Tech advice, part II

[LouisEly]

Can't remember the name of the other tech advice thread so I'm starting a new one.

 

I just moved into a new place, and it's long and narrow (think 17' wide by 100' long), living room on one end and master bedroom on the other (kitchen, 2nd bedroom, 2nd bathroom, laundry room, HVAC/hot water heater closet in between). The WiFi router is in the living room, but it's not powerful enough to get to the master bedroom and I don't want it in the 2nd bedroom for multiple reasons.

 

What would people recommend as far as a stronger signal? I don't need more bandwidth - I don't have four people streaming TV/movies at once - I just need a longer range.

[nate82]

Either get a better router with more range or go with a wifi range extender.

[LouisEly]

That's the thing - they don't say what the range is with wifi routers, only bandwidth.

 

Heard varying things about range extenders, some good, some not good.

[Baldkin]

How old is your current router?

Odds are you could simply buy a new router, and then setup the old one as a repeater.

 

http://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/network-wifi/how-use-router-as-repeater-3633135/

[nate82]

2.4ghz has a range of about 100ft 5ghz even less somewhere around 50ft or less. If your router is running on 5ghz the only option is moving it. How old is your building? Are you able to move your router around the house with a cat5 cable?

 

What other electronics do you have near the router?

[LouisEly]

Router is 3 months old, and I don't have room to set it up anywhere else.

[LouisEly]

2.4ghz has a range of about 100ft 5ghz even less somewhere around 50ft or less. If your router is running on 5ghz the only option is moving it. How old is your building? Are you able to move your router around the house with a cat5 cable?

 

What other electronics do you have near the router?

Building is 10 years old. It's a 4-flat (four floors, one unit per floor) and I'm on the top floor.

 

It's next to the TV/stereo equipment because the signal coming up here was weak and Comcast had to install a signal amplifier just to be able to watch TV. I want to keep my house "clean" and not have cat5 or any other wiring strewn about. The signal amplifier and subsequent cable is creating enough of a mess as is.

 

I'm just going to try a range extender I can plug into an outlet in the hallway. Looks to be the cleanest way to do it, but I'm not sure I can do WiFi calling with these. We'll see.

[nate82]

Router is 3 months old, and I don't have room to set it up anywhere else.

 

Huh? You can mount a router on the wall if you wanted to. Space shouldn't be an issue for a router.

 

Do you have a wireless phone? If you do keep the base away from the router as most wireless phones are on the same frequency as a router.

[LouisEly]

It's a combo cable modem and router (which is probably half of my problem, but didn't have room for two separate devices). You have to run the coax cable into it. Thus is it not designed to be mounted on the wall. You might be able to, but it will stick out 10".

 

The 2nd bedroom is also only 11x10, so there really isn't room for anything to be sticking off of the walls. Again, the goal is to keep things as clean as possible.

[nate82]

It's a combo cable modem and router

 

Well there's the problem. An extender is probably your best option and your modem/router is more than likely running on a 5ghz channel which is why you are not getting a signal through your whole house.

[Samurai Bucky]

Is it a modem / router supplied by the cable company? If so, perhaps you can give them a call to have them turn on the 2.4Ghz band. If it is yours, then you should be able to go into the configuration and turn it on if it isn't on.

[logan82]

Anything you buy will be better than whatever the cable company provided. My short recommendation would be to buy a good router and turn off the wireless from the internet provider's modem/router.

 

Lots if things will interfere with 2.4. Phones, Bluetooth, microwaves, practically anything wireless uses the frequency. Your neighbors are probably using it as well. Might be as simple as using a different channel on your router. You can check with an app like WiFi analyzer. Range will also be diminished by walls.

[LouisEly]

Is it a modem / router supplied by the cable company? If so, perhaps you can give them a call to have them turn on the 2.4Ghz band. If it is yours, then you should be able to go into the configuration and turn it on if it isn't on.

No, it was not supplied by the cable company, I purchased it from Best Buy:

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/motorola-n300-router-with-docsis-3-0-cable-modem-gray/4811900.p?skuId=4811900

 

It is 2.4GHz.

[nate82]

Is it a modem / router supplied by the cable company? If so, perhaps you can give them a call to have them turn on the 2.4Ghz band. If it is yours, then you should be able to go into the configuration and turn it on if it isn't on.

No, it was not supplied by the cable company, I purchased it from Best Buy:

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/motorola-n300-router-with-docsis-3-0-cable-modem-gray/4811900.p?skuId=4811900

 

It is 2.4GHz.

 

I would suggest adding an antenna to that thing but that is not an option with that thing.

 

You should have wifi throughout your house with that router but I am going to guess the antenna on that modem/router is just a piece of wire. Hopefully the wifi extenders work for you.

[LouisEly]

Anything you buy will be better than whatever the cable company provided. My short recommendation would be to buy a good router and turn off the wireless from the internet provider's modem/router.

 

Lots if things will interfere with 2.4. Phones, Bluetooth, microwaves, practically anything wireless uses the frequency. Your neighbors are probably using it as well. Might be as simple as using a different channel on your router. You can check with an app like WiFi analyzer. Range will also be diminished by walls.

I can check channels by logging into the router as an admin (192.168.0.1). Mine was set to auto; the most common ones nearby are on 11, 1, 6, 9. I've set mine to 7, but I've heard that some channels are better than others regardless of how many others are on that channel.

 

And yes, it's a fairly densely populated area. Probably an average of 6-8 people (3-4 units, 2-3 people per unit) and 3-4 WiFi systems per 30' wide lot.

[Samurai Bucky]

If you have Windows 10, look for an app at the Microsoft Store named "WiFi Analyzer". It is free and has great tools for seeing the strength of signal, and other wifi networks in the area. That is where I looked to determine what channel I should use on the router.

[zurch1818]

I'm trying to upgrade a computer from Windows 8.1 to 10 with the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft. I know it is past the "free" window to do this upgrade, but I've read you can still do it with this tool. I tried it and it seemed to be working until it got to 76%, where it just freezes. The computer is still responding, it just wheels with no end in site. I had it run for nearly 24 hours and it just stayed at the same percentage.

 

The main PC I use already has the Windows 10 Anniversary update on it, but the drivers are not compatible with the creators update. I'm starting to think that the computer I'm trying to update is also not compatible with the creators update. Is the Media Creation tool the creators update of Windows 10? I can't seem to find anything on it. If so, is there a place I can still get a version of it with the Anniversary Update. I read that I could make a recovery USB from my computer, but that is a clean install and I'm not sure it will actually work with updating from 8.1. I also don't want to do a clean install.

[Baldkin]

I'm trying to upgrade a computer from Windows 8.1 to 10 with the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft. I know it is past the "free" window to do this upgrade, but I've read you can still do it with this tool. I tried it and it seemed to be working until it got to 76%, where it just freezes. The computer is still responding, it just wheels with no end in site. I had it run for nearly 24 hours and it just stayed at the same percentage.

 

The main PC I use already has the Windows 10 Anniversary update on it, but the drivers are not compatible with the creators update. I'm starting to think that the computer I'm trying to update is also not compatible with the creators update. Is the Media Creation tool the creators update of Windows 10? I can't seem to find anything on it. If so, is there a place I can still get a version of it with the Anniversary Update. I read that I could make a recovery USB from my computer, but that is a clean install and I'm not sure it will actually work with updating from 8.1. I also don't want to do a clean install.

 

There are ways to update to Windows 10 if you "need" certain accessibility options. I won't go into any further details than that, but your google fu should help you find the way.

[Patrick425]

My son is going back to school in less than 3 weeks and has hinted that a tablet would really come in handy for him. So, I have been contemplating getting him one as a "back to school" surprise. He has an iphone so I did some browsing for ipads since I thought it would be helpful if he had something that was compatible with his phone. So, hoping for some advise from others who have more knowledge about this stuff:

 

- Does it really matter if he has an iphone and a "non-ipad" (and probably cheaper) tablet?

- My head spun over all the different types of ipads. I don't even know what the latest model is or if it's even that important to get the latest and greatest. What is the difference between the this version and the previous version? What are the major differences between the mini and "standard" (or whatever it's called).

- If it's not that big of a deal to get a tablet that is not an ipad, does anyone have suggestions on other options?

 

edit: also, as I look at comparisons on Amazon there is something called Connectivity technology (which many just show as blank and others have wireless, bluetooth, wi-fi) and something called Wireless technology (which all have wi-fi and/or bluetooth). What is the difference between these two features?

[owbc]

My son is going back to school in less than 3 weeks and has hinted that a tablet would really come in handy for him. So, I have been contemplating getting him one as a "back to school" surprise. He has an iphone so I did some browsing for ipads since I thought it would be helpful if he had something that was compatible with his phone. So, hoping for some advise from others who have more knowledge about this stuff:

 

- Does it really matter if he has an iphone and a "non-ipad" (and probably cheaper) tablet?

- My head spun over all the different types of ipads. I don't even know what the latest model is or if it's even that important to get the latest and greatest. What is the difference between the this version and the previous version? What are the major differences between the mini and "standard" (or whatever it's called).

- If it's not that big of a deal to get a tablet that is not an ipad, does anyone have suggestions on other options?

 

The main thing is that you want ones compatible with a "smart" stylus which makes note taking a million times easier. I think the 'mini' size would be too small for note-taking. Otherwise it probably doesn't matter much unless he strongly prefers Apple products. The note-taking apps are available across iOS and other platforms.

[nate82]

Microsoft Surface Pro or IPad Pro is what I would suggest for not taking both are more than just tablets and are more closer to a laptop minus the size and weight of a laptop.

 

The newest Surface Pro is overly expensive and if your kid likes Apple this is probably one of the rare times where Apple is cheaper than something comparable to what they are offering.

 

The Surface Pro is probably overkill for college so I would go with the new IPad Pro. That would be about $800 on Amazon or $900 at the Apple store.

[Patrick425]

Thanks for the advice. Not looking to spend more than around $300. My son already has a laptop, so the tablet would just be a supplemental tool. Seems like there are ASUS tablets priced at around $200 that get some good reviews.

 

Also, on my last post I added another question I hoped someone could help answer: As I look at comparisons on Amazon there is something called Connectivity technology (which many just show as blank and others have wireless, bluetooth, wi-fi) and something called Wireless technology (which all have wi-fi and/or bluetooth). What is the difference between these two features?

[Samurai Bucky]

My son is going back to school in less than 3 weeks and has hinted that a tablet would really come in handy for him. So, I have been contemplating getting him one as a "back to school" surprise. He has an iphone so I did some browsing for ipads since I thought it would be helpful if he had something that was compatible with his phone. So, hoping for some advise from others who have more knowledge about this stuff:

 

- Does it really matter if he has an iphone and a "non-ipad" (and probably cheaper) tablet?

- My head spun over all the different types of ipads. I don't even know what the latest model is or if it's even that important to get the latest and greatest. What is the difference between the this version and the previous version? What are the major differences between the mini and "standard" (or whatever it's called).

- If it's not that big of a deal to get a tablet that is not an ipad, does anyone have suggestions on other options?

 

The main thing is that you want ones compatible with a "smart" stylus which makes note taking a million times easier. I think the 'mini' size would be too small for note-taking. Otherwise it probably doesn't matter much unless he strongly prefers Apple products. The note-taking apps are available across iOS and other platforms.

 

My first daughter is in her third year and we purchased as Surface for her. It has a stylus and allows you to put your hand on the surface of the device while you write. It was a little pricey. She doesn't use it for writing notes that often and ends up typing the notes in instead. Many schools will allow free licenses of Office 365 as part of going to their school. Onenote would be the program to use to manage notebooks.

 

In the past, I have tried to use an iPad as a note taking device and it simply didn't work for me.

[owbc]

My first daughter is in her third year and we purchased as Surface for her. It has a stylus and allows you to put your hand on the surface of the device while you write. It was a little pricey. She doesn't use it for writing notes that often and ends up typing the notes in instead. Many schools will allow free licenses of Office 365 as part of going to their school. Onenote would be the program to use to manage notebooks.

In the past, I have tried to use an iPad as a note taking device and it simply didn't work for me.

 

I think it depends on the type of class. I took notes on the iPad with a stylus for most of graduate school using the Notability app. I liked that I could record the lectures and go back later to re-listen to important parts. These classes included lots of mathematical derivations and diagrams so it was much easier to write with a stylus than type. The notes came out very pretty, much better than paper. If my classes did not include math I might have been more inclined to type the notes.

[nate82]

Connectivity means does it connect to wifi (network) or does it connect to a wireless signal (same as your cell phone) plus wifi. Nearly everything has Bluetooth now if it doesn't I would be surprised.

 

You can also go the used route or a refurbished one if you want to save some money.