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I previously had a DLink modem-router (DSL-2740B). I replaced it with a small ADSL D-Link modem and a TimeCapsule.
While I'm quite happy with it, the main and only criticism I could make is the loss I had in the Wifi coverage in my apartment.
When I had an almost full signal in my bedroom with the DLink, I can now barely connect.

I know that an Airport Extreme Base Station would be an option to extend the network but the distance from the TimeCapsule to the bedroom seems quite "normal" to me so that a single wifi emitter would be enough as it was before.
I plan anyway to put in my bedroom an Airport Extreme Base station to dispatch my music collection on my hifi system, but I'm afraid it wouldn't even reach the network.

Are there any tips and tricks?
In Airport Utility, the Transmit Power is already at 100%.
Are there any other parameters to check/tweak?

EDIT:

Here is the screenshot of iStumbler. My network is highlighted. iStumble screenshot

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  • How far away is the router from your bedroom and how many walls are in the way (and what are the walls made out of)? – Cajunluke Mar 30 '11 at 19:52
  • @CajunLuke Distance between router and bedroom is circa 11m, being 4 meters for the width of the main room where the router is and 7/8 meters of corridor to the entrance of the room. Even being at my room's doorstep, almost viewing the capsule at the end of the corridor, the signal is from extremely weak to nonexistent. And as noted, the previous DLink router had no issue at all with the exact same configuration. – LudoMC Mar 30 '11 at 20:28
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    Hmmm. I'd almost suggest you return the Time Capsule as faulty. My dad's time capsule easily reaches 40' (>11m) through several walls and a floor or two. My Airport Extreme has stretched over 75' through a reinforced concrete floor and several walls. The range you are experiencing is absurdly tiny compared to what I've seen and would expect. – Cajunluke Mar 30 '11 at 21:33
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Run iStumbler from your Mac. (Get it here). Look at the other wireless networks in your vicinity - and check what channel(s) they're running on. You want your device to be as far away from those channels as possible. There is a 3-channel overlap. That means, a device on channel 1 will interfere (albeit only slightly,) with a device on channel 3 (or 4? I forget.) So if lots of devices are on channel 6 (most come out of the box on this channel,) you want to be on 9/10/11 or 3/2/1. I almost always just use 1 or 11.

There is also a "use network robustness" option which I think increases range but decreases bandwidth. See this Apple Article.

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  • Tried iStumbler. I see my network twice (once with 2,4Mhz and one with 5,5Mhz). First signal is 76% and second 58%. My MBP is 10cm from my capsule. I'm using channel 1 while all other networks in the vicinity are using channel 11. Noise is 13% (added the screenshot to my initial post). The advanced options in the Airport configuration are "Multicast Rate" which is on "Low" and "Use Wide channels" which is activated. – LudoMC Mar 31 '11 at 17:31
  • LudoMC: that is very normal. Walk away from it slowly and see how rapidly the signal drops off. I still think interference is the problem here - it may be sitting next to (or under, or on top-of) something emitting a strong signal. Take particular note when you put a wall between yourself and the device, and see what the change is. If one wall in particular affects your signal more than the others, perhaps there are cables or even a device in the wall having a detrimental effect. (Yes, I've found devices in walls using this method.) – Harv Mar 31 '11 at 18:32
  • I upvoted earlier to thank you for pointing me out to iStumbler. Anyway, is there a way to improve the signal, from Airport tool or the way the capsule is placed? I keep thinking it's strange that at 10cm from the Mac the signal is only 78%. Could it be a faulty device as suggested by CajunLuke? – LudoMC Mar 31 '11 at 21:10
  • @LudoMC - actually this is normal. I almost never see a noise reading that isn't 13%, and I've never seen a signal strength of 100% (or even 90%+) with an Airport. I think because iStumbler represents the data in a way which we don't necessarily understand because we're not wireless engineers. – Harv Apr 1 '11 at 2:01
  • Clear I'm no network engineer...! Just sad the capsule doesn't perform better. Probably linked also to the inner antennas; design has a price. I accept your answer till I get the magic one which will put my capsule to 200% signal :) – LudoMC Apr 1 '11 at 22:20

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