Checking signal strength on my router?

[thewolfe]

I have a Verizon router MI424WR and a TiVo with a wireless network adapter. My signal strength is low on the TiVo. TiVo has a "real-time" meter showing the signal strength.

Is there a way to find out what my signal strength is from the router so I can ascertain whether it's my router or wireless network adapter that's causing a weak signal?

I have an iPad and a wireless laptop if either of those would help determine signal strength in the room where the TiVo is.

[Thenior]

A pretty simply test would be to use the laptop or the iPad, where you know they have good wireless antennae, and see what your signal strength is. If your laptop and iPad have a hard time, it's probably a poor signal from the wireless router.

Otherwise, grab a wireless router you know has a good signal, and replace the verizon and see if it fixes it.

[thewolfe]

I have a program on my laptop by metageek called inSSIDer it gives me Amplitude (DB) That allows me to see my network and anyone around me. Just not sure how to read it. I'm getting between -40 and -30 DB's and I'm seeing my neighbor's wireless at about -19 DB's.

[fliptw]

how far away is the router from the tivo?

[thewolfe]

about 15 feet through one wall.

[Ferno]

does the wireless section in your routers' admin panel tell you the signal strength?

[thewolfe]

Looked on the router 192.....but didn't see anything.

[Krom]

On the router it is more likely it would be called "Transmit Power" somewhere in the wireless configuration.

[thewolfe]

Couldn't find it but I did change my channel from "Auto" to 11. "They" say it could speed things up a bit.

Sincerely,

Mr Always Tweaking

[Ferno]

"they" are right.

their suggestion lies in the strategy, that instead of the router automatically choosing a channel to a specifically chosen one that's hopefully further away from others that are causing interference.

[thewolfe]

"me" know have 100% signal strength instead of between 80%-95%. Um um good.

[Tunnelcat]

I have a program on my laptop by metageek called inSSIDer it gives me Amplitude (DB) That allows me to see my network and anyone around me. Just not sure how to read it. I'm getting between -40 and -30 DB's and I'm seeing my neighbor's wireless at about -19 DB's.

I've got inSSIDer on one computer. It's very good at sniffing out other networks, what channels they're using, identifiers, encryption types, mac addresses and what their signal strengths are as well. Very handy.

[thewolfe]

Thanks for the post tunnelcat. I'm running inSSIDer and see that I'm on channel 11 and am alone because my two neighbors are on channel 1 & 6. Otherwise that's about all the info I can glean but the channel change bumped up my signal to my Tivo wireless network and now I see why because I was definitely on the same channel as at least one of them.

[BUBBALOU]

Most routers are set to channel 1,6, or 11 as their default. It's always in your best intrest to canvas the site location and change your router to a non-standard channel. If you have multiple routers configure them all to the same channel, my choice is usually 8 or 9. I have 3 in my house set them as 'Router1, Router2, Router3'. After they have all been established and configured ( 2 as access points ) I change the SSID's to the same name so from that point on the clients only need 1 config and jump based on signal strength inside the network. It's actually more complicated than that but you get the point

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