Wireless Connection Quality [solved]

fforde

I have a computer connected to a wireless network. Sometimes the connection is great and sometimes it is so terrible I can't stream an mp3 across it. I have no idea why sometimes it works better than others. You guys have any idea what sorts of thing may create interference or slow my connection down?

lunarwulf

How many computers are connected to your network?

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On a sidenote, I went crazy trying to fix my wireless network and spent a shit load of money on a new wireless router and signal boosters, new wireless card for my laptop and everything. I had problems losing signal in my own house, but my neighbor started detecting my wireless network with a strong signal from his house.

supabeast

<cite>On a sidenote, I went crazy trying to fix my wireless network and spent a shit load of money on a new wireless router and signal boosters, new wireless card for my laptop and everything. I had problems losing signal in my own house, but my neighbor started detecting my wireless network with a strong signal from his house.</cite>

I get the same damned problems, and I've got the signal boosters, plenty of different wireless adapters, and have tried multiple wireless routers. I can see my neighbors networks through brick walls, but my own will come and go, or sometimes I can see none at all.

Do you live in a city? I think my problem is probably due to being surrounded by people who have wireless networks (I can usually spot at least a dozen with a stumbling app) along with wireless phones, wireless speakers, wireless doorbells, wireless intercoms, etc, and it all just ends up creating a hazy cloud of interference that can drive me nuts at random.

nexuscrawler

You can try fiddling aroud with it's broadcast frequency. sometimes othe devices interfere with the sinal

fforde

Only one computer connected to my network. Occasionaly an XBox 360, Nintendo Wii, and a Nintendo DS also connect. Very few nearby networks, I have only seen one other (although others may exist that are not broadcasting their SSID).

No cordless phones in my house. Two cell phones, and a microwave, although poor connection quality doens't coincide with the use of these devices.

I know I can change which 'channel' my wireless network runs on. Are there certain channels that are prone to less interference than others?

Can arbitrary stuff like empty glasses sitting on a table between the router and the reciever affect the connection quality? If the chair I am sitting in happens to be directly in between my wireless access point and my computer, as a result could my connection quality degrade?

fightinfilipino

on the channel question, the most commonly used channels are 6 or 7 iirc. you can try setting your wireless router to use either channels 1 or 11 and see if that'll improve things.

you could also find a fairly low-cost solution here: http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/index.html

Rohaq

I had a similar issue with my laptop; I ended up reseating the card and changing the aerial wire setup, then it all just started working.

Also, try changing the wireless channel on your router.

fforde

Well I changed the channel it was operating on (to 11) and I am getting a better connection. It was on auto select before so maybe the connection quality varied from day to day because it would sometimes automatically switch to a channel with a lot of interference. I guess this is solved then, thanks.