Acer 3690 - wireless range problem

I have 2 Acer 3690s recently purchased with Vista home basic. I have set up a netgear wireless router.

The laptops receive good wireless signal within 5 metres but that rapidly deteriorates with distance so that 15 metres away (upstairs bedrooms) the signal is very low.

My friend tested his Dell laptop with Windows XP alongside mine and he is picking up a strong signal when mine is showing a weak signal.

This suggests that the router is operating correctly and there are no objects/other equipement interfering with teh signal.

Could this be a problem with the aerial built in to the Acer? Or maybe a problem with Vista?

 

Hmm, I don't think its Vista, but mine is Atheros and in my opinion it isn't the best Wifi card out there, but it does the job. I was on vacation with the laptop and I had a weaker signal compared with my uncle's IBM thinkpad, and we were both in the same hotel room!

Anyhow if your just upstairs then I'm guessing its the card. First I'll either try re-installing the drivers and if that didn't help. Open the back panel of your Acer and check to make sure if the wireless antenna connectors are properly connected. I don't know the how the back of the 3690 looks like but its should be one of the panels. There is a black and white cords on my 3680 which are the wireless antenna. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the response

"Atheros" - is this the brand of the Wi Fi card in the laptop?

"re-installing the drivers" - is this the software in the laptop which deals with Wi-Fi connectivity?

The laptops and router are new and I have not tried to install any "firmware" or other updates. (you will gather from these questions that I am fairly IT illiterate so don't feel comfortable about doing anything I don't know about). Could these be relevant to the problem? So forum posts suggest that connectivity improves with these updates.

As I have 2 laptops both bought at teh same time and showing the same problem I am assuming there can't be a loose connection, but I suppose there could be aproblem with the whole batch.

 

well, as strange as it may seem, when I upgraded my processor my wireless conection became a lot more stable and strong...

 

Go to Start (Windows logo bottom left corner) > computer > right click> manage. Device Manager should open up now expand where it says "Network Adapters" you should see two lines listed there (could be more). Something with xxxxxxxwirelessxxxx = your card's name. Now go to
http://www.acerpanam.com/flex/acerdrivers/bin/drivers.html?CFID=4116677&CFTOKEN=98451554

Download the corresponding driver. Technically there 3 drivers, but 4 total, 2 from Atheros, 1 from Broadcom, and the last Intel. If its Atheros, then there try the first one if that doesn't improve try the 2nd.

Yes drivers linked above once downloaded and installed hence you would be re-installing. First I would suggest uninstalling (remove) the current driver. Maybe your friend could assist you on this part. Good luck.