Crummy iPad WiFi in garage

[d000hg]

I live in a 3-storey town house and my Wifi router/hub (Sky) is in the very back-left corner on the ground floor. When I watch Netflix in bed, I am in the very front-right corner of the top floor - i.e. the furthest I could possibly be from the router inside the house, and the quality is perfect.

However when I am in my garage, sitting about 30 feet away from the router, it sucks balls. The router is right against the window at the back of the house and this faces directly across a path/road to the garage, which has the door open when I'm in there on my exercise bike... so I've pretty much got line of sight to the damn router.

Can anyone suggest why this could be a problem, and what I could try to improve things? I can't physically get the router and iPad any closer!

[GazCol]

Your garage likely has a lot of steel (or similar) in the roof and walling, coupled with static that accumulates in garages this makes it an inhospitable zone for wifi use.

You might have direct line of sight to the router but as soon as you step into the structure those signals get interfered with.

[d000hg]

Your garage likely has a lot of steel (or similar) in the roof and walling, coupled with static that accumulates in garages this makes it an inhospitable zone for wifi use.

Other than the door itself (a roll-up) I don't think there's much metal, the garage is basically just a brick box with a wood/slate roof. It's a detached structure, just an outhouse really.

[Bunk]

Other than the door itself (a roll-up) I don't think there's much metal, the garage is basically just a brick box with a wood/slate roof. It's a detached structure, just an outhouse really.

Might the thicker external walls that are the problem.

[d000hg]

Might the thicker external walls that are the problem.

Well as I sit on my bike, the garage door directly faces the back of the house and the back of the house is basically glass. There isn't really an external wall between the hub/iPad.

I wondered if glass was a problem for wifi or something like that? And, is WiFi working as basic direct line-of-sight through intervening materials or some other transmission method?

[Ticktock]

When I watch Netflix in bed...

I just started using Netflix and spotted the lesbian films section too.

However when I am in my garage, sitting about 30 feet away from the router, it sucks balls.

When you say the connection "sucks balls" do you mean it is very slow, or that it has difficulty finding / keeping a signal at all? Without knowing your local geography, is the garage closer to neighbours houses (on tha far side of the garage)? It could be interference from others using the same channel as you, or other devices.

Interference

Wi-Fi connections can be disrupted or the internet speed lowered by having other devices in the same area. Many 2.4 GHz 802.11b and 802.11g access-points default to the same channel on initial startup, contributing to congestion on certain channels. Wi-Fi pollution, or an excessive number of access points in the area, especially on the neighboring channel, can prevent access and interfere with other devices' use of other access points, caused by overlapping channels in the 802.11g/b spectrum, as well as with decreased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) between access points. This can become a problem in high-density areas, such as large apartment complexes or office buildings with many Wi-Fi access points.

Additionally, other devices use the 2.4 GHz band: microwave ovens, ISM band devices, security cameras, ZigBee devices, Bluetooth devices, video senders, cordless phones, baby monitors, and (in some countries) Amateur radio all of which can cause significant additional interference. It is also an issue when municipalities[44] or other large entities (such as universities) seek to provide large area coverage.

[d000hg]

I mean it grabs the network connection pretty reliably, but Netflix takes a lot longer to load, takes longer to load when I press play, flips between crisp HD and horrible low-res video and even pauses for short periods (to re-buffer I guess).

Given that we can watch two shows in HD (PS3 & iPad indoors) with no issues whatsoever, I have to assume the location of the iPad is the issue.

There are undoubtedly other networks in the area so that could be the thing I look into next. Also, is there a better WiFi signal meter app one can install, to actually see how strong the connection is as you move around - perhaps I could map out where is good and bad.

[doodab]

To look for interference, you could try something like inSSIDer (inSSIDer for Home – Discover The Wi-Fi Around You | MetaGeek), although this will only detect WiFi. There is a lot of other stuff that uses the same bandwidth (baby monitors, spread spectrum RC and so on) that you won't detect without a proper site survey tool.

[ee61re]

Is it crappy all the time, or just when you are pedalling your exercise bike? If only when pedalling, perhaps the bike is generating interference??

[d000hg]

Is it crappy all the time, or just when you are pedalling your exercise bike? If only when pedalling, perhaps the bike is generating interference??

I have wondered if this is a possibility, but haven't tested the theory yet because I hate to let my cycling be interrupted by irritations. Is this a realistic possibility?