I just got a wireless router for my computer and my sis's new laptop. I set up everything correctly, but it seems that my internet became slower.. My download on the net is only 5kbps and my web browsing has been a little slow as well. Why am I downloading so slow? Arent routers suppose to keep it fast? My friend told me that it may be any cordless phones around the house interfering with the router's waves communicating with the laptop. Can this be true? and if so, what should I do? Any help will be appreciated

How far are you from the router? Microwaves can interfer as well. Is it just one computer that is slowed or both. Also, what brand of router are you using?

The Microwave is about 100 ft. away. My Router brand is NETGEAR.

Hi John. Microwave ovens (in my opinion) are really negligible as to the amount of interference they cause to wireless equipment. If your router is sitting on top your microwave, that's one thing, but they're shielded very well these days, to prevent levels of microwave radiation strong enough to cook your food, from travelling freely throughout your house. I would lean much more toward your cordless phones and your neighbors' cordless phones. Those will cause absolute havoc to a wireless network. There are a couple things you can do to fix this: Set your wireless equipment to channel 11. That's the only (I believe) channel that is not shared with cordless phones. This can often be a good step in at least reducing some interference, if not eliminating it entirely. Upgrade your wireless equipment to 5GHz systems. The majority of cordless phones are in the 2.4GHz band, which is the same as the 802.11b,g,etc wireless equipment. An upgrade of wireless equipment will fix that. Upgrade your cordless phones to 5GHz, or downgrade them to 900MHz. Before you think about upgrading your phones or wireless equipment though, unplug them all [phones] in your house and see if the problem persists. If it does, then something else is causing the problem.

Thanks for the suggestions Bryan. How do I set my wireless equipment to channel 11?

To change the channel on your wireless card, go to Device Manager (right click My Computer, Properties, Hardware, Device Manager) and find your wireless card. Should be under Network Adapters. Right Click, go to properties. One of the tabs will contain several settings (Advanced tab on mine) including one to change the channel. To change the channel on your router, go to your router's setup area (usually http://192.168.0.1 or something similar). There will be a setting in there somewhere to change the channel. Where that setting is varies greatly by brand and model. Good luck! Bryan

Thanks for the help