Does WiFi signal strength equal WiFi signal quality?

[wicknot]

If I have a stronger WiFi signal in location A than in location B, does that automatically mean that my WiFi performance is better in location A?

 

Or, is it more complicated than that?

 

(I am assuming the same network traffic, trying to pull the same info, etc)

 

chad

 

[DaftBehemoth]

Basically yes.

[ExDreamer]

yes it will

[jbr]

Not always.

[wkronbaek]

Never trust windows on these kinda things, technically this should be the case but it isnt always in practice.

[Trail Mixorz]

Basically yes.

yes it will

Not always.

[Humbug]

WiFi signal strength is one factor that helps you to get more bandwidth. So yes it helps. Just remember it's not the only factor. For example if the main bottleneck in location B is already the Internet connection and not the wi-fi then moving to A may not help.

 

It's like asking whether big engines give more horsepower. Yes they do in general; but there are other factors.

[skullbringer]

Well, its basically like sound, you can turn the volume higher and higher, and it might be hearable further away from the source, but the actual quality might be compromised.

[jbr]

 

 

There are a lot of variables dealing with wifi signals.

 

5 bars does not guarantee the highest speeds over one with a single bar.

[DaftBehemoth]

Seriously my favorite post I've seen on this forum. I lost it

 

And yes, while there may be some extenuating circumstances, you'll basically always be getting the best speeds when you have a strong signal. Keeping a strong, reliable connection is also important if you plan to be doing anything on the internet for an extended period of time.

[LAwLz]

You can see your link speed by right clicking on the wireless network you are connected to and then press "status" (in Android you hold down on the WiFi you are connected to and then press "modify network"). It's worth noting that there is no standard for what signal strength you have to have to get X number of bars. So if your phone device gets 4 bars, and your laptop gets 3 bars, they might actually have the same signal strength.

 

Generally, higher signal strength means higher speeds, but 3 bars might have the same speed as 4 bars, or 4 bars having the same speed as 5 bars, and so on.

[JamesThresher]

Signal Quality has nothing to do with signal strength and everything to do with Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR).

 

To use the music analogy that skulbringer mentioned, If you turn up the volume on a piece of music, you may be able to hear it better, but not if there were 20 other songs playing all at the same at the same volume. However you would be able to hear the music just fine even on a very low volume if everything else around you was completely silent.

 

the Greater the SNR, the greater the quality and therefore the performance that you (should) get. Although there are other factors that can affect this.