How can I make the wifi better

I have Window 7, and a 4 month old Laptop Compaq Presario CQ56 and the power for wifi,can it be increase. I am getting ready to go on vacation and need all the help I can get. Right now I have three signal bars in my house,and my next door is only 50ft away from me. Is that normal. I bought one of those power plugs in my USB port,and didn't change anything,I still got three bars,so I took it back. Thanks for any help!

 

About the only thing I can advise is to make sure your router (and other network devices) are N compatible. This won't increase your internet speed but should allow a stronger signal.

FWIW 3 signal bars (medium strength) over 50ft and through walls is quite reasonable.

 

Yes it is.

 

Have you moved the laptop around and checked what signal you get?

You mention doors, but it is probably walls you need to focus on. How thick are the walls, plaster-board, single-brick, double-brick?

You can get a wireless "extension" aerial, but it can be expensive.

Have you checked whether "full bars" gives you any improved performance (as mentioned)?

Matt

 

You cannot compare your reception there to what you will have when on the road. I agree with the above comments. 50 feet by itself is enough to affect reception, but as soon as you add walls, floors, ceilings, plus all the pipes and wires in the walls, and interference from other nearby networks and RF devices, reception is even further degraded. Antenna height and orientation affect performance, as does the protocols. And of course, the quality of the WAP (wireless access point - often a so called "wireless router ") matters too.

I suggest you go visit a couple coffee shops in your area that have free WiFi and see if you have problems connecting.

Also, just FYI for anyone reading, unless the neighbor is licensed to provide a WiFi "hotspot" for Internet access to his neighbors, he may be breaking the law. And those using that Internet service without the permission of and proper compensation to the ISP may get into legal trouble too for "theft of services" - even if the hotspot providing neighbor is fully aware and gave his permission to use it.

 

It may be sort of geeky, but I improved my wifi connection with an 12" aluminum 'antenna.' In essence, I obtained a piece of aluminum flashing from my local Home Cheapo. I curved in to sort of a half-moon shape and set it on the opposite side of the wireless router antenna. It acts as a reflector, and concentrates the signal into a single direction, more or less. I found if I'm on the 'receiving' end of the curved aluminum flashing, my signal strength improved markedly. On the opposite side, there was almost no reception at all. Very easy to do. And very inexpensive. My wifi router is in a separate building on my property. In addition to more than 100' of distance, the signal must get around an 18th century stone chimney right smack in the path of my signal, as well as the usual walls, wood and plaster.

 

That is not far from what badguys do. They make such a "directional" antenna, then drive around neighborhoods looking for unsecured wireless networks they can hack. Very effective. You might notice someone sitting in a car outside your house, but down the street?

Make sure you have changed all the defaults and setup the highest level of security your devices support. Then don't advertise you have a network, turn off SSID broadcasting. That won't slow down a badguy, but it can keep nosy neighbors from detecting your network.

 

Agreed on all points.
Larry

On another matter that hopefully this forum might be helpful...I've been asked by my daughter what to do about an older Dell Inspiron 600m that she cannot get to fully boot. It will go as far as the Dell Welcome screen, then a black/blank screen with a blinking cursor. She can access Dell Diagnostics and when she runs it, she gets the following message:

Error Code 6537:011B
Msg: Expected Processor Fan on low RPM of 2000. Detected fan RPM = 2859.

I've googled this code and while I find bits and pieces of other folks having similar (but not exactly) the same issues, I'm finding no definitive answers as to how to repair it. If there is a better place or forum to post this issue, can someone recommend one? I've searched the obvious Dell communities, laptop hardware issues, etc. But cannot get any usable information. The laptop has been cleaned out, so to speak. The fan runs, but she can't get it to fully boot up. Any suggestions??

Thanks, Larry

 

Another matter requires another thread.

 

Got it, thank you.