6 steps to boost a feeble wifi signal in your ship’s cabin

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Adding to the despair of having limited network connectivity during your voyage, if the wifi reception in your cabin sucks, it takes a huge toll on your emotional tranquility. The condition varies from cabins to decks, ships, and sometimes to the shipping company itself. This post will be an effort to get to know the factors blocking the wifi and the ways to improve the reception, instead of beating around the bush.

What is wifi?

Basically, it is the radio signal sent from a wireless router to nearby devices, which converts the signal into data. So, it is a RADIO SIGNAL. Two types of frequencies are used depending on the amount of data being sent: 2.4 gigahertz and 5 gigahertz, typically the routers you will find on ships will be 2.4 GHz.

What blocks the wifi signal?

To list down all the things that block the wifi signal are:

1. Metal
2. Concrete Walls
3. Plaster
4. Ceramic tiles
5. Tinted Glass
6. Mirrors
7. Devices operating on 2.4 GHz
8. Other wifi networks
9. Appliances
10. Water

Out of these, the primary suspect eating up your wifi signal is the metal. There is a term called Electromagnetic Shielding, which actually is a way to restrict the propagation of radio waves through space. The metals used in that process are Tin Plated Steel, Galvanized steel, Copper which is tagged as the best shielders (should be one of the primary constituents of Magneto’s helmet), Aluminium, and its alloys.

Your cabin walls and doors are made of steel, aluminum, and other fire-retardant materials that are glass based. That’s why most of you get good reception while the cabin doors are left open.

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How to boost the signal?

First of all, analyze every inch of your cabin with a wifi analyzer app,

1. WITH THE CABIN DOOR CLOSED.
2. REMOVE THE BACK COVER OR FLIP-COVER OF THE SMARTPHONE.

For container ships, the container stacks in front of your cabin window may affect the results.

Download here – ANDROID | APPLE Or any other app that you may like.

Using dBm (decibel-milliwatts) measurements the strength of the signal can be judged.

• -30 dBm: Represents the best WiFi signal possible. It’s usually achieved by standing next to the WiFi router.
• -50 dBm: Anything within this range will experience an excellent signal.
• -60 dBm: Reliable signal strength.
• -70 dBm: Not a strong signal.
• -80 dBm: Unreliable signal strength.
• -90 dBm: A wireless connection is nearly impossible.

The closer you are to -30 dBm, the better and stronger the signal will be.

1. Use Your Laptop as an extender

Since most seafarers use the wifi on their mobile devices, this will add to the usefulness of the extra kgs you are carrying to serve a purpose other than watching movies or web series.

For Windows:

1. Connect to the wifi from the laptop
2. Click on the network icon in your taskbar.
3. Tap on the “Mobile Hotspot” and use the extended wifi.

For Mac:

1. On your Mac, click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar, then choose the base station listed under New AirPort Base Station.
2. Follow the onscreen instructions, AirPort Utility Setup Assistant automatically provides the best solution for extending your network. If you want to set up your network using different settings, click Other Options.

The reason for using the laptops as the extenders is to avoid buying an actual extender and use a better antenna on a laptop compared to a smartphone phone.

When the cabin is fully analyzed and you have found a suitable place to secure the laptop then you can use the extender setup.

A USB wifi adapter can add to the reception strength of the laptop too. It is cheap and available in markets.

2. Selection of the router

While ordering the router, push for something robust having high data transfer speeds and better antennas, especially in the 2.4GHz range. Advise to set up a wifi MESH system for the superstructure. Yes, it depends on the company management how much they wish to spend. If possible club contributions among the crew members and install a router can make your contract breezy.

3. Secure the router in the alleyway instead of a room

By doing this the signal will be transmitted to the entire deck without any obstructions. The best place to secure it is somewhere near the centreline of the deck or close to the stairway to the deck.

4. Turn off the Radio in the cabin

This is a no-brainer, you should turn off the walkie in your cabin if you bring it along for charging it, during rest hours. It will avoid interference of both radio signals.

5. Get a wifi extender

If Master allows the use of wifi range extender then it can amplify the wifi signals to the devices in the cabin. But in most ships, the use of the extender is forbidden.

6. Buy a smartphone with a better antenna

If you remember earlier the phones smart or not used to have an antenna that was visible, the reason it got vanished as time passed, was because of the technological advancements in electronics and the increase in the number of cell towers. Because of that the smartphone manufacturers have concealed the antenna and did not give an option for even an extender. Or else for seafarers, it could have been a blessing.

Even at the port with a cellular network working the strength is not satisfactory, The reason is the weak antenna of your smartphone.

According to an “article” (Smartphones Revealed), the SAR value(Specific Absorption Rate) of the smartphone is inversely proportional to its antenna strength. So, if you are planning to buy a new smartphone please check its SAR value and compare it with other alternatives.

And if nothing works, be prepared to sacrifice your cabin comfort and your privacy.

Have you figured out any other way, do share in the comments below.

Check out top rated Wi-Fi extenders

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