Does Anyone Have A Wireless Router?

[SonjaMarie]

And if someone does, how good does it work through closed doors and what type and approximately how much did it cost you?

I'm in the market for one so my niece can be online at the same time with me, but not always in my room when she wants to be on.

SM

[Tanzanite]

We had one at our house that was on the 2nd floor in a bedroom. It would work with my wireless laptop in the basement, outside on the deck, in the garage - basically anywhere in the house. I bought it a couple of years ago and think it was about $50.

[MLE]

we have one and it works everywhere. the neighbors also have one, and sometimes if I have my laptop in the dining room, I pick up their router instead of mine!

[Grasshopper]

Unless your house is made of lead or 10,000,000 square feet, you'll be fine with any wifi-G or -N router out there. I usually recommend Linksys. I've had, and have heard of, some lemons with D-Link and have not tried some of the other brands.

Wireless routers are a necessity if you have broadband AND have more than one computer, especially a laptop.

[Divia]

I have one and I think it works great. My friend bought it for me, so I'll have to check to see which one it is. But its lin the livingroom and I"m upstairs. No trouble.

I did have some issues when I first got it becuase I would have to put the security code in all the time, but now I dont have an issue.

[SonjaMarie]

Ok, how exactly does someone connect to the wireless router?

SM

[pat]

I have a Belkin one. For me, it is set up with the main PC. I am on the wireless enabled laptop, and I basically just click the internet icon and go online. The main PC does not have to be on and running, infact at the moment it is having a hissy fit and will find itself thrown from the room in a fit of rage, but that is another matter!

My laptop has the wireless thingy built into it, but my old one had a card that I inserted into a special slot that allowed me to connect.

If you do go wireless do make it a secure site, give it a password then your neighbors cant log in on your connection. You dont need to remember the password all the time, its only if it has a hic-cup.

Good luck!

[SonjaMarie]

Both Harm and I have built in wireless adapter thingies and I know she can connect at her old school. I'm looking at this one:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Linksys-Wireless-G-Broadband-Router-WRT54G2/sem/rpsm/oid/207051/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

It has really good ratings and reviews. And it's a lot cheaper then what I'd pay at the IT place on the island. From what I understand there's a disc that you put on the computers you want to connect. And I assume you plug your cord from the modem you have for your internet (like Comcast) in to it? Or am I totally confused?

SM

[Vanessa]

We have wireless and it works fine in our house from room to room - we have really thick walls, too. Our phone works over the internet as well.

[Grasshopper]

That's a good product, SM. Go for it!

Getting connected out of the box is the easy part. The directions should be short and sweet.

The more difficult part may be to secure your new wireless network. (http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+secure+a+wireless+network&ie=UTF-8) This is important....and highly variable, depending on the the equipment and configuration of your equipment. It's a little difficult to advise before you have product in hand and hooked up.

Securing your network may take a little work, but IMHO, everyone should learn how to take care of their wireless network and allow only those you want to access the network.

Good luck!

Allen

[SonjaMarie]

I think I'll need to call CircuitCity and talk to a sales person before I do anything. This is all to new to me to do on my own.

SM

[Grasshopper]

I promise, it's not as hard as it sounds. :D

Those salespersons will probably be helpful, but be careful. They are there to sell you something. A modest priced router/switch will be perfect...certainly less than $100.

Good luck!

[JaneConsumer]

A Circuit City salesperson lead me astray on my first buy. I'd recommend a local computer shop. I've also had some luck with talking to folks at Staples and RadioShack.

That said, routers are so much easier to install today. I have 2 in my house, which is 3 floors. One is on the bottom floor. It has both a wired and wireless connection.

The 2nd is on the 3rd floor. I have it set up as a repeat router, meaning it talks to the router on the 1st floor and helps carry the signal. So my kids are getting a stronger connection than they would without it.

The whole she-bang took about 10 minutes to set up. The security configuration was the biggest bugaboo. After 4 frustrating hours, I decided to limit access to the routers to the computers' MAC addresses. That took just a few minutes and is a decent workaround.

[Grasshopper]

I use the MAC filter also. 'Tis a good way of securing a home network.