On paper, this is how G and N fare out:
- G has a maximum indoor range of 38m/125ft and outdoor of 140m/460ft.
- N has a maximum indoor range of 70m/230ft and outdoor of 250m/820ft.
Does this mean that N will extend the range of how far a device can be away from the router to connect to it?
On paper, yes. In practical application, maybe – but probably not.
A general rule of thumb that’s unfortunately pretty darned accurate is that with minimal obstruction/interference, your wi-fi signal will only reach 50% of the stated maximum range. If there’s a lot of obstruction/interference, 25%.
Yes, this does mean G more often than not has a practical indoor range of 9.5m/31.25ft. to 19m/62.5ft. If you’re thinking, "There’s no way G can be that bad!", ask anyone who’s tried to get a G signal to travel up two floors of a three-story house; that can be the stuff of nightmares to get working.
N, given the 25-to-50 rule applied, has a practical indoor range of 17.5m/57.5ft to 35m/115ft.
In the absolute worst case scenario, N should give you a bare minimum indoor range gain of roughly 25 feet (8 meters), however this isn’t guaranteed for two reasons:
- The physical range gain by using N does not defeat any existing interference you already have.
- Thick walls that block out G will block out N just as easily.
The old tips and tricks you’ve read about a million times still hold true when it comes to wireless router signal. Less obstruction is better as is less electrical interference.
Using the three-story house example, were I in the situation where I couldn’t get a signal from 1st floor to 3rd, this is what I’d do:
First, place a primary wi-fi router on the 1st floor next to a window with a proper shield (so the sun wouldn’t melt it or any wires attached).
Second, place a second wi-fi router acting as a WAP on the 3rd floor next to a window using the same side of the house as the 1st, also with proper shield. This gives both routers pseudo line-of-sight to establish connection and should allow any device on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd floor to connect wirelessly with a good strong signal.
If that didn’t work, I’d do the "poor man’s LAN" and run a network cable from router 1 to 2 from the outside of the house, window-to-window. That might not be pretty, and yes it’s true the network cable would be wrecked from the elements in a year or less, but it doesn’t require drilling any holes in the floor. 
And if you’re wondering what would protect a network cable outside other than burying it, the poor man’s LAN technique is to run it through a garden hose cut to proper length. Yes, that’s ugly as sin, but it shields the cable completely from the elements (except condensation, but you should be OK there given the network cable is shielded itself), and as long as both ends are secured properly, no ants or spiders will get inside it. Your neighbors might think you’re watering your third floor, but oh well. A geek’s gotta have his network, after all.
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Very nice article.
Leo Laporte seems to be getting a reports from people that N’s ability to penetrate is worse.
This is one of the better article’s I have seen from you lately. Compared to that USB “headphone” nonsense and “white noise” USB port writing (please research how USB signaling works, then write an article about it).
It’s practical, and it works. I did something similar beneath my house, running CAT5e between two wireless routers operating in switch/AP mode (disabled DHCP server) that use my Server2003 box. Ran the cable about 5 years ago similar to as you mentioned in terms of shielding from the elements (no spiders found yet). Still going strong.
Add to the wireless interference info: Microwaves and other spread-spectrum 2.4GHz devices (anything not adhering the FCC broadcast trash on 2.4GHz). Have a Panasonic 1200W microwave that seems to be able to destructively interfere with APs running in wireless-g mode in TKIP that cease to function within about 20ft the microwave while it is running. (I have a droid phone that has a site survey utility, different lengths, it no longer works on wifi (6″ difference)).
Do you remember those old-school Panasonic “GigaRange” phones using spread-spectrum 2.4 (anyone still have one of those?)?. Also lethal to non 5GHz (2.4GHz) wifi networks, due to destructive interference on those frequency partitions (“channels” (Hz variations) 1 to 14 (12 if in the US)).
Per the first part of your comment: http://menga.net/12467 See Foul #6. You’ve committed it. Shame on you.
Per the second part: If it’s one of those biggie oven range microwaves, yeah they can wreak havoc with wi-fi routers. You’d be lucky to get a plain cordless phone to work never mind a wi-fi router if the microwave was in use nearby. Normally it would kill a signal within 5 feet, but if it’s within 20 that microwave must be blasting out some serious interference.
Panasonic had several versions of the GigaRange. Some were 2.4GHz, others 5.8GHz. The technology the used in them is what they called DSS (Digital Spread Spectrum), which supposedly according to their literature “enables to transmit and receive over
the full bandwidth for optimum power and range, while helping to
eliminate the potential for interference.” Personally, my favorite cordless setups were 900MHz flavor. Great range, clear signal, never interfered with anything and always worked. Not secure at all, granted, but a whole lot more reliable.
The Comment:- I find the comment concerning network cables outside being “Wrecked by the elements in a year of two..” is harsh. I guess depending where you live makes a difference, but here in the UK I have had cat5e cable running outside for seven years and it is working fine and has no indication of damage by the British weather. I concede it is not ideal. Alan
Sun is usually the thing that will render a network cable unusable quickly more than anything else. If the cable you have outside is out of the sun for most of the day, chances of it lasting longer increase a great deal.
Good article. I tried a simple cardboard (back of paper pad thickness) covered with aluminum foil, shaped in parabolic. Took about 10 minutes and 2 cents, boosted the signal on the PC by two bars. Have not plugged in a data cable since (two years, 3 family laptops) . Note the wifi unit has two antenna, did the “booster” on only one, the wifi is in the basement and the two-bar improvement was before/after on the 2nd story floor, diagonal across the house from basement up.