Can someone explain Wifi antennas to me?
Can someone explain Wifi antennas to me?
I'm new to Wi-Fi and PCs, having used them for over two decades without much detail. Recently I've started using Wi-Fi for a few years and am trying to upgrade with different setups. I need some antennas for other PCs—preferably small ones around 6-12cm. Right now I'm only seeing the 2.4G band, not dual-band options. My current PCIe card works well, giving me 4 out of 5 bands for 5G and 3 out of 5 for 2.4G (though it still appears in the system tray). The router/modem doesn’t have an external antenna, so I’m unsure if I need a dual-band 2.4/5G antenna or just a 2.4G one. I’m worried about 5G performance if I stick with a single band antenna—will it be weaker? Some sources suggest a single-band antenna is better than a hybrid for 5G, so maybe a dedicated 5G antenna would help. I also read that the current 8cm antennas might not be dual-band, but newer tech could compensate. Do these really exist? Could my existing 3x8cm antennas still work because of improved signal strength? Thanks to anyone who can clarify this.
I conducted several checks to understand what was happening. First, I used the original three antennas that came with my TP-LINK PCIe card and then removed all of them. Next, I tested with just one antenna. I also tried different models I own. The 5G performance stayed mostly stable. It looks like 5G doesn’t require an antenna in this setup, especially with a 50MBPS connection—this might change if the speed increases. The 2.4GHz band was significantly impacted. Without an antenna, it struggled to stay connected. With one antenna, it managed a connection across two bands, but at about half the speed of 5G. I experimented with two types of antennas: one included with the card and another purchased separately. They’re similar in size and power output, though the newer ones seem less well-made. The 5G didn’t drop much when using these, while the 2.4G struggled a bit with the new ones. I’m still unsure about dual-band versus single-band antennas, but from plugging it into the motherboard, it seems like a limited feature—possibly useful only for routers and modems. The design probably allows operation at two frequencies simultaneously. There’s very little information available. From my tests, it appears the antenna mainly supports 2.4GHz. The datasheet likely lists both as “2.4G” with modest gain. However, the 5G was sensitive to whether an antenna was connected or not. With all antennas active, it covered 4 out of 5 bands; without them, only 3. So it’s likely a dual-band solution. The connection speeds were very close, around 47.9MBPS for 5G with both antennas versus 20MBPS with just one. No connection at all when no antenna was used. A quick note: my 5-year-old Android phone (with tweaks) achieved about 40MBPS on 2.4GHz without an external antenna. I’m hoping future Wi-Fi cards will improve this, and maybe I won’t mind as much. I’m planning to buy a tiny copper antenna that fits easily inside the PC case—no space issues at all.
There are likely factors affecting the signal quality or channel width. The phone's performance with MIMO technology shows strong speeds even in challenging environments like thick walls and background noise, indicating good reception under those conditions.
Smartphone antennas are cleverly built into devices so signals can still reach them even when metal surrounds them. This approach differs from PCs, which typically have better signal reception. Antennas on PC cases often face poor reception because the back of the machine blocks the signal. Even if it works, this setup may waste more radio frequency space by requiring frequent retransmissions to fix errors.
That sounds intriguing. I’m willing to give it a shot. I have an antenna I can attempt using, though it’s currently in a sealed box. Eventually I’ll try different setups and see what works. I’d appreciate being able to observe things like the error rate you mentioned. Perhaps one day I’ll find a way to measure it or use a modem/router that allows monitoring.
I believe the router or modem we have might be limiting performance. It looks fairly standard, not a model we selected on purpose—it was included in a bundled package from our ISP along with a government-required "NBN." In Australia, speeds are generally capped at around 100MBPS. At 50MBPS, this unit should work just fine. Looking ahead, if network speeds increase, I might upgrade to a standalone modem/router and explore its capabilities. It would be interesting to see if it offers monitoring tools or additional antenna options. After reviewing the specifications, I noticed it supports 2x2 MIMO for 2.4GHz and 3x3 MIMO for 5G. That’s something worth noting. (I should study this more.) Here’s the datasheet: https://geektuga.ddns.net/downloads/tech...asheet.pdf