Wifi range extender question

Should I point the little antennas towards the router? Or towards the area where I need better signal strength?

Bump?

No longer a network engineer, but I'd suggest if there are two, make one vertical and one horizontal. If there are three, point one vertical and the other two at 45 degrees off vertical in opposite directions.

Signals radiate and are captured perpendicular to the orientation of most antennas, not through the tip. If the antennas on these devices works similarly to the antennas I'm familiar with, there are two possible approaches. One is to orient them vertically if they are on the same level. The signal will be omnidirectional along a horizontal plane.

The other is to orient them horizontally. If the antennas point north/south, the signals will be strongest to the east and west.

But I don't know if any of this is true in practicality. I guess I would ask Mr. Google.

Sounds like you have the same wifi extender I have. It didn't work as I had hoped. However I was talking to a friend at work who has one and he mentioned that the unit has no problem extending the signal but does have an issue receiving wifi signals and suggested that I put it close to the source.

I haven't tried it so I can't verify it works that way but good luck.

It's one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-AC1200-Wi-Fi-Extender-RE6500/dp/B00KTLG9AK/ref=sr_1_5

Tom, I spent a ridiculous amount of time on the Linksys site and elsewhere trying to figure out how best to position the antennas, but no luck.

I'm actually quite happy with the unit. It's made a big difference. I'm just trying to optimize.

dos_centavos said:
Sounds like you have the same wifi extender I have. It didn't work as I had hoped. However I was talking to a friend at work who has one and he mentioned that the unit has no problem extending the signal but does have an issue receiving wifi signals and suggested that I put it close to the source.
I haven't tried it so I can't verify it works that way but good luck.

Placement is tricky! It must be in a place that receives a good signal from the original router and also in a place that provides a good signal to the poorly covered areas. In theory, this should be halfway between the router and the poorly covered area. Using your phone as a signal strength meter, find a spot where the signal is good, not mediocre. Place the extender there. Then with your phone or laptop, connect. If you're lucky, you have the ability to tell if you are connected to the router or the extender, though I think most extenders don't give you this ability. You should also see if signal strength changes when you turn on and off the extender.

kthnry, if it works well, then there's no need to reposition the antennas, right?