Will using a wired connection stop the wifi dropping out for everyone else?

[Haltaar]

So our family has a pretty standard router, the one that Sky give out with their broadband, but recently the wireless signal has been dropping out a lot. I think its because of all of the devices using the network at once, especially my PC, which i tend to run online games and use Teamspeak.

I was wondering if using a wired connection to the device using the most bandwidth (my PC) would fix the signal dropouts, and stop the connection from disconnectiing everyone every 30 seconds whilst i try to game

Im asking here first before i get a contractor to run a cable upstairs to my room

 

[Dist]

Well there could be any number of things that can cause wifi to have problems. Before thinking about a contractor to install the cable (if you think this is something that you can't do yourself), an easy way to test if a wired connection will solve the problems is to buy a cheap 20m or 50m Cat5e cable and just run the cable from the router to the PC. If it solves the issues you have been having then you can have sort out having the cable neatly hidden away, or if it doesn't help (it should help the PC at least) you can just skip that idea.

 

[Mercutio]

You could try a cheap set of homeplugs rather than messing with running cable all over the house. You could also try a better wireless router or put an access point on an easier cable run.

I suspect you are wanting a wired connection for the performance and stability while gaming etc so maybe aren't so fussed about alternatives.

The homeplug setup can be EXTREMELY good. I've had it 3 houses where it's been absolutely solid, no issue from plugging in to unplug it to move house. They DO have a problem if you happen to live in a massive terrace though as some older houses use a shared earth pin (which it what it runs the signal down). I've had to go wired at my current place as the connection speed was around 300K/sec which is obviously not cutting it.

Give them a thought though, you can get up to around 200Mbps ones which would do fine unless you have high end BB like BT Infinity or Virgin (they tend to not give quite the reported speeds).