Boosting public wifi signal.

The building I work in has free, public wifi but my area of the building has a hard time picking it up well.

The price dropped so on impulse I bought this Netgear wifi range extender. I figured I could just place this somewhere in our area and boost the wifi signal to our devices. I don't know where the building's router is located so I figured I might have to experiment with different places to get a good signal.

Before I open the package though I want to make sure this device will do what I am imagining it does. And if so will it work on an open public network that I don't have access to the actual hardware.

Is this the product I want or should I just send it back? Thanks all.

To be honest no one can say for sure, there are just to many variables that can come into play, the 1st thing you need, is direct access to the original router, your one needs to connect to it, and that is achieved by using the buttons on each used for one touch connections so to speak, you press the button on the new router, then on the device you have, this allows them to connect to each other, once done, you can then start trying to connect in your part of the building, that's as best I can make out from the makers.

Once you have connected to the mail router, your part of the building may still not be able to get the signal, the physical building materials play a massive part in this, and as the materials can be in the way of the signal, you may not be able to connect even with this, obviously this is worst case, but for many it can be the end result, but by the fact you can connect, albeit poorly, there is hope this will help, but the only way to know is to try.

But you need to take great care on a public network, it is possible for others to access your personal details if you use banking or any sensitive kind of data, as the connection is not secure, so make sure your system firewall is set up for public networks for some security, but avoid any sensitive kind of usage, or it could cost you no end of grief, but the others may know better than I do about this, I've not set up such a connection, but this is what I could make out according to the Netgear site, hope it helps a bit.

Thanks for the reply.  

Yes, the placement will be key in getting a good signal.  I want to make clear that I *can* pick up the public wifi alone but it's a weak signal and hope this device will give me a chance to have a better signal, though probably not perfect.

I see on the box it has the "easy setup" like you mentioned by just one button push on both the router and the extender.  I do not have access to the building's router so that wont work.

Do you think there's a manual setup where I would just be able to find the public network on the list and have it repeat the signal?  Or will I need a different device or model?  

Right I am even more confused than ever lol, the first point is the 1 touch button to connect, according to the manual you can NOT use that to connect to the other router, it is only for connecting to a PC or similar Wi-Fi device, and not the router your trying to boost from, so there's one I didn't know, another one is you do NOT connect the booster to the router directly, e.g. via Ethernet, it must connect wirelessly from what I can see.

Now comes my confusion, what I said at the start is very true, there are no guarantees when it comes to doing things like this, there are way too many variables, so it's cross your fingers with the best info you can muster and just try it.

The fact you DO get signal, albeit weak, suggests you should be able to use such a device, and has a fair chance of making a difference, BUT, I am out of my depth when it comes to connecting such a device, all the guides say about connecting like you would to any wireless network, but it does require the SSID of the network (your current set up should show you what your connected to), and the password.

Now logic tells me you probably had to do all this to get what poor connection you get now, therefore it would simply mean repeating that over again, via a web browser interface from your PC, via the booster, it has a wizard that will walk you through it, so if you need no password to connect now, logically you should be able to leave that field blank, and connect just fine, but there are stern warnings about letting the set up complete before you turn off or shut down, so be aware of that when trying.

BUT, that said, I have yet to see anything about such a connection, and given security being at the forefront of peoples minds with connecting, I do not know if the booster will refuse the connection without having a password used, but if there is no password, then there is nothing to enter, but I am concerned if it will allow you to proceed without a password, others may have a better idea, but as this is not a common occurrence (1st time I've seen someone need this kind of set up), I would ask Netgear themselves about this, if anyone would know they should, they have Live Chat as a contact form, that would give you the best\fastest response.

But if you must use public access, you need to really tighten up on your security, one of the first things is to turn OFF automatic connection, otherwise you could be going online without even knowing, and anyone could access your system as there is no password to block them, another helper is to use OpenDNS, it helps keeping you from going to known bad sites, by steering you through their server, a simple edit of your ip4 setting is all that it needs.

Although you will see a page about accounts and buying, what I am suggesting is a free service, and does not require anything to be filled in, just look for the small print at the bottom to get to the free guide on how to do it.

Also  another big one is check your firewall setting, check Choosing a network location for a guide on how to check\do this, so it is using public access settings, it gives you a bit more cover, also turn off printer and file sharing, these are also ways to help secure you a bit more, but all the time you use a public network, you are at far more risk than most users, as such you need to be much more aware about what you do online, anything like banking is seriously high risk I would say, but the pro's would be able to tell you much more than I can about this.

Anyway sorry for going off on a tangent there, but it is something you seriously need to look into and configure yourself to maximise your cover, but even if you have done all of the suggestions that can be offered, you are still more at risk than normal users, another 2 tools are WOT and Trusteer Rapport (download link in text above the drop down box), the 1st uses a simple traffic light system, it highlights bad sites, and even blocks you if it's that dangerous with a warning.

The 2nd is much more secure, it locks down the web page, so even if someone was remotely viewing what you are doing, when you go to a site protected by this they wont see a thing, I have set up a couple of mates with it, and have to get them to turn it off if I need to go in via remote, so I can vouch for not seeing anything, I also have a vague memory of it blocking keystroke loggers, some banks wont allow you to connect without using this, but you can manually use it as well.

I hope something here helps you achieve your goal, but ultimately the only way to know if such a booster will work is to try it, but do ask Netgear 1st to be safe, that way if they have a definite answer you will be able to decide if it's worth a try, I suspect it will, but my unfamiliarity with such a set up makes me nervous in saying just do it, more so if you have a chance to return it if unused, but whatever device is used, it will always be a case of having to try and see what happens, my hope is you should be fine, but I am not sure enough to say go for it, so see what they say about this public network\password bit, and go from there, good luck.

Thanks for the extensive response!  

I'm just going to open the box and try it out.  If it doesn't work well, I'll just probably send it back; I think Amazon is pretty good about that even if I've opened it to try.  I'd use it on my home network but I recently got one of those new Asus routers and my signal is crazy wide now compared to my old one.

I just want to be able to watch Netflix on my phone or tablet at work when I'm on break without the signal dropping out.  Our offices are on the 3rd, 4th and 5th floor and the public wifi is designed for the 1st and 2nd floors.  It comes in decent on the 3rd floor but as one climbs higher the signal gets, and I spend most of my time on the 5th floor.   I also heard that wifi signals are better laterally and lose much of their strength as they climb vertically, so this whole endeavor may be a losing proposition.

I'll give it a shot and see what happens.  Thanks again for your input.