having a signal strength issue, i am connected and it is working, but out of 4 signal bars i only have 3, i always get full strength on all devices and this computer did when it had win 7. I'm pretty sure the correct driver was installed during setup but is there something more i need to tweak?

output of lspci grep | Network
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82577LM Gigabit Network Connection (rev 06)
03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Advanced-N 6200 (rev 35)

when i run speedtest.net i get 40/20 which isn't bad but i know its capable of better, also the graph is pretty spikey and it takes a long delay before the test starts but that COULD be because i just installed flash plugin.

any help would be much appreciated

Hi:

One of my ISP's Tech's and I had a long talk today about the modem and the wireless signal.

The modem provides the internet connection but the wireless can fluctuate because of other residents around you that are wireless, cell phones and home phones the Tech told me the frequencies that they are on can effect the wireless strength.

The Tech suggested to try the new modem he gave me and if the wifi continues to weaken try the wired cable that he provided. Should it still persist the company suggests to purchase an additional router of my own and have them turn the modem that they gave me into a bridge and that would help the wifi from fluctuating as much as it has.

The Tech also mentioned that they could change the channel and that could help.

-::-If your ISP does give you a new modem make sure they update the firmware.-::-
My wifi was exceedingly slow until the Tech updated the firmware on the modem.

If it continue's you could ask your ISP for a good will adjustment to your bill for the days that the wifi runs slowly or if your network keeps going down.

A Tech can check the modem and see if there is trouble in the lines-
If they do find errors they are trained to correct that or otherwise use their expertise to troubleshoot the issue.

Keep in mind that the more devices you have that pulls on the modem/router and can effect the wifi.
For example when the Sony PS3 is running a game (but not online) the wifi signal on my Slackware machine is crappy and if my Android device and laptop are on the wifi is really bad sometimes.

Your Intel 6200 network interface card is most likely already being supported by the module/driver that came with the version of the kernel your system is using. Not much more you can do with that; least I don't think so:-

For some reason when I ran the speed test it was slow at getting started too.

Hope that helps-

i had this problem myself when i changed to linux, and have seen this line of argumentation many times since.

i think it can have many reasons:

1. since i changed to linux, my awareness is heightened. with windows, although it sucks, i didn't have to worry about a thing, but now it's mostly up to me. i'm overly sensitive: did i just brick my laptop? is it overheating? too slow?
2. commercial vs. non-commercial systems: windows will always try to make things look better: a responsive internet connection is an important sales point. always try to make it look like reception is 100% (your 4 bars!). linux doesn't have to do that because it's not trying to sell you anything. this often goes so far that you have to set up an application before you can use it, where windows will always try to give you some useful presets. this also includes browser caching (a pita on IE).
3. some ISPs and web servers treat Linux differently. I can't prove it, but there's plenty of websites where you can look at your computer from the outside and they don't only know which browser you're using, but also which operating system. it stands to reason that at least commercial sites might want to serve linux users last.
4. drivers and software might indeed work differently or not be as tuned for speed on linux.

now you can see that there's quite a lot of psychology here, but also some part economics and maybe a real technical problem.
some of it is completely out of your hands.
concentrate on the part of the problem that you can prove 100% (i don't even know if speedtest.net would be sufficient proof, according to point 3 of my list) and that you can actually change (on your computer).

After learning from a IT Tech Supervisor today I found out that sometimes the wifi drops because there are errors in the line and the only thing that fixes that if the Tech applys the firmware update to the modem.

A new firmware update is on the board (from what the man explained to me) occurs about every 6 months.

As soon as the firware update was completed my wifi is now full strength and working fine.

I was told that Enternet Explorer is the only browser that works for some modems for the Tech's to get into to make adjustment's. Otherwise they open a console the man told me.

You can tell what browser and os a person is using by going to this site and it tells you the details.
Just look and see what your user agent is--
http://www.whatsmyuseragent.com/