Wifi in the cement walled apartment building

Closed Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Midlevels / USA (MD) / London
    Posts
    2,209

    Wifi in the cement walled apartment building

    I'm in a big apartment building in the midlevels and having a devil of a time with wifi reception. Part of the problem is / was other wifi routers in the area (I can see a half dozen easily, more if I goto the window) but I suspect another problem is the construction of my building--concrete walls.

    The hallway from where the TV/cable modem is located to my bedroom has a dropped ceiling with a quick access panel so I popped my head in there and saw that I was facing solid cement separating each of the bedrooms off the hall. In addition, the doors are solid wood about 2 inches thick, and when I close the doors to my bedroom I get basically no internet reception in that room (or ridiculously spotty reception).

    My goal is to run a CAT-5 wire through the fake ceiling and then into my room (where I want to put my desktop) and to a second wifi router that I have, but to do that I have to go through about 4 inches of concrete.

    So my question (sorry for the big intro)--is there another way? I know little about modern apartment construction processes, but where are the wires for electric / ac, etc. hiding? Do they have conduit somewhere, or do they run behind the molding on the floor? Should I drill through the door jam instead (really don't want to do that). The doors do not have enough clearance at the bottom to run a wire under them (tried that). I thought about running through the AC vents but still have the problem of getting through a 4 inch thick concrete wall between the modem and the bedroom. What if I put the wifi router by the window? Likely better reception. The distance is only 20 feet.

    Anyway, sorry for the long winded question but I figure some others have had this same battle. Anyone have any other ideas?


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,181

    Have you considered power-line networking? (I.e. running a network over the electricity wires)

    Last edited by PDLM; 30-05-2010 at 01:07 PM.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Midlevels / USA (MD) / London
    Posts
    2,209
    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Have you considered power-line networking? (I.e. running a network over the electricity wires)
    No, but that is a thought. Wasn't sure of the reliability or speed (or cost) but will dig into it a bit.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Pokfulam
    Posts
    331

    Try setting up your WiFi with 802.11n mode and connect all your computers on this mode only (by disabling the mixed mode transmission). Concrete walls, multiple Wi-Fis in high rise complex etc are not a major hurdle. May need an upgrade of network cards on older machines.

    I have not yet seen a speed drop or dropped connection on mine


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Hong Kong.
    Posts
    1,355

    A couple of less involved alternatives to running the wire (which in IMO is probably the preferred solution for speed, security, etc.) or powerline networking (which is not a bad option either):

    • Try repositioning the router and wireless client (laptop, PC, etc.). In particular, try arranging the units in a way that results in the wireless signal passing through walls at right angles (or as close to it as possible). This can make a massive difference.
    • See whether you can attach a high-gain antenna to the wireless access point (cannot do this with the standard PCCW box, I believe).
    • Get another wireless access point/router and just use the PCCW (presuming that this is what you have) as a router or modem. This might work as most quality wireless APs/routers have better range than the standard PCCW box (and also will have superior security and routing features). Downside is that you would wind up with another box next to the PCCW one - and you will not really know whether it is going to work until you try it.
    • Consider using a wireless repeater to replicate the signal, but these can be a little tricky to set up and can have slower speed/performance.
    Last edited by beachball; 30-05-2010 at 01:45 PM.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Hong Kong.
    Posts
    1,355
    Quote Originally Posted by back2HK:
    Try setting up your WiFi with 802.11n mode and connect all your computers on this mode only (by disabling the mixed mode transmission). Concrete walls, multiple Wi-Fis in high rise complex etc are not a major hurdle. May need an upgrade of network cards on older machines.

    I have not yet seen a speed drop or dropped connection on mine
    Disagree with the point about concrete walls not being a problem - especially reinforced concrete walls can degrade wireless signals considerably (especially at extreme angles, as mentioned above).

    The point about using n-mode is a valid one.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Pokfulam
    Posts
    331

    Not denying that concrete wall degrades signals. However, from experience, it doesn't degrade enough to make a difference for me. All our machines including desktops are connected by wireless in different rooms from the router. There are concrete walls (structural) in between.

    My ISP connection is at 100Mbps, the wireless gets degraded from a theoretical 300Mbps to about 140Mbps. So it has not been an issue.

    Agree that the layout, position of doors etc could vary and maybe a problem in other configurations.

    Question about power-line - If each room has a separate circuit breaker at the fuse box, does it still work ?


  8. #8

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    7,390

    I have a router located in the spare bedroom and generally use the computer in the living room. I have no problem using it through concrete.


  9. #9

    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Midlevels / USA (MD) / London
    Posts
    2,209

    I've read that some of the problems from "concrete" may actually be from the rebar or steel "chicken wire" that is sometimes placed inside the concrete. Not sure, just know I'm having some problems. Thinking also it might be my wifi card as well or some other interference (I go from a minimal signal to a full powered signal at the most random times, as if someone turned something off or on for awhile).


  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,181

    Clearly the problem is primarily with the steel in the concrete rather than the concrete itself. The lower down the building you are then the more steel, so the grater the problem.


Closed Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast