HotSpot question

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Lenp
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HotSpot question

Post by Lenp »

My son lives in a condo, not far from an Xfinity HotSpot. He gets fair connection speeds during the day but it suffers at night with a lot of buffering, I guess since traffic has increased, or atmospheric conditions changed. I found a ton of 'Extenders, Amplifiers and Repeaters' online that claim wonders.
My wonder is, are they smoke and mirrors, or can they really help his situation?
Note: This is not theft of service! He is on our account as a guest!

All opinions or product suggestions are welcomed.
Len

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a big pile of junk.” (T. Edison)
"I must be on the way to success since I already have the junk". (Me)
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kheston
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Re: HotSpot question

Post by kheston »

I'd more quickly blame congestion generated by other users in the evening than I would atmospheric condition changes. Regardless, the efficacy of any repeater/extender you try will be dependent upon the distance to the hotspot and obstructions/interference impairing the signal. It's worth a shot, however. Just make sure you can return the unit if your experiment yields unsatisfactory results.

Note: I've had better luck with directional antennas than I have omnis. Ymmv.
Kurt - SF Bay
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dacflyer
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Re: HotSpot question

Post by dacflyer »

I ran a set to radios at a farm using Ubquiti radios..
they are good for 9km. ( about 5.5 miles )
these radios i am using are shooting thru some trees. point A to point B is about .6km ( 2000ft )
they are working great. i got them cheap on ebay. these are the older 2.4ghz, newer ones are 5ghz.
but for farm use, they are just fine..
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Janitor Tzap
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Re: HotSpot question

Post by Janitor Tzap »

Hmmm..........

I agree some what with Kheston, in that there is probably network congestion generated by other users in the evening.
But instead of spending a lot of money on a repeater/extender.
How about a simple directional DIY Antenna.
I found these on YouTube.
Simple cardboard & tinfoil reflectors that fit on the antenna of the WIFI router.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAuWu9DAvk4
Directional Bow-tie Antenna that plugs into the WIFI Router.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDpWxjW3atI
A Directional "Can" Antenna.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXZtPWRmya0
Or a Directional Yagi Antenna.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raAtvQLkneg


Signed: Janitor Tzap
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haklesup
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Re: HotSpot question

Post by haklesup »

My android phone in the Settings - About - Sim Card Status page, I can see the measured signal strength. (I used search in my settings to find it fast) He can look at that and log the strength over several days at fixed time intervals to figure out if signal strength is fading at any time of the day or during weather events. If no pattern is found there, its probably other user congestion. Certainly once signal strength is on a level ground, he can try speed tests (maybe at the same time) to see if US/DS is slowing or ping rates are slow.

I do see a range of Phone signal strength apps, if any log over time, that would make it easier to map the fast times of the day.

I don't know if the Xfinity hotspots are always 5G speed (wifi not LTE), Its possible it automatically toggles between 5G and 2.4G speeds, maybe there is a way to set preference. Xfinity allows combination of these networks for home networks, why not for its public one.

Passively extending the 2.4Ghz band is not so simple with homemade antennas but plug in wall type WiFi network extenders including direct from Xfinity are not very expensive and can fill in weak areas. Call Xfinity support to ask if those things will extend generic hotspots if you are not the router owner.

(edit) on second thought, the signal strength in the device is for the cell signal not the WiFi but I do see apps titled WiFi Signal Strength meter in the play store so you can probably use the method with some modification of where to look. I also saw a WiFi power saving mode, if his device has one, its probably faster to turn it off.
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Lenp
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Re: HotSpot question

Post by Lenp »

Sorry, I guess I didn't say it but there is no router and it is not related to cell phone service.
These are SmartSets, with built in WiFi that are receiving from Xfinity (Comcast) HotSpots.
Hope this helps.
Len

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a big pile of junk.” (T. Edison)
"I must be on the way to success since I already have the junk". (Me)
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haklesup
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Re: HotSpot question

Post by haklesup »

there are some Xfinity hotspots that are installed in public areas but the majority of hotspots are second channel WiFi from home and business account routers wherever there happens to be one. I was commenting based on the second case not knowing where your hotspot was emitted from.

Rant on Cable providers: Ever notice how none of them provide apps that run on Smart TVs in order to force us into paying for their cable box rentals. between that and needless bundling, they nearly double to cost compared to what we actually use.
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