DS Forums

 
 

Home Hub - weak signal


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 17-09-2013, 13:17
beerhunter2
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Hampshire, England
Posts: 7,172
Am I going down the wrong road with this presumption ?
Yes. Read Chris's post carefully and come back with any questions.
beerhunter2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 17-09-2013, 17:28
Neilnjones
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 329

I am more confused than ever (and feel stupid)

Checked Spec for Dell Studio XPS 7100.
Has built in wi fi. Never knew that.

Disconnected the Ethernet connection from the computer and the hub. Switched off - turned on - everything worked exactly the same. Same meter readings.
Did a speed test 2.26 download 2.03 up 0.31

The hub is on a shelf three feet from the computer which is under the desk. Obviously (???) the Ethernet cable had no effect.
How do I improve the signal strength ??

Thanks for all your patience and help.
Neilnjones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 17-09-2013, 17:43
beerhunter2
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Hampshire, England
Posts: 7,172
If the PC is connected by wire it will usually default to that connection. The WiFi meter will be active when the WiFi radio is on whether or not the PC is using WiFi or wired Ethernet.

Having said that, if you are that close to the HH, switch the WiFi radio off and use a cable.

Some PCs have a switch to turn the WiFi on/off, for others it is a series of keystrokes. What yours requires will be in the manual.
beerhunter2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 17-09-2013, 19:30
chrisjr
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Reading
Posts: 27,903
I am more confused than ever (and feel stupid)

Checked Spec for Dell Studio XPS 7100.
Has built in wi fi. Never knew that.

Disconnected the Ethernet connection from the computer and the hub. Switched off - turned on - everything worked exactly the same. Same meter readings.
Did a speed test 2.26 download 2.03 up 0.31

The hub is on a shelf three feet from the computer which is under the desk. Obviously (???) the Ethernet cable had no effect.
How do I improve the signal strength ??

Thanks for all your patience and help.
If it isn't obvious how to disable the WiFi then the easiest solution is to tell Windows to ignore it.

Open the Network And Sharing Center (right click on the signal meter and select it from the pop up menu). Then select Manage Wireless Networks from the links on the left.

You should see your BT hub connection listed. Click on it to highlight it and you should now see Remove in the bar above the list. Click that and your WiFi connection will vanish.

Plug the lead back in and reboot. The signal meter may or may not appear but as you are not connected the reading it has is meaningless and can be ignored.

If you ever need/want to re-establish the WiFi connection simply click on the signal meter and that will display a list of available networks. Click on your hub's name an a Connect button should appear. Click that and you will be prompted for the security password. This should be on a label on the back of the hub. Enter that and it should reconnect.

But once connected via cable and as long as you can see the interweb properly you can ignore the signal meter from now on. You won't see any significant change in speed, unless your WiFi connection was really knackered, but at least you don't need to bother about how many bars it's showing
chrisjr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-09-2013, 09:27
Neilnjones
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 329

Done that.
Signal meter disappeared.
Speedtest 2.26 download 2.26 up .015

No doubt I will have to wait for BT to install optical connection to their bt box - hopefully December.

I used the Ethernet connection in the first instance because I thought it was far more secure and better connection speeds would be available but the speedtest reveals they are virtually the same.

Thanks again for your expertise and patience.

Neilnjones is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 10:54.