[SOLVED] Does the main PC need antennas?

[CrayolaMoo]

I recently hooked my grandparent's pc back up after they had it fixed. It is hooked up to the router by an Ethernet cord. This I already knew. But there were also two antennas in the back for the wifi (very loose and broke when I tried to tighten them.). Our WiFi has always had problems. Is this what is causing the issues? Are their antennas causing the interference with the rest of the wifi? Because the internet provider insists there are no issues.

 

[bill001g]

If you are using ethernet the wifi card is basically off.

Even if it were on the antenna being damaged would mean the PC would transmit less power and interfere less.

Still if you are using ethernet the wifi card is at most listening but not transmitting.

 

[CrayolaMoo]

So, the main computer cannot use the ethernet and transmit the wifi to the other devices at the same time?

 

[bill001g]

It won't do it unless you configure it say run as a AP or run some other non standard configuration. By default it will not use both interfaces at the same time.

 

[CrayolaMoo]

It must be already configured as such though. Because it has been connected like that all of this time. The main pc has always been connected to the ethernet and not the wifi but my pc and the phones are connected to the wifi. But the wifi signal just isn't strong like it used to be even if we shut the wifi off on the phones.

 

[USAFRet]

It must be already configured as such though. Because it has been connected like that all of this time. The main pc has always been connected to the ethernet and not the wifi but my pc and the phones are connected to the wifi. But the wifi signal just isn't strong like it used to be even if we shut the wifi off on the phones.

The phones get the WiFi from the router, not that PC.

 

[CrayolaMoo]

Okay. That's what I thought originally then. So, do the antennas on the main pc have anything to do with boosting the wifi to phones and my pc or were they just there when my grandparents just got pc perhaps? I just want good internet and the internet provider keeps saying there is nothing wrong with the internet but clearly there is if my latency is high on my pc and I have turned of the wifi on the phones and everything off in the background.

 

[USAFRet]

They were just there. Nothing to do with talking WiFi to other devices.

 

[geofelt]

Likely the antennas are not any issue at all.
But, to be certain, go into device manager and disable or uninstall the wifi adapter.