Wireless, I hate it

[Supa Dexta]

So I always have some issue with the damn thing.. And now I connect, and it shows 54mbs, I can sit there and watch the connection window, and it'll drop to 18, 12, 11, 9, 1.. And then sit there slow as hell on 1mbs.. But yet it still shows excellent signal strength..

Any ideas?

[dj_rice]

Get a better router

[Supa Dexta]

Is it dying? Never used to do this.. It's just a run of the mil linksys wrt54 or whatever.

[Jlude]

try a different router...

Is your wireless secure?

[Supa Dexta]

Yeah its secure. I rent the basement here, old lady lives upstairs.. I assume shes in bed by now though... Router is up there, so I cant check it out. I have my own router sitting here, but I think I'm heading back out to work tomorrow, so no need to look too hard into it right now I guess.

[Jlude]

swap the router when you get a chance, perhaps that's it.

[dr_jared88]

Run netstumbler and see what other wireless routers are in the area and what channel they are on. Then pick the most empty channel. Pick either 1, 6, or 11 (assuming you are using a typical 2.4Ghz b/g and possibly n router). I'm going to guess 1 will be your best bet. Whatever you do, don't pick any other channels other the 1,6, or 11 please.

[Supa Dexta]

I downloaded it, don't have time to figure it out right now.. Keeps saying access denied, flashing on and off.

[ercchry]

try updating the firmware?

[jwslam]

Originally posted by dr_jared88
Whatever you do, don't pick any other channels other the 1,6, or 11 please.

noob here. explain pls

[Alterac]

Generally speaking the 1,6,11 wireless channels are used the least by consumer devices, so your wireless should have better strenght on them...

But just experament with it.

[mazdavirgin]

Originally posted by Supa Dexta
So I always have some issue with the damn thing.. And now I connect, and it shows 54mbs, I can sit there and watch the connection window, and it'll drop to 18, 12, 11, 9, 1.. And then sit there slow as hell on 1mbs.. But yet it still shows excellent signal strength.. Any ideas?

Whats the make of your router? A lot of them tend to be quite flaky and not really shall we stay stable. Especially the older gen dlinks... Cordless phones and microwaves will also wreak havoc with your wifi.

[Boat]

What kind of laptop do you have?
I've had these exact same problems... They just went away?
I used to have a linksys WRT45 something or other

[benyl]

Update the driver for your wireless access on your laptop.

Wireless problems on my laptop were a known issue.

[dr_jared88]

Originally posted by jwslam


noob here. explain pls

Reason is these channels don't overlap. It pisses me off when someone picks a channel such as 4 because it causes interference on both 1 and 6. This diagram shows what I'm talking about.
http://www.moonblinkwifi.com/misc_images/80211-frequency-channel-map.JPG

[dr_jared88]

Originally posted by Alterac
Generally speaking the 1,6,11 wireless channels are used the least by consumer devices, so your wireless should have better strenght on them...

But just experament with it.

False.

[SJW]

I've had a couple of routers just "go bad". Tried a new one on the same settings and it was fine.

Perhaps its time for a new one. They just got cooked.

[prae]

Originally posted by dr_jared88


Reason is these channels don't overlap. It pisses me off when someone picks a channel such as 4 because it causes interference on both 1 and 6. This diagram shows what I'm talking about.
http://www.moonblinkwifi.com/misc_images/80211-frequency-channel-map.JPG

ok but doesnt channel 6 interfere with 4 and 9 then?

I cant see how 1,6, or 11 make any better of a choice than any of the other channels?

[Thaco]

update the firmware and/or install a hacked FW

[dr_jared88]

Originally posted by prae


ok but doesnt channel 6 interfere with 4 and 9 then?

I cant see how 1,6, or 11 make any better of a choice than any of the other channels?

Yes it does. The reason you use 1, 6, 11 is because that combination is the only way to get three non-overlapping channels. That diagram also shows channels 12, 13 and 14 which is used here in North America.

If you use any other channels other then 1, 6, or 11 it is impossible to get wireless access points in the same general area without interference.

[prae]

After reading the 802.11 wikipedia page, I think what dr jared is trying to get at is that the bands for each channel overlap, and if you have a number of radios close together you should take care to select channels that DO NOT overlap...

so if your neighbour had a router on channel 1, channels 2-5 would be a poor choice, 6 would be the first channel that is assumed not to have any overlap.

Jared, the broad statement "choosing ANY other channel aside from 1,6 or 11 is wrong" is incorrect. It IS true that with routers in close proximity, selecting a channel less than 5 channels away will cause an overlap.


so you can stop getting "pissed off" at people picking channels other than 1,6,11.


Anyways, that's just my take on it after a quick skim of wikipedia. But what would an electrical engineer know.

[prae]

Originally posted by dr_jared88


Yes it does. The reason you use 1, 6, 11 is because that combination is the only way to get three non-overlapping channels. That diagram also shows channels 12, 13 and 14 which is used here in North America.

If you use any other channels other then 1, 6, or 11 it is impossible to get wireless access points in the same general area without interference.

ah you got in a good reply before i finished my second post!

that is true, if i was to select channel 3, i guess i would be ensuring that channels one and 6 would see some interference.... so I guess you could be pissed about somebody selecting that haha.

[em2ab]

1. Update the firmware on the router, often times you can even install firmware for a better router onto yours giving you more options you're not supposed to have. Check the forums to see what everyone else has done before you cook it though.

2. Log into the router to see who else is using it, often times you can even do this remotely depending on the firmware.

3. Update your wireless drivers in your laptop.

4. Change the channel the router works on.

One of the reasons Net Stumbler may not be working for you is because it's not supported by Vista, I already tried using it with my laptop and that was the reason it failed. But then does Vista support anything?

[prae]

I'm not sure what kind of area we are talking about but i think for the average radio power on routers, 25-50m ought to be enough for the overlap not to be such a problem.

[Grogador]

Originally posted by dr_jared88
The reason you use 1, 6, 11 is because that combination is the only way to get three non-overlapping channels. That diagram also shows channels 12, 13 and 14 which is not used here in North America.

Fixed4u. QFT. More info --> http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/972261

Also, just run some CAT5e. Seriously. Nuuugh wireless.

[Alterac]

Originally posted by dr_jared88


False.

False

[dr_jared88]

Originally posted by Alterac


False

Not sure what you are talking about but the 2.4Ghz range is very crowded with consumer devices. Microwaves usually take up the top half but older ones can eat the whole range. Other devices use the lower end like some cordless phones. There are even devices that use the whole range such as bluetooth headsets.

[Alterac]

I know, im just quoting you and saying false like you did :D


All in all this technical mumbo jumbo is nice for a boring read, but you just end up going through all the channels 1 by 1 until you find the best one.

1,3,11 are good starting choices tho. I know all 3 of those worked like shit where I live.

[Grogador]

Microwave ovens are smack in the middle of the ISM band at 2.445GHz, but if it's leaking that much you've got bigger things to worry about, like going sterile.