My desktop PC has been having a really spotty connection to our local wifi router. My laptop, xbox, and phone all have no trouble connecting in the same location, however. So I think it’s probably my PC’s hardware. Never had this trouble with LAN. The computer is homebuilt but I’m kind a noob to wifi. So a few questions:
Could this be anything else? How would I check if it’s just a weird connection issue? Could I reconfigure the software somehow?
What is the name of the piece I’d be looking for? How do I check which element it is?
Could anyone recommend me a good receiver to boost my signal? Or anything else I can do?
1a. The driver on the CD provided with the hardware may be quite hopeless, buggy.
Look for an update off the hardware’s website.
1b. Sometimes microsoft gives you an update driver…These can be trouble… Revert the driver back to hardware providers driver
In device manager, under “network”
Signal… what have you done to the signal ?
You have a metal box, with a little antenna at the back. where have you put your computer ? Under the desk ? A metal desk ? Beside a filing cabinet ? A metal filing cabinet ? Surrounded by metal things, chairs, clothes racks…
So if the antenna was moved to clear air ?
Solutions .
a. put the desktop on the desk, up in the clear ?
b. buy a cable to extend the antenna
c. But a USB wireless interface. USB cables can be up to 5 metres long, which can put the wireless into a clear spot.
You probably just have a crappy wireless adapter for your desktop. You can try your luck with a USB one on Amazon for $20, or better yet, just run an ethernet cable to the router and never worry about wifi issues again.
Also, it’s possible your desktop is seeing more interference than the other devices because of its location.
If you have an android smartphone, the Wi-Fi Analyzer app lets you see a graph of signal strengths for the wireless access points and their frequency channels in the area. SOmetimes changing the channel can help a lot if there’s a clear one in your neighborhood.
Assuming your wireless network is set up correctly…seems like the other devices like it.
If your PC has a separate wifi card, reseat it.
Check for a driver update.
If neither helps, get a new wifi card ($10-20 for a typical PCI card).
My 2c, and worth about that.
I agree that running an ethernet cable from your access point to the PC is the most ideal solution if the mechanics of the cable routing make that possible and if only the PC’s connectivity is at issue.
You don’t say how old the system is, but having an access point and a recipient wifi card that both use the N protocol will definitely help widen coverage area over an old G-based system on both sides. This has been the default for some years now, of course.
