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This depends on the type of antenna and also on the casing of your computer.

If you have a computer with a plastic case, an omni-directional external antenna is least likely to make a difference. But if your computer has a metal casing, then its internal antenna may receive a weakened signal and an external antenna may make a noticeable difference.

A most dramatic boost in range can be achieved with a unidirectional external antenna although depending on your country of residence they may not be street legal and then you won't be able to buy one, and if customs figures out what it is you got shipped, they will confiscate it.

You can always build one yourself from a tin can though.

One such product is called cantenna.

http://www.cantenna.com

They have a DIY kit where you supply your own tin can, which makes it legal to import them in places where the final product would not be legal.

However, this works typically only at line of sight when you can point the cantenna at the wifi transceiver you want to connect to. This will not provide any gains within a building when the router on another floor or around a corner behind a wall etc.

On 18 March 2015 at 23:26, Darren Cook <darren@example.com> wrote:

> Alternatively, get external antenna for your machine. If you are getting
> any signal (e.g. standing in the hallway or near the window with your
> current antenna(built-in), just adding a antenna might be the solution.

I was having trouble with weak wifi signal, so bought a USB external
wifi, with not one but two antenna [1]. I've been disappointed to find
it makes no difference, and in fact I've now stopped carrying it around
with me.

They generally both (internal and external) had the same signal
strength, though sometimes I got a connection with the external one, and
not internal; sometimes the other way around. Typically either or
neither, though. It just confirmed my suspicion that wifi signals are
governed by laws of physics that are yet to be discovered.

Anyway, before buying it, I heard people say the external antenna is
just a gimmick. And others say it is not.

Darren

[1]: TP-Link, TL-WN822N
Light and compact, not too expensive, so recommended if your internal
wifi card is broken.

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Benjamin Kowarsch

Builder, Postal Worker, English Teacher, Chef, Artisan Baker, Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Requirements Engineer, Business Process Engineer, Software Developer and Architect, Inventor and Patent Editor, Public Tender Bid Consultant, Product Manager, Project Manager, Program Manager, Management Consultant.

Re: [tlug] Experience running internet connections over old Japanese wiring that wasn't designed for internet connections