Wireless access signalled 'weak', please help!?

Question

I've no practical experience in wireless internet access.
I am just trying to see if I can find a solution in helping my boss to solve his connection problem.
His notebook wireless connection signalled "weak" when he tried to access the wireless network at home (before that the connection was fine).
Heard about SSID and the security key, not sure if we need to do any settings of the SSID or the security key in my boss' notebook in order to get connected?
Seek your advise and thanks in advance.

He told me that his son's notebook is able to get connected. I suppose he did testings for both notebook at the same location which is near to the router.

Answer 1

sounds like his son's notebook may be in-between the Wi-Fi radio and his notebook blocking his signal. this is a very frequent problem with Wi-Fi.

also as was already stated his notebook may not be connected to his Wi-Fi router. he needs to go to the command prompt and type ipconfig /all. then he needs to ping the default gateway and retrieve the ARP info to check and make sure that the MAC address of the default gateway matches his router. this is the best method to insure that he is indeed connecting to his router

Answer 2

Basically what it means is that the signal that your friend is receiving is weak in strength
Note it is possible that the signal received is not even yours and is another further away one

You want a strong signal simple as that to connect to.
If the wireless is installed in the laptop this would be strange as these are more powerful receivers / antennas than the add on credit card ( pcmcia) types.

Wi fi signal from a router travels as a rough guide 300 feet inside / 1000 feet outside
If you are outside of that range that would be your answer

Make sure that the router is high and uncluttered
( Not in a basement under a metal desk for example)

It would be best to change the channel from the default channel 6 to anything else
11 and1 are first picks

Hope this helps
By the way - network people will not tell you anything generally
SSID is the name of your network
Best to change it away from all the others out of the box in your neighbourhood even if it is to add a single digit
You would be best not to turn on encryption until you are more familiar with wi fi
The frequency used in wi fi is that of standard cordless phones ( they do not seem to interfere or cause trouble)
The biggest problems are from neighbours wireless signals wafting in - you cannot even see them . You will have a good signal but no internet - change the channel

Very good program

www.networkmagic.com

Answer 3

Forget about SSID and the security key these have no bearing on the problem.
Simplest thing to try.
Unplug the modem and the wireless.
Now plug in the modem, wait 3 min, plug in the wireless wait 3 min, now try connecting from close to the wireless, then move around the abode and see where the signal drops.
If you have spots that have a weak signal try moving the wireless, higher is generally better.
Hope this helps
Doug
Read the other replies they neglect the fact that you stated, everything was fine before.

Answer 4

The Security key isn't the problem.

Have him try connecting to his internet while he is right by the transmitter... a weak signal could be because he is too far from the nearest transmitter, near a microwave, or behind metal. He may also need a more powerful wireless card (google D-Link). If he needs to be in a place in his house where his network is weak, have him install a second wireless device in the house where he is getting weak reception.

Answer 5

basically to be clean, are you upgrading a instantaneous router you've already got linked on your position internet connection? because it feels like you're basically choosing up one among your friends instantaneous alerts. Getting your own router gained't help in any respect except you've were given it linked on your own internet connection. once you've one, inspect Linksys or Netgear. B, G, or N relies upon on what hardware you've were given on your computing gadget already. each and anybody is successively speedier yet you gained't see any distinction even as using the web considering that they are all a methods speedier than customer internet connections are to commence with.