Wifi Signal Not Strong Enough- Router or Laptop Problem?

I use road runner cable internet from time warner. I have a linksys wrt54g wireless router. In our apartment, we have 3 computers. One is a desktop. The other 2 is laptops. One of the laptops we use is in a room very far from my room where the router and desktop computer is located at. The connection for the wireless is pretty bad so you have to go to the living room right next to it to get a better connection.


At first i thought i fixed this problem by upgrading the firmware as i have never did this before ever. I upgraded it to firmware version 4.21.5. At first it seemed like the signal got better from that room but now its as bad as it was before. So you have to go to the other room next to it... living room to use it.


My question is what could be the problem? I put my router on top of my desktop computer so it wouldn't be on the table where so many things could block it. Thus its at the highest point i could put the router in my room.


What wireless network mode am i suppose to put it on? I tried G only because i read thats the fastest but it doesn't seem to change anything. Or should i go for B? Or mixed? We only use the laptops for the wireless internet. We don't have any gaming system or stuff like that.


Also what channel should i have it? I have put it on channel 1 and 6 and it doesn't seem to change. Am i suppose to go through every single channel until i can get a fast connection?


So i tried something different. We have 2 laptops. One laptop is used by someone else all the way in the other room where the signal is pretty bad. Well i then brang my laptop to that room and went on the same site as the other computer and went to load the same streaming videos. My laptop however... the connection was faster than the other laptop in that room which is far away from where the desktop/router is at. Basically you can't even stream a video in that room most of the time but my laptop could.


Does that mean that my router isn't the problem since the wireless signal works fine for my laptop there whereas the inspiron 15r goes much slower? The thing is once you take that laptop and move it to the next room closer... then the signal is pretty good

 

In this case it seems like the Dell Inspirion in as fault. If a different laptop works fine in the same location- it means the signal is strong enough.

As for channel you should use inSSIDer to survey the surroundings and choose a free channel (if there is one) and non-overlapping if possible.

Also make sure that the Inspirion has no power-saving for Wi-Fi card enabled (in device manager and in Windows power settings)

 

I have Road Runner Internet. I have 3 computers in my home. One main desktop and 2 laptops. I have the linksys wrt54 wireless router which was bought 6 years ago or so. My desktop is in my room and its connected to the cable modem and the linksys router. This is my main computer.


I use the laptop as well and use it on the living room sometimes but if i do its either there or my room. I rarely had any wireless connection problems at all.


Problem is someone uses a laptop and they use it at the room next to the living room which is one room farther away. The wireless signal shows 3 or 4 bars but even so... you can't really stream videos much like on netflix. I then brang my laptop to that room and it also has 3 or 4 bars but usually 4 bars. Well i could stream the video in that room and my connection is still fast there.


And if you bring the laptop with problems to the living room... the speed would be good and you can stream videos so it is a distance issue but i had no distance issue with my laptop. However that person doesn't want to go to living room to use wireless.


My question is, is there a way to put my wireless router in the living room so the wireless signal would be very good for that other computer 1 room from the living room? Obviously if i bring my desktop there and put the computer there, yes i can. But i would like to have my desktop in my room.


Is there a way to solve this problem? I thought about one way which was just connect my laptop to my cable modem wired and connect the wireless router similar to how its connected to my desktop now. But if i do this, could i go wireless then on my DESKTOP?

 

Hi what do you mean no power saving for wi-fi?


That means getting a new wireless router would probably have same results then right?

 

No necessarily- a better router would offer better range so it could improve the reception on an Inspirion but that's not the router's fault.

As for powersaving- once you check advanced settings of an active power profile in Windows, you'll see that there is one for Wi-Fi and it should be set to max performance.
There's also a setting available through device manager, Wi-Fi card, advanced tab.

 

Okay so what i did was i was going to take my router and modem to the living room. My problem was though that when i tried to do this... there is this wire that is connected to my cable modem. When time warner came to my home, they actually drilled a hole in my room so that the wire connects to another thing on my hallway. Does anyone know what it is?

So basically i can't bring my wireless router and modem outside to living room because of this. Am i suppose to connect it to a phone line or stuff like that?

 

There is a white cable wire that goes from my cable modem and it extends all the way to another thing that is attached to. Its actually close to the ceiling. Can you tell me what that is? Its like some kind of socket.

The thing is how can i put my wireless router and modem in living room then since i need to have that cable wire attached to that thing which is way too far away from the living room.

 

Modem probably has to stay where it is but it's connected to the router via an Ethernet cable co you can simply buy a longer one and move the router where you want.

 

Someone suggested i go and buy a wireless usb adapter and then plug it into that laptop. Would that solve the problem? Maybe the wireless card on that laptop isn't so good so would buying something like this actually boost the range of the wireless for that computer?

Another question. If the modem has to stay where it is... how can i actually attach the ethernet cable from my modem all the way to living room without it obstructing? Like for example say i have a television and want to use my laptop and have the tv has my screen, i would need a long usb cable if i wanted to be far away from the tv for example. However, difference here is that the ethernet cable would be extending towards the tv and its the same room. If i do this with my modem in my room and router in living room.... its going to be a very long wire thats going to block where you walk. Im not sure how i phrase this...

 

downloads can you give me insight on this? So if my modem has to stay where its at... does that mean my wireless router will have to as well?

 

I assume the setup looks like this- modem is connected where the cable from an ISP ends and has to stay there. Router is connected to a modem via an Ethernet cable.
If that id the case- you can use a longer Ethernet cable and place a router somewhere else (although you'd have to lay the cable in the apartment properly so no one would trip over it and so on). It seems a bit too much trouble to go through considering the problem doesn't seem to be the router placement or even the router itself but a crap Wi-Fi in one of the laptops.

 

Hi. Yes the setup is like that. So using the longer ethernet cable will have that problem as you mention since it has to leave my room and through the hallway.


So would you suggest just get a new router? Someone told me i could upgrade the wireless driver on that laptop... but when they say this, do you think they mean get a new wireless driver or upgrade the driver from the website?

 

What they mean is the most recent version of a driver available- not the most recent available from notebook manufacturer.
If the laptop in question is Dell I'm guessing the Wi-Fi card is Broadcom in which case drivers from here should do the trick.

Still drivers should in no way affect reception so my recommendation would be to replace the Wi-Fi card in Dell.

 

okay but should you say i should try this just to see if it might work?

 

Yes you should- it's a free solution- worst case scenario is it won't help.

 

Can you tell me how i can find out which driver that the computer is using? Is there a chance i download it and then the wireless messes up if i try to upgrade? I'm worried as im not tech savy at all.

 

You can always use "roll back driver" in the device manager and that would get you back to the one you have now.
Check if Broadcom is the manufacturer of Wi-Fi card (in device manager or using software like Everest)

 

Okay so the other laptop that works for the wireless is an Asus. Its wireless adapter is

Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (ndis 6.20)
Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter



The inspiron 15r is

Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Bluetooth Device (RFCOMM Protocol TDI)
Broadcom Virtual Wireless Adapter
DW1501 Wireless-N WLAN Half-Mini Card

I tried the update driver by clicking on each one and then update driver and each one of them says the best driver software for your device is already installed.


Which one of those links am i suppose to click on with the link u gave me? I don't see the model of it...


Broadcom drivers

 

It's based on Broadcom 4313 so assuming you're using Win 7 this is the driver to check out.

 

ok so i installed and extract it. Is that all? There isn't any sign agreement or anything like that...

 

You extract the archive and run Setup.exe from the archive.

 

I extracted it 100 percent. There is nothing that shows up after that....


Or did i already did it?

 

No it didn't do it itself. Use WinRAR to manually extract or take note of where 7zip extracts it.
I've checked it and there's all you need in the archive but you're on your own with extraction and finding out where it ended on your computer.

 

ok i downloaded winrar on that computer.


The broadcom file i extract and i see the icon on my desktop. When i click on it, it basically does the same thing over... as extracting it 100 percent and thats it...

 

Right-click on the file and choose "Extract here". That would unpack the archive to the same directory the archive is in, so if it's on a desktop- that would be the desktop too.
Then run setup.exe

Still as I wrote about three times now- mu guess is that we are wasting time here. Wi-Fi card probably needs replacing.

 

okay i did that. However when i run the setup, i see a window that shows and then it is no longer there. I see it says broadcom is preparing the network but then nothing shows after that...

 

downloads do you know why i have this problem?

 

No I don't- I'm not there and I don't see what you see.
Check the device manager to see if the driver version's changed.

The problem might be in the fact that while your Wi-Fi card is a reference Broadcom design it's Dell branded in which case the inf in the driver set might not work unless you install it manually.
Considering you're not tech savvy (no offense meant here) I would rather we didn't attempt manual update via device manager and choosing the right hardware ID within the inf.

Even more so because it's very very unlikely to help- reception has almost nothing to do with driver version so it would be a miracle if this solved a problem.

The real root of the problem seems to be Wi-Fi card. Upgrading to a better router might solve it too in the same way shouting might help you communicate with someone with a hearing problem. New Wi-Fi card would be more like a hearing aid.
Also new Wi-FI card would be cheaper (some $25) and more likely very easy to install (I'm not familiar with this Dell unit but replacing Wi-Fi is like upgrading RAM)

EDIT: If you insist on trying new drivers check Dell website- their driver is most likely be older than the one I provided but inf would fit so it has to install with no issues.

 

Okay last question.


If i buy a new wifi card, wouldn't it be the same one as the one i'm replacing? Thus its basically the thing same one that its in that laptop?

 

Why would you buy the same card?
The whole point is buying a better one- like an Intel 6200 or Intel 5300.

Check if your Wi-Fi card is half height or full height before you make a purchase- both 6200 and 5300 are half height so you may need an adapter if yours is a full height.

 

okay... im going to just purchase the new router then. I don't even want to try to open the laptop as i dont know how to do that.

 

hey downloads i have another question. A few months ago i had to return my RCA cable box back to time warner cable b/c they do a monthly rental fee so i had to buy a cable box.


I purchased a Motorola Surfboard SB5101 Cable Modem on amazon but purchased it used. It works fine for my internet. My question is however... is there a chance this modem could slow the wireless internet? I just thought about this right now but i assume that has no effect on wireless internet connection right?

 

No- no way this could have any effect on wireless especially only on one laptop.