I'm having a few issues with intermittent wifi connection from my desktop. I'm using a basic USB type wifi connection. Distance to router is maybe 10 to 12 metres.
Do PCI cards have a better range than USB? Are they more reliable for connection? The USB I have is just a basic one and a few years old.
If PCI is likely to be more reliable, as I suspect, can anyone recommend a decent and well priced PCI option?
Have you tried ethernet over power? Gives decent speeds and is reliable and consistent.
Gives decent speeds and is reliable and consistent.
Decent speeds = not guaranteed.
This varies depending on your quality of your electrical wiring and a whole lotta other factors, e.g interference and noisy lines.
It's worth a try though.
I'd try putting the USB on an extension cable and elevating the dongle to get better (less interference) signal.
Better signal is, after-all what you're trying to achieve. and you probably have an extension cable lying around somewhere.
USB:
- simple! no opening of pc required - can be daunting for some
- some have high gain antenna for better reception - beware of fakes on ebay though lol i haven't bought a wireless receiver, but did get a bluetooth dongle once and the antenna was just hollow plastic!
- can be extended with cable for better signal as scubacoles mentioned
PCI/PCI-E:
- will have at least one antenna for better reception
- PCI/PCI-E slot technically allows for higher bandwidth
* although this is not necessarily that much of a plus as wireless speed varies - for example if using a 300mb wireless n adaptor maximum throughput would be 37.5 megabytes - OR if we compare to usb 2.0 it is still within the threshold, 480mbs or 60 megabytes.
My pick, TP-Link TL-WN822N, comes with extension cord, 3dbi antennas and simple driver installation.
Of course it should be said, wireless is a finicky beast, your house may just suck for interference. Powerline will be your best friend!
That one looks good. The one I have is a few years old just a basic TP link. When I moved it to the USB slot at the front of the PC there was a noticeable improvement. However it is quite large and ugly so I might pick up one of these instead.
Do you have other devices on the network running windows which don't drop off? If not it might be your router.
Also I've had wireless USBs before and they have developed problems with age, you might just need another one off eBay.
yes they are better range and in my case when compaired to a cheap usb wifi off ebay i got faster download speeds.
http://www.msy.com.au/peripherals/7548-tp-link-tl-wn851nd-pc…
I have this worked fine.