Do "B" routers work w/ "G" cards/extenders?

[royjr]

I've got a customer that has a Linksys "B" series router and he wants to improve his reception out on his deck/patio. I tested it with my laptop, and it reads a Very Low signal, but I can still connect with little latency. I'm hard-pressed to find a "B" series extender that I can place near his patio doors. I notice that Newegg has a buttload of "G" series extenders though, that'll fit the bill perfectly. My question is, is "B" backwards-compatable with "G"? If he has a "B" series card in his laptop, will he be able to connect, but be limited to "G" speeds?

Will I be able to use this to solve the problem?

Thanks for looking

 

[PHUNBALL]

Well, 802.11b and 802.11g both operate in the 2.4Ghz spectrum, long story short, yes they are mainly compatible. The one thing to consider is that when a b client is connected to a g network they will only see b speeds, and vica versa. When a g client id connected to a b network it will only be running at b speed...

With that said, you may still have issues getting the range extenders to work correctly...

 

[Boscoh]

I think you've got B and G confused. B came before G and has an 11mbps signaling rate; G has a 54mbps signaling rate.

As far as cards go, G is backwards-compatible with B. A G card will work on a B access point (although limited to B speeds) and a B card will work on a G access point. In an all-G environment, the second you introduce a B device to the network, everyone's (G cards included) signaling rates drop to B-rates.

I don't know the answer about range extenders, although I'd guess that G range extenders would work with B access points.

 

[Nacho]

As with the extenders, they arent always reliable. At least the few I have tested, didnt hold signals, dropped connections, dont reconnect to primary AP unless you do it manually (button on linksys G one)

I'd almost recommend a mimo router, or even some bigger antenna's.