[Exershio]

Hey everyone, I recently moved to a more congested area and since then my wireless connectivity really sucks. I have absolutely 0 issues with my wired connection. I have RR Lightning and get consistent 41mbps down / 5mbps up with wired.

However, my wireless connections, even when relatively close (one room away) drop constantly, and never get more than 10-15mbps download. I've tried moving the router to a higher position such as on top of my dresser, but it doesn't help. It's a small apartment so it shouldn't be giving me issues. The devices usually get 4-5 bars but it still drops often (sometimes every 5 minutes).

I live in a college neighborhood with like 15 networks that I can pick up on and off, so I was thinking it might be severe interference. Is there anything I can do about this? I have considered purchasing a bigger antenna/signal booster but I'm not sure what ones to look at.

I had a Ubee DOCSIS 3.0 router/modem with 2 antennas (i forgot the model), and replaced it with a motorola SBG6580 (which has no external antenna), but I'm going back to the ubee router in a couple days so I'll be able to hook up an alternative antenna

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

[etaf]

you may be able to setup a different channel
can we see an xirrus screen shot please

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Run Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector
Download and install
If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to copy the program across to the faulty PC
Save the file to a USB flash drive or other removable media. Plug it into the working computer with internet access and copy the file and install the program.
You will now need to take a screen shot and copy that back to the working PC and attach the screen shot in a reply on the forum here.

http://www.xirrus.com/Products/Wi-Fi-Inspector.aspx
Direct link to the program is here http://info.xirrus.com/Wi-FiInspectorConfirmation.html

{If the above link does not work heres another link http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/fil.../download.html}

Then run and install the program - on a wireless enabled PC/Laptop
if you get an error - You need will need to have NET Framework installed for the WiFi Inspector to function.

Run the program

A user guide is available here http://www.xirrus.com/cdn/pdf/Xirrus...-1-RevB-6.aspx

post a screen shot of the program running.
if there are a lot of networks showing can you click on "networks" top lefthand area - so we can see all the network information.

post which SSID name is yours, its located in the list, under network "Adapter Name" (1st column)

To post a screen shot of the active window.
1) hold the Alt key and press the PrtScn key. Open the Windows PAINT application (Start> All Programs> Accessories> Paint) and Paste the screen shot. You can then use PAINT to trim to suit, and save it as a JPG format file.
OR
2) if you are using Vista/Windows 7 you can use the "snipping tool" which is found in Start> All programs> Accessories> Snipping Tool

To upload the screen shot to the forum, open the full reply window ("Go Advanced" button) and use the Manage Attachments button to upload it here.
Full details are available here http://library.techguy.org/wiki/TSG_...g_a_Screenshot

Note:
For a reliable (or robust as the Xirrus user guide says) wireless connection you need a signal of about -70 dBm or better. "A desirable signal level for a robust Wi-Fi connection will be green".
note: the signal level is a negative number, so for example -88 is worst and -40 is better

If you are using the Mac OS then use http://www.istumbler.net/ or
if you want to optimise base station position and signal strength / dead spots use
http://www.chimoosoft.com/products/apgrapher/ which has a graph function to monitor signal
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[Exershio]

Sorry for the late reply, been busy. Anyway I attached a screenshot of the wifi inspector running. It shows about -40 dBm when I'm in the same room as the router, and between -68/-78dBm when I'm in another room (not very far away either). Every now and then a network pops up on the inspector with a -10dBm signal, but it's not frequently and disappears fast, and I didn't manage to get a screenshot of it. Either way I found that odd.

My network is at the top of the list, Skynet.

I hope this helps.

[etaf]

you need to be above -70 for a robust wireless connection (note the negative) so

between -68/-78dBm

will not be good enough for reliability

i would also log into the router and change to use wireless channel 11, as the strongest is around -90

But also when this -10 appears see what channel its using

[Exershio]

I've tried the 3 main channels (1-6-11) channels and it doesn't make a difference. I'm considering something like this instead of dealing with wireless also without having to make a mess of my apartment with cables anywhere:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

anyone know how well they work and if they're worth the money?

[etaf]

yes, they can work very well, some do not work on extension leads and so have to be plugged into the wall socket itself
the quality will depend very much on the house wiring and circuit
and they are quite a few different models on the market which have different speed ratings

I do not have a particular make or model I can recommend to you , as i have limited experience and also not in the US

[Exershio]

Thanks, I appreciate all the help. I don't think there's an easy way to solve my wireless troubles considering where I live so I'll give those EoP adapters a shot. Can't possibly work worse than my wireless has been! Lol.

[etaf]

lets us know how you get on please - always useful for us and others here

[ETech7]

Make sure you keep receipt. Those EoPs can be really whimsical.
Would you consider upgrading to 802.11N standard and 5GHz frequency?

[Exershio]

etaf, I was wrong, I switched to channel 11 again out of curiousity and frustration and surprise, it works great now. I originally thought the other channels didnt work well because my wireless speeds werent that great on all of them, but channel 11 gives zero dropped signals while channel 1 still cuts out a lot. I don't mind a speed hit as long as it is stable, which it appears to be now.

Thanks for all the help. I'll mark this thread solved.

[etaf]

your welcome thanks for letting us know