Advanced Troubleshooting, Fully Wired Networks

Sometimes performance works best when the antennas at both components of the wireless network are pointing vertically straight up. In other cases positioning the antennas on all devices at a 45-degree angle yields the best results. Performance usually degrades significantly if the antennas are positioned vertically on one device (i.e. your home networking access point/router) and horizontally on the other device (i.e. the Media Center Extender). Try different antenna positions while the Bandwidth Monitor is running to see how it affects your network performance.

NOTE: Some wireless networking components have fixed internal antennas instead of external antennas; in these cases it may look as if the device doesn’t have an antenna at all. For devices with internal antennas you can rotate the device to change the antenna reception.

Fully Wired Networks

If you have a completely wired Ethernet network connecting from your Media Center PC to your Media Center Extender, double-check that all networking components support 100 Mbps. Older 10 Mbps Ethernet networking “hubs” are not supported and will cause network bandwidth problems.

Advanced Troubleshooting

Elements That May Cause Wireless Network Interference

802.11g wireless networks share their airspace with a number of other devices and technologies which may influence overall performance. The following are things to consider which might affect your wireless network if they are in your house or nearby:

●Microwave oven use

●2.4 GHz cordless phones

●2.4 GHz baby monitors

●2.4 GHz analog wireless video senders

●Neighboring wireless networks

Solving these types interference problems can be challenging. If a significant interruption occurs for a short period of time someone may be using a microwave oven nearby. Consider replacing your 2.4 GHz cordless phones or baby monitors with 900 MHz models if that’s feasible. See “Changing Wireless Networking Channels” below for