Forum Discussion

Ssennott's avatar
Ssennott
Network Novice
4 years ago

internet strength

Hi

i read some great comments on how to boost this crummy signal.  However I don’t understand any of the technology jargon.  I have Comcast for internet and cable.  Will save so much money by switching to TMobile for internet and YouTube TV.  But I need a better signal!  They told me to put it close to a window and TV.  It is currently in front of a window, under the mounted tv and I’m getting a WEAK signal.
they suggest it be on the top floor and in the center of the house.

so my house does not have a central window on the second floor.  AND  If I move it to the second floor, it won’t be near the tv-as suggested!

please help with user friendly suggestions that won’t cost me a ton more $$

thanks in advance

  • Ssennott's avatar
    Ssennott
    Network Novice
    4 years ago

    Thank you for the clarification.  I definitely do not need internet for my TV!

  • iTinkeralot's avatar
    iTinkeralot
    Bandwidth Buff
    4 years ago

    Ssennott - I believe the point about being close to the TV is only to have the TV, if it is internet connected, to have a solid wifi connection to the router.

    The way T-Mobile suggests to start with the router is to have it powered up and carry it about your house while on battery and watching the LED on the top of the router to see where it receives the most bars. That will ONLY provide you with a general guess as to how good your signals are. If you find a window where you have 3 bars or hopefully 4 bars that would probably be the best place to start. You want to find the BEST window for the signal. You have to take the router on a walkabout.

    That is a general way to begin but once you find the location it is sometimes possible to improve on the connections. It does take time and effort but with some help you can probably do it. If you have done the initial connection setup to the cellular tower and established the wireless SSID and security setup then you can use your laptop/desktop etc… to connect to the web interface of the router at the 192.168.12.1 address. This is where you will be able to see what is going on. 

    To see the router interface:

    • Open a browser of your choice and enter the 192.168.12.1 address in the URL box & press enter
    • You will first see the Overview page or call it the home page if you like.
    • The first screen shows Network Overview, Gateway Information, Internet Connection, & Devices Info
    • The Network Connection should have green/white checks on the Internet & Gateway Icons
    • The Internet Connection is the most important and helpful info for signal integrity identification
    • If you copy the Internet Connection and paste it into the community thread that is best as others can see how well the primary and secondary connections are.
    • You can proceed to the Status page where more details are reported
    • The Cellular Network information is also great to copy and post into the community thread so the signal channels are known. 
    • With that basic information others can respond and make additional suggestions.