Wireless signal strength
Weak signal strength can lead to widget sluggishness and a poor experience. To check the signal strength reaching your chumby, squeeze the top of it to open the control panel. At the top of the screen are 5 bars. The more green bars there are, the stronger the signal. If 1 or fewer bars are showing and widgets seem to be taking a while to load, you should try the suggestions in the section Improving your wireless set-up. Note: 0 bars indicates a 50% signal strength, not 0%. Some chumbys, depending on the widgets selected, will perform fine at 50%. Every bar is a 10% increase going from 50% to 100%.
To get more detailed information on your chumby's wireless signal strength, do the following:
- While on the control panel, tap the button followed by the button.
- Look for the link quality line:
The link quality should be 70 or higher for optimal performance. If it's not, try the suggestions in the section Improving your wireless set-up.
improving your wireless set-up
Most of the tips below on how to improve your wireless set-up not only benefit your chumby, but also the other wireless devices inside your home.
Choose a central location
The easiest way to improve your wireless strength is to move your access point to a central area. Do you have your chumby in one room and your computer in another? Put the access point in as centrally located a place as possible so both devices can benefit equally. The farther a signal has to travel, the weaker it will get.
Wireless signal weakens over distance:Move wireless router to a central location:
Avoid obstacles
Keeping your router in an open space is better for its signal. Avoid putting your access point right on the floor or right next to a wall. If you're having signal problems, as a test, put the access point in the most central area possible, even if this means in the very center of a room. Then see if the signal improves to your wireless devices. If it does, then you'll know the access point's location is a major part of your problem.
Avoid interference
Interference is a signal that's at the same frequency as the one you're using. It can come from devices like copiers, cell phones, cordless phones, and microwave ovens. Interference can also result when your wireless signal bounces off reflective objects like metal and water. If your access point is close to any of these, try moving the access point to a new location or move the other items away from your access point. To quiet the noise, avoid wireless electronics that use the 2.4GHz frequency.
Update your chumby
When chumby updates are sent out over-the-air, install them. Because we are continually expanding the chumby's capabilities, these updates offer important improvements — sometimes wireless performance enhancements. Completely new features may also be a part of an update.
Update your router's firmware
"Firmware" is the software that's built into a device. Router manufacturers regularly make improvements to their firmware; sometimes these improvements increase performance. You should visit your router manufacturer's web site now and then to check for firmware updates — they're usually free.
Change your wireless channel
Like radio stations, one wireless channel can be clearer than another. Try changing your wireless router's channel through your router's configuration page to see if your signal strength improves (you'll need to refer to your router's user manual for details on how to do this). Channels 1, 6 and 11 are the best to use for 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g wireless devices like your chumby.
Replace your router's antenna
The antennas supplied with routers are most commonly 1dB - 2dB omni-directional, which means they broadcast in all directions. Your signal can be improved by replacing this antenna with a higher gain omni-directional antenna; 5dB - 7 dB are the best option for indoors. Make sure you check which antenna connector type your router has before purchasing a higher gain antenna.
Add a range extender
A range extender (also called a "wireless repeater") is a device that helps extend the range of your network signal by relaying it before it weakens. It does not require additional wiring; just locate it between your access point and your chumby. Range extenders start as low as $40.
A range extender retransmits the signal:
