Ever since I first hooked up our Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Broadband Router it's given me troubles. Some my fault, some it's.
One of the first issues: don't put your wireless router under the microwave. It just won't work out. Bite the bullet and run the wire all around the apartment and through the closet wall if you have to.
If you have a 2.4 GHz router and a 2.4GHz wireless phone, then most likely whenever the phone rings or is in use then you won't be able to use your 'net connection. Invest in a 5.6GHz phone.
Upgrade your firmware, but with caution. With our router after upgrading to the latest version, the service would degrade over the course of a 24 hour period to the point where you would have to pull the plug on it to reboot it. Every... single... day.... So, dig around in forums and see if downgrading your firmware is the better option.
After finally getting the router to work, I'm still tempted to toss it out the window a-la SCTV.
Try some WiFi scanning software and look for other WiFi spots in your immediate area. Then pick a channel (frequency) that's not being used by your neighbours. After I did this my WiFi has been perfect.
ReplyDeleteI'm not doing the whole wireless thing right now with my router, but a better investment in the phone idea will be a 980 MHz phone. I find they work better in apartments than the higher frequency phones. The more powerful ones pick up signal from your neighbours all the time, while the 980 MHz phones have the perfect range for an apartment.
ReplyDeleteWhile you might like them, they are almost impossible to find. I did a quick look around on bestbuy and couldn't find 1. They are all 2.4 or 5.8 GHz.
ReplyDeleteWe got our last phone at Walmart, I'm pretty sure they still sell them, but they may not list them on the website. They are usually cheaper than the higher freq. models, and from my experience, work a lot better in apartments.
ReplyDeleteTry XS Cargo on Merivale Rd too.
ReplyDeleteMy point wasn't that there wasn't any around, it's just that they are a lot harder to find and you will have a lot less choices when you do find some.
ReplyDeleteWe've had our 5.8GHz phone for over a year and we've got no complaints about the sound quality.