Description :
Many people have experienced the problem of weak wifi signal in a particular room or a different floor of their home. However, what do you do when you need that signal out in your garden.
Whether you keep an office outside the house, or if you just want to check your email outside, there’s a multitude of ways to make it happen. We’ve put together a list of the top suggestions for turning your garden into a hot spot.
PC (or Mac) Maintenance
The problem with your internet speed out in the garden may lie within your laptop itself and not the signal strength. You can carry out general maintenance such as scans for malware and viruses. Defrag-ing your laptop will only further help its speed. A good rule of thumb as for how much space should be left free on your drive is usually double your RAM or 10 percent (whichever comes first in your case). For example, if I have a laptop with an 8 GB RAM, I would want to leave 16 GB free on my hard drive. Or if I have a 750 GB hard drive, I may want to leave 75 GB free. Not only is everyday maintenance help your laptop performance, it may aid in your internet speed so you don’t have to go out and buy a product to improve connection.
Outdoor Repeater
A repeater is an electronic device that simply replicates a signal coming from the original router in your home. These can be used if the wifi signal is particularly weak in one side or level of the house. If you have an old router lying around, then there isn’t even a need to buy a repeater as an extra router can perform the same function.
However, for wireless to reach your garden, an old router might not be ideal since they’re suited for indoors. Outdoor repeaters are more suited to the elements, be it rain or shine, and tend to offer a greater range. They can be expensive, but they come with perks such as water proofing, built-in firewalls (depending on the brand), and the ability to be mounted outdoors. You can’t say the same for your indoor router.
Outdoor Access Points
If trees aren’t in the way, an OAP can offer a range of up to 2000 ft when it comes to getting a wireless signal. Even better, they can be placed outdoors (if you can manage an Ethernet cable connection). The reason these have gained popularity is due to price increases by ISPs. As a result, neighbors sometimes use OAPs to share a connection in order to save money. Similar to repeaters, OAPs come waterproof, are tolerant of wider temperature ranges, and are made for sometimes rugged environments. OAPs can even act as repeaters, bridges, and offer other operations depending on the brand you select.
Stick it Out
If all else fails, just stick it out. These laptop sticks can allow you the luxury of internet connection simply by plugging into your USB port. This can be used almost anywhere where your wireless provider is located. The downside is you may be limited to a 3G or 4G connection speed, and the sticks can be lost. However, the stick can be used on multiple devices and offers you a mobile hotspot almost anywhere.
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*by andreascy*
