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    weak wifi

    Discussion in 'HP' started by mike_taso, Mar 16, 2008.

  1. mike_taso

    mike_taso Notebook Enthusiast

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    hi all, i have a dv6404ca laptop and my wifi seems to be very weak. when ever im in school i can never pick up any signals, while my friend with a dell/toshiba latop is always connected. is there any way of upgrading the internal wifi card? or is my only option is buying a external usb wifi?

    thanks alot
     
    mike_taso, Mar 16, 2008
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  2. McGrady

    McGrady Notebook Virtuoso

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    your friend is sitting in the hotspots
    ;)
     
    McGrady, Mar 16, 2008
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  3. mike_taso

    mike_taso Notebook Enthusiast

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    lol serious? i sit right beside him tho? it shouldnt make any difference ........
     
    mike_taso, Mar 16, 2008
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  4. brianstretch

    brianstretch Notebook Virtuoso

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    Toshiba usually uses Atheros cards that have much better range than the Intel and Broadcom cards HP uses. Dell generally uses Intel, though I'm not sure if their AMD notebooks do. Still, if your school's IT department is remotely competent you should be able to receive a signal. I take it you have no wireless trouble elsewhere?

    Swapping in a new wireless card hasn't worked in the past due to the whitelist HP puts in the BIOS to keep you from using "unapproved" wireless cards. I'm not sure if they're still doing that or not.
     
    brianstretch, Mar 16, 2008
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  5. caveman

    caveman Notebook Consultant

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    If it only works when you are really close to the router, it could be that the antenna cable may not be tightly on the wireless card. So you'll have to open up the RAM cover and under there make sure the wireless cards' antenna wires are securely fastened.
     
    caveman, Mar 16, 2008
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  6. ncxcstud

    ncxcstud Notebook Enthusiast

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    try seeing if there is an updated driver at the wireless antenna's manufacturer's site.

    I had 'lousy' reception on my wireless card with my laptop in my own home, or it would cut out constantly...found out that there was a much updated driver on the site...downloaded/installed it and worked like a charm :)
     
    ncxcstud, Mar 16, 2008
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  7. jmhal

    jmhal Notebook Consultant

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    also look at the power management properties of the card, it might be set to max battery. to get there right click on the wireless icon in the system tray >> click status >> in general tab click properties >> in general tab click configure >> then in the pop up window go to the advanced tab and check the list of properties and see what they are set to especially "transmit power" and "power management" set them both to highest and see if that helps.

    this and a new driver will probably do the trick, no need to buy a new card
     
    jmhal, Mar 16, 2008
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  8. McGrady

    McGrady Notebook Virtuoso

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    By default, transmit power is always on Highest. But I guess it doesn't hurt to look.
     
    McGrady, Mar 16, 2008
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  9. mike_taso

    mike_taso Notebook Enthusiast

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    thanks for all the help people. to clear up some things: i get excellent reception while in my house almost anywhere(never been in the basement) but it does drop connection at times. it is only when in school the reception is terrible. not connecting at all, while i see my friends with there dells and toshiba connected.. after doing all this and if its still bad, do you guys recommend buying a wifi usb? and does it matter what kind of wifi usb key i buy? is more expensive better?

    thanks
     
    mike_taso, Mar 17, 2008
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  10. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    have you tried updating your drivers before considering other options?
     
    flipfire, Mar 17, 2008
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  11. R4000

    R4000 Notebook Virtuoso

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    HP has recently started using Atheros cards of the b/g flavor, while the pre-n cards appear to still be Broadcom.......
     
    R4000, Mar 17, 2008
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  12. mikelets456

    mikelets456 Notebook Consultant

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    I would go in to "wireless connections" and make sure your lap top is not trying to connect to a different network for some reason. If it's the same network, then update the drivers. If that does not work, re-seat the card and check all connections.

    Try an external usb wireless or pc card for WIFI....you can always return it when finished you experimentation if you like.

    Also, keep in mind that HP had numerous WIFI problems with their laptops. I was a victim to this. It would drop connections, get spotty connections then eventually not connect at all....or if it did it would download at horrible speeds.

    Go to a place with a strong signal and go to DSL Reports or Speakeasy.net and check download/upload speeds.

    Like I said, HP had/has NUMEROUS Wifi problems and they will correct it.
     
    mikelets456, Mar 17, 2008
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  13. brianstretch

    brianstretch Notebook Virtuoso

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    Really? Excellent! About time they switched to Atheros.
     
    brianstretch, Mar 17, 2008
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  14. mike_taso

    mike_taso Notebook Enthusiast

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    do i download from the hp website? but my laptop usually downloads everything for me.. it says no new updates are available
     
    mike_taso, Mar 18, 2008
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  15. mike_taso

    mike_taso Notebook Enthusiast

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    awesome!... so now its just a matter of when there gonna fix it..
     
    mike_taso, Mar 18, 2008
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  16. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    flipfire, Mar 18, 2008
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  17. mike_taso

    mike_taso Notebook Enthusiast

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    mike_taso, Mar 18, 2008
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  18. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    Through your device manager under Network Adapter
     
    flipfire, Mar 18, 2008
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  19. mikelets456

    mikelets456 Notebook Consultant

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    Right click "my computer", click on "properties", "hardware" tab, "device manager", click the "+" sign under "network adapters" then double click on the device and you'll see a tab for "driver".....go from there.

    Did you try the other stuff I posted earlier?
     
    mikelets456, Mar 18, 2008
    #19