Intel PROSet tray icon being funny

I formatted my computer, and the PROSet icon is being funny. It connects at 54 Mbps but it categorizes it as "Very Good" or just "Good" and the green bars are down to 2 or 3. That's pretty annoying since I can't tell if I have good connection or not. I updated it to the latest version from Intel's website, 10.5, but it's doing the same thing. Any ideas on how to knock some sense into this thing?

Malia

 

i'm not sure what you're asking?

very good and good are what it should be if it's not showing all the bars (which would be "excellent")

 

I use MS Zero config. The tray icon gives actual connection speed, as well as 5 verbal strength. Speed is the real thing, mbps.

 

The problem is this: the connection speed, which I find out if I mouseover the icon, is 54 Mbps, but it's classified as "Good" or "Very good", and, as a result, only 2 or 3 bars are displayed. Since I have a G router, I should be getting "Excellent" and 4 bars. So, since the laptop knows it's getting 54 Mbps, why is it not classifying it properly, and how do I fix it?

Malia

 

i think you misunderstand how it's supposed to work.

speed and strength are independent of each other.

the "bars" display your signal strength, not your speed.

 

So what's the difference between 54 & "Good" vs 36 & "Excellent" (the latter of which I've never seen)?

Malia

 

think about it this way, you can connect at 54 (G) speed, but be connected with a poor, good, very good, or excellent connection. you can also connect at 11 (B) speed and be connected with a poor, good, very good, or excellent connection.

again, speed and strength are independent of each other

i'm not sure how else to explain it. maybe someone else can chime in?

 

Another way to look at is this way: The further you are away from the router the farther the signal has to travel to reach the notebook. This equates to "Signal Strength". The closer to the router the more bars, the further away less bars. Something you must remember here, the signal can be affected by such factors as walls, doors, cordless phones and microwaves just to name a few.

Now if you have a "G" router it will tell the network card the speed at which it can transmit the signal. In this case 54Mps.

Now if we combine these two you will notice that the network card is reading that the router can transmit at 5(4Mps) and your signal strength (which can be anywhere from one to five bars given the information I provided above).

There are several ways to correct poor signal strength. One would be to move the router to a location high off of the ground (like a bookcase) so the signal has no interference. As mentioned-above move the router away from cordless phones and microwaves, since these devices transmit on the same frequency as your router. Adding a range extending antenna (if your router permits) would also do the trick. Change the channel to another, incase some one near you is on the same channel.

Hope this helps!