Suffering From Weak WiFi?

December 8, 2006

While wireless internet is one of the greatest luxuries of our day, it is not without problems and even the James Bonds among us have occasional WiFi set-up issues.

Get Geeky Tip: If you're having trouble getting a solid WiFi signal, the answer may not be your computer, or your proximity to your router - although that is usually the case. Scan the room for likely culprits: cordless phones, microwave ovens and wireless PDAs. Next, scan your computer for other wireless networks and make sure you're using the correct signal. When in doubt, save all your work and reboot.

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6 Comments

joefitz 2 years 44 weeks

Sometimes you just need a better antenna on your router to get fast and steady wireless. You can retrofit one as shown on: http://www.ab9il.net/wlan-projects/wifi7.html No joke - you can connect through walls and over long distances with a good antenna. As for using someone else's wi-fi, most places have laws requiring you to own the network or get permission before using. If you find an open hotspot though, who is to know or care? My fave hotspot requires eveyone to get the wpa password to get on.

Hi1t3k 5 years 4 weeks

Not being able to resolve an IP address means your connection to the DNS server is not functioning correctly. Did someone fiddle with your setup? You may have a fixed IP address in your setup, and not one obtained by DHCP. Or, for some reason you are not gwtting through to the DHCP server.

macgirl 6 years 23 weeks

Mme Hart I'm sure you have probably already tried this but just in case you haven't... Have you "power cycled" everything (Geek term for unplugging for 10 seconds and then plugging power back in ;-) If you have a wireless router attached to your internet service providers modem it is best to to turn them all off at the same time then turn on the internet modem first wait a few seconds until the lights on the modem are behaving normally then turn on the wireless router. This kind of thing is really hard to troubleshoot without seeing it. Do you have a geeky friend that could come over and look at it? If your wireless router is provided by your internet service provider you could call them for help. It just doesn't sound like you have a physical interference problem.

Mme Hart 6 years 23 weeks

I have wifi that decided to stop working about 2 weeks ago. It drives me NUTS! My computer recognizes the signal but can't "resolve the IP address". I have no idea what's wrong, nothing is different and it worked for MONTHS before deciding to stop. Any tips? I've tried everything you said. We don't have a microwave. THere's no one living below our flat and above us, they aren't home during the day to disturb the signal. We live in an OLD building with really thick walls, so I don't know if it is possible for anything from outside the apartment to interfere with the signal. :? Thanks geek... :D

macgirl 6 years 23 weeks

Plaster walls, large book cases with tons of books and excessive coaxial cable can also cause problems. If you live in an apartment or a house that has close neighbors their cordless phones and baby monitors can also cause you issues if in close proximity to your base station. If you get a cordless phone on the 5GHz range you are OK (they may even have baby monitors on that frequency these days as well).

DStirk 6 years 23 weeks

yeah geek! welcome! So what is the deal with using a signal that is not yours? Can people steal my information if i am stealing their signal? DOes that make sense? I am psyched about geek!

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