# Wi-Fi repeaters on a public network **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591 "2019-07-05T20:46:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/1 "2019-07-05T20:46:13Z")
Wi-fi reception in my new room blows chunks. Is there anything I can do to remedy this? Do repeaters need to be installed by IT if it’s not my network? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/2 "2019-07-05T22:11:55Z")
Who’s network is it? But, no, there is no technical reason why you couldn’t buy your own repeater and connect it to the network, as long as you know the password. Note that repeaters cut the throughput in half. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/3 "2019-07-05T23:10:24Z")
It belongs to the rehab home. I have a request for the IT person to look at it next time they are in. I’d better not do anything on my own. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/4 "2019-07-06T16:16:20Z")
When I last moved 10 years ago, there was about a week of delay getting the internet installed. There were some public (or at least unsecured) wifi spots that I could reach from outside and in the attic but not where I wanted it in the main living space. I set up a router in repeater mode up in the attic and it worked great. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/5 "2019-07-06T17:03:22Z")
If reception in your room sucks, putting a repeater in the room probably won’t help much. You want to put it somewhere between your room and the router. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/6 "2019-07-07T04:08:25Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > If reception in your room sucks, putting a repeater in the room probably won’t help much. You want to put it somewhere between your room and the router. If transmission from your room sucks, putting a repeater in your room will fix the problem. Small devices often have more problem with transmission than with reception. OP: what devices do you have in your room? Do you have a fixed/wired point? Are you getting interferance from other WiFi points? Do you have a limit on the number of devices you may connect? You don’t need any special permission from IT to put in a WiFi repeater – it looks just like any other device on the network, even with a secured network, most kinds of security won’t object. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/7 "2019-07-07T12:37:02Z")
I have 2 Android tablets but only use one at a time. Nothing fixed; I haven’t seen a Cat5 wallplate anywhere. No interference that I know of. No limits on numbers; it’s an old folks home so the presumed number of devices each resident bring to the party is ‘none.’ So, how do I connect it? Do I just plug it in and let it do its stuff or do I need to log it in? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/8 "2019-07-07T15:44:50Z")
Do what I do, climb a tree! (I’m kidding, dz) Portable hotspot(jet-pack)might jack up your Wi-Fi to an acceptable level. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/9 "2019-07-07T16:30:52Z")
Darlin’, those have a monthly subscription. I spend so much on internet at home that additional costs cannot be justified, especially since my home wi-fi is so hot that it could conceivably light a cigarette waved in the air. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/10 "2019-07-07T23:28:16Z")
There are 4 main types of WiFi boosters: 1. Connects to an Ethernet socket. 2. A powerline pair with a transmitter that plugs in somewhere else, and a reciever in your own room. 3. A router that connects to the network using your wireless key 4. A radio amplifier. So your first task, should you choose to accept it, is to make sure that you don’t get the wrong thing, type 1 or 2. Complicating factor: some type 3/4 devices also do type 1 connections. You also need to be sure that the device you get uses the same frequency/protocol as what you are connecting to. The place to start would be with a wifi analyser like the [netgear analyser](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.netgear.WiFiAnalytics&hl=en) or [wifi analyzer](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=abdelrahman.wifianalyzerpro). (There are scores of diferent similar apps) …And there’s the question of how much you are willing to pay. Unfortunately, the cheapest devices are likely to be the powerline devices you don’t want, and the best receivers are likely to be in very expensive gaming rigs you don’t want, so there is a lot of room for error. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/11 "2019-07-07T23:50:48Z")
Or i could resign myself to using the Kindle Fire until I get released. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/12 "2019-07-07T23:52:54Z")
Duplicate ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/13 "2019-07-07T23:58:41Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > my home wi-fi is so hot that it could conceivably light a cigarette waved in the air. What do you mean by this? Do you mean that your router is warm to the touch, or something else? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-repeaters-on-a-public-network/836591/14 "2019-07-08T01:36:44Z")
No, in the fast car sense, combined with Tesla’s broadcast energy. I haven’t been home to expe\*\*\*\*rience Comcast’s fastest home Wi-Fi, but I imagine the air fairly crackles with Wi-Fi goodness.