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Extend your Wi-Fi Signal for Less Than $5


May 16, 2012 10:30 AM EDT by Davey Alba, LAPTOP Contributor  

There’s nothing more frustrating than having your desk or bed be just outside the range of your Wi-Fi network. If you face this dilemma, try a cookie sheet. It can extend your Wi-Fi reach by redirecting the radio waves beamed out by your router.

How to do it:

The cookie sheet works just like a satellite TV dish. Place it right behind your Wi-Fi router. It focuses the router’s energy in one direction rather than a full circle.

What happened:

We downloaded an app that displays Wi-Fi signal strength in dBm and stood in one spot about 10 feet away from our router. A cookie sheet was placed behind our Wi-Fi router while we remained stationary. We started off with a signal strength of -52 dBm and saw the graph climb to -45 dBm when we set the cookie sheet behind the router. We took the cookie sheet away and it dropped down to -55 dBm. When we repositioned the sheet behind the router, it shot up to -42 dBm, then dropped to a mere -50 dBm when we removed it one last time. Success!

Comments (1 Response) 

One Response to “Extend your Wi-Fi Signal for Less Than $5”

  1. Larry Says:

    How about a direct link to download/buy the app that let you test your signal strength?

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