When you're looking at dual-band gear for a single user, it’s really just sticking to one band at a time. You can't actually use both simultaneously because physics won't allow it—while one antenna is busy broadcasting, the device can't pick up a signal from that same frequency. Getting true full duplex would only work if we started stuffing expensive filters, like duplexers, into every single Wi-Fi gadget out there... I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the future brings 🙂 Just so we're clear, MIMO isn't even close to being a full duplex connection, let alone SISO-MIMO.
Honestly, 1Gbps duplex is already plenty for us mere mortals, let alone fiber... and that's assuming you get it without any constant interruptions. Wifi has pretty much hit its limit unless you switch over to duplex—basically using two different frequencies depending on what you're trying to do under ITU standards—because right now, everything in the neighborhood interferes with your signal... plus, you have zero privacy.
Think of WiFi as simplex while LAN is full duplex... when you're running a repeater, that WiFi band is basically juggling two connections at once—it’s talking to the General Electric router and then switching over to the PC back and forth. It's handling two things in sequence. But when it’s set up as an Access Point, that WiFi is dedicated solely to the PC. Just imagine how much of a headache it would be if my buddy had a 100Mbps fiber connection... right now, since he's only pulling 30Mbps, it’s not a huge deal because the WiFi can technically outpace that speed, so you barely notice the bottleneck. But man, once that WiFi signal starts dropping or getting shaky? That's when you really feel the sting.
The PC isn't actually ancient. My son’s desktop uses an Athlon II X2 450 with 4GB of DDR2/800 RAM and a 500GB Western Digital hard drive, and it ran Windows 7 64-bit just fine for seven years before we upgraded it to Windows 10 64-bit last year. It's probably just a fresh install, so you're stuck in that loop where it's constantly pulling down updates and installing them. Toss an antivirus on top of that, and it's no wonder things are stuttering every now and then. Honestly, I think Windows Defender is plenty for you, provided you aren't out there browsing sketchy websites.
...maybe it’s just that "n" mode which supports smartphones and newer laptops, but the range isn't nearly as good as "g" mode, which I'm guessing is what those older laptops are running on....plus, if you're using a long USB cable, the extra length can actually tank your speeds and cause drops. Try borrowing a USB Wi-Fi adapter that has an external antenna—something like a Netgear adapter—then plug it into a USB extension cord (up to about 15 feet) so you can move it around to a spot where the signal is actually strong.
So, look, if you're just plugging that tiny USB Wi-Fi adapter into your PC and sitting in the same room as your router, you'll probably be fine. But the second you try to move a couple of rooms away or deal with a few walls in between? Your connection is going to tank. It’ll be way worse—maybe even totally useless—compared to using a standard USB Wi-Fi adapter that actually has a decent-sized antenna (you know, like one of those 2-inch sticks) attached to it.
You could definitely use this one first just to get some basic connectivity in a single room... but if you're actually trying to reach other rooms, you’re gonna need a real USB Wi-Fi adapter with an external antenna—something at least 2.5 inches long. It's a totally different ballgame compared to those tiny miniature ones where the antenna is just a few millimeters tucked inside.
Even if I needed 100 different accounts 😁... ever since these various online sync features popped up, I haven't touched them once... and I'm not starting now. For Chrome, I just do a "manual sync" to my other devices by dragging the profile folder over via a thumb drive :P I've always been wary of using Azure for stuff like that... etc.
The real question is: am I just being paranoid? Or am I just being smart about protecting even a tiny sliver of my own data?
Check this out: - Grab the drivers specifically for that OS and laptop model from the HP support site. - How far are you from the router? Like, are there 2 or 3 walls in the way? - If you’re sitting right next to the router, does it still drop the connection? - Dive into those router WiFi settings. Check if the channel is set to 1-11 or up to 13, whether it's locked to a specific channel or just on auto... especially if someone was messing around with the settings lately. - Is the coax connection from the antenna to the internal WiFi card actually seated right? (Especially if you're picking up a ton of interference from neighbors' networks).
+ Honestly, if your phone is working fine, the router probably isn't the culprit—unless you've got some weird custom settings enabled in there.
Honestly, just find someone who’s been messing around with macOS for years to go in and completely wipe those antivirus programs off your drive. If things get messy during the process, just try a system restore to a point right before everything went south. That leaves you with just Microsoft Defender running natively on macOS, and then you can always toss Malwarebytes on there later to give the machine a good deep clean.
If you don't see it listed in your programs and you can't just hit remove, try using... I've been looking into ADWCleaner lately. It’s one of those little tools that actually does its job without making a huge production out of it. If you're dealing with annoying pop-ups or browser hijacks that just won't quit, this is definitely worth having in your toolkit. It’s straightforward, doesn't hog your system resources, and gets straight to the point. Honestly, if your computer starts acting possessed because of some junk software, give this a shot. It's a solid little lifesaver. From Malwarebytes
A USB adapter isn't going to cut it here because this setup specifically requires a direct connection to the PC via a USB cable.
"....so I'm trying to figure out what kind of router I should grab that can pick up the signal and then broadcast it via Wi-Fi."
What you're actually looking for is a Wi-Fi Extender that lets you plug in an external antenna to grab the neighbor's signal, while still covering your own rooms. You’ll want to set it up in "Extender" mode. Just make sure that the coax cable running to the antenna stays as short as possible—ideally no more than 2m ¤5mm. For example: https://www.amazon.com/wi-fi-extende...30re__20613551
- Eric Alvarez, this thread has been sitting here for ten days already.
- Look, electronics are either working or they aren't. Usually, you're looking at bad solder joints, short circuits, or maybe some crappy capacitors acting up... but with this whole situation where the WiFi card in the laptop eventually starts behaving itself? None of that applies. It’s totally fine.
- That one-minute lag you're seeing while waiting is just the WiFi card trying to shake hands with the router. It has to negotiate the DHCP for an IP address, sort out security protocols (like WPA), pick a channel, set the mode (b, g, n), speed, and all those other settings before it can actually talk to the web and get rid of that yellow warning icon.
- Honestly, if that laptop is usually sitting right next to the router, it would be way faster to just plug in an Ethernet cable.
...check the manual for your Dell power supply and see if there's a jumper labeled "5VSTB." If you find it, make sure it's set to the off position... or just after you shut down the PC, flip the switch on the back of the PSU 🙂
....if you don't have the manual handy, look in the top left corner; that's usually where they hide those jumpers.
Man, you’re really taking me back to my glory days 😁 .... I think I still have an old PATA hard drive lying around somewhere (only 250MB!) running DOS 5.0 with Windows 3.11 installed. Back then, I could just boot into it whenever I needed to get my CD-ROM actually working properly.
Look, we're kind of flying blind here since we have no clue what OS you're running. We also don't know which software you used to wipe things, or even what exactly got deleted—was it an entire folder? Individual files? Or just some desktop shortcuts?
The router has an antenna that both receives and transmits signal. If you keep it vertical, it’s mostly sending energy out sideways rather than up or down. By laying it flat, you actually redirect that radiation pattern vertically, aiming it toward the ceiling and floor instead. But honestly, that’s probably not even your biggest headache. You’ve got way too many walls in the way and way too much interference from everyone else's Wi-Fi in the neighborhood. Your best bet is probably just running a long Ethernet cable up to the next floor. If you really need wireless coverage there, you can just hook up an Access Point to that cable—even an old router sitting in a drawer can be repurposed as an AP if you tweak the settings. Another way to tackle this would be picking up some Powerline adapters that have both LAN and Wi-Fi ports built-in.