Poor WiFi Connection

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sirstinky

sirstinky

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So I figured I'd ask here first before throwing parts at my machine. I have an HP Envy 17t-J100 laptop. It has a Realtek RTL8188EE b/g/n single-band wireless module, nothing special. Now, I have been having pretty poor wireless signal from in my living room. My modem/router is in my bedroom not 50 feet away, but I have only 2 or sometimes no bars for the reception. What gives? I've never had such bad wireless connections and I've owned two different laptops (old HP and a MacBook Pro 17) on three different modem/routers (first Qwest wireless G, then CenturyLink wireless N, and now Comcast/Xfinity with wireless ac1650 dual-band). This is supposed to be the best laptop out of all of them, and the best Internet (super-fancy NetGear ac/dual-band modem), but my WiFi is only as good as it was with the CenturyLink. For what I'm paying for, it stinks to high heaven. I checked the WiFi card and it's fine. I re-connected the antenna wires too, but that didn't help either. I'm ready to pull this card out and get an Intel AC3160 WiFi card http://www.primelec.com/hp-710662-001-intel-dual-band-wireless-ac-3160hmw-bt-4-0-wifi-card#.WajsRMh96Um and run on 5 GHz so I can get the wireless ac. Maybe the antennas are bad? I am hesitant to check the wires and have no way of knowing because the antennas are embedded in the display (touchscreen) and had to get at without possibly breaking stuff.

Any ideas?
 
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sirstinky
Just to update this thread...I ended up getting the Intel ac3160 dual-band ac + BT 4.0 card and installed it. It works perfectly in the Envy 17. No issues whatsoever. BT works flawlessly, and I have 780 mbps uplink and full signal strength anywhere in my apartment. So for anyone wanting to upgrade their HP laptops with the single-band Realtek or RainLink WiFi cards, you can safely do the Intel ac3160. Make sure it's an HP-branded part though to avoid any potential issues. Also download the Intel drivers first before you put in the new card.

Thanks for the help and suggestions.
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sirstinky

sirstinky

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Alrighty. It's running on 2.4 ghz. It's Xfinity cable internet. The modem/router is a Netgear C6250 with ac1600 router inside it, so it's a good router. My phone connects to the 5.8 ghz band and has 3 bars of reception pretty much all the time everywhere. So does my desktop PC in the bedroom across from the modem/router which has full strength. I figured that switching from DSL to cable combined with the fancy modem/router would give me better speeds, but it's about the same as it was before. It's only when I'm in the bedroom that I have full reception.

Does that help?
 
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markusmcnugen

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It seems like your laptop may be getting interference on the 2.4Ghz band. Unfortunately it doesn't look like your laptop is dual band. The RTL8188EE only supports b/g/n and the 2.4Ghz band on Wireless-N. Your choices are to either buy a wireless access point to boost the signal around you, I'd recommend the Ubiquiti AC-LR-Pro, purchase a new WiFi adapter that supports dual band and AC, or purchase a new laptop.

In the future, I'd recommend getting separate routers and access points. WiFi routers dont give you the option of creating a mesh network or using a controller for multiple access points. Using a dedicated router, like the EdgeRouter-X and something like the AC-LR-Pros really does WiFi some justice. With a mesh or controller based WiFi network you can seamlessly roam from one access point to another without losing your signal or dropping connection.

I know this read like an advertisement for Ubiquiti products, but they make some fantastic enterprise grade hardware thats user-friendly enough for consumers to understand. The router, WiFi combination I meantioned earlier is my exact setup as home, I have two AC access points, the AC-LR-Pro upstairs and the AC-LR-Lite in my basement. I have full bars everywhere all the time.
 
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sirstinky

sirstinky

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Thanks for the reply. You're right the adapter is only up to wireless-N and single band. Sucks because this was a high-end laptop when new. I agree that combo routers aren't the best, but I can always get a separate router and disable the internal wireless on the modem if I get annoyed enough with the current setup and if my new adapter doesn't work as advertised. I was thinking that since it's wireless-ac and all that, that I would get better connections than CenturyLink, but it sounds like that's not the case. I'm in an apartment, so I don't doubt I'm getting some crowding/ interference on 2.4 ghz. I am going to get a new dual-band ac card adapter for my laptop so I hope that running it on the 5 ghz band will help. I think the Intel AC3160HMW with ac and BT is a good one that will work in this machine as I still don't trust HP removing the whitelist for hardware upgrades :/

I was an IT tech and worked with off-shelf consumer-grade networking equipment (for wireless at least- all else was server-grade Ethernet stuff), and yes, it's hit-and-miss for reliability etc, but sure beats having to pull CAT-5 cable through walls, attics, and crawlspaces from an access point or switch, right? ;)
 
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markusmcnugen

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Nov 3, 2012
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Very true, pulling wires isnt fun. In an apartment situation wireless is definitely your best option. They tend to look down upon people drilling holes in their walls lol. I think you'll be fine once you have an AC adapter since 2.4Ghz is severely congested in apartment spaces.

I grew a certain disdain for consumer wireless equipment after I found one of the stores I'm responsible for managing the networking at was using consumer grade Wireless-N extenders everywhere. They wondered why their WiFi was so horrible. After replacing them with real access points that mesh together everyone was amazed at the speed and range of the WiFi.
 
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sirstinky

sirstinky

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Aug 17, 2012
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Just to update this thread...I ended up getting the Intel ac3160 dual-band ac + BT 4.0 card and installed it. It works perfectly in the Envy 17. No issues whatsoever. BT works flawlessly, and I have 780 mbps uplink and full signal strength anywhere in my apartment. So for anyone wanting to upgrade their HP laptops with the single-band Realtek or RainLink WiFi cards, you can safely do the Intel ac3160. Make sure it's an HP-branded part though to avoid any potential issues. Also download the Intel drivers first before you put in the new card.

Thanks for the help and suggestions.
 
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