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Home » Networking

How To Extend Your Wireless Range / Boost Neighbors WiFi Signal

gerry d networking tech support
By Gerry D
Updated: Aug 30, 2020

Easy How-To Guide – Extend Your Wireless Range

In today’s modern apartment living society, a lot of people have issues with their wireless range due to walls, interference and other obstacles in the house. Even those with large houses have issues with getting WiFi coverage across all floors of the house or outside on the porch, where it’s wanted most. But with this guide, I’ll show you what is required to extend the range of your wireless network outside, upstairs, in the basement or how to boost from your neighbor.

Boosting WiFi Signal From Neighbor By Extending With Repeater

These two extender options are for sending a wireless signal a far distance, such as across the street from the neighbor’s house. They rely on line of sight and really can cast a signal the furthest. If your neighbor can see your house from their window, they would use this to hook up and point at your house to extend the internet.

(1) Stronger Wireless Receiver – Easiest solution without access to router
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If you do not have direct physical access to the neighbors router, the only thing you can do is upgrade your wireless receiver on your desktop or laptop. Luckily this is very easy to do.

You can use a better-upgraded booster antenna for your computer to pick up the signal. This should work for accessing your neighbor’s wireless internet. It will surely increase your range at which you can detect a wireless signal and the strength at which you transmit data. Meaning not only will your speeds increase, but you will also see many new wireless networks from other neighbors that you never knew existed.

Of course, the better option is to send a stronger signal direct from the router if you can, but we understand that is not always possible and that is when you buy this WiFi booster. Even better, the next option, the booster used in conjunction with this wireless antenna.

(2) This Booster Antenna – Best Long Distance Solution
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If you have a line of sight, the best and easiest way for you to extend your neighbors wireless outside or across the street long range is to have them attach this booster antenna to their router and point it at your house.

This will beam a much stronger signal in your direction. This is the standard way to send a wifi signal long-range. It is known as a directional antenna and they are the supreme line of sight devices.

All you have to do is attach it to the routers antenna port and sit it on the window pointing it at the house where you want to get stronger wireless. This should work alone but if you pair it with option 1, you will be very satisfied.

Best Home Wireless Extender Options

These options are for those who do not have a direct line of sight. Say they are a floor above you or next door through some walls or who knows. These options are for a stronger wireless network in your own home or through walls of a neighbor. Check them out and see which option is best for your home network.

boost neighbors wifi

  • (3) Better Wireless Router – Most Common
    This is your best low-cost option if you are in control of the incoming internet connection. It is highly likely that you have an old Wireless N router, so you need Wireless AC to get better speeds. To check your router, find the model number on the bottom and Google it, it will tell you if it is Wireless N or Wireless AC.
  • (4) Build A Mesh Network – Best Performance
    There is no better option than this on the market. It is the newest home business class mesh for homes up to 4,000 square feet or more. The way to go if you control the connection and have the funds. Peak performance.
  • (5) Wireless Range Extender – Budget Lower Performance Amazon Price
    The is the option to “boost” the transmission broadcasting from your neighbor’s house if they already have a router. It is also the option if you are trying to extend the wifi to a guest house, basement, garage, upstairs, etc. It is much weaker than the wireless mesh option but also much cheaper. You will not get full speeds because recasting will always half the original speed. It is better than no signal though. If you want to recast the signal without reducing the speeds in half, the wireless mesh option is the only way to do this.

Extending Your Neighbors Wifi For A Better Signal

Now we will discuss extending your neighbor’s wireless internet into your apartment next door. For this to work, you do need access to begin with. You can’t get on the wifi unless you have their password or they have an open network. If it is open or you have the password, you can boost their signal with any of these methods.

Antenna Booster Explained: Get A Stronger Wireless Antenna

To boost the signal from your neighbor’s house, this is the only true option. The directional antenna sends a stronger signal from point A to point B. It is directional though so you will need to point it in the direction you would like to send the signal. This is a best first bet if you already get signal from them but want it to be stronger. They will need to screw this antenna into the back of their existing router and place it where it has a line of sight with your house. If you do not have access, you can use the stronger wireless adapter on your computer which will pick up a better signal if it is your only option.

Stronger Router Explained: Get The Best WiFi Router Technology

First, it could be your old wireless router. Technology has changed a bit over the last few years, and there are many standards with different throughput, ranges, and powers. You should find out which you have and upgrade if need be, this could be your only problem. Generally, the model number will display an N for Wireless N or AC for wireless AC. At this point you need AC. You should not try to extend Wireless N because it will continue to be an underperformer.

  • 802.11a: The oldest, toast, throw the router away. No longer out there.
  • 802.11b/g: Also old and not worth investing in. Replacement time. No longer out there.
  • 802.11n: aka Wireless N is the most common problem when it comes to weak signal. Last Gen WiFi.
  • 802.11ac: The newest and best wireless technology. It is backward compatible, so your device will still connect if it’s not AC ready. Needed for fast speeds at range.

If you already knew that and have Wireless AC, on to the next step. A simplistic Wireless Extender to carry and extend the signal to remote locations of your house or apartment.

Wireless Repeater Explained: Recasting The Wireless Signal

This is the best way to make the wifi signal stronger from across the way. The image below demonstrates how it works. The Netgear Extender makes it easy to recast the signal to the rest of your home. There is a simple one-time setup page. If your neighbor has a password on their wifi, you will need to know it. You can not actually “steal” internet. You will need access to recast it. In some cases, you may find an open network and attach the extender to this. I still suggest you ask for permission.
best wireless booster

The router effectively logs into your original WiFi router, grabs the signal and recast it from its current location extending the range by a lot. This is the simplest and most common method for extending the internet range in a large house or from a neighbors apartment.

Steal / Boost Neighbors Wireless Internet

As you know by now, you can’t steal your neighbor’s internet. It doesn’t work that way. There is no magical device you can buy that is going to bypass their password. Would anyone pay for internet if that were the case? You must have the password or find an open unsecured wireless network. The repeater will attach to the open network if that is what you are looking for.

Share Your Internet With Neighbors
On the other hand, if you know your neighbor, you could work out a deal for both of you. You can lower the cost of your monthly internet bill by sharing it with them. If you live in an apartment building, you can maybe even get 2 or 3 neighbors in on the wireless sharing. Sometimes you don’t need all of those high download speeds to yourself and can’t justify spending $60 a monthly internet bill.

Downfalls?
There are downfalls to sharing your internet, and it can have a negative impact on your performance. If you are savvy enough, you can use your routers software to limit the amount of bandwidth proportioned to your neighbors, and this will not be an issue. You still face the risk of your neighbor(or even friends who visit) performing illegal activities under your account and getting in trouble with your provider– or worse– the law.

If you already have a router

Repeater Mode
If you already own a router and want it to cast your neighbors signal or extend your own, open up the settings page and select “repeater mode,” enter the existing wifi password or connect to the open network and you’re on. The simple way to get sharing internet in no time!

Access Point Mode
My preferred method as it truly extends the range the furthest possible. How is this mode different? Well for one, you need physical access to the primary router. Instead of a mesh-like wireless network as used with Repeater Mode where the two networks meet in the middle, you will have a long cat5 cable from your main router to the secondary router. The secondary wireless router will then cast out its own wireless signal. So instead of 2 signals meeting in the middle and connecting, you get two full-strength signals for a much stronger connection. This is exactly how I have mine set up in Access Point Mode. This way if you have to set the second device in a room on the other side of a thick say stone or brick wall you take no loss. You just run the long cable along the wall into the area you wish to set the router up in and plug it in. If you can do this, I suggest it. If not the method above, the wireless repeater will work. I prefer a zero loss situation and extending as far as I can via hardwire before casting my second SSID. However, this is not going to be an option for most people so the repeater mode will suffice.

Below is the ASUS Router Firmware and just how easy it is to do this. I mean could it get more simple? Click Administration and pick your mode. It’s that intuitive and easy enough for anyone to do with no technical expertise.
repeater extend wireless configuration
Electrical Wireless Extenders Suck
I should mention the more expensive unreliable method of plugging into your electrical outlet to extend your wireless to any room in the house. I never have and would never use this method. I have read enough to find out they constantly fail, operate at high temperatures, consume a lot of power, disconnect from the main router all of the time forcing you to troubleshoot and so on. So why spend more for something that isn’t going to work? I mean it sounds like a great idea, but the bottom line is that it’s not. Proceed with caution, read others reviews and know I do not recommend this method. To each their own though.

Why ASUS Routers Are The Best

Now, about my beloved ASUS and why I love this router/firewall combo so much.
As someone who has owned everything from a Linksys / Cisco to Dlink, Microsoft, Belkin and even other off the wall brand routers, I have never had a better router. Not only have I owned all of these brand name devices, but I have also worked Tier II Tech Support and helped people with brands I have never even heard of.

The ASUS Firmware is so easy to use and provides so many options. The biggest and most impressive thing about my router is the fact that it has 2 USB Ports built into the router itself. Do you even understand how awesome this is? No? Well, let me tell you. I can plug an external USB hard drive into my router and access it from any computer in my home and even if I am away from home I can get my files via a private FTP Server. It’s so easy to set up that it’s almost plug and play. This serves as a hard drive backup for me so that I do not lose any data if my PC crashes as well. Another cool feature is the fact that it has up to 8 guest network SSID’s. So I can mess with my neighbors and make a bunch of fake WiFi names like “no one likes you” and “move out already.” OK, he tried to get me evicted, so I did not like that guy. But you can make any names you want with all of those extra SSID’s. It’s fun. Just don’t do “FBI Van,” it’s very played out.

how to boost your wifi signal from your neighbor

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About Gerry D

Gerry D worked a long career in technical support with a strong networking background. With his advanced computer knowledge, he founded StickyStatic to help others make the right choice when it comes to tough networking decisions.

Gerry D was a Tier II Internet Tech Support Agent for many years working for the 2 largest internet providers in the United States. After that, he went on to high-end Tech Support in a large educational institution. So modems and routers are some of his favorite toys.

He wants to make sure you leave here with the right choice for your home wireless, happy enough to recommend StickyStatic to your friends.

Comments

  1. Robyn Mcghee says

    My son lives next door and I use his Wi-Fi but there is a metal garage between us. So I need to know what to do or what to buy to keep me connected to it.. Please help. Asap. Thank you.

    Reply
    • StickyStatic says

      Penetrating a metal wall is not a simple tasks with WiFi. You’re going to have to find a way to cast the signal over the garage or run a wire through and then cast from a seocnd deivce.

      Reply
  2. Zack Donaldson says

    I’m in a v a facility the houses vets struggling with homelessness. They have Wi-Fi available here all throughout the facility, but certain parts of the facility are extremely intermittent, or not even available in the slightest. Unfortunately, my room is one of those rooms that it is extremely scarce. I can detect the signal, sometimes, but it will rarely connect. The really odd part though is that when it does connect it says it has full bars of Wi-Fi, but uh web page takes a decade to load no matter if it’s Firefox, chrome, or Safari. How can I receive a stronger signal from my same location? An antenna?

    Reply
    • StickyStatic says

      Yes, without control over the wireless network, your best bet is to try a stronger external antenna such as option 1. The second bet, if you have a friend in another room with better signal, is to use a repeater from there but others will jump on it degrading the recast.

      Reply
  3. Shahab says

    Dear All,
    Who will guide me? I have my neighbors WiFi permission to use but unfortunately, signals are coming to the main door of my flat and I need signals into my living room.
    How can I extend the signals into my room?

    Reply
    • StickyStatic says

      You’ll need an extender at the main door catching the inbound signal. Then it would be best to run a hardwire from that extender router to your device you will use but recasting the wifi signal will also work.

      Reply
  4. John says

    I have an RV about 200 feet from my vacation home which has satellite internet service but the wireless signal is not accessible inside the RV. A coaxial cable runs from the dish to an exterior mounted connector terminal. Another coaxial cable coming from an interior modem/router is connected to this exterior connector to a terminal adjacent to the connected cable coming from the dish. This exterior connector also has a pair of unused adjacent coaxial terminals. Is it possible or recommended to use a splitter on the cable from the dish so as to create another feed from the dish to the extra exterior terminal then run another coaxial cable to a router inside the RV?

    As a possible alternative, I also have an abandoned satellite dish about 50 feet from the RV. Is it possible to use that dish as an antenna to pick up the Wi-Fi signal from the home internet service and run a coaxial cable or a cat6 cable or even a USB cable from that dish to an RV router?

    Reply
  5. keema says

    Ok, I live next door to my in-laws. I can sit on my steps and use their wifi but it stops once I enter my house. Their wifi shows up sometimes on my computer but it will not connect. What is the best solution for me that’s not too expensive. I want to be able to connect wifi to my tv for Netflix. I was thinking of purchasing an extender. I also see a lot of netgear wifis that comes up too. What do you think? What’s the simplest way? My front door is facing their bedroom window. I do have the password to their wifi also. I just refuse to pay 90 dollars monthly for wifi to this company.

    Reply
    • StickyStatic says

      If you can get the signal at the front of the house, you can set up a wireless extender(option 5) to catch it there. You’ll want to get it as close to the signal as you can. But I would not try to recast it with another wireless signal as you will only weaken it. I would try to hardwire everything from that point on to the ports in the back of the extender for optimal speeds. You can recast for a simple phone or basic browsing but I would not game or expect HD streaming from it.

      Reply
  6. Sean says

    My in-laws have internet in the house beside me and I can pick up the signal but it isn’t strong. I was thinking to run a cat 5 cable from their router to mine. We live in a rural area so have poor internet. What cable and router should I use? Is this the best option for the best signal in my house?

    Reply
    • StickyStatic says

      Running that line is the best possible option for getting a full signal in the second home. As for what router, whichever one best fits your living situation according to our router buying guide.

      Reply
  7. Lorrie says

    My father lives in an assisted living apartment. The home’s Wifi is too far away for him to receive it. Comcast is giving us a horrible time of it but they say we need a booster for dad to receive an internet signal. Help please??? What kind of booster? I thought boosters just furthered a wifi signal but had to be placed within the home’s range of wifi but they are saying he can have a booster in his apartment that will pick up the wifi. Is this true? If so, what do I need to buy? He has coax cable coming in for cable TV; can I split that?

    Reply
    • StickyStatic says

      They are referring to option 5, and he will not be able to get full strength WiFi in his situation but maybe enough to survive.

      Reply
  8. Diana Threadgold says

    I have a holiday caravan with no internet/router.
    There is wifi at the cafe in the holiday park but only available inside the cafe about 50 meters away. Is there any gadget I can buy to “magnify” that wifi signal so my grandson can play Fortnite on his tablet in the caravan?

    Reply
    • StickyStatic says

      I would not recommend internet gaming over an extended network. Best you can do is by a router to use in access point mode and hard wire cat 5 from laptop to that router. But for a game like that which requires the highest ping, it’s going to be a huge disadvantage.

      Reply
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