Weak Wifi Signal in Parking Lots

[myway_1]

I am finding that I am often unable to use public wifi from parking lots because I only get one or two bars. Either I can't connect or it is super slow or I get dropped.  Right now I am at a Lowes with three bars and it works great.

So I suppose I need a wifi booster? Or would I do just as well to allow my prepaid Verizon to be throttled. The $50 7 GB plan is all I can afford and I have used 3 GB in just one week. Once I've used my allotment will I continue with unlimited 3G?

If I do need a wifi booster, I want one I can pick up at a store as a don't want to be tied down waiting for a delivery.

Would this one do the trick? Or would something else (cheap) be better?

 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Alfa-AWU...0067&wl11=online&wl12=112116360&wl13=&veh=sem

 

[lenny flank]

Park closer to the building.

Seriously. The range drops off quickly. The closer you are, the better signal you get.

It also helps to have as least metal as possible between you and the signal, whether that means opening the cargo gate door, or sitting up front by the window.

 

[IGBT]

If you go with an Alpha USB wifi dongle from Amazon and use a Yagi antenna with it, you can pull in wifi from 1/2 mile away.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008Z4DNFC



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YI4HRM


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YI4HRM

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FICJ8S


edit:  This site uses the worst editor.  I can't get the links correct here.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I've had the same problem.  I discovered a work around.  Once you put in a link, everything AFTER it is screwed up.  But if you put your FINAL link in first, and then back up and put other links ABOVE it, it seems to work ok.

 

[hepcat]

I put together a really inexpensive repeater system using these parts:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UBU8IE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.ccrane.com/WiFi/High-Gain-8dBi-24GHz-Outdoor-WiFi-Antenna

And the appropriate cables and connectors. Total, about $80

 

[frater secessus]

What device are you using to access the wifi? Phone? Laptop?

If laptop or similar, that Alfa is good and cheap.
If tablet or phone I'd go for a repeater like hepcat says.

 

[myway_1]

What device are you using to access the wifi?  Phone? Laptop?

If laptop or similar, that Alfa is good and cheap.  
If tablet or phone I'd go for a repeater like hepcat says.

I am using a Surface 2, which has the Windows 8.1RT operating system. So anything that needs a driver probably won't work with it. It has a full sized USB port but doesn't provide much power to it.

I love the Surface but may have to shell out $300 to buy a Surface 3 which has a regular Windows operating system. But I'd rather save my money and find something that works with the Surface 2 though.

 

[hepcat]

I am using a Surface 2, which has the Windows 8.1RT operating system. 

In order to configure any repeater, you'll need something with a cat-5 network cable port so you can plug directly into the repeater.  Does the Surface 2 have an RJ45 ethernet port, or a port that can be adapted to an RJ45 plug like Apple's Thunderbolt ports?

 

[myway_1]

In order to configure any repeater ...

I have a old laptop with an ethernet port that I don't use because it's too clunky for the car but I could use it to configure the repeater. Once it's configured I won't need the laptop unless something goes wrong at some point - correct?

 

[frater secessus]

Once it's configured I won't need the laptop unless something goes wrong at some point - correct?

Right.

 

[hepcat]

I have a old laptop with an ethernet port that I don't use because it's too clunky for the car but I could use it to configure the repeater. Once it's configured I won't need the laptop unless something goes wrong at some point - correct?

Or until you need to find another access point.  You have to reconfigure the repeater each time you change the access point it's repeating.

 

[frater secessus]

Or until you need to find another access point.  You have to reconfigure the repeater each time you change the access point it's repeating.

After initial setup you can probably log into the router over wifi to the 192.*.*.1 address and set up the new AP.

 

[hepcat]

After initial setup you can probably log into the router over wifi to the 192.*.*.1 address and set up the new AP.

Not the one I linked to in my earlier post.  As a repeater, I believe it's ethernet-only for configuration.

 

[myway_1]

I'm travelling and expect to continue travelling for a while, so I'm using different public wifi every day. I wouldn't want to use my laptop every time.

 

[hepcat]

I'm travelling and expect to continue travelling for a while, so I'm using different public wifi every day. I wouldn't want to use my laptop every time.

The technology is what it is.  You either adapt to how it works, or don't use it... your choice.  It's a minor nuisance to configure the repeater when you park each time, but the signal strength increase is nothing short of amazing.  Good luck however you choose.

 

[myway_1]

When I buy a new, small laptop I will use a repeater. Thanks Hepcat!

In the meantime, I am finding that Lowes Home Improvement has great wifi. I have been to four of them and I get four bars several spaces out in the parking lot and three bars at the edge of the lot.

 

[frater secessus]

Not the one I linked to in my earlier post.  As a repeater, I believe it's ethernet-only for configuration.

The manual for that router says web-based configuration is available out of the box on http://192.168.0.254

 

[hepcat]

The manual for that router says web-based configuration is available out of the box on http://192.168.0.254

I'm reporting this from memory as I haven't used it in over a year... it lives in the moho...  and I see that there are now four versions of the hardware... and later versions may configure differently. I'm not sure off the top of my head which version mine is.

That said, IIRC it likely is configurable wirelessly as a router... but using it as a repeater is a little different because all wireless traffic through it is merely passed through to the access point it's repeating, and unlike in it's router mode, none of the traffic is addressed locally.  That's why you need the ethernet cable to access the device itself when it's in repeater mode.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Those little USB Wifi extenders work great in my experience, and they are certainly priced right. Most of the cheaper ones are only on 2.4 ghz, but this works fine for most public wifi, most of the time.

If you buy one you should get the 1000mw version, because the 2000mw versions will run warm and tend to churn thru the device's battery since that is where they receive the power to operate. Plus, they might not run on the limited current of some USB ports.

Be sure to buy the kind that has an external magnetic antenna you can stick to the roof of your vehicle, this makes a HUGE difference. 

As for whether it will work on a Surface...I dont know that part. The ones I have work out of the box on Windows, and the driver CD is not needed.

 

[frater secessus]

That said, IIRC it likely is configurable wirelessly as a router...  but using it as a repeater is a little different because all wireless traffic through it is merely passed through to the access point it's repeating, and unlike in it's router mode, none of the traffic is addressed locally.  That's why you need the ethernet cable to access the device itself when it's in repeater mode.

I see what you mean;  it's a bridging repeater, taking addresses (and maybe the AP name) from the upstream AP.