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Thread: best WiFi antenna position?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    433
    My Cars
    2002 E39 Sportswagon

    best WiFi antenna position?

    Have a head unit with built in WiFi and came with an antenna which is flat like a tongue depressor and about as long with double-sided tape.
    There's no advice as to the best place to mount it.
    I placed the antenna tucked in the top corner of the glass so it cannot be seen from the outside as its behind the black "glue" band around the screen as well as the tinted ribbon across the top. I ran the cable down behind the pillar trim.

    But the signal is very poor in the driveway and it disconnects while the phone pick up a strong full signal.
    So now I'm wondering if the black around the screen edge is a barrier to the signal. Also I seem to remember reading something in the past about the tinting across the top of the screen being metallic and so could also causing a problem.
    And lastly, I attached the antenna bar horizontally across the top of the screen. Now i wonder if its supposed to be orientated vertically.

    I've searched the internet for such things as 'best WiFi antenna position in cars" and variations on this search idea but cannot find anything at all helpful in regards best position, or any do's and dont's information.
    Has anyone had some practical experience they can relate, or perhaps anyone in professional installs who could offer advice please?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    West London/Heathrow - UK
    Posts
    7,204
    My Cars
    03 530dT - Ex Police Car
    Hi,

    Is it one of those cheap chinese low quality head units? if so, the generic quality of the electronics and the Wi-Fi receiver stage isn't very good either so even if you got a decent signal to the antenna, the performance of the Wi-Fi itself might only be a little bit better. The actual antenna itself also isn't great too, so the alternatives are to get a signal booster for your home Wi-Fi signal so that the driveway has overall better coverage and retry, get a better quality antenna for the car and test various locations and orientations to see where you get better signal strength. Remember, Wi-Fi is a radio signal, so other interference might be present in your driveway location, try things like a different channel on the settings etc.

    If it's a premium brand head unit, then they have better internal electronics so perhaps look to either boost your home Wi-Fi signal first and then look to a better quality antenna. In the same general location as the car, does your mobile phone or tablet get decent Wi-Fi performance? if not, then boost the signal, if they do, then better antenna's and/or a better head unit!

    Cheers, Dennis!

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