When I try my laptop in the room whose reception I'm trying to improve, XP says that the reception is 4 out of 5 bars. (Up from zero without the pie plate!)
However even though it says the signal strength is "very good", it still can't connect. I don't get it! (And yes, it can connect in a closer room.)
1. Why is XP apparently misjudging signal strength?
2. Any inexpensive tips to try?
Thanks!
2007-05-28 09:00:32 · 4 answers · asked by Lazyrus 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Computer Networking
With the pie plate, you are creating a cheap directional antenna for your router. Your best bet is to make sure the plate is "pointed" to just where you are; you should be able to transmit from an unmodified wireless card as long as the antenna is pointed correctly. You might also try making the plate more parabolic by banging down the center while supporting the edges (like a "normal" antenna). Basically, you want to reflect all the energy from your transmitting antenna (in your laptop) to the antenna on the router.
XP's signal meter is a cruel joke, it's approximately correct but...
You can always add a signal booster or put in another router, but you know that. =) You might try moving the plate farther from or closer to the antenna, if you get significant reflections you will have a strong signal but a lot of interference and thus probably never connect.
I've had the same problem, and to be honest I wound up living with it until I got a better router (wrt54gl + dd-wrt) that could increase signal strength to cover what I needed. You could also move somewhere the rooms are closer together... =) Good luck!
2007-05-29 03:08:39 · answer #1 · answered by Tim C. 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its probably because while the signal is strong going from the router to the pc, the pc could be having a hard time transmitting back. also, could u specify inexpensive?
you could just move closer to the router. you could buy a retransmitter to increase the range of your network. i dont really know of any that fall under the aluminum pie plate category.
2007-05-28 16:09:32 · answer #2 · answered by Lin X 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try restarting ur wifi card. My laptop sometimes doesn't get the IP address from dhcp from farther away, but signal strength still says 100%. All i do is stop the card then start it again. Sometimes it doesn't work the first time, so try again. It takes me as many as 5 wifi retsrts to get it worxing.
2007-05-28 16:11:31 · answer #3 · answered by a z 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You say you done that only to the router, try also another plate to the laptop card.
2007-05-28 17:41:55 · answer #4 · answered by Andy T 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋