Wireless router signal weak - why?

[thelewisgang]

maybe someone can help me here. I have recently sold a Wireless router which was working fine for me until recently. I have now heard from the buyer to say he wants to return this item to me as the signal of this is, in his words, very, very, weak & he cannot connect to the internet. As I said, it was working ok for me & just wonder why he would experience this problem. Could it be its not compatible with his connection? I could refund him I know but if its because he has simply bought the wrong one then why should I? Any answers appreciated. thanks

[Mobius1]

If he's getting a signal, but it's weak, then his receiving equipment must be detecting the signal, and so it can't be a compatibility issue.

What wireless router was it? Make and model... Usually, signal issues can be rectified fairly easily. Router placement is very important (the higher up and more centralised the better). Removing interference is also another option. It may be that there are other networks nearby using the same channel. Switching the router to another, non-overlapping channel, can help this i.e. switching from channel 6 to channel 1 or 13.

[thelewisgang]

thanks for your reply. Its a Netgear DG834 v4. I never had to switch channels & just wonder how would he go about doing this? your reply would be appreciated.thanks again

[another-view]

How far is he trying to connect his computer to the router. The signal will be weak if it has to go through three floors and a brick wall.

[Mobius1]

another-view is right - it's important to be realistic with how far they want the signal to go. It'll be more of a problem the further it is, especially if it's an older property with thick walls.

You may not have had to change the channel when you had it, it just depends on what channels are being used around you. If there weren't many people with wifi using the same channel near you, it doesn't mean there won't be near them. He should be able to change the wireless channel by going into the router's menu. This should be accessible via his web browser by typing in:

http://192.168.0.1 or http://192.168.1.1

Unless you changed the default access codes when you had it, the default username is admin and the default password is password. This will allow him to access "wireless settings" and then change the channel the router is operating on from 1 through 13, with 1, 6 and 13 being the best choices to avoid overlapping (default is probably 6).

[thelewisgang]

thank you for your replies. I really do appreciate you posting. Will see what he comes up with when he replies to my email