25
6
All I need WiFi for is to share a 10 Mbit/s ADSL Internet connection.
The apartment is not very convenient for WiFi signal distribution (there are numerous WiFi networks in the area, many wifi clients, many walls and the area is quite wide (but the signal is still tolerable so don't suggest adding more access points)) and I tend to limit (in the router settings) the WiFi speed with 11 Mbit/s standard rate to add stability by getting rid of connection rate retrains.
Also I have a choice of b
, g
, n
, bg
and bgn
modes. What is better to choose here in case I neither need speeds higher than those supported by all of them nor extended compatibility (well, extra compatibility won't harm if removing it adds no profit)? I usually disable n
or even g
but I am not sure I am right - perhaps they have got some stability improvements too (rather than of speed alone), I don't know their internals so I ask:
What are other pros and cons of 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n WiFi standards on the same standard rates when using same hardware (supporting all of them)?
Prologue: About 7 years ago, when there were no n
, but only a
, b
and g
, I was very impressed with an experience I've got - while modern USB-attached g
WiFi NICs could hardly sense any signal (they were able to establish a very bad connection from time to time but only to loose it in a matter of minutes or even seconds) in a distant room separated by thick metalized walls, an old PCMCIA-attached b
(or a
, I can't remember) card was able to maintain quite stable connection there and even in a more distant room.
@NickW Can you please specify in what sense "n" is more secure than "g", and "g" is more secure than "b"? – Yuval – 2018-11-29T06:36:55.500
Well, mostly because they actually support better versions of authenication, and use more secure methods of things like reconnection and connection. – NickW – 2018-12-18T13:02:55.267
AFAIK 5GHz is not good when there are lots of concrete walls in the area. Is it? And do all the N devices support 5GHz? – Ivan – 2013-06-11T08:56:42.360
@Ivan Yes 5GHz won't deal with obstacles as good as 2.4GHz do. And no, all
802.11n
devices don't support 5GHz.b/g/n
support usually means 2.4Ghz only anda/b/g/n
means 2.4GHz and 5GHz (802.11a
only operates at 5GHz). – zakinster – 2013-06-11T09:26:53.723Certainly not all N devices support 5GHz, the Nexus 7 doesn't for instance and that is a fairly new device, though it is increasingly ubiquitous on new devices. Higher frequency data signals travel less well (in terms of being readable at the other end) particularly through some obsticals, but that is quite helpful in a crowded office block: your devices and those in the next office will interfere with each other less. – David Spillett – 2013-06-11T09:31:09.217
Depends on the N device, most prefer LoS, but some of them are quite good at using reflected signals, @5Ghz reflection is one of the more problematic issues. The biggest benefits to 5Ghz signals are 1. no overlapping frequencies and 2. Walls attenuate it quite well, so it interferes less outside your residence. – NickW – 2013-06-11T09:34:01.833