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Richard L

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I have a DSL line for my Internet service and my laptop is setup on a wireless network so I can roam about my house and access the Internet at anytime. Everything has worked fine for about a year and over the past month or so, I have encounted "Low", Very Low" and sometimes a complete loss of signal strength.



I have a D-Link 4-Port Wireless router, and my Averatec Laptop has a built in wired and wireless connection. I have actually walk the laptop all the way into my office within three feet of the Wireless Router antenna, and still get a weak "Low" signal.



The problem I have is I cannot tell if the internal wireless network in the PC has weak reception, or if the router transmitter is putting out a weak signal. I suspect that it may be the built in wireless network in the laptop, because when I lose the connection, I can turn the card off and then back on, and will usually re-establish communications between the router and the laptop, although it is still a low or very low signal strength.



Does anybody have any practical way to figure out if it's router's output signal strength or the laptop's wireless network reception ???



Thanks,



...Rich
 
Know anyone else with a laptop that could bring theirs over and test with?



Other than that, you could try using a pcmcia wireless card (~$30)



But before all of that I would just change the channel on the router and see if that helps. Defualt is usually 6 I would goto either 2 or 11.
 
You can also go to a local Starbucks or Borders books and see how good of a signal you get with their wirless internet.. you dont have to sign up for their service just see how well you pick up their signal.
 
How close do you live to your neighbors? It is possible you are connecting to one of their wireless networks, i.e. your network is not prioritized as being the first signal to connect to. Just a thought and might be worth checking out...just double click on your wireless signal icon and see if you are picking up any other networks...good luck
 
Your neighbor could have a 2.4 GHz phone that is on the same channel as your router, change the channel and see if that works. In the last year have you purchased a 2.4Ghz cordless phone, if so this could be interefering.
 
I would also suggest bringing in a second wireless device to check its signal strength. You might want to reset the router by simply unplugging it for a few minutes. There should also be a reset button on the router. BE SURE to note all configurations before resetting.



Hopefully you are not connecting to a neighbors device because that would mean theirs isn't secure. Is yours secure? I would set up WEP at a bare minimum.



Have you brought in any other wireless devices into your home recently that could be disrupting the signal?
 
Andy,

So far you are right. I was actually connecting to an unsecure netwark "MSHOME". I use a secure network that requires a key to make the connection. I'm not sure how I got switched the a different network, however I am having difficulty getting my old network to work. I did get it going once and got "Excellent" signal strength.



I guess I will just reset my router and rebuild my secure network from scratch.



I do not have any new 2.4mHz phones or other devices, but if I encounter more difficulties, I will change to a different channel.



...Rich
 
Andy you were dead on. I was picking up a neighbor's unsecured network. I don't know how their network overrode my secure network, but it did. I disconnected my network, then re-connected and entered my private key and I am now connected just fine with "Excellent" signal strength.



I suspect they may be using the default channel 6 as was I, so I will probably try other channels if I continue to get switched to the other network.



Thanks, everyone had excellent suggestions and I'm glad Andy suggested I check the network that I was connected to, and sure enough it was not my private secure network. So I don't think I have any problem with my Router or my wireless network card in my PC.



...Rich
 
Richard,



Go to internet connections and make sure that your secured line is the only wireless network in your setup. Sometimes I lose my connection and my pc picks up another wireless signal then puts it in my preferred wireless connection therefore trying to use both signals as my default.



Jason
 
Jason,

I did that. I placed my secute network as the first (Preferred) network on the list and deleted the other network. I noticed now that my network is still the preferred network but the other network has reappeard as 2nd on my list of networks. I don't mind it being there, I just don't want my PC switching to the other unsecured network without warning or any notification.



I may just go ahead and buy a PCMCIA wireless card that supports 801.11G. I have an 801.11G router, but my PC's built in network card is an 801.11B. Speed has not really been an issue until it switched networks and the Low and Very Low signal strength that I'm sure contributed to a lot of retransmission of lost packets.



...Rich
 
Last edited by a moderator:
And like a good neighbor I would advise your neighbors that they have an unsecure wireless lan and anyone could park out front and get free internet or even browse their network. All of my neighbors have secure networks, I can see them. I stopped broadcasting mine so there won't even be an attempt.
 
I've had the same trouble. I pick up 2 other networks. One had the sense to secure it, the other is unsecured. I switched channels on my router because I was having trouble maintaining the connection. If they have thiers on auto-select, this may not help long.
 
Frankly, if you have a firewall on your network, what is the problem with leaving the wireless bandwidth available for passers-by? I've done this for years with no ill-effects.
 
NelsonOKC-If a hacker can access the web through your connection, they could possibly change your routers configuration on the web. If you are relying on the firewall in the router well they have already bypassed it by gaining access to the LAN. The list goes on and on but I suggest requiring a key to gain access to your network and if you haven't changed your router and firewalls default settings you could be a culprit.



Your IP address could be one that is sending massive spam (by someone else), just one example.
 
Nelson,

I have a firewall. Actually two fires walls, One on the router and one on the DSL Modem. You still need a secure network or anybody passing within range of your wireless network can access you internet connection and even get to the data on your PC, especially if you share out the files/printers to other PC's on your network. With a secure WEP network outsiders cannot connect to your private network without knowing the key. My key is a 10 character Hexidecimal value, which is not easy to hack!



I will probably check with my neighbors on either side of me in the next few days and let them know that they may be operating an insecure network, but they are rarely home except on weekends.



...Rich
 
WEP is the minimum recommended. WPA is more secure. I use WPA-PSK (pre-shared key) and don't broadcast my SSID. This eliminates anyone being able to see the network and the key is established by me, 20 characters. One of my current classes is microsofts security+ cert which is giving me a wealth of knowledge about networks and security hence the interest.
 
SST - Didn't you know that Linksys is the largest nationwide provider of wireless hotspots?:)



RichL - There's a handy program called Netstumber that will allow you to survey the wireless networks in your area. It will report the channel that your neighbor's using, encryption status, signal to noise ratio, and more.
 

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