Netgear WG511v2 drops out signal again and again?

Question

I have Linksys WAG200G wireless router and Netgear WG511v2 wireless adapter. For the first two days I had excellent signal in all rooms of my house. But since the last 2-3 days, i receive Low or very low signal even in the room next to the router room. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the adapter, router works fine because it is also connected to a pc through ethernet. Please help :(

Please also tell me if there is any way to check whether the signal transmission by router is low, or the wireless adapter is unable to receive the wireless signals? I mean I want to know whether it is the router thats causing the problem or the wireless adapter.

Answer 1

There are many things that can cause you to loose your signal on your wireless connection.

1) 2.4Ghz Cordless phones. These operate in the same frequency range as your wireless networking devices. Move the base stations of the phones as far away from your wireless router and wireless computers as you possibly can, at least 10 feet or get an older 900Mhz or the newer 5Ghz phone.

2) Other Wireless Networks in your area. If your neighbors have wireless networks close to you and transmitting on the same channel as yours it can cause some major drop outs and slow connections. I would use a program to look at all the wireless signals in your area to see what channel they are transmitting on. Most routers default to channel 6 and most people dont know enough about wireless to change them if needed. Download a program called netstumbler http://www.netstumbler.org , and look at what channels other wireless networks are using. The best channels to use, because there is less frequency overlap in them, are channels 1, 6 and 11. If you see others using the same channel as your change the channel in the router to one that is not being used close to you.

3) Walls, Floors and ceilings. The more dence the material used in the construction of your home the harder it is for RF signals to travel through it. Also, certain insulation materials, like fiberglass in alumanim casing, will also cause poor signal penetration. If you are having problems with getting a signal to a computer far away from the router the first thing I would do is purchase and install a High Gain Indoor Omni Directional antenna. They are less then $100 and just plug into the back of your router were the other small antenna is connected to right now. This will boost the amplitude of your signal. If it is still not enough you may need to purchase a Range extender. A range extender will pick up the signal from your router and transmit it at a greater power level so it is can get to those bad spots in your house. I would recoomend you use a range extender instead of a Access Point just because with a Access Point you need to run a ethernet cable from your router tp the Access Point and most people dont like to have 20 or 30 feet of ethernet cable running through there home.

Hope this helps....

Answer 2

Go to the router configuration and change the ssid, then search for your network, look for any nearby networks with the same channel as yours, then connect to your new ssid. Go back to the router and change your channel well away from the other network. Someone may have installed a similar router nearby and it can mask yours.