Testing Wi-Fi / Wireless

darkcooleo · 2 Jan 2011 at 22:04

Any one know any good apps / programs to test wireless, stress test the wireless network.

I get a occasional drop from my notebook to my router every now and again, just want to eliminate the possibilities.

Jamiman · 2 Jan 2011 at 22:28

i get it too, most likey windows's fault (it still scans for wirelesses when you are connected, sometimes it causes a drop)

You could always try pinging it.

darkcooleo · 2 Jan 2011 at 22:37

Jamiman said:
i get it too, most likey windows's fault (it still scans for wirelesses when you are connected, sometimes it causes a drop)

You could always try pinging it.

Yer I did try a continous ping and everything was fine, always happens when watching video on demand.

Nanobot · 2 Jan 2011 at 23:47

Not sure of your OS, but there was a time with an old netbook of mine with Vista where in the advanced power options, the wireless was set to power saving when on battery/unplugged and an old article suggested setting the power saving setting for wireless to Maximum Performance. Just a thought that may or may not help, but it sounded familiar.

darkcooleo · 2 Jan 2011 at 23:50

Nanobot said:
Not sure of your OS, but there was a time with an old netbook of mine with Vista where in the advanced power options, the wireless was set to power saving when on battery/unplugged and an old article suggested setting the power saving setting for wireless to Maximum Performance. Just a thought that may or may not help, but it sounded familiar.

Just checked this, it was active but I never use the battery. It's a laptop that always on mains, remove the battery 99% of the time lol.

darkcooleo · 2 Jan 2011 at 23:56

Windows 7 ultimate 32 bit btw

Nanobot · 3 Jan 2011 at 11:18

Ah right. Can't think of any apps but I'm thinking whether you can try another laptop or desktop alongside yours - eliminate your physical laptop out of the equation? Have you tried the same test with wired ethernet cable to see if its just buffering.

thebigak · 3 Jan 2011 at 17:56

Do you have the most recent wireless drivers installed? What about the most recent router firmware? Have you checked the control panel properties for your wireless adapter to see if there is an option for 'gaming/multimedia' mode? I know Ralink adapters have this option and it helps with video streaming stability. Have you tried altering the orientation of your routers antennae relative to the wireless adapter's antennae? Does the drop occur when anything specific happens around the devices? For example I can make some wireless connections drop when I use a high powered catering microwave nearby! Anything emitting high frequency radio signals nearby could cause a drop in the connection.

darkcooleo · 3 Jan 2011 at 19:14

Nanobot said:
Ah right. Can't think of any apps but I'm thinking whether you can try another laptop or desktop alongside yours - eliminate your physical laptop out of the equation? Have you tried the same test with wired ethernet cable to see if its just buffering.

I've tried it on my desktop and it was fine but that is hard wired, have a few iPhones and iPods in the house and they don't seem to drop - but they ain't a continous connection streaming media

darkcooleo · 3 Jan 2011 at 19:20

thebigak said:
Do you have the most recent wireless drivers installed? What about the most recent router firmware? Have you checked the control panel properties for your wireless adapter to see if there is an option for 'gaming/multimedia' mode? I know Ralink adapters have this option and it helps with video streaming stability. Have you tried altering the orientation of your routers antennae relative to the wireless adapter's antennae? Does the drop occur when anything specific happens around the devices? For example I can make some wireless connections drop when I use a high powered catering microwave nearby! Anything emitting high frequency radio signals nearby could cause a drop in the connection.

It's only about 2M from the router itself, checked drivers, router is updated, checked control panel. I could have a mess with router but doubtful that the oriantation of the router will help.

The connection drops, then after about 30 sec it re-scans and then connects again. I've got laptop at my gf so going catch up on some gadget show and see how I get on.