Repeaters? New adapter? Range Extending antennas? Bridges? confused...

Okay... So I moved into a new apartment complex and they have a public WiFi network, but my apartment is JUST out of range... I get 1 out of 4-5 bars... But I cannot connect to the network. The WiFi lounge is maybe 100 yards away from my apartment.

Keeping in mind that I am on a laptop (using intel pro wireless 4965agn), I like to move around within the living space a lot. So pretty much running a ethernet cord is out of the question...

Now I don't know what to buy...

Originally I was thinking about buying a laptop network adaptor or a USB network adaptor.

This one seems to be a great buy:

http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=32&FamID=60&ProdID=219


But not entirely sure if i'm getting the best bang for the buck...

One of the other things I saw is those "Range extending antennas":
http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/index.php?CatID=32&FamID=58

I'm not sure how they work? I guess you either connect your laptop directly through an ethernet port or you hook it up to a bridge (not even sure how that works either)...

Even saw something like this "wi-fire"
https://store.hfield.com/Wi_fire_p/hfwfg200.htm

All I want is to get a really good signal from the WiFi spot and not have cables or antennas all over the place...

If the adapter is good enough, than that's perfect. If not... how can I essentially get something with a more powerful reach to grab the signal from the wifi spot and throw it around my apartment as if I was sitting a few feet from the router?

Any help is really appreciated!

I forgot to mention that I have a B/G/N D-Link Router in my apartment that is really of no use right now... I'm not sure if I can use that as a "bridge" to connect to say the Hawking Technologies window antenna so I can can scatter the signal within my apartment?

 

any adapter you can use that takes the antenna outside the laptop shell will improve things. There are also external USB wireless adapters with larger and amplified antennas. google (and google image) is your friend.

The hField stuff is said to be very good. Buffalo makes or used to make a similar adapter. Radiolabs is another good name.

 

I use the Wi-Fire.

It's a really great network adapter. I had a lot of trouble staying connected to the Internet in certain parts of my home. The Wi-Fire gets me connected at greater distances and faster speeds, compared to my internal adapter. I have been really impressed with it's performance, and have turned a couple friends onto it as well!

Not only does the Wi-Fire work well, but it only has one USB 2.0 cable and I can attach the device to my laptop screen with the mount. I am free to move around my house if I need to, and won't trip over any cords!

I would suggest the Wi-Fire. Great success hField!

 

Try adjusting your Adapter settings first - the default settings for that adapter are for low Roaming Aggressiveness and Medium Transmit Power. You need to change those to their highest settings, and also ensure your Wireless Mode settings are set to match your Wi-Fi's setup.

You can access the settings by going to your Device Manager, right-clicking on the adapter, then selecting "Properties", then the Advanced Tab. Turn off the ability for the system to turn off the adapter to save power too in the Power Management tab of the adapter's Properties, otherwise your system can shut it off without warning if you're on battery.

Check the Network Adapter settings in your Power Plan advanced settings also, as it also affects your adapter's power output on the battery.

 

Thanks a ton... I was getting one green (or red) bar when it came up in the network search... Not sure what it'll do now... I'll check tomorrow.