Back to iBurst FAQ Fixing The Most Common Wireless Network ProblemsWritten by Dan Young
If you're like me, you've come to take wireless pretty much for granted. Everywhere I go, I expect to be able to connect to the internet to check my email, chat with my friends or get some work done. It seem no matter where I am, I can open my notebook and find a wireless network to plug into. However, there are times when I'm logged into a wireless network and suddenly lose the connection or the speed suddenly drops to an unbearable level. I'm sure you have experience this as well.
When this happens to you, don't kick and scream at the wireless Gods for cursing your network. With a bit know-how you'll find that fixing a Wi-Fi problem is really not that complicated. In fact, many problems associated with wireless networking fall into three basic categories:
- You have problems connecting initially
- The throughput and connection speed sucks
- Your wireless network has too small a coverage area
To get you back up and running we present this Wireless Networking Troubleshooting Guide. The guide covers all three wireless issues you're likely to encounter, and offers solutions help fix them all. All screen shots and examples shown in this guide were taken from a Linksys WRT54G Wireless Router.
How Do I Connect To My Wireless Network?
There are some who would say that anyone who has to ask this question shouldn't be reading this site. However, we attract just as many new wireless users as we do hardcore enthusiasts, and this is a valid and often asked question.
Most of the time, Windows XP will connect to you home wireless network automatically when you start Windows. However for those time when you're on the road and you have more than one wireless network to chose from you may have to connect manually.
The quickest method for doing this is to right click the wireless network icon, located in the lower right system tray. Now select "View Available Wireless Networks" option to see a list of all the wireless network within your receiving range.
You might see more than one network listed. Select the one you want, click connect and Windows will try to connect to the network. If the network is secured you will need to enter the network key in order to log on. If you don't know the key, you're out of luck unless you know how to break into a WEP/WAP enable network.
While we firmly believe you should secure your wireless network, many people still do not do this. As you can see in the above screenshot, only one wireless network has security enable. The other two are completely open. The network call "Linksys" hasn't even change their default password yet! To find out how to secure your wireless network read our Wireless Security Guide.
My Wireless Connection Went Out!
Normally, wireless is very reliable and hardly ever goes down. For those time when it does the first thing you should do is check your cable or DSL modem. More often than not, the the reason your lost of the net is not because of your router going down, it's because your ISP went down. If the problem does turn out to be your ISP and not your wireless router, your only option is to call up the ISP and yell at them - most of the time this won't get your internet back any faster than waiting but you'll feel a lot better after opening a can of whop ass on the poor guy at tech support.
Assuming it's not your ISP, the lost of the wireless network is almost always a result of an IP address conflict. In an area where there are multiple networks, an IP address conflict can cause the signal to get confused, making your router unable to find the computer on your network or to broadcast the correct address. The solution is to reboot the router and the computers on the network. In some case, you can try to repair the network by right clicking on the wireless network icon located in the system tray and clicking Repair. However, a better solution is to enter the properties of "My Network Places" to disable the wireless connection. After it's disable, re-enable it to obtain a new IP address.
My Connection Is Too Slow
If you're browsing the internet or downloading a large files, and notice that your connection speed has dropped, there could be several reasons for the sudden drop-off in performance.
One reason is that you may have moved too far away from your router. After about 100 feet or so, the signal strength registered by your wireless notebook decreases significantly, and you'll likely see a "Signal Strength:: Low" instead of the Excellent we enjoy so much. The simple fix is to move closer to the router and away from interference caused by microware oven and portable phones, or to attach to a network that's closer to you (if you're running multiple routers).
Another common cause for slowdowns is that too many people have attached to the network and are downloading large files. Check around your home to see who is using the network. Most routers allow you to limit the number of people who can connect to the router at any one time. If you know your house has no more than 4 people who will use the wireless network then you can set the maximum connection to 4 (50 is the default for most routers). Also, make sure you enable security to keep war drivers from tapping into your network for free. You might think it's harmless letting others use your network but when the FBI comes knocking because they traced that government hack attempt to your IP, don't blame us!
Interference Slows Down My Connection Speed
Interference occurs on all radio signals, including 802.11. One way to tell if interference is affecting your connection is to watch the connection levels at 5 feet away from your router and move outward and see how much your connection strength falls.
Interference from nearby devices can reduce your speed by 50 to 75% but when the interfering devices are removed or turned off, the speed should immediately return to normal.
Devices such as cordless phones, baby monitors, microwave ovens, and other Wi-Fi network can cause unexpected slow downs in your signal. To reduce interference, you need to remove all devices that may cause problems on the wireless network. Normally, this will mean any device that use the 2.4GHz wireless spectrum.
You can run multiple devices on 2.4GHz if you make sure each device is using a different channel. For example, you can configure your router to use channel 6 and set your cordless phone to channel 7. The two devices will then co-exist happily together without interfering with each other.
Killing The Dead Spots
As a rule of thumb you should always have a clear line of sight between your computer and wireless router. This assures you the strongest possible signal. However, the ideal situation can't always be achieved. The average house has walls and hallways in the way. If you are experiencing dead spots in your wireless network, the first thing to try is moving the router. Try to find a nice central location free from nearby walls or heavy obstacles like a fridge.
If after moving the router, you still have dead spots in your network, you can try adding a wireless repeater or range extender. A good example of such a product is the D-Link DWL-G800AP.
The D-Link DWL-G800AP is a high-speed 802.11g Wireless Range Extender capable of operating in two modes: Wireless Access Point or Wireless Repeater.
In either operation mode, the DWL-G800AP Wireless Range Extender offers the convenience of eliminating cable wires while providing the same reliable connection throughout your network.
When used as an access point, the DWL-G800AP is backwards compatible with all 802.11b devices. When used as a repeater, the same strong signal bandwidth of 802.11g devices is repeated increasing the range of wireless coverage. The only problem with this kind of solution is the cost - it's almost like buying another wireless router.
Similar Information from this category | 
