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I have a phone/internet contract with AT&T U-verse and a router they supplied. The wireless range is only 20 ft, and according to the AT&T customer support line, that's as far as it goes and there's no 3rd party or other amplifier units that can extend it.

20 ft seems pretty small, and I was wondering if the tech was wrong and there's a way to extend the WiFi radius?

The unit itself is 10" square and 2" high. It has no visible antennae. It says "2Wire" on the top and bottom and on the front over has what I assume is a model number: 3800HGV-8. I have four open ethernet ports on it as well.

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  • Have you tested the range yet? I'd be surprised if it really is that short. We've got U-Verse in our neighborhood; I've used mine well over 20' from the wireless router and the list of 'available wireless networks' my computer sees includes many of my neighbors.
    – StevenV
    Aug 17, 2011 at 19:34
  • Sadly, the range really is 20ft. No obstructions (lead-lined walls or such) that would explain it, and since WiFi "works" AT&T isn't going to move mountains trying to diagnose it.
    – larryq
    Aug 17, 2011 at 19:41

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I'm guessing there isn't much you can do with that router. If you're able to login to it, there may be some options with changing the wireless channel, which would help if the default channel is busy (usually default is channel 6, try channel 11 or 1).

If you can't find anything in the router, you do have some options. You could plug a second wireless router (that has better range) into one of the four ports in the 2wire and use it as an Access Point. I would suggest turning off the wireless feature on the 2wire afterward, but it's not a necessity.

Second option would be to buy a wireless bridge that would wirelessly connect and boost the signal. There are some drawbacks to this, but it would help to extend your signal. D-link makes a decent one (DAP-1522) that I have experience with and it works pretty well. Just remember, every time you bridge, you lower your signal speed somewhat. Sometimes this isn't a factor if you're just browsing the web.

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I have a slightly different WAP device (i38HG) and I know that via the web interface I can set the power output level of the device. The setting is on the page at

    http://192.168.1.254/xslt?PAGE=C_2_1

I found mine set at 25mw. I changed it to the max, 400mw. Maybe you can do that with your model as well. It's worth a check.

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