WIFI ranges

[xttwo2]

I just bought a new $10 buck WIFI Modem
the specs say it has a 98 feet range.

As a new WIFI user myself; I'm wondering where that is on the scale of good versus "suck" WIFI range abilities for modems?

I searched the net and found modems that cost more but I wanted to go for the cheapest I could find. So in that context - yeah; I'm really not expecting much.

 

[beers]

I wanted to go for the cheapest I could find.

Those routers are generally garbage, you pretty much get what you pay for.

For light use they're generally okay though.

 

[Geoff]

98 feet is awful, do you have a model of this router? As a guide, this is what the advertised ranges are for each protocol:

802.11a - 95 feet
802.11b - 150 feet
802.11g - 170 feet
802.11n - 230 feet

I'm wondering if you bought a really old unit..

 

[Cromewell]

98 feet is awful, do you have a model of this router? As a guide, this is what the advertised ranges are for each protocol:

802.11a - 95 feet
802.11b - 150 feet
802.11g - 170 feet
802.11n - 230 feet

I'm wondering if you bought a really old unit..

Could be a low power radio too. You can find some cheap 802.11n receivers that only have a 100 foot range.

 

[Agent Smith]

98 feet is awful, do you have a model of this router? As a guide, this is what the advertised ranges are for each protocol:

802.11a - 95 feet
802.11b - 150 feet
802.11g - 170 feet
802.11n - 230 feet

I'm wondering if you bought a really old unit..

802.11n can transmit on 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz. Also I have heard the range of 5 GHz is a lot worse. The reason why 5 GHz would have lesser range is because the attenuation by materials is higher than lower frequencies.

 

[ninjabubbles3]

Any new device will usually have at least an N radio.

You might want a modem that can utilize that.

(Sorry if I misuse words or dont know the proper language)

 

[Geoff]

802.11n can transmit on 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz. Also I have heard the range of 5 GHz is a lot worse. The reason why 5 GHz would have lesser range is because the attenuation by materials is higher than lower frequencies.

That's true, the range I specified is for 2.4GHz. 5GHz has worse range, but is a much less crowded band, and speeds are much higher.