How do I find somebody to help me strengthen the wifi in my house?

August 9, 2016 7:25 AM

Who should I look for and where should I look for them in making my house a wifi superstar?

I am a reasonably intelligent tech guy, who my family often looks to for help in solving tech issues but my own home wifi has seriously baffled me. I believe I've exhausted my capabilities and need to make a call to the bullpen. I just don't know who would offer these services. I'd like to stay away from GeekSquad but if others have used them with success, I'll consider. Extra points awarded for Chicago area wifi artist recommendations.

posted by blackjack514 to Computers & Internet (14 answers total)

What have you done so far? Have you looked at channel saturation, have you looked at what band you are on vs. what band wifi in the area is on, etc.? Have you tried any analysis software on a wifi enabled device? Someone here may be able to talk you through the analysis of the output, it might not need to be someone local if you have not gone any of these routes yet.
posted by kellyblah at 7:33 AM on August 9, 2016

Hard to guess without more info. Are you using relatively modern equipment? 802.11n is a significant upgrade from 802.11g; if you have an old WiFi access point you want to upgrade it. 5GHz is actually worse for reliability than 2.4GHz, because it doesn't go through walls as well, but it also is better in other respects. Any newish router+WiFi you buy will have 802.11n or 802.11ac and 2.4/5 dual band. If you don't have that, start there.

Beyond that, there's a new brand of fancy WiFi access points out there with significantly better antennas. I like my Ubiquiti UniFi AP pretty well, but beware that their software is fairly complex and designed for installations of 10+ units, so overkill for just 1 or 2. Google's OnHub is also reportedly pretty good.

A final option is Eero, which creates a mesh network with multiple wifi access points without wires between them. Reportedly works well, but it's $500 or so for a single home which is a bit steep.
posted by Nelson at 7:41 AM on August 9, 2016

Similar to the Eero, and the first consumer-oriented product from Ubiquiti, is the Amplifi. Cheaper than Eero, too. (Preview from Ars Technica, first review from Gizmodo)
posted by misterbrandt at 7:51 AM on August 9, 2016

I don't have a specific recommendation for your area, but most Home Audio/Visual installers (aka "low voltage installers", AngiesList category "Stereo & Home Theater Systems") have increasingly gained expertise in WiFi installations.
posted by GPF at 7:59 AM on August 9, 2016

I had similar issues. Our wifi was increasingly awful. We live in a three level townhome. The router was on the middle floor and coverage on the top floor was spotty and coverage in the basement was nonexistent. While I too am my family's default tech guy, networking was not in my wheelhouse. I tried a Powerline adapter but it required resetting regularly and no one could rely on it. I needed a better solution. I asked everyone I knew and considered buying all kinds of stuff.

I looked at the Eero and the Ubiquiti. I even considered preordering the Luma. But I had a friend who is network savvy suggest to me that the problem was that I'd replaced a modest and modestly outdated router with the crapulent Comcast default model. They suggested simply getting a better router would be a night and day difference.

I thought on this and did some research and ended up buying the Linksys WRT1900ACS Dual-Band. My wifi throughout all three levels became rock solid-reliable instantly. I could even stream HD videos to my phone over wifi from the yard.

$190 is a lot of money for a router, but it's a modest expense compared to a mesh system. I'm glad we went that route.

I realize you're asking about who might solve the problem for you. But, in my very similar case, I solved it myself by simply buying a more powerful router. Considering you could just return it if that doesn't work, it may be worth a shot.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:35 AM on August 9, 2016

I realize you're asking about who might solve the problem for you. But, in my very similar case, I solved it myself by simply buying a more powerful router. Considering you could just return it if that doesn't work, it may be worth a shot.
posted by DirtyOldTown

Seconded and even bought the same router. Same issues with spotty wireless, bought a better router, the difference is night and day. Worth a try.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 9:03 AM on August 9, 2016

One other very simple thing to improve WiFi: point the antennas correctly. For 2 antennas you want an L shape. For 3 antennas you want an L shape for 2, and then a third perpendicular to the plane of the other 2. The signal is weakest coming out the end of the stick.
posted by Nelson at 9:08 AM on August 9, 2016

Here's how I solved my issues:

Apple AirPort Extreme base station. http://www.apple.com/shop/product/ME918LL/A/airport-extreme?fnode=7f ($199.99)

Apple AirPort Express base station. http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MC414LL/A/airport-express?fnode=7f ($99.99)

If you wish to extend your network in more directions, you can get more than one of the express base stations and sprinkle them about, depending on where your weak signal zones are.

You may be able to find these devices at slightly better prices on Amazon or other locations. You don't have to get them from Apple.

Then plug the Extreme into your modem with an ethernet cable and disable the internal wifi on the modem. Run the airport utility on your computer and configure the wifi on the extreme. Then go plug in the Express somewhere. Re-run the airport utility and it will extend your network to use the additional Express base station. Repeat as needed.

Not the cheapest solution, but the most guaranteed to work solution.
posted by jeffamaphone at 9:55 AM on August 9, 2016

Geoffrey A. Fowler of the Wall Street Journal recently did an article (and video) that might be of use.

At my office we have recommended these to customers and they report good results. [video of setup by Awkward Hamster... love his reviews]
posted by terrapin at 11:25 AM on August 9, 2016

You might check Yelp for local PC repair shops that provide home service, but home networking is one of those things where the consumer gear tends to be hit or miss and there are enough variables that I'd think your chances of finding a more experienced tech that doesn't charge at the level of an experienced (enterprise-level) network engineer are likely on the slim side. I think you'd probably get more mileage if you posted more about your existing setup, what specific problems you have and then ask for advice here.
posted by Aleyn at 1:13 PM on August 9, 2016

Bah, hit submit and realized I worded that answer poorly. My point is, companies pay network engineers a lot of money for gear and networking expertise, whereas just about anyone who works in the consumer space is going to be small-time and self-taught, so I wouldn't necessarily expect to find someone within your budget who can do a better job of diagnosing and fixing your networking issues better than you (plus the help of random strangers on the internet) can.
posted by Aleyn at 1:19 PM on August 9, 2016

Powerline networking is really good, plug your router into the powerline widget, then use an old router (or buy a second hand one) as an extender (e.g. plug it in to the other widget and set it up to transmit the same signal)
posted by Sebmojo at 5:35 PM on August 9, 2016

In order,

1) Check the settings on your existing AP, channel especially.

2) Consider relocating the AP to a more central location, and/or one closer to the wireless devices with the most critical networking requirements.

3) Get a better AP. 802.11ac may help. MIMO and beam steering can help. Simultaneous dual band 2.4GHz/5GHz can help if you have a mix of new and legacy devices. (Make your 5GHz network 802.11n-only.)

4) Consider your antenna situation. Gain antennas on the AP can help in some cases, but consider that gain in some directions necessarily means weaker signal in others. (Also better noise rejection in the weaker direction, and worse in the gain direction.) Client device antennas are often terrible, and in the case of desktop PCs (and to a lesser extent, laptops) this is relatively easy to fix. Don't do long antenna cable runs; at 2+GHz, cable losses will eat any possible benefit you get from better antenna placement, and then some.

5) Get one or more additional APs, connected by real Ethernet, placed in strategic locations.

6) Get a real site survey, and go to a serious managed wireless infrastructure solution.

Mesh networking and "repeaters" add latency; avoid them except possibly in temporary or emergency situations if you're cornered like a rat in a trap and have no other option including running a 75m Ethernet cable across the middle of your living room floor.

RSS (received signal strength) is what most consumer devices show you by default, and it's much less important than SNR (signal to noise ratio). The oversimplified version is that past a certain (very low) point, it doesn't matter how "loud" the WiFi signal is -- what matters is that it is louder than the surrounding noise by a certain amount.

Measure, make one small change, repeat. If it isn't expressed in numbers, it's guesswork not science.
posted by sourcequench at 5:32 AM on August 10, 2016

I appreciate everyone's insight. It appears, based on the answers, that such an animal doesn't exist in the consumer space. My setup is a little snowflakey, so I'll ask my follow-up about how to DIY my solution in a separate question so as not to combine two different questions. Thank you all.
posted by blackjack514 at 8:06 AM on August 10, 2016