Has anyone heard of a laptop causing interference with a router for being too close?
Due to locations of phone jacks in my house I decided to have the modem and router set up on my desk. And lately the internet has either disconnected itself or taken 10+ minutes to load a blank page.
By unplugging my laptop and sitting in the middle of my room on my chair it seems to solve the problem, i think.

Does anyone think that the proximity is the reason? Or just crappy internet (I waited on the phone for 30mins to talk to someone then had to give up)

The answer is no. That's not how science works.

Mel, you with TekSavvy?

Question: are you connecting via wireless in both cases (on the desk and in the middle of the room)? I only ask because you mentioned unplugging your laptop.

Question 2: when the "internet is disconnected" can you still reach the configuration page for the router? If so, then its likely your internet service provider that's the problem and not the router / something interesting.

Question 3: What is the manufacturer / model number of your wireless router?

Answer to your question:
It is possible to be too close to an antenna to receive an effective signal. Either your computer could be in the antenna's shadow or the router could be in the shadow of the antenna on your laptop. The wavelength of EM radiation at Wifi frequencies (2.4 GHz) is 12.5 cm so it is possible to see significant spatial power fluctuations within a few wavelengths of the router due to antenna geometry, misc objects, etc.

My recommendation would be to hang the router / modem on the wall or on a shelf at least 1m away from your computer and see if you see an improvement.

Other common causes of Wifi problems are:
-nearby malfunctioning microwaves (resolve by replacing)
-numerous wireless phones (2.4 GHz) in the vicinity (switch to 900 MHz or 5.8 GHz DECT phones) or
-numerous other wireless networks in the vicinity congesting the channels. (switch the channel being used on your wireless router)

Originally Posted by dsahota

Question: are you connecting via wireless in both cases (on the desk and in the middle of the room)? I only ask because you mentioned unplugging your laptop.

Question 2: when the "internet is disconnected" can you still reach the configuration page for the router? If so, then its likely your internet service provider that's the problem and not the router / something interesting.

Question 3: What is the manufacturer / model number of your wireless router?

Answer to your question:
It is possible to be too close to an antenna to receive an effective signal. Either your computer could be in the antenna's shadow or the router could be in the shadow of the antenna on your laptop. The wavelength of EM radiation at Wifi frequencies (2.4 GHz) is 12.5 cm so it is possible to see significant spatial power fluctuations within a few wavelengths of the router due to antenna geometry, misc objects, etc.

My recommendation would be to hang the router / modem on the wall or on a shelf at least 1m away from your computer and see if you see an improvement.

Other common causes of Wifi problems are:
-nearby malfunctioning microwaves (resolve by replacing)
-numerous wireless phones (2.4 GHz) in the vicinity (switch to 900 MHz or 5.8 GHz DECT phones) or
-numerous other wireless networks in the vicinity congesting the channels. (switch the channel being used on your wireless router)

Im connected wirelessly both times (unplugged from power source in order to walk away from router).
I didnt try connecting to the config page, the connection problem seems to have decreased since I moved my laptop to the oposite side of my desk (a little less than a meter away now).
No broken microwaves, no wireless phones... lots of wireless networks on the street but not within the house.
Router is "Ativa" its an off-brand i think, cheaper, its for wireless G.

And im with Acanac, I reeally hope this problem is with some mysterious interference and not the company cause were on a contract now

Originally Posted by Melanieee

Im connected wirelessly both times (unplugged from power source in order to walk away from router).
I didnt try connecting to the config page, the connection problem seems to have decreased since I moved my laptop to the oposite side of my desk (a little less than a meter away now).
No broken microwaves, no wireless phones... lots of wireless networks on the street but not within the house.
Router is "Ativa" its an off-brand i think, cheaper, its for wireless G.

And im with Acanac, I reeally hope this problem is with some mysterious interference and not the company cause were on a contract now

With the router being an older cheaper model it does make it even more likely that its some weird interference problem / router crashing problem. If moving across the desk has permanently fixes it, that's great, if the problem returns here's some things to try:

1) reposition the antenna on the router
2) get an ethernet cable (~$5 from titles / canada computers) and see if you have the same problems if you're wired to the router
3) If you still have problems when its wired, then its either your DSL modem/ISP or the router just crashing / freezing. Diagnosing the router freezing can be a bit difficult, but if its crashing and rebooting it should be obvious as the power light will blink.