need help, laptop without wireless signal..any tips on how I

[theultimatebrucelee]

Ok, totally off topic, if this is inappropriate please feel free to remove.

so in my house I have this special situation where I need to do web browsing and downloading Only on my Laptop in my room. and my room is pretty far from the router in the house so I never get any wireless signal that's strong enough for me to connect to the net. I've been "borrowing"(probably) one of my neighbor's connection for the past month but recently I can never connect to the net. Everytime I try to connect with it, it still connects, But, my laptop always shows "Local Only" and not "local and internet".

someone told me that it could be that the owner of the signal is blocking my IP address or something. but sometimes, when I turn laptop off and then on again hours later, it'll connect me to the internet and normal again(for some hours, then off again)..tho for the past days, its always been" local only" no matter what I do and I don't know what happened.

so my question is, is there any product out there(maybe some kind of USB, for laptop Only and not router) that when I put it on my laptop, will give me strong enough signal that I can browse the net even tho I'm 100 ft away from the router? l


well hopefully the big community here can offer me some advise and tips on how I can solve this headache, please keep in mind I'm a noob when it come to this kinda stuff so if I don't understand please have some patients,

thanks aLOT in advance!!

[Killua]

You can get a wifi amplifier or repeater for your house's router.

Don't want to get all negative on you, but you're not "borrowing" your neighbor's wifi, you're stealing it.

I'm not going to act like I've never used an unprotected wifi on the run (:P ), but when you're doing it constantly, you're definitely downgrading the internet performance your neighbor is getting. ISP's don't provide unlimited bandwidth. Also, it's just plain unsafe in terms of security. If your neighbor has the proper know-how, he could read every single keystroke you make, check out your email, etc. So I definitely recommend going the legal route of improving your own router so you can use it.

[ginga123]

you may want to check out a wireless adapter similar to this one in the link. http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/7 ... 2000000004

Not all of these USB adapters are expensive as this one, but finding one like this may solve your issue and help you gain access to your own network.

[theultimatebrucelee]

you may want to check out a wireless adapter similar to this one in the link. http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/7 ... 2000000004

Not all of these USB adapters are expensive as this one, but finding one like this may solve your issue and help you gain access to your own network.

why thats..the one I was thinking about, cause one of my classmate was using it but unfortunately his broke within a few month(not sure what he was using it for) but yeah I should give this one a try.

thanks alot

also, uh whats the differences between this one and this: http://www.hfield.com/the-wi-fire/how-does-it-work/

sorry I'm like the noobest gen Y there is lol

[benten]

What is the manufacturer / model of the router you are trying to connect to? If it isn't a n-type router, using an n-type network adapter isn't going to gain you much of anything distance-wise, although it might reduce dead spots -- if that's your problem.

But if you have an old laptop with g-type or older internal wireless adapter, buying an n-type adapter would probably help.

To get a good answer to your question, we really need to start with the router. Then, after that, what is the model computer your using?

[zerospace]

First, I agree with Killua -- you are stealing your neighbor's connection, which is a bad idea . If all you are getting is local only access, your neighbor has likely secured his connection. He's not blocking your IP, he's probably blocking you by your hardware's mac address (which is associated with your laptop's wireless network card). Or he has enabled WEP or WPA, which means you need a password or code to gain access.

The distance and obstructions between your room & laptop and your router are the issue. You can try range boosting products and different antennas, sure, but I can tell from experience that most of these products .... don't help very much, because those walls, etc will still be there, degrading the signal along the way.

Your best bet is to consider where your wireless router is in the house, and if you can move it, you might consider trying that instead.

[theultimatebrucelee]

ok, I've edited the question, so now I'm just trying to figure out a way for me to get stronger signal without having to move the router, which is not within my power basically now I think the wireless range boost would be the only solution, since many mentioned that its not the right thing to use other peoples wireless without paying.

@benten: the wireless connection is g-type according to my laptop, but the HP laptop is about 8 months old currently running on vista(guess that doesn't matter tho). so now again I'm not sure about what kinda device I can and should use-_-"
anymore suggestions

what about something like this: http://www.frys.com/product/5643251?sit ... IN_RSLT_PG

[benten]

Back to the basic question: What is the manufacturer / model number of the router? If the router itself is 802.11b or 802.11g, you're basically wasting money on anything you try with your laptop. The 802.11n standard was just released in October 2009. Many manufacturers were selling 802.11n equipment over a year prior to the finalization of the standard. But I'm seen some difficulties with mixing and matching the router & adapters between different vendors. For info on the standards, you can try:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11.
If you look at the indoor range table, you'll find that the maximum indoor range of b/g is 125 feet. The n spec almost doubles the range.

The directional antenna you referenced might work, given that you aim it at the router (and keep it aimed at the router) and that you aren't in "dead" zone of the router antenna pattern. It's hard to give good advice unless something is known about the obstacles between you and the router and the antenna arrangement on the router. Keep in mind that most of these routers have a dipole antenna(s) that you can orient in different directions and change the radiation pattern. If it doesn't mess up someone else's reception, you could try simply changing the antenna orientation to see if that helps you.

However, look at the Linksys (Cisco) wireless-n router line: E1000 ($79.99), E2000 ($119.99), E3000 ($179.99). You will get more bang for your buck by just replacing an old b/g router with an n router.

If your computer is only 8 months old, I'm guessing your adapter is probably n-type and you're getting g-type because that's the limit of the router.

[theultimatebrucelee]

we have the Linksys wireless G router, WRP400 is the model#. the thing is my room/workroom is in the backyard, a separated room from main house with walls, doors and windows in between 25 feet away from the main house and I don't even know how many feet away from the router itself, no way to move the router. recently some kind of upgrade is coming which requires new equipment and will allow faster internet speed. however nothing about a longer range was mentioned in the letter so not sure if its the new N-type or not..

since my room is in a completely different direction then the router and main house, with walls and much distance in between, I'm not sure if the antenna might help on this.

now I'm also considering getting something like a USB modem such as this:
http://www.sprint.com/business/products ... hones.html

and its also something that I'll be able to use on the road as well, but my goolge search didn't provide me with much step by step info on how this thing works with the router and ISP, so I'll prably have to give the company a call or something to find out. do you or anyone else here also happens to know anything on this?

[theultimatebrucelee]

oops..double post to reach 100 lol

[ginga123]

wow, i did not know i had the power to read other peoples' minds except for my boyfriends

i say try out the router adjustments first, then go get your adapter

[benten]

Since you currently have wireless G router (and I would guess the router is being supplied by your ISP), your options are to try a directional antenna, such as the one you suggested
http://www.frys.com/product/5643251?sit ... IN_RSLT_PG
or to try to put a repeater such as the Hawking HWREN1 Range Extender
http://www.amazon.com/Hawking-HWREN1-Hi ... B001DMEYCY
in between the router and your location.

If you do buy either a directional antenna or a repeater, you will want to make sure that it is compatible with n as well as g routers, since you may get an upgrade to an n router in the future. Both of the products mentioned above are compatible. A lot of the products for range extension are limited to g routers. I would personally look at the repeater first. I haven't used the Hawking products, but they seem to have a number of range extension products ( http://www.hawkingtech.com/index.php ) and, overall, I would say that the reviews seem to indicate that the products work.

[theultimatebrucelee]

cool thanks benten I'll try out the repeater first, just need to find it at stores like bestbuy or frys or costco that way if it don't work I can return it(I think), and hopefully they have hawking.