[VirtualRealist]

Anyone know how to boost a Wifi signal? My PC keeps losing signal continuously and so far my efforts (re-positioning router etc.) have been to no avail. Any ideas would be much appreciated

[Mad Vlad]

(Original post by VirtualRealist)
Anyone know how to boost a Wifi signal? My PC keeps losing signal continuously and so far my efforts (re-positioning router etc.) have been to no avail. Any ideas would be much appreciated

What kind of adapter are you using? USB?

[VirtualRealist]

Yeah

[marcusfox]

Its likely that the router is on the same channel as a neighbouring router, and it is interfering with the signal strength.

However, USB wireless adapters are notorious for dropping the signal periodically.

[Arcanine]

Get a better adapter (PCI adapter as long as you can install it, it's very simple). Get a better router. Pay for better speeds. Make sure your running on 802.11n and not 802.11g if everything supports. The last one makes a huge difference at greater distances from your router. Go to your routers admin page (look online to see how to do this with your router) and figure out which channel gives you the best speeds, keep switching and testing your speeds on speedtest.net and you'll see which one is best.

[Mad Vlad]

(Original post by VirtualRealist)
Yeah

Replace it with an internal PCI card. You may also be able to fit a high gain antenna if that's ineffective.

[mfaxford]

If the USB dongle is plugged directly into the pc get a USB extension cable and try moving it around and see if that improves the signal. The PC case might be shielding the signal (if that's the case a PCI wireless card may not help)

[Mad Vlad]

(Original post by mfaxford)
If the USB dongle is plugged directly into the pc get a USB extension cable and try moving it around and see if that improves the signal. The PC case might be shielding the signal (if that's the case a PCI wireless card may not help)

Other than the external antennae, of course.

[mfaxford]

(Original post by Mad Vlad)
Other than the external antennae, of course.

You can also get USB dongles with external antennas which gives the best of both.

Large lumps of metal and antennas don't usually go together well. And the bog standard antennas on most wireless cards aren't that much better than those in usb cards. Firstly the case could be acting as a partial faraday cage depending on where the router is located. Secondly the metal case will detune the antenna meaning it's not going to work at full efficiency.

Whilst you can move the antenna away from the machine you'll only improve performance if you use decent cable like lmr400 which when you add in connectors etc will start costing a reasonable amount. Using cheap cable will destroy any benefit you might have had.

RF signals at those ranges can be affected by a number of factors and the ease of moving a USB antenna around is a great bonus.

Yes on board wireless cards can have their place however for the average user the ease of moving a usb dongle around to get a good signal is likely to outweigh the advantage a pci card might have.

[VirtualRealist]

Ok. Thanks for the help !