My desktop is situated in a home studio that is too far away from the router to be wired. It's a tad older, so doesn't have WiFi built in at all.

What are the best options to connect it to my router and make it able to access the Internet?

Is it best to just buy a WiFi USB dongle or are there better solutions, like maybe purchasing a budget router and converting it into a WiFi receiver somehow?!

 

you can use homeplugs/ powerline adapters, which use your electrical wires as an ethernet cable:

https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-powerline-adapter-1846813

 

I live in an older house though, built in an old mining village with old stone walls, no insulation, and so on, so don't expect the wiring to be too great, notwithstanding that previously I haven't had the best experience using powerline adapters. As I regularly switch sockets off, being energy conscious an' all, I found they often reset or lose connection and then have to re-setup often, which was just a huge ball ache!

 

I work with servers, so having internet is a requirement to my job. Here are a few options:

• Get a very long cable and just pass it alongside the walls. No one will complain if you live alone.
• Get a very long cable and pass it through your walls. Chances are the tubes that carry the wires for your wall sockets have enough space for that, but depending on the house it might be tricky
• Get a powerline adapter - those are quite expensive where I live. If your wiring sucks, powerline will also suck (to some extent)
• Get a wi-fi card, usb or PCI - it just works if you don't mind the instability. A good 5ghz card coupled with a good router will give you great performance, though.
• Get a switch or secondary router (and make it dumb by deactivating dhcp/firewall/etc), wire a cable through the walls as close as possible to your PC and then extend a cable to that switch/router
• Invest on mesh wifi? Can't really give an opinion on those since a single AX5400 already serves wi-fi really well in my house
• Get a very, very long cable, drill a whole in the wall next to router, circle it outside however you want until it reaches your PC room, then drill another hole to get it inside. Sounds dumb, but it's a very effective way to wire a remote room.

 

You should NEVER do that! Unless, you are familiar with this https://www.truecable.com/blogs/cable-academy/running-ethernet-and-power-cable#page_comments=1

 

True. I oversimplified to keep things short, but needless to say, houses are built different everywhere in the world, so you should always make sure that you follow the safety procedures. Here we have different pathways for electricity and communication.

 

I've been in similar situation. I used WiFi USB stick. Just remember to unplug it and disable the network, when you're doing audio. Tip, I moved the network icon on desktop, so it was easy to disable it with right mouse click and double click back on.

 

Usually 5ghz would be the way to go for speed, but OP mentioned they live in a house with thick stone walls, so this prob won't be a great idea, as 5ghz's ability to penetrate through substantial walls is shite.

The building I live in has literal foot-thick concrete walls, and I had to switch my router to 2.4 only, as my devices that were literally only in the next room from the router were constantly losing connection. Switching to 2.4 immediately solved it.


OP, just go with either a usb dongle or pci-e card - given your situation it seems like the most hassle-free solution.

 

Try this dongle. Works great! Install the driver before you plug it in. https://www.amazon.com/D-Link-Wirel...&sprefix=usb+dongle+wifi+dlink,aps,198&sr=8-3

 

A strategically placed mesh system should sort it out.

 

Last edited: Apr 6, 2023

I have the same situation and use this: https://business.currys.co.uk/catal...sb-wireless-adapter-ac-600-dual-band/N161443W

 

If the WiFi router cannot be moved, a long CAT7+ cable would be my choice, even if that means drilling holes into the walls. Running these cables alongside power cables hasn't ever been a problem here, CAT7 is shielded better than some might think.

 

I use this, it is a dual band high gain WiFi adapter. This beast has an 800 metre range on it and works well through brick walls.

Using a built in WiFi adapter, I can barely see my own WiFi in the worst room in the house.
Using this adapter, I can get a perfect signal and see about 10 other WiFi signals that various neighbours use

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alfa-AWUS036ACH-Dual-Adaptor-AC1200/dp/B00VEEBOPG

 

That's the most recommended to use in Kali to hack WIFI!

 

Well, yes it does have monitor mode too (if you need it).

I have two of these connected to my laptop.....

 

I'm totally not thinking about you doing mischiefs...

 

I actually think I worked out a short term and free solution. Hooked up Ethernet cable to my laptop, put my WiFi and LAN port on laptop into bridging mode, and got online, basically using laptop as a huge wireless dongle

Works for now, but will probably buy a dongle soon as my current solution necessitates having my laptop and desktop running to achieve WiFi connection...and it's pretty slow to be fair. Still, needs must for now

I've seen a TP-Link recommended one too that Ac1900 and high gain, being the T9UH model.

Anyone got o'r tried this and got any views?

 

You can take an old/cheap router and convert it in to whatever especially if you can put something like dd-wrt fw on it. I've done it with my Linksys 54WRT (and very modest networking knowledge). Having it as a repeater will only give you 50% of your speed, as it has to switch between Client and AP (with only one radio). I think bridge (your laptop now) should give you full speed up to the laptops WiFi reception, but it can result in performance and other issues..

Anyway, too much of a hassle. I got myself two Linksys WiFi USB dongles for two desktops. To be honest there is no noticeable difference between 25 and 50 € one. I think TP-Link would also be just fine. I bought USB extension cables (2-3 m) and positioned the adapters so that there are no thick walls in between. I get almost full speed - as if the desktop was plugged into router.

 

it's better to get Alfa from here than Amazon. (better inventory ,prices, and service)... plus no China counterfeits. https://www.data-alliance.net


They have a nice selection of repeater cables and antenna. Those little 6 dbi ones are good enough for short distances. A +40 dbi omnidirectional Yagi will go almost a mile, as an example.

Those little Linksys ones work ok for about 12 bucks, for your average home wifi pc. The TP-Link TL-WN722N is a happy medium. 150 mbps, and the antenna can be changed. It is +4 dbi stock. The Alfa do not have a very "rugged" build quality, and could easily be broken. I wouldn't get one for just windows.

 

Last edited: Apr 7, 2023

I would not recommend powerline on Old Houses. Fritz Repeater 1200 AX would be a good Way to Go. Plug it in near the Computer then configure the Connection via the Repeater when finished connect it to your Computer via network cable and you will have the Speed as close as connected directly to the Router via cable. In some cases you maybe need an second repeater to make the Signal strong enough, because "I live in an older house though, built in an old mining village with old stone walls, no insulation, and so on" could be a special case .

@Bunford Your Workarround is Way better than an TP Link Wifi mini stick. Problem with small Wifi sticks like the TP Link are connection maybe slow and you will not be able to share the connection (To name an example you can't pass thru the network connection to an VM (VirtualMaschine).

 

Last edited: Apr 7, 2023