relation between signal strength and data speed

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
What is the relationship between signal strength and data speed.



I get good speed on my laptop whn I'm near my router, but when I go downstairs--the signal is weak and the wireless data speed slows down.



Is there a difference in different routers? in b vs g?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    Quote:

    Originally posted by sammick

    Is there a difference in different routers? in b vs g?



    Yes.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    Well, I suppose I could be a bit more helpful...



    G is rated at 54MBps

    B is rated at 11MBps



    G is also reputedly more robust to some forms of interference.



    Some sources of Interference



    Range from the base station (irrespective of interference) decreases signal... although some routers/base stations can adjust transmitting power to alter range...



    otherwise you're looking at that old physics challenge of the inverse square law



    hope that helps a bit more
  • Reply 3 of 4
    regreg Posts: 832member
    Here is a non- scientific test. I just ran a download internet test.

    4 bars - 4.6M download, 421k up

    3 bars - 4.2M download, 421k up

    2 bars - 2.8M download, 421 up

    It is raining outside so could not go far enough to get just one bar. All test were run within a minute of each other and no other computers were being used at the time. These are normal download speeds that I get. Too tired to transfer big files between computers to test the AE speed per bar but these are normal drop off that you would expect to find. At 1 bar I would expect something around 1M or less depending on if signal drops out altogether.



    reg
  • Reply 4 of 4
    sammicksammick Posts: 416member
    Thanks so much you guys. You are great!!!



    sam
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