wireless range suddenly reduced - any ideas?

[nearlytoolate]

For some reason my wireless internet has stopped working in my living room, and will only work if I move closer to where the router is (to another room where I am about 15 ft from the router, on the floor above). The place it won't work is another 15-20ft away. this has just happened in the past couple of days - any ideas why??
My iphone still seems to be picking it up in the living room (though it might be lying to me!!)
Thanks for any ideas!

So your laptop can't pick up your wireless in your living room any more but your iPhone still can?

If so, the most likely answer is that your laptop's wireless card and/or aerial has developed a fault. Or possibly the laptop's wireless card has been set to only transmit at reduced power (it is possible but it is tricky to do so unlikely to be done by accident).

Or, someone else has recently turned on a wireless router near you that is using the same channel. If your iPhone connects to the router at a lower speed than your laptop is trying to do then the iPhone may be less affected.

I'd start by turning the wireless router off and then back on again. If it is a problem with interference then this may trigger your router to pick a different channel to use. If that doesn't work, have a look on your laptop to see what the signal strength is.

Thanks - yes that's right (though I am not entirely sure I trust my iphone's wireless signal indicator - wasn't there all that fuss about it being inaccurate?)

I have tried the old switch on/switch off trick, no joy - how do I find out what the signal strengh is on the laptop?

The iPhone's signal indicator is/was inaccurate for mobile phone coverage but I think its WiFi measurements are ok.

Is your laptop a Windows machine or a Mac? If it's running Windows then point your mouse at the wireless indicator at the bottom-right. It should pop up with a box showing you the name of your wireless router and a signal strength indicator.