WEAK SIGNAL!!!

ANMHI

Left Vodafone in Feb 2013 and joined Eircom.  Not happy with Vodafone service.  Eircom so far, service, billing etc all fine.  Only problem cannot get strong signal in house.  2 laptops, 3 iphones and only 2 people can use broadband at one time!  No signal in front or upstairs of house - semidetached.!!!! Not happy.  Teenagers want to change next Feb.  House and broadband package!!!

gerryk

This sounds like an issue with the house rather than anything to do with the network? Are the internal walls and upstairs floor concrete? That attenuates your signal quite a bit. Changing your provider won't help with this, since the upper limit in transmission power is restricted by international law. I have 2 access points in my house... one downstairs and one upstairs. You may need to consider this... some problems are unavoidable, unfortunately.

SpaceTime

It's definitely nothing to do with your provider, you may just have to invest in extra WiFi hubs. Sometimes this can be done using repeaters although, in some cases you may need to use ethernet cables or plug-in powerline network connectors that carry the signal over the electrical wiring in your home and then feeding a wifi hub from there.

(You'd also need to reconfigure your network to avoid problems with having multiple NAT switches which can interfere with each other)

I would suggest posting a question on the Networking forum or the broadband forum for some help and advice as it's definitely more to do with the walls of your house than anything else.

One simple solution though before trying all that:

Try to put the router in the middle of the house and nearer to where you are most likely to use your devices (computers, tablets, mobiles etc).

Also if you know which internal walls are solid and which are partitions (plasterboard), make sure the WiFi router away from the solid walls as they will reduce the signal strength if the signal has to pass through them.

Sometimes putting the router high up can help too if you think about it, your floors upstairs are likely to be wooden and if the router's in a high spot, it should be able to send the signal down through the wooden floors into the rooms.

Sometimes putting it into the attic can even help as you'll be passing through ceilings and floors rather than solid brick / block walls. The only proviso is that you need to make sure that your attic isn't roaring hot or damp and you also can't really use extension leads to connect it up, you'd have to get a power socket and phone socket installed up there.
...

Installing home plugs or ethernet cable and one (or two at most) extra WiFi hubs might be the best way though if you're having serious issues.

There can be slight differences in the signal output strength of WiFi routers too depending on their antennas and various factors. So, you could switch the eircom modem into bridging mode and plug in a 3rd party WiFi router with very good transmission / reception capability.

You'd need to get some reviews of this, and if your house really has issues, there's no guarantee it would work either.

What I would suggest is find a friend who has one and see if you can borrow one and test it out...

gerryk

SpaceTime wrote: »

It's definitely nothing to do with your provider, you may just have to invest in extra WiFi hubs. Sometimes this can be done using repeaters although, in some cases you may need to use ethernet cables or plug-in powerline network connectors that carry the signal over the electrical wiring in your home and then feeding a wifi hub from there.

(You'd also need to reconfigure your network to avoid problems with having multiple NAT switches which can interfere with each other)

I would suggest posting a question on the Networking forum or the broadband forum for some help and advice as it's definitely more to do with the walls of your house than anything else.

One simple solution though before trying all that:

Try to put the router in the middle of the house and nearer to where you are most likely to use your devices (computers, tablets, mobiles etc).

Also if you know which internal walls are solid and which are partitions (plasterboard), make sure the WiFi router away from the solid walls as they will reduce the signal strength if the signal has to pass through them.

Sometimes putting the router high up can help too if you think about it, your floors upstairs are likely to be wooden and if the router's in a high spot, it should be able to send the signal down through the wooden floors into the rooms.

Sometimes putting it into the attic can even help as you'll be passing through ceilings and floors rather than solid brick / block walls. The only proviso is that you need to make sure that your attic isn't roaring hot or damp and you also can't really use extension leads to connect it up, you'd have to get a power socket and phone socket installed up there.
...

Installing home plugs or ethernet cable and one (or two at most) extra WiFi hubs might be the best way though if you're having serious issues.

Good advice here.
Also, important to remember the shape of the radiation pattern from the antennas. It's basically a doughnut shape, with the antenna oriented along the axis. Bear this in mind when locating the router, and orienting the antennas.

eircom: Tracey

ANMHI wrote: »

Left Vodafone in Feb 2013 and joined Eircom. Not happy with Vodafone service. Eircom so far, service, billing etc all fine. Only problem cannot get strong signal in house. 2 laptops, 3 iphones and only 2 people can use broadband at one time! No signal in front or upstairs of house - semidetached.!!!! Not happy. Teenagers want to change next Feb. House and broadband package!!!

[font=Times New Roman", "serif]Hi ANMHI, [/font]

[font=Times New Roman", "serif] [/font]

[font=Times New Roman", "serif]If you wish to boost the signal in the house you can buy additional wifi boosters from our technical support team however if the issue is the building itself i.e. solid concrete walls this will make no difference I'm afraid. All solid walls in a house will reduce signal. The advice from SpaceTime and gerryk is very good, if you wish to follow this and try it out. [/font]

[font=Times New Roman", "serif] [/font]

[font=Times New Roman", "serif]If you wish to contact the technical support team dial 1890 260 260 (telephone number and option 0)[/font]

[font=Times New Roman", "serif] [/font]

[font=Times New Roman", "serif]Thanks[/font]

[font=Times New Roman", "serif] [/font]

[font=Times New Roman", "serif]Tracey [/font]

eircom: Tracey

gerryk wrote: »

Good advice here.Also, important to remember the shape of the radiation pattern from the antennas. It's basically a doughnut shape, with the antenna oriented along the axis. Bear this in mind when locating the router, and orienting the antennas.

Hi gerryk,

Thanks for the advice and help here

eircom: Tracey

SpaceTime wrote: »

It's definitely nothing to do with your provider, you may just have to invest in extra WiFi hubs. Sometimes this can be done using repeaters although, in some cases you may need to use ethernet cables or plug-in powerline network connectors that carry the signal over the electrical wiring in your home and then feeding a wifi hub from there.(You'd also need to reconfigure your network to avoid problems with having multiple NAT switches which can interfere with each other)I would suggest posting a question on the Networking forum or the broadband forum for some help and advice as it's definitely more to do with the walls of your house than anything else.One simple solution though before trying all that:Try to put the router in the middle of the house and nearer to where you are most likely to use your devices (computers, tablets, mobiles etc).Also if you know which internal walls are solid and which are partitions (plasterboard), make sure the WiFi router away from the solid walls as they will reduce the signal strength if the signal has to pass through them.Sometimes putting the router high up can help too if you think about it, your floors upstairs are likely to be wooden and if the router's in a high spot, it should be able to send the signal down through the wooden floors into the rooms.Sometimes putting it into the attic can even help as you'll be passing through ceilings and floors rather than solid brick / block walls. The only proviso is that you need to make sure that your attic isn't roaring hot or damp and you also can't really use extension leads to connect it up, you'd have to get a power socket and phone socket installed up there....Installing home plugs or ethernet cable and one (or two at most) extra WiFi hubs might be the best way though if you're having serious issues.There can be slight differences in the signal output strength of WiFi routers too depending on their antennas and various factors. So, you could switch the eircom modem into bridging mode and plug in a 3rd party WiFi router with very good transmission / reception capability.You'd need to get some reviews of this, and if your house really has issues, there's no guarantee it would work either.What I would suggest is find a friend who has one and see if you can borrow one and test it out...

Hi SpaceTime,
 
Thanks for the help here

dmc17

Are you using the Eircom supplied modem? This could be a problem too as they are cheap rubbish. Had to throw mine in the bin and buy a proper wireless-n modem.

SpaceTime

If you're using e fibre don't change the modem! You have to use the one supplied.

You'll have to switch it to bridge mode and plug in a WiFi router you purchase yourself.

If you're using regular ADSL service you can either bridge it or replace the modem with a new one.

The device is actually a 'home gateway' so basically a router, WiFi hub and DSL modem combined. If you bridge it you're only using the modem function so you can plug in any router you like.

ANMHI

eircom: Tracey wrote: »

Hi SpaceTime,
 
Thanks for the help here

Well, thanks for all the advise.  No concrete floors that's for sure.  Had already moved modem to front of the house previously and no joy either.  Looks like I will have to purchase a booster.  Why don;t Eircom recgonise the fact that houses are built with concrete walls and supply a product that can work in a standard constructed property.  Cordless phones work in the house, mobile phones work but even when the signal is being transmitted directly from your house to a pc a few feet away, the signal will not reach!!! Scam to buy extra products.  My e-fibre available July-Sept this year, but currently not available in my town -  the county town!!! You would think they would begin with highest populated areas first!! or how do they decide which areas gets e-fibre first?  What's the gain anway when you can't even get the signal in your house!!!

SpaceTime

Cordless phones and mobiles aren't transmitting up to 54mbits of data.

You also can buy equipment from anywhere! There's no reason to buy them from eircom.

You could also try changing channel on the router.