Weak N signal DIR-825

I recently picked up a Dlink DIR-825 and set it up with G only on 2.4GHZ and N only on 5GHZ. I also replaced the wifi card in my lenovo T61p (3 antennas) with a Intel 5300AGN wifi card. I had to flash the Bios with a hacked version to get pass the 1802 bios error/lock.

The issue I am having though is the N signal is very weak. If I walk down stairs to my kitchen the signal drops to under 20%. The G signal is still about 70% in same location. I'm not sure what I should do. If I'm in the same room as the router the N signal is only about 95%-99% and I connect at 110-130Mbs (G is 100%). Could it be a bad router? So I manual set the channel or channel width? Should I have got a DIR-655 instead since it has 3 antennas? (I have another router I could use for G only)

Any idea how the 5300AGN compares to a 4965AGN? I had a 4965AGN a while ago, but I couldn't use it because of the bios 1802 error. The bios hack readily wasn't available then.

 

5Ghz signals are much more prone to signal loss over distance and obstacles.
5Ghz has a much shorted wave length that get absorbed into solid objects more readily than 2.4Ghz wavelength.

Make sure you use channel 36 or there abouts this should go further than a higher channel ie 160

 

Yeah, I have the DIR-855, and while it suits my needs, it only does so barely.

You are correct, but that being said, certain products perform better. I had the WRT310N and N signal was awesome across my house and in the back yard by the pool. I barely get a signal once I step outside now. I would say the 855, which has 3 antenna vs. 2 in 825, only has about 2/3 the coverage my Linksys did. For this reason, I am considering going back to Linksys, but with the 610n, because I want the dual band functioanlity. I will check the channel I'm on first and see if this makes any difference.

 

Thats not what I was hoping to hear.

I may get a DIR-655 to use as a pure N router. Dual Band isn't worth it if the N range is so low. Also does the dual band routers share their antennas so both 2.4 and 5ghz get to use all antennas vs just one each?

Would turning N on the 2.4Ghz frequency help? I know there should be less traffic on 5GHZ, but its sort of pointless if the signal is so weak.

 

It should be noted that my post was somewhat misleading, now that I read it again. I realize wlan man was talking about 5ghz, and I made it sound as though I was comparing wrt310n in 5ghz mode, which it doesn't have. My point was that even in 2.4ghz mode on my DIR-855, which has 3 antennas, I still have drastically reduced coverage. So I would expect the DIR-825 to behave the same or even worse.

The two laptops that I use N 5ghz are both in the same room with the router, and I have no issues or signal loss there.

 

Try this forum you it might help you....
http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/

 

Each dwelling is different from the others, you must take into consideration of the router, location, settings and household interfearence, sure some routers are more powerfull then the others, take into mind, the router location, dont go by router location convenience, these things have to be moved around to find the sweet spot to handle your ranges, sometimes you have to give up signal stregnth in one spot in order to gain in another, the 825 is a great router but it did lack compaired to my DLG-4500, I admit it was a pain in the butt to re-locate my router, cable modem, power and cables, but I did find the sweet spot to cover all my house, even the backyard.

 

Also keep in mind what the house/office and walls are made of.
Dry walls will be better for WIFI than solid walls.
Concrete floors/walls are a big barrier for especially 5Ghz, which loves to absorb those short wavelengths.

 

A completely unrelated question to the topic, but where did you find this BIOS? I've got an issue on my T61p where the installed Intel 4965AGN card appears to be the culprit of several kernel panics under Linux (basically, if I disable the card, the system is rock solid), and I've gone to the length of installing an Atheros ABG card (I don't need N). Of course, little did I know it had to be an actual FRU replacement, so it won't boot (1802 error).

Would it be too rude to ask for a copy of that BIOS?

/TB

 

Have you tried flashing the D-Link DIR 825 with the latest firmware?
Had some issues with my own D-Link DIR 855 and flashing it with the latest firmware solved it.

My problem was that i could not connect computers running Windows 7 to my wireless net, but my linux media center pc worked as did my Wii and PS3.
Just downloaded the latest firmware v1.21 and after the box had rebootet it happily accepted my other computers.