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ineel
join:2011-08-12
Sacramento, CA

ineel

Member

wireless range of 3801HGV?

why is the wireless range of the 3801 HGV gateway so bad. The gateway is located in the office room and on the otherside of the wall is the bedroom. According to inSSIDer, im getting better signal strength from one of my neighbor's routers than my own 3801HGV that is merely 25ft away. I've had U-Verse since 2008 with the 3800HG-B until it broke and they sent me a new 3801HGV. What is the best way to position the router? I've currently got it on it's stand with the at&t logo facing the bedroom. Should I turn the RG so the 2wire logo on the molded plastic faces my room? Or does the placement of the RG not matter since the antennas are omnidirectional?
nephipower
join:2012-02-20
San Antonio, TX

nephipower

Member

The wifi that is built into the RG sucks bad. I use my own router with wireless N and I get great coverage.

Nuckfuts
Premium Member
join:2003-10-18
Joliet, IL

Nuckfuts to ineel

Premium Member

to ineel
Is the power level all the way up? I know the RG is the not the greatest but that close should not be such an issue.

weaseled386
join:2008-04-13
Edgewater, FL

weaseled386

Member

said by Nuckfuts:

Is the power level all the way up? I know the RG is the not the greatest but that close should not be such an issue.

As Nutfuts as said... with the default setting of 400mV the range is on par with other residental grade wireless G routers.

At home I use a old Cisco Aironet 1220 that has had the B radio swapped for G, and VMWare removed for IOS. All of my wireless devices connect to it, except for a laptop in my spare bedroom. Having the two on different subnets ensures that computer doesn't have access to my network drives.

It also allowed me to cut the 2wire's wireless power in half. Lessens whatever effect, if any, I could have on my neighbors.
KronikJames
join:2006-12-31
Saint Charles, MO

KronikJames to ineel

Member

to ineel
Log into the 3801 by opening yout browser and typing in the url access ip address which is 192.168.1.254 there is the access pasword on the 3801 which says system password. Check to make sure your at 400mv on it. also change your wireless channel to 7. that seems to be the best channel to use on it.
ineel
join:2011-08-12
Sacramento, CA

ineel

Member

looks like I was able to fix it. So apparently my 3801's channel was set to automatic and according to inSSIDer it chose channel 11. After doing some research I found that routers are required to broadcast at a lower power at channels 1 and 11 to prevent interference on the lower and higher frequencies respectively. It seems to me that there's some bug in the 3801 that when the wireless channel is selected as "automatic" it simply chooses channel 11. Seeing my neighbors routers and the open frequencies, I found that channel 9 would be best for me. Immediately the inSSIDer showed my wireless signal improve from -80db to -50db. This is perfect. I have great signal coverage throughout the house now! thanks everyone for your help
nephipower
join:2012-02-20
San Antonio, TX

nephipower to ineel

Member

to ineel
I found this is a great applet to help out with seeing what channels and the power for each one your neighbors are on

»tools.meraki.com/stumbler#q=
Travis299
join:2004-08-03
Cary, NC

Travis299 to ineel

Member

to ineel
How did you change from channel 11 to 9. When I try to change it always goes back to 11. I go under SETTINGS, LAN, WIRELESS, and select channel 9 & rescan. Thanks
Mumzy
join:2009-07-30
Olive Branch, MS

Mumzy

Member

said by Travis299:

How did you change from channel 11 to 9. When I try to change it always goes back to 11. I go under SETTINGS, LAN, WIRELESS, and select channel 9 & rescan. Thanks

Change the channel to 9 and hit SAVE. It's just to the right of rescan.
Travis299
join:2004-08-03
Cary, NC

Travis299

Member

Thanks, I was able to change to channel 9 & gain about 10dB from -45dB up to -35dB using inSIRRer 2.1. All wireless devices work A-OK.

Nuckfuts
Premium Member
join:2003-10-18
Joliet, IL

Nuckfuts

Premium Member

I switched mine to 9 and my laptops and smartphones seem to getting alot stronger signal. I did not know default on the 3801 is channel 1 or 11 and this is what mine was always on and seemed to be weaker than my 3800. Thanks for the advice peeps!!!

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena to ineel

Premium Member

to ineel
I got mine on 3. But I only really need it for the livingroom where it actually is. I took the time and effort, crawled under the house, and ran CAT5 cable to three rooms - although I am currently only using it in one of them. If I need more wireless range, I can always plug in an access point in one of the rooms.