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I just moved to a new flat, where me and my flatmates use our landlord's wireless network. The access point is placed 2 storeys above us, so the signal is pretty weak: (one or two "dashes").
Notebooks are able to connect usually without any problems, surf the net, download stuff, etc. I got a Win7 x64 PC with Asus WL167g wireless adapter and I'm practically unable to connect to the network. This Asus USB wifi adapter.. is just not enough, having notebook with AtherosAR5B93 and successfully connected to the wireless, replacing it with ASUS makes the notebook unable to connect to the network.

What I managed to do at my PC: I managed to connect to the network using Xirrus Wifi Inspector, got the IP assigned correctly set, system tray icon stating I got Internet access. However, I rarely even manage to ping the Access Point, and the timeouts are frequently ridiculous - like 2 seconds.

What should I do? Should I replace this ASUS wireless adapter with something else? If so, what would you recommend? How are these notebooks catching the wireless network, are their wifi adapters so much better?

3 Answers 3

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Your USB adapter doesnt really have an antenna. Its made for short distances. Notebooks typically have antennas built into the LCD monitor. You dont see them, but they are there, behind the plastic.

I would recommend buying a PCI wireless card. They come with antennas and that might be enough to get you a better signal. What would be even better, would be to get the wireless PCI card and a high gain antenna.

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It's likely that there's a wired CAT5 Ethernet connection nearby - buy an inexpensive access point of your own and put it in your flat.

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does it matter where in the flat you are? refrigerators/microwaves in wall wiring etc can send out interferance. if that doesnt matter to much then yes get a better card. if its a laptop you may need to look for an industrial wifi card. most people get one with up to 200mw output the industrial are 400mw. pc grab one that allows an external antenna to be attached and move the antenna to the best spot you can... the addon antena I have for my system has a 5' cable on it, would have been nice if it was longer but good enough.

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