WiFi troubles

[burgerkingdiamond]

Maybe a computer savvy person can help with this minor trouble.. my desktop won't pick up my WiFi signal unless it's pretty much right next to or at least in the same room as my router. I just moved it to another room in the house and it is only showing 1 signal (not mine). Whereas when I bring my laptop in there it picks up my router signal as well as about 10 others from all my neighbors. What's going on here?

If it comes down to it I know I can get a USB dongle thing for pretty cheap nowadays, but I figured I'd try to get some advice to fix it first.

[e_tank]

dumb question but is the wifi antenna being blocked, or is it even hooked up? desktops that have wifi built in usually come with an external wifi antenna.

[burgerkingdiamond]

dumb question but is the wifi antenna being blocked, or is it even hooked up? desktops that have wifi built in usually come with an external wifi antenna.

yeah. there's a little antenna that screws into the back.

[neorichieb1971]

Maybe there is foil in the walls

Are you on G or N? G supposedly gets a shorter range and more interference from things like microwave ovens and such. I've never had any such problems around my house.


I suppose the main question is if the symptoms are the same on a handheld device or laptop?

[e_tank]

like i said first make sure the antenna isn't being blocked, i've seen people have problems because they put their computer up against a wall and the antenna being sandwiched between the case and the wall gave them problems. if that's the case then try turning the computer around and see if it does any better. if it helps then all you may need is to buy a better external antenna.

if that doesn't work try changing the wireless channel used by your router and see if any of the other frequencies work better for you.

[gct]

It sounds to me as well that the antenna might be blocked.

Also, laptop antennae tend to be quite long, going all the way around the perimeter of the monitor bezel, so combined with being more out in the open, they can pick up a lot more signals than those stock desktop stubbies. If moving your desktop a bit helps, then you can get an aftermarket antenna that you can pull out to the front of your desk.

[RGC]

As was stated, it's worth logging into the router directly and seeing if channel is set to auto detect or fixed on a specific one. Try playing about with that, rebooting the router in between. Also, see if your firmware is up to date. Good luck!

[burgerkingdiamond]

I'm looking at bigger antennas but I see that some of those usb dongle wifi things are actually cheaper. Does anyone have any experience with those?

[StarCreator]

Every wireless USB dongle I've ever used has the same reception as a PCI wireless card, with more overheating issues due to being smaller. And of course, being more prone to be accidentally slapped out of place.

I'd stick with looking for a replacement antenna or repositioning your PC. Alternatively, you could also invest in a wireless bridge (like this one), which might be easier to reposition than the entire PC and lets you hook up several devices to a shared wireless connection.

[Ed Oscuro]

I've used a fair number of wireless routers in my day. Most (the slightly older 812.11g kind, some Belkin, some D-Link) seemed to start crapping out after a while. My current one is a two-antenna model that is fairly good and so far very stable. I don't know what's caused some to crap out - it could just be that constantly being on and transmitting is burning out these devices in short order; hard to say. I personally don't use them for the wireless; I would love not to have any wireless in the house but other computers need the connections.

I've got a fair amount of experience with a USB dongle on Windows 7 64-bit. It had to be connected to the machine with a little coil of USB cord because its fat design would have blocked other USB connections otherwise. I haven't noticed it overheating, but since it is dangling I have wondered if I have it optimally placed to pick up the twin antennas and how much its possible movement could hamper it. The big problem I have noticed with it is that sometimes Windows disconnects it (I seem to have this problem with my Razer 5600 DPI mouse; in that case it's clearly poor driver design that causes it). It might help to not allow Windows to ever disconnect the device - that might cause more power usage than is really necessary, though. I'm not sure on this point (I don't know if the WiFi signals we're talking about must always be on full strength, or whether they can have a lower band that triggers a higher power band for demand).

A little matter of physics and antenna placement, by the way: Antennas radiate electromagnetic waves back and forth, a bit like stirring water with a straw - not so much up and down (from the pointy end of the antenna). An antenna with a dish generally is seeking to focus these waves into a certain section (so on a satellite receiver, there's something like an upside-down cap at the focal point of the antenna to gather in waves).

In the case of current WiFi antennas, most are built as simple short rods. If you have a horizontal space within which you want to broadcast, you point the rod upwards, and align the antennas of receivers the same way. If you have a multistory building, lay the rod out flat (so it will be pointing straight out, horizontally, from the router and ideally also from the receiver). Doing either could boost reception either a little bit or dramatically.

If you're like most people and live in a small house or an apartment, this should generally not be of much importance. If you ever need to try troubleshooting the system physically, that is probably the best way to go.

[e_tank]

@burgerkingdiamond: like StarCreator said, they're pretty much the same thing as the internal card you've already got, the only issue is that a lot of wifi adapters are just plain crap so you really should do some research and read a fair amount of reviews before you decide on one to buy. just going to the store and picking up the cheapest one you see isn't a good idea, that's what my brother did a while back and ended up paying way too much for a piece of crap that overheats and drops out under heavy usage, which makes it useless when comes to online gaming.

you're right, it costs around the same amount for either a bottom of the line usb wifi adapter (which is what most people use anyway) or an antenna (something like this), like ~$15 (shipping included). if it were me and i was pretty certain the problem could be fixed by getting a better antenna i would go with that, that way i'd avoid having to take the time to find a decent usb adapter that would be a good fit for my setup and system. then again i use linux exclusively so i have to be more picky about what kind of adapter i can use.

@Ed Oscuro: good info, also i was once told by a brother of mine who works in IT that a lot of wireless routers tend to be very picky when it comes to power quality and if your router won't last over a year or so that's usually the problem. in which case just use a voltage regulator or something similar instead of going directly into an outlet or powerstrip.

[shmuppyLove]

I keep reading this as "WAIFU troubles"

Moving on ...

[BPzeBanshee]

This is probably a stupid idea, but I once had issues with reception with a router and looking up an article for it online found a comment that basically said: "wrap aluminium foil around your antennas and it'll get better reception". Worth a shot - won't kill anything and if it doesn't work you can reuse the foil for a tin hat/roast chicken.

[TodayIsForgotten]

I would unscrew the antenna and check that it is still intact. Then when screwing it back in make sure its firm. Mess around with the direction of the antenna. Otherwise you can get a higher gain DBi antenna. 7dbi would do.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Just wear tin hats in your house problem solved!