Are they actually any good?

Our wi fi box doesn't reach from one end of the house to the other for some stupid reason. Maybe the box is crap or I'm expecting to much range from a little box.

Make sure the wifi point is as high as you can get it and not next to electrical motors or other transmitting devices.

 

Try changing the channel on the wifi - it could be conflicting with other signals.

 

If it's using 2.4 Ghz or 5Ghz - 2.4 will travel through walls better.

If you're lookng for new wifi hardware - have a look at Unifi's Ubiquiti range. It's aimed more at business users but is cheap for what it is and I've had good results with even the standard model (there's long range and dual band versions too, LR worked well with old building with thick walls). As HotRod says 2.4GHz will travel through walls better, though the flipside is that there might be less interference with 5Ghz, so dual band can be useful (e.g. if there's lots of other wifi networks nearby, or even things like cordless phones and your microwave), especially if you're moving lots of data around like streaming video.

If you've got a smaryphone, get a wifi analyser that'll show any conflicts.

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer

 

Can be useful in determining the better channel to use.

Powerline networking kit is a good way to put a network point somewhere else.

If you've got a smaryphone, get a wifi analyser that'll show any conflicts.

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer

 

Can be useful in determining the better channel to use.

Yes this is a useful app. On a PC you can use inSSIDer

 

http://inssider.en.softonic.com/

Jeez, a smaryphone... That'll be the computer the spellchecker's busted on then!

We've got a Sky booster box thingy - not sure whether it actually helps though?

Jeez, a smaryphone... That'll be the computer the spellchecker's busted on then!

I read it as smarmyphone and assumed it must be an Iphone cause they think they are better than everything else!