
Yall gonna call me a retard for this but....
Haven't tried that, lol
Retard............
It doesn't take much to interfere with a wifi signal. Sure it can go through walls but it can only go through so many.
Posted on 1/20/15 at 11:41 am to MightyYat
It was more laziness. It's all in there nice & neat. Gonna have to go buy a longer Ethernet cable to relocate it. I'll try putting it up on top the cab
Posted on 1/20/15 at 11:47 am to Schmelly
Or a better question is - Where should I put it? It's in the cab cause it's pretty much the center of the house.
Posted on 1/20/15 at 11:51 am to Schmelly
as high as possible and with as few walls or obstructions between it and desired wifi saturated areas
Posted on 1/20/15 at 11:51 am to Schmelly
How old is the house? Hopefully it's not really old with plaster walls.
So test it outside of the cabinet and report back.
So test it outside of the cabinet and report back.
Posted on 1/20/15 at 12:10 pm to broadhead
House is 8 years old. I'm gonna try the top of the cab. Bout as unobstructed a spot as there is other than hanging it from the ceiling fan
Posted on 1/20/15 at 12:10 pm to Schmelly
In addition to what others have suggested regarding placement of the router, you might try changing the channel it's on (usually 6 by default) to 1 or 11. I've had occasional issues with interference from neighboring networks all being on channel 6. Or switch to the 5Ghz band if your devices support it.
Posted on 1/20/15 at 12:56 pm to Layabout
quote:
switch to the 5Ghz band if your devices support it.
Posted on 1/20/15 at 1:17 pm to Schmelly
quote:
located in a built in cabinet with all my components(ps4, receiver, cable box, rf remote sensor, Apple TV & a battery back up surge pro).
Worse than extra interference, that's also a lot of heat in an enclosed space. Heat will degrade router performance.
Posted on 1/20/15 at 4:16 pm to Layabout
quote:It's a new airport extreme. How do you do this? I'll look when i get home but that thing doesn't have many buttons or switches
In addition to what others have suggested regarding placement of the router, you might try changing the channel it's on (usually 6 by default) to 1 or 11. I've had occasional issues with interference from neighboring networks all being on channel 6. Or switch to the 5Ghz band if your devices support it.
Posted on 1/20/15 at 4:17 pm to ILikeLSUToo
quote:really? ok cool. I guess putting up on top will kill 2 birds
Worse than extra interference, that's also a lot of heat in an enclosed space. Heat will degrade router performance.
Posted on 1/20/15 at 4:21 pm to Schmelly
might be a silly question but why would heat or the channel/5ghz thing matter? It works great when i'm in the living room, kitchen or basically anywhere other than my BR. Walk into my room or my bathroom and the signal is gone. and if i'm in my bathroom, i'm probably 10 feet from the router but the back side of the cab is between us. It has to be the cabinet, right? We gonna find out tonight when i get home
This post was edited on 1/20/15 at 4:23 pm
Posted on 1/20/15 at 4:44 pm to Schmelly
quote:
might be a silly question but why would heat or the channel/5ghz thing matter?
Electronics have certain heat tolerances, and if the router's internals are getting too hot, you'll see a significant decline in performance. The heat issue is just a theory. It may be just fine in the cabinet temperature-wise, but from what you listed that's in that cabinet, I can't imagine it being the ideal environment without any ventilation.
The 5GHz suggestion was to get you off of the 2.4GHz band, which is rife with interference your (neighbors' wifi, microwaves, cordless phones, some baby monitors, etc). That may not be the solution either, but we're just eliminating variables.
Posted on 1/20/15 at 9:06 pm to MightyYat
This is why I get Unifi APs for my customers, run a cable up the wall and mount them to the ceiling or outdoor units in the attic.
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