3com

Lara

We have the above wireless router. The signal strength in my son's bedroom on his laptop is very low. Is there anything we can do/buy to get this signal stronger? Thanks.

smcicr

You may well not be able to do anything with the existing setup (presuming you have tried moving the router around in the room it's in?) to improve it but if you let us know specifically which 3COM router it is, what the son's laptop is (and preferably what the wireless device is on that - both type and make / model: PCMCIA - a card that goes into the laptop, USB stick or built into the laptop) then people may know of a firmware upgrade or an issue between the router and whatever the laptop is using. Also if you give some info on roughly how far apart the devices are and what sort of walls the signal is travelling through (brick, concrete, plasterboard etc) then that will also help get you some more accurate answers.

albertross_2

as suggested, check for a firmware upgrade on the 3com website.

One other thing you could try is to change channels. If you are using the same channel as the neighbours, or are using a video sender, cordless phone etc, they can interfere with the signal.

If you can choose a channel 5 channels away from the nearest neighbour with wireless, 1, 6, 11 etc.

you can check what channels are being used in the vicinity with netstumbler

http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/

Lara

I had already checked the firmware upgrade and changed channels but still not increased the strength. The bedroom isn't too far away. Out of study, (brick walls) upstairs, thourgh landing and into bedroom! Sorry it's not a laptop but a PC! Router is the Office Connect ASDL wireless 11g firewall. Neighbours don't have wireless, in fact one doesn't even have a TV!

Is netstumbler.com safe to download as it says publisher unknown. Don't want any gremlins arriving!

Thanks to you both for your replies. :)

nickmack

Lara wrote:

I had already checked the firmware upgrade and changed channels but still not increased the strength. The bedroom isn't too far away. Out of study, (brick walls) upstairs, thourgh landing and into bedroom! Sorry it's not a laptop but a PC! Router is the Office Connect ASDL wireless 11g firewall. Neighbours don't have wireless, in fact one doesn't even have a TV!

The distance is only part of the factor. Solid objects can have a big effect on the wireless signal. The walls/floors you listed may be enough to degrade the signal significantly. Manufacturers claims of wireless distances are often at best optimistic.

Is netstumbler.com safe to download as it says publisher unknown. Don't want any gremlins arriving!

Yes, it's safe. See if you can spot any other wireless devices nearby.

Lara

Thanks - I've downloaded it now . It says no wireless adapter found on any of the three points listed. As it does have to go through walls and upstairs perhaps that is the problem. Son said it probably needs a re-router to add to it??