Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-16-2019, 12:01 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 10
WiFi Booster Experience?

I have my trailer at a campground and it is about 70 feet from my smart TV to the Wifi transmitter. The provider claims 25Megabyte download. I can sometimes stream a movie or show but more often then not, it starts clocking. Sometimes it says, "signal too weak".

Does anyone have experience with wifi boosters? I tried one and it did nothing. Wondering if I just got a bad brand or they are just made to help dead zones in homes with good wifi already.

Thanks in advance.
Genec1234 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-16-2019, 01:15 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
A32Deuce's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Posts: 9,230
That may be true what they say about the WiFi, but the more people using the weaker,it gets. Just the nature of the beast. You can try a WiFi booster, I have one and it works pretty good at times. All depends on their signal and how many are using.
__________________
2012 SunSeeker 3100SS Toad-1962 Futura Average 100 + days camping
A32Deuce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-16-2019, 01:49 PM   #3
Always Learning
 
ependydad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Four Corners, FL
Posts: 21,888
First, test the wifi and don't trust the booster.

If you have a smart phone or tablet, do a speed test at your smart TV.

The walk the 70' to the source and try the same speed test from there.

If it's significantly faster at the source, then a booster helps. If it isn't, there's nothing you can do.

In campgrounds, it's usually a matter that the source wifi is crap and a booster doesn't help. Or only helps for certain parts of the day.

Otherwise, I had success with a WifiRanger. However, campground wifi was so terrible that I almost never used it and instead just used it as an internal router inside the RV.
__________________
Officially a SOB with a 2022 Jayco Precept 36C
Checkout my site for RVing tips, tricks, and info | Was a Fulltime Family for 5 years, now we're part-timing on long trips
ependydad is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2019, 06:24 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 138
In addition to what the others have said, every wireless hop will reduce the speed of the connection. If your TV has an ethernet port, connecting it to a booster like a WifiRanger by ethernet will eliminate the extra wireless hop. I and a number of others have had good results using a Ubiquiti Nano Station as a Wifi booster. It is available for either the 2.4 or 5 ghz wifi bands. It can be connected to a router or directly to a computer. To use with a TV you would have to use a computer to access the control panel and set the Wifi SSid and any password and then connect it to the TV's ethernet LAN input.
Trailer traveler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2019, 06:52 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Daycruiser's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Crossville,TN
Posts: 588
I worked for a few years as a WiFi architect, WiFi is only as good as the root Wide Area Network Connection the campground has. You can have a 400Meg WiFi system everywhere connected to a 10Meg circuit coming into the campground and now split that 10Meg between all the devices trying to use WiFi for movies or whatever and now you have a very crappy WiFi experience. WiFi boosters only amplify signal for good reception, they don't add network bandwidth. If the external network bandwidth isn't there no amount of signal is going to help you. Look at it this way, if the RV campground has a half inch water main coming into it, and you have a 4 inch water pipe to your RV how much water are you going to get along with everybody else?
__________________
Retired 2020.
46 Years RVing and no end in sight.
2018 Ram 3500 SB Limited, CC, 6.7/Aisin, 4X4, SRW. Comfort Ride Energy Absorbing Hitch.
2020 Cedar Creek Hathaway 34IK, Reese 19K Sidewinder PB.
Daycruiser is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:09 PM.