Thanks for the tips. I may resort to just running an Ethernet cable across the room, or if I find myself tripping over it, I might get that Engenius 1650.
Thanks again, I appreciate the advice. --Andy On Apr 13, 2012, at 4:21 AM, Macs R We wrote: > > On Apr 12, 2012, at 7:36 PM, Andy Lee wrote: > >> Can anyone recommend a USB WiFi antenna? >> >> I bought an iMac a couple of weeks ago and the WiFi connection keeps >> dropping and/or slowing way down. If I reboot, I get broadband speeds for a >> while but eventually it drops to dialup speeds -- plus the connection drops >> intermittently. >> >> Googling "iMac WiFi" turns up a lot of similar complaints, some blaming >> hardware (bad antennas) and some blaming software (in particular, the 10.7.3 >> update). Some people have said the problem is triggered by waking from sleep. >> >> I've tried various suggested solutions and none of them work. At this point, >> I'm willing to try one of those USB WiFi antennas in case it's a hardware >> problem. It's stupid to have to spend money on this, but bringing the Mac >> back to the store for repair, exchange, or even refund is more hassle than I >> want to deal with right now. >> >> Suggestions? > > The last USB WiFi Antenna unit I knew of that worked with Mac broke after > Tiger. > > You could have a lot of things going on. Your home AP could be colliding > with a neighbor's AP on the same channel. It could be a signal strength > problem on either unit. The router itself (not the radio part) could be > jamming itself up. > > If you hold the option key down when selecting the Airport symbol in the > menu, it will tell you what channel each AP is running on. If you have a > collision in the neighborhood, change your router's channel. It will also > show you what the RSSI of the signal for any AP is. -80 is a rule of thumb > boundary -- if you are getting -50, that's a very strong signal; if you are > getting -84, you're probably about to drop out. Does this number change with > time? Some routers will show you this number with respect to each LAN > device; does that change with time? If it's a signal strength problem, at > least this will tell you in which direction (though it won't tell you whether > the weak unit is a transmitter on one end or a receiver on the other). Then > you can see if you get the same results with another computer; then (if you > have one) you can see if you get the same results with another router. > > If all the data agrees that the problem is that you are just too far away, or > have too many walls, then you either need a stronger/more directional radio > on your router, a stronger/more directional radio on your computer, or both. > Don't bother with the USB-based stuff. Put an Engenius 1650 (<$50) in the > troublesome room, configure it as a bridge device, hook your Mac to it with > an ethernet cable, and shut off your Airport card. > > -- > Macs R We -- Personal Macintosh Service and Support > in the Wickenburg and far Northwest Valley Areas. > http://macsrwe.com > _______________________________________________ MacOSX-talk mailing list MacOSX-talk@omnigroup.com http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/listinfo/macosx-talk
