Hey tech guys, I am having home network signal issues and I am wondering if anyone can help me.
I use Century Link for my ISP and I have an Actiontec PK5000 DSL modem with built in wireless router functions. I am using this for my wireless network.
Currently my signal strength is mediocre. I have my router placed in my home office, on the main floor. I have dead zones on the upper floor and also down in my basement.
In my fitness room in my basement I have a flat screen and a Blu Ray player, which has wired ethernet capability but is not wireless. I purchased a Vonnet dongle which connects to the USB port on the blu ray player and to the ethernet port on the back. It converts the device from wired to wireless. I cannot pick up a reliable signal where it is located, though. It works maybe 2 out of 10 times and even when it does, it drops the connection after about 20 minutes. According to my wireless analytics app on my phone, the signal is horribly weak and intermittent in that location.
In an attempt to boost the signal strength I purchased an Asus high gain antenna for my router. It is supposed to boost the signal from the marginal 2dbi gain of the stock antenna to 9dbi gain. It has helped a small amount with signal strength, according to my wireless app, but it hasn't provided anywhere near the boost that I thought it would.
I also purchased a wireless network repeater that also acts as a bridge. I thought maybe I would plug my blu ray player into this in bridge mode and see if I can detect the signal any better this way since the antenna for this device is external versus the tiny little thing inside the dongle? If that doesn't work, my next plan was to set it up in another location in the house and use it as a repeater and then have my Vonnet dongle connect to the repeater.
I just spent $25 for the antenna and $50 for the repeater. Am I actually better off buying a different router instead and just using my Actiontec as a modem?
I'm just wondering if I am trying to make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t and if the Actiontec is poor as a wireless router. Maybe there are much better wireless routers that will give me the signal strenth I need without having to resort to all of these extra items.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
I use Century Link for my ISP and I have an Actiontec PK5000 DSL modem with built in wireless router functions. I am using this for my wireless network.
Currently my signal strength is mediocre. I have my router placed in my home office, on the main floor. I have dead zones on the upper floor and also down in my basement.
In my fitness room in my basement I have a flat screen and a Blu Ray player, which has wired ethernet capability but is not wireless. I purchased a Vonnet dongle which connects to the USB port on the blu ray player and to the ethernet port on the back. It converts the device from wired to wireless. I cannot pick up a reliable signal where it is located, though. It works maybe 2 out of 10 times and even when it does, it drops the connection after about 20 minutes. According to my wireless analytics app on my phone, the signal is horribly weak and intermittent in that location.
In an attempt to boost the signal strength I purchased an Asus high gain antenna for my router. It is supposed to boost the signal from the marginal 2dbi gain of the stock antenna to 9dbi gain. It has helped a small amount with signal strength, according to my wireless app, but it hasn't provided anywhere near the boost that I thought it would.
I also purchased a wireless network repeater that also acts as a bridge. I thought maybe I would plug my blu ray player into this in bridge mode and see if I can detect the signal any better this way since the antenna for this device is external versus the tiny little thing inside the dongle? If that doesn't work, my next plan was to set it up in another location in the house and use it as a repeater and then have my Vonnet dongle connect to the repeater.
I just spent $25 for the antenna and $50 for the repeater. Am I actually better off buying a different router instead and just using my Actiontec as a modem?
I'm just wondering if I am trying to make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t and if the Actiontec is poor as a wireless router. Maybe there are much better wireless routers that will give me the signal strenth I need without having to resort to all of these extra items.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
