Problems with connecting laptop to wireless from far away

rejkin

Hi, my laptop rarely connects to my Netgear wireless modem if i am a fair bit away from it,like downstairs,it will sometimes connect to it but it will take for ever to connect i have to continuosly try and try again. Though when i bring my laptop close to the modem i.e on the same floor, it will connect nearly straight away and then i can walk downstairs with the laptop and the wireless will stay on all the time until i disconnect it myself. Does anyone know why this is happening? Is there anyway to fix this?

Nehpets

maybe if you weren't an idiot

Robbo

Having the wireless modem upstairs usually helps, because the radio waves will travel faster downhill. I suggest you try some Wi Fi Speed Spray to try and reduce resistance.

rejkin

real advice would help!

Krusty_Clown

Buy a wireless router with a greater range..
Or buy a repeater.

irlrobins

Nehpets wrote:

maybe if you weren't an idiot

Banned

patpark121

What speed is your current router transmitting at. I assume it may be 54Mbps?. If your laptop is recent enough, then change up to a 125Mbps router. Also look for a rating on the router. It starts at G, G+, or N1. This is relative to the distance inside or out of transmission signal, thickness of walls etc.

rejkin

its 128mbps and i think its G+

patpark121

Hmmm. based on that you shouldn't have a problem unless the wireless card is faulty? or maybe it's a very big house....

rejkin

well it is three floors but still its only one floor above where the modem is,its just really strange that it can pick it up perfectly downstairs but it cant first off connect to it,if it can run the internet after connecting it upstairs then it should connect downstairs,im thinkin of gettin a new modem,maybe that will do it or just save the money and keep going upstairs,connecting,then going back downstairs..

mathias

its just really strange that it can pick it up perfectly downstairs but it cant first off connect to it

Thats not strange at all , typically , once connected , a wireless NIC can hold a signal even when it gets really weak , a considerably stronger signal is needed to handshake/instigate the initial connection.

As regards to range , the materials making up your walls and floors can considerably affect the transmission range of your router , additionally any extensive ceiling wiring , types of lighting , girders , etc also affect the range of the signal.

Get a booster , or another stronger router .

irlrobins

Is your wireless card also G+?

rejkin

tbh im not sure how to check,its built into my laptop and i dont have a clue how to look at the setting on it cause its vista and iv never used it before

tuxy

You could check out what wifi nic it is in windows device manager. This is in the same place as it was in win 2k and XP.

irlrobins

If it's built in then it's unlikely to be a G+ card. So you might find you get better performance if you set the router to operate in G only mode.It would be more compatible with G cards then.

shayser

patpark121 wrote: »

What speed is your current router transmitting at. I assume it may be 54Mbps?. If your laptop is recent enough, then change up to a 125Mbps router. Also look for a rating on the router. It starts at G, G+, or N1. This is relative to the distance inside or out of transmission signal, thickness of walls etc.

I'm looking for a wireless setup for an old house with thick walls. Is N1 the strongest signal?

MarkR

If wireless is a problem, have y ou considered the adapters that allow you to network through the mains connections? (Sounds fake but it's real this time!) Linkage

Sticking with wireless you could get a wireless repeater

Even if you haven't figured out why you're not connecting, your running at the edge of your modems broadcast range.

michael.oleary

MarkR wrote: »

If wireless is a problem, have y ou considered the adapters that allow you to network through the mains connections? (Sounds fake but it's real this time!) Linkage

Yeah I tried the Zxyel ones they were very good not sure of the price as I got them to test. Moving the wireless router is about the only other options, you could possibly buy an antenna for your wireless router with a higher gain, I did this to backhaul a 2.4 GHz wireless network with a directional antenna and found it quite useful with an SMC box. I would imagine it's slightly cheaper than the repeater option but don't quote me on that