Question This may just be a range issue, although my apartment isn't that big.

[jsh169]

I live in a 2 bedroom apartment. I have spectrum internet with a tc8715d router. Windows 10 custom built pc. Anyways first off I will say my available network vast majority shows as 5 bars once in a while drops to 4. Anyways I could go a whole day with no issues, but then my wireless connection will drop. Then I will get can't connect to the hidden network once in a while, or the network isn't with in range. With in a few minutes with either me messing with it or it doing it by itself it will fix itself. Would buying a 25 foot usb cable extension possibly solve this issue, by being able to compensate for some of that distance, while I think the vast majority of the problem is the walls the wifi has to go through more than the distance. My computer is on the second floor, while my router is near the ceiling on the first floor. I have updated to most current drivers for my network adapter. D-link DWA-182 Wireless Dual Band AC1200 USB Wi-Fi adapter. Thanks for your help.

 

[Ralston18]

Do not put a lot of faith in those bars...

Being in an apartment situation may mean that your wireless network is experiencing interference from other nearby wireless devices.

You should be able to see other networks in your surrounding area via the "Connect to" function of your wireless adapter. Just look for them, no need to actually connect. Especially if not secured.

Try changing frequency and channels on your network. Ensure that the network is secure (password) so no one else can use it.

Yes: an Ethernet cable will (or should) make a notable difference in network performance and reliability.

And consider power line network adapters. Depending on your apartment's electrical wiring and overall condition power line adapters may be a good choice between wireless and having a 25 foot Ethernet cable strung about.

 

[jsh169]

I am not sure how to go about changing frequency, but I did change my wifi channel. I only had a limited few options, but decided on what to choose with wifi analyzer. I am now on a different channel so will give that a try and I guess I need to invest into a powerline adapter. Thanks for the help. It's weird on the best channel wifi analyzer gave me options only had 1 channel I could choose from, it wasn't a manual option, but a variety of 10 to 15 channels. I had no option for the recommended, highest rated channel I got to work was 39.

 

[jsmithepa]

There is signal strength (what u call distance) and noise (neighbors, heavy appliances). Your solutions are try other channels, try 5 ghz. At the end wires beats them all.

 

[bill001g]

The problem with wifi channels is they do not represent the bandwidth being used...especially by modern routers.

On 2.4g the 11 or so channels you see in a router represent 60mhz of total bandwidth. Current routers use 40mhz of that bandwidth so it is impossible to fit 2 devices. On the 5g band there 9 channels total you can use in most countries. These represent 1 80mhz block and 1 100mhz block. 802.11ac routers need 80mhz so only 2 router can fit. People using tri-band routers use both 80mhz blocks.

In addition the 802.11ax stuff that is just starting to come to the market uses 160mhz on the 5g for a single device. This is how they are getting the increased speeds. This can only make things worse.

Was nice when everyone used 802.11g and 802.11a using only 20mhz channels. Lots of room to find some bandwidth.

If a ethernet cable is a option I would always use that even if installation was a lot of effort. Once it is in it just works and you don't worry about it. USB is only rated to 15ft and will not have even close to the performance of USB. If all you have on your computer is USB see if there is a USB to ethernet adapter.