Wifi Signal strength

[Proton]

I'm trying to diagnose my wireless signal. It feels very incosistant and weak. I have a TP-Link WN722N wireless adapater that's plugged into a D-Link USB thingy. So that it's away from my actual PC.

How can the results from Wi-Fi inspector vary so much from what windows and Tp-link say the wireless strength is at? After I moved my wireless adapter to an area that has higher signal strength according to Wi-Fi inspector the speed tanked to

 

 

 

from

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's my speed according to Windows:

 

 

 

 

TP-Link utility:

 

 

 

And Wi-Fi Inspector:

 

 

 

 

[rambi36]

There is probably things interfering with the signal. Do you have very thick walls in your place of residence?

[Proton]

There is probably things interfering with the signal. Do you have very thick walls in your place of residence?

 

I'm not sure, I'm probably the furthest from the router as possible. The router is downstairs in the garage and I'm on the second floor. It does have to go through a lot of stuff to get to me.

[rambi36]

I'm not sure, I'm probably the furthest from the router as possible. The router is downstairs in the garage and I'm on the second floor. It does have to go through a lot of stuff to get to me.

Well that explains it. The only way you can really fix it is if you try to get an Ethernet cord up there or move your pc closer to the router

[Proton]

Well that explains it. The only way you can really fix it is if you try to get an Ethernet cord up there or move your pc closer to the router

 

but why would it show higher signal strength but provide lower speed? Sorry if this is a newb question.

[ionbasa]

By the way, you may not get full WiFi N speeds if using WPA. I recommend you switch to WPA2-AES. For the technical aspect, see: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless-N_Configuration#Wireless_Security although I believe that this aplies in general to all WiFi N Access Points.

[Proton]

By the way, you may not get full WiFi N speeds if using WPA. I recommend you switch to WPA2-AES. For the technical aspect, see: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless-N_Configuration#Wireless_Security although I believe that this aplies in general to all WiFi N Access Points.

Ah, I didn't know that, thanks for the info.

[Faruko]

I'm trying to diagnose my wireless signal. It feels very incosistant and weak. I have a TP-Link WN722N wireless adapater that's plugged into a D-Link USB thingy. So that it's away from my actual PC.

How can the results from Wi-Fi inspector vary so much from what windows and Tp-link say the wireless strength is at? After I moved my wireless adapter to an area that has higher signal strength according to Wi-Fi inspector the speed tanked to

 

slow speed.PNG

 

 

from

 

 

slow speed2.PNG

 

 

 

 

 

Here's my speed according to Windows:

 

Wireless strength from Windows.png

 

 

 

TP-Link utility:

 

wireless strength from TP-Link utility.png

 

 

And Wi-Fi Inspector:

 

Wireless strength from Wi-Fi Inspector.png

 

I would suggest, if you aren't willing to spend any money, to try these methods to boost your signal strength for free:

1. Look for any devices which could interfere with the signal of your router (2.4GHz). Appliances sich as microwaves, cordless phones, baby monitors, security alarms, TV remote controls, auto garage door remotes, etc. Basically anything with a radio wave signal
2. Change your signal channel from 6 to (for example) 2
3. Change your network's broadcast mode from 802.11a/802.11b/802.11g to 802.11n
4. Reposition your router to the center of your house
5. Buy a beer (I'm not joking). You can't increase the power output (and thus the signal strength) on most wireless routers, but you can use what you have more efficiently. Some metals reflect Wi-Fi signals, disrupting the path of a wireless network using an omni-directional antennas. You can harness that same property to focus the signal from an omni-directional antenna to aim it toward your computer or couch. You sacrifice area coverage, but you can boost the relative signal strength. All it takes is an empty beer can—okay, so not totally free, but whatever. Buy yourself a beer

If you want more details on how to actually perform step 5,

 

• First, empty the can, then rinse it thoroughly and pull off the tab.
• Then, wearing gloves, use a box cutter or metal snips to slice off the bottom of the can. Next, do the same for the top of the can, but don't remove it completely—you need to leave a small tab, about an inch or so wide, attached to the top.
• Then, opposite the tab, cut the can lengthwise and carefully pull back both sides. The flayed can should resemble a radar dish.
• Turn the can upside-down, slide the mouth of the can over the router antenna, and secure it to the body of the router using a bit of tape.
• If you want to get fussy with it, fold or file down the jagged metal edges.

Let me know if that helps

[zsanfusa]

try one of these:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?gclid=Cj0KEQjwx4yfBRCt2rrAs-P5vtkBEiQAOdFXbceNWbAUD8WjblgJOWKq9Yk5YIyjGRNwhVlGdcYzYUAaAq5A8P8HAQ&Item=N82E16833704187&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Wireless+Range+Extender%2fMedia+Bridge-_-N82E16833704187&ef_id=U@M12wAAAKNgy8Eb:20140807081627:s