Wireless network help

**prbinNC** · July 6th, 2004, 03:54 AM

I am on a Linksys wireless router at home. The router is downstairs and on the left side of the house while my computer (Dell Inspiron 600m with Intel wirelessLAN 2100 3A Mini PCI adapter) is upstairs and on the right side of the house. Needless to say, I'm having signal problems and bought the range-extender antenna from radioshack and am having minimal success with that. I've heard of the signal booster that linksys makes that you put on the top of the router. Is that my best bet? An access point maybe?

**confus-ed** · July 6th, 2004, 04:53 AM

So welcome to windrivers forums prbinNC.

Well the answer of course depends what's inbetween your wireless & your router & whether its feasable to move anything around or maybe even do some cabling, need to tell us about that 'more' please ..

**NooNoo** · July 6th, 2004, 04:57 AM

prnbinNC, include in the details confus-ed asks for whether you are using wep or wpa.

Have you checked for updated firmware with linksys?
What is your house made of and what is the distance between the router and the laptop?

What signal quality do you get and what signal strength?

**prbinNC** · July 6th, 2004, 06:13 AM

The linksys router i have is 802.11B 2.4 ghz. I'm on the other side of the house so it has a couple walls to travel through as well as the router is downstairs. It's about 25-30 feet away. It cuts out a lot, as a matter of fact, i had to rewrite this post as the connection cut off as i was writing it. When it does cut off, AOL usually tells me that the network subsystem has failed.

**NooNoo** · July 6th, 2004, 06:23 AM

Are you using encryption and what is the house made of - brick? wood walls? hollow plasterboard? What model linksys?

Quality of signal and strength of signal?

**prbinNC** · July 6th, 2004, 06:51 AM

I think the walls are sheet rock and the strength of signal is low. i dont know about encryption. BEFW11S4 is the model number on the router

**NooNoo** · July 6th, 2004, 07:09 AM

Do you have any cabling, metal, halogen or other radio sources (microwave, cordless phones etc) between the router and the lappie?

The router you have has two version - does your router say v2 or version 2.0 or any indication of a version number?

**prbinNC** · July 6th, 2004, 07:40 AM

It says version 4 next to the model number.

**NooNoo** · July 6th, 2004, 10:44 AM

There is a new version of firmware here give it a whirl, it may improve matters.

**prbinNC** · July 6th, 2004, 01:52 PM

Before I download it, what is firmware? and which computer should i download it to, the one that the router is hooked up to or mine that is having a poor signal?

**NooNoo** · July 6th, 2004, 02:18 PM

ok the instructions are on the page I linked - download to the computer that has a hardwired access to the router. You cannot do this from a wireless connection.

Firmware is instructions for hardware - like software but not kept on a computer, but on a chip that tells the hardware what to do.

**CrazyArian** · July 6th, 2004, 03:02 PM

I have seen where Linksys wireless just goes down and had to return it. I have a Linksys wireless router and has been working fine. I have mine hooked up going through 4 walls and on my laptop out in the backyard. Have you tried using it in the same room as the router to see if you have the same problems? I would see where the signal is erroring out before finding a soluting. If it works fine in the same room as the router, move to the next room to see if you get signal degregation. It could just be if you are having the problem in the same room as the router that the wireless part of the router is having issues.

**Bigtimbre** · July 6th, 2004, 06:11 PM

Check the orientation of your antennas as well. If they are still the black "rubber duckie" style, they should be pointed up. No matter how you have the router mounted, the antennas need to go up. Otherwise the signal is being sent in a pattern different from what you would expect...

**WTJ** · July 6th, 2004, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by prbinNC

I am on a Linksys wireless router at home. The router is downstairs and on the left side of the house while my computer (Dell Inspiron 600m with Intel wirelessLAN 2100 3A Mini PCI adapter) is upstairs and on the right side of the house. Needless to say, I'm having signal problems and bought the range-extender antenna from radioshack and am having minimal success with that. I've heard of the signal booster that linksys makes that you put on the top of the router. Is that my best bet? An access point maybe?

First see what DELL's forum has to say:

http://delltalk.us.dell.com/supportf...essage.id=6832

Then check out your unit for heat buildup
PARTICULARLY the wirless card.

I have a Belkin router networking 4 computers with 11G and the cards are the biggest problem.
The worst offender is a dual cpu system stuffed with video editing and other cards. When the area next to the Belkin card gets hot.....
....poof ........my video editor is off line.
Hardwire the Dell to the router and see if you still have the problem.

Another possibility is noise.

I'm next to New York's Financial district in a a hi-rise
FILLED with cheap microwave ovens and wirless phones,
not to mention other people's wireless routers.
I noticed quite an improvement
when I switched my system from the default channel.

Most importantly,
learn some more about your router.
Log on to it frequently,
to learn what each setting means
(READ THE HELP FILES)