How can i make my wireless internet better and more reliable?

Question

I have a Netgear WGR614 Wireless 54Mbps Cable Broadband Router and my other pc is on the floor above. The internet connection is not very reliable as it constantly cuts out. the signal strength is usually only about 77% or so. Is there anything that i can do to make it better and more reliable without havin to spend much money.

Answer 1

Wireless is unreliable despite the hype. It is a frequency and can be intercepted by anything that affects radio waves.

Things to think on include fridges, microwaves or insulated pipework. Because if it can insulate heat / cold or microwaves then the poor frequcy strength of a wireless broadband will be affected. I say poor frequency as it is isn't a power ful transmitter afterall.

Also be aware things like white walls can bounce them away. In the same way they reflect light back to appear brighter. To make them appear brighter the reflective particles in the paint affect the radio waves. As do shiny floor tiles and varnished wooden floors.

That would explain the 77%, but the fact it cuts out is possibly something else.

What is the connection like if you were wired to the router using normal wire, does that cut out.

Have you tried to update your routers firm ware? There would be help on that in the manual that came with it.

What operating system are you using and is it a built in wireless connection or a plug in USB type affair, or an internal card.

Have you run windows update to update the network on your PC. There could be updates for that.

You could also try one of the alternatives (USB, internal card etc) they are not that expensive and tend to be better than the internal versions manufacturers make. Mainly because they are dedicated at being wireless and not something added to an existing utitily.

Answer 2

Everything the previous poster has suggested might help.  I'd also suggest setting the wireless channel you are using manually.  I found that doing this made a great deal of difference to the quality of the signal, especially using channel 11.