Originally Posted by
Hammersmith
We might be able to fix this without a new purchase, but first I'm going to need a bit of information, and I'm going to go into teacher mode for a bit.
Wireless networks are governed by an electrical engineering specification known as 802.11(pronounced eight-oh-two-dot-eleven). There are three versions that have been typically used for home systems: 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n(or b, g & n). 802.11b has been obsolete for a number of years. It was great when the internet was mainly used for surfing web pages and the occasional music download, but it chokes on video. 802.11g is a big upgrade from b and is still in use. It can handle HD content like ESPN3, but only one stream at a time. If you've got a couple laptops watching HD content while using your smartphone for something else, then g is going to have problems. The current standard is 802.11n. It's designed for multiple devices streaming HD content at the same time. The thing is, they are all compatible with each other. A g laptop can communicate with an n router without any problems; they just drop down to the best standard they have in common. In this case, g.
So we need to know what your laptop and router are capable of, and then find out if they are actually communicating at that level. It's been known to happen that two g devices can hiccup and start communicating at b speeds for no good reason. If that's happening to you, we can bump your speed up with just a few setting changes. I'm going to assume that you are running Windows 7 or Vista on your laptop. First, let's check what speed your network is running at. Go to the bottom right corner of the screen and click on the signal strength meter(the stairstepping thing). All the available wireless networks should appear with your network at the top and it should say "Connected" next to your signal strength. Hover the cursor over your network and a box should appear with a bunch of information like this:
Name: (your network name)
Signal Strength: Excellent (if it says anything else, let me know)
Security Type: WPA2-PSK (it should say some version of WPA - if it says Unsecured or WEP, let me know; those are bad*)
Radio Type: 802.11n (if it says 802.11b, let me know)
SSID: (same as first line)
*unless you have a networked Wii, then WEP is the best you can do
Let's also see your network speed. With your cursor on the same spot as before, right-click and then click on Status. Just above the first green bars should be a line that reads "Speed". 802.11b should be 11Mbps, g should be 54Mbps, and n should be somewhere between 150Mbps and 600Mbps depending on your hardware(300Mbps being the most common).
Next, we need to find out what you've got for a router and built-in wireless card. Click on your Start Button and then click "Network" on the right side of the menu. On the main portion of the screen, there should be a category called "Network Infrastructure" with your router listed. Right click it and then click on Properties. A box will appear and you need to click on the "Network Device" tab at the top. On this page, the manufacturer and model of your router should be listed. Give me that info and I'll find out what it's capable of.
Now close that box and go back to the Network page. Toward the top, it should say "Network and Sharing Center". Click it. On the left side will be a link for "Change adapter settings". Click it. There will probably be two or three options: "Local Area Connection" (this is your Ethernet port), "Wireless Network Connection" (this is the one we want) and maybe a listing for an old-style phone modem(this might also be a Local Area Connection). Under the "Wireless Network Connection", there should be two lines of info. The first line is the name of your network that you saw back in the info box. The last line should be the name of the wireless card in your laptop. There's a good chance that it will say Intel followed by a model number, but it could be something different(for instance, mine is a cheap knockoff made by Atheros). Note that info down. If that info isn't showing, right click on the wireless connection and click properties. A box should appear with the info you need toward the top(Connect using: ...).
Here's all of the info I need. Copy it, paste it, fill it out, and reply it.
Radio Type(from info box):
Speed(from Status):
Router manufacturer and model(from Network): Linksys
Wireless card manufacturer and model(from Network and Sharing Center):
Get me that info and I'll do a little digging to find out what you need.