With the increase in mobile workers and business travelers, WiFi has become more of a necessity rather than an added convenience for checking your email.  Many more people are relying on WiFi during travel to conduct business and stay in touch with their co-workers while away from the office.  As a result, many more public facilities are offering WiFi access.  The downside to increased WiFi access is that just because there is WiFi available it does not necessarily mean you will receive a strong signal that will allow you to remain productive.

Often when you are traveling and you access a public WiFi connection your connection will indicate that the signal strength is very good and still you cannot download your email and access websites in your browser.  Why does this happen?

If you are in a room with one or two wireless access routers chances are there are many other users trying to connect to the very same access points as you are.  This significantly slows the bandwidth and provides you with a weak connection.  If you are trying to access the Internet in a hotel room the problem can get worse due to the lack of direct access to the wireless access point.  There are walls and ceilings that interfere with the connection as well as many others who are also trying to establish a connection.  What can you do about it?

• Get as Close to the Signal as Possible: You can find out exactly where the wireless access point is by deploying signal finder software.  Most computer stores sell signal finder software that performs the tasks of finding the wireless access connection that is similar to the signal sniffer on your PC.  You can use this in conjunction with your wireless antenna to find the strongest signal in the area.  Generally in public access areas the wireless access points are located in utility areas.

• Invest in a WiFi Antenna Card: WiFi antenna cards can significantly increase the strength of the signal because they work for long range connections.  Deploying a WiFi antenna card will act as a connection converter between you and the wireless access point which will help to strengthen the wireless signal.  You may also want to consider adding a portable travel router to your WiFi gadget arsenal to help improve the wireless signal.

• Use a Jack: If there is a jack available, consider plugging into the jack to provide clear access to the network without all of the traffic interferences of wireless.  You can often find jacks in your hotel room, public access areas, and airport waiting lounges.

• Check Hotspot List: Before you travel consider checking a hotspot list on the Internet.  There are websites such as JiWire that will provide you with the location of the best hotspots regardless of where you are located worldwide.  This will prevent you from having to run around trying to find a good access point and save you a lot of time and frustration in the process.

As the demand for WiFi continues hopefully there will be a way to circumvent weak WiFi signals.  In the meantime try some of these strategies to improve the strength of your WiFi signal during travel.

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