When I go to the BEstbuy or compUSA websites to look for details on wireless routers I’m never given a key piece of information: What is the range?
Even on the boxes of these routers this info is never given. How can I find out how far I can be from the router and still receive a decent signal?
Range is highly variable which is one reason they may not publish it on the outside of the box. If the “normal” range is 75 yards and you can’t go 30 feet because of the structure of your house you are gonna be steamed and possibly justified in returning it. Best bet is to look on the website of the company making the router. Note that most routers and some wireless NICs can use an alternate external antenna to extend range.
Range is 100m (about 325 ft) according to the 802.11 standard spec. However, in practice this can vary by quite a lot, depending mostly on what kinds of walls the signal has to go through and what sorts of interference from appliances and such are in the area. A 2.4 ghz cordless phone in particular can really interfere with the signal.
FWIW, I have a Linksys g router and I have no problems getting a good signal anywhere in the house. One of my neighbors has a wireless network and I can sometimes see it also, but the signal is poor.