Why does my 802.11g signal strength randomly drop?

Question

I have two XP machines sitting about 3 feet apart. The wireless router is in another room about 25 feet away. Normally, the signal strength on both machines is "Very good", but occasionally one machine or the other (rarely both at the same time) will suddenly show a signal strength drop to "Low" or "Very Low". Box A seems to experience it about 3 times as much as Box B. I have done some testing and it appears that when this happens, my network throughput is about 1-3kbps. It gradually gets slower until network requests simply time out, at which point I have to reboot. Rebooting immediately fixes the problem. I tried to wait it out, thinking it might be interference from a microwave or phone, but the problem never goes away on its own. Also, doing a "repair" on the network connection, or manual disable-enable does not fix the problem. It is extremely puzzling, as it has only been going on for about 4-6 weeks, and seems to be increasing in frequency.

Answer 1

you might be getting some serious interference. There are lots of devices that run on the 2.4 GHz range. I notice that when I microwave something, I'll lose connectivity, but I've also heard that 2.4 Ghz phones and some wireless speaker systems also could interfere......good luck finding out what's causing it.

Answer 2

It could be a flaky router, or something addressed in a firmware update (perhaps there's an error trying to renegotiate the encryption after a fixed amount of time) or it could be interference. So many things play around in the 2.4 Ghz range it's hard to say, though- maybe your neighbors have a wireless router too, or a spectrum hopping phone? Since doing a repair or waiting it out never seems to work and rebooting always works, I suspect it's actually a hardware issue. I assume it's the router you're rebooting and not the PCs?

I've found that earlier hardware (802.11b) often had problems when devices were too close to the router/access point- so things would be fine at 15-20 feet, but not at 2 feet.

I guess it's similar to hearing those awful noises when walkie-talkies get too close together. In any event. I've never heard of that problem with G-class devices.

Answer 3

Could be you have a bad wireless NIC. Have you tried exchanging them and see if the problem moves (more on box b)? Are they both the same brand of NIC card? See if there is a driver update on the web site.

Have you tried changing the channel on the wireless AP? You said that rebooting, and I assume that you meant the PC fixes the problem, so I'm thinking that it's not the router,

Answer 4

Turn off any cordless phones in the vicinity.

Make sure there are no baby monitors or other wireless devices in the area.

Check is it same of you are in any other palce.

Then Adjust the Power of the wireless device.

1. Click Start, Control Panel, and then Network Connections.
2. Right-Click on already setup Wireless Connection and Select Properties.
3. Under Properties, Click the 'Configure' button.
4. Click the Advanced tab.
5. Under Property section, select Power output, and under the 'Value' sections beside, select 100%.
6. Also, Under Property section, select Power save mode, and under the 'Value' sections beside, select disabled.

Disbale authentication

1. Select Start, Control Panel, Network Connections.
2. Right-click the wireless connection, then select Properties.
3. Select the Wireless Networks tab.
4. Select the network name in the Preferred Networks window, then select Properties.
5. Select the Authentication tab.
6. Make sure the check box for authentication is not selected.
7. Select Apply, then select OK.

Hope this is helpful

Answer 5

have you ever dried it out thoroughly? Take out the battery, go away the conceal off and go away it someplace acceptable to dry out for no less than an afternoon. comparable for the battery. If this does not paintings, it might in basic terms be the battery that's accomplished for, yet you will would desire to take it in to the save and notice in the event that they'll attempt it with a various battery. Be arranged for a wait in case you will desire to have it repaired.

Answer 6

It's probably the router. Try cycling the power, maybe reset it from the web interface. If not, try another router (they're cheap).

Answer 7

the router waves are always going and going 24/7
sometimes u have 2 turn it off like when u are sleeping.

if that doesnt work,go to settings -properties-options-repair
that will always works.only on xp's

if that doesnt work,just restart it-the computers