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How to get Wifi in my dorm room

C

Corsairkid

macrumors member
Original poster
I just got a 13" macbook pro. Last year, my college dorm had wifi throughout so I never had a problem with wifi. My dorm for this coming fall will only have hardwired ethernet ports in the rooms. I have never set up a wireless network before, so my question for you guys is what do I need to purchase to do this in my room? Just a basic wireless router?

Please tell me the parts I need as well as some brief instruction on how to do it. I am decent with tech stuff so just a basic overview of what I need to do would be fine for now.

Also, in case it matters, our internet at school is awful whether using wired ports or wifi, so I dont know if that matters for the hardware that I will need to buy...

thanks guys!
 
The first thing you need to do is check with your university's IT department to see if they even allow wireless networks to be set up in your dorm.
 
Corsairkid said:
Is this really worth the $100? Or are their cheaper options out there that do the job equally as well? What is the advantage of going with apple on this?
Click to expand...

You can read the link to see what it does. If you want it cheaper, you can get one refurbished for $79. If you want cheaper, buy something else.
 
GGJstudios said:
You can read the link to see what it does. If you want it cheaper, you can get one refurbished for $79. If you want cheaper, buy something else.
Click to expand...

I guess what I am asking is buying the apple router really worth paying $100 for when there are cheaper non-apple products out there? What advantage does buying the apple router give me over buying non apple?
 
Using the education discount from my school the airport express was only $79.99 new. Also if you want something that will just work with windows and macs, be easy to set up, and broadcast a wifi signal it really is a great choice.
 
I know you can get Linksys, SMC or D-Link routers for as cheap as $50... Might be even cheaper in the US.

If Range and Speed are a big issue the "N" routers will give you more range and speed. The "G" routers will give you less Range and speed but are usually cheaper (Not by a lot though).

Check out Best Buy's website. They will have at least 1 or 2 on sale!
 
Corsairkid said:
I guess what I am asking is buying the apple router really worth paying $100 for when there are cheaper non-apple products out there? What advantage does buying the apple router give me over buying non apple?
Click to expand...

The apple router is not required, but its dead easy to setup for a newbie. Takes up no desk space and reduces clutter in a already small dorm.
 
Corsairkid said:
I guess what I am asking is buying the apple router really worth paying $100 for when there are cheaper non-apple products out there? What advantage does buying the apple router give me over buying non apple?
Click to expand...

Does something with an Apple logo make it inherently better? A lot of people here would say yes. I'm not that big of a fanboy.

Here's the important thing to know. If your MacBook is 2008 or later, buy a router with Wireless N. The AirPort is a really nice router and transmit via N. It is dead simple to set up too.

Is $80 or $100 worth it? That depends on you. I'll tell you that I've had a Linksys and AirPort. The AirPort beats the other router, hands down.
 
You don't need to get an Airport Express.

A cheap Linksys WRT54G will work just fine! I recommend WRT54GL for the benefits of DD-WRT.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=n82e16833124190

55 bucks.

A whole lot cheaper than an Airport Express.

If you just need wireless for your dorm room, an N router would be a total waste of money. You don't need to be broadcasting wifi to the next county do you?

Linksys routers running DD-WRT are bulletproof. I've had mine running for almost 4 years straight now. I've never had any problems with it.

The setup process should not be any different than setting up a router at your home. If the router is configured to aquire IP information through DHCP, it should do most of the work for you.
 
vbman213 said:
You don't need to get an Airport Express.

A cheap Linksys WRT54G will work just fine! I recommend WRT54GL for the benefits of DD-WRT.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=n82e16833124190

55 bucks.

A whole lot cheaper than an Airport Express.

If you just need wireless for your dorm room, an N router would be a total waste of money. You don't need to be broadcasting wifi to the next county do you?

Linksys routers running DD-WRT are bulletproof. I've had mine running for almost 4 years straight now. I've never had any problems with it.

The setup process should not be any different than setting up a router at your home. If the router is configured to aquire IP information through DHCP, it should do most of the work for you.
Click to expand...


Thanks a lot!
 
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