Solved WiFi system tray icon always shows 5 bars when it shouldn't

[ngc7293]

The house has 2 laptops connected to a mobile hotspot.
Both connect fine to the internet. One is a Lenova (Win7 64bit).
When it connects, its wifi shows 2 or 3 bars (for this house,
3 bars is high). The second computer is a Toshiba that I got
2 years ago and it has always shown 5 bars. Because it was the
first Win 7 machine in the house I assumed that was the way it
was supposed to be, until we got the Lenova.
I have searched the Net for some answer, but found none. I have
cleared the Tray Notification Cache with CCleaner but that did
nothing. I ran a program that someone said would fix missing
tray icons and that did nothing.
I have considered swapping that dll file with the icons in it
(forgot the name right now) that I assume both the Toshiba and
Lenova have. Since they both have Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SP1,
I would think the file would be the same. I am just not sure
what would happen.

For other information, the wifi icon will show other 'phases',
When I say phases, I mean: not connected, connecting, can't connect and
connected, but it will not show the separate bars.

I find this a little odd and a little maddening that the all powerful google can't help me!

Thanks.

 

[ThrashZone]

Go to the Computer manufactures website and Help-support section for Wifi driver updates,
They will usually have a utility to auto search all existing drivers and post the updated releases,
You can also try Intel directly but most will recommend getting them from the manufacture's website.

 

[ngc7293]

I updated the Realtek and Microsoft Wireless adapters and the problem still exists.
Just a note, I have no trouble connecting. Why would I need to update update a Wifi driver? This seems to be more of a Windows issue. I am not trying to get ahead of the troubleshooting game, I am just trying to find out what is wrong or head it off at the 'pass'.

 

[ThrashZone]

Could be nothing,
My lappy only has four bars and I'm happy to see them all

 

[ngc7293]

As I said in the OP, the Lenova shows between 2 and 3. The Toshiba has always showed five even in the basement when it should have shown just one. If I had regular broadband, I would not be complaining, but I would like to see how many bars I have. It is especially important that I never caught it when I first got it. I might have returned the machine for a replacement. As it is, I am just looking for a fix.

Anyway, is it possibly something to do with the set of icons or to do with the registry?

 

[ThrashZone]

First thing I would do is run the speed test from different locations where your concerns are,
http://www.sevenforums.com/network-sharing/1200-whats-your-internet-speed.html

 

[ngc7293]

I am using a 3G cellphone to get a connection to the internet. The phone never gets more than 3 bars and sometimes only gets one bar. The Toshiba Laptop still shows 5 bars with the phone right next to it while the Lenova laptop will show 2 or 3 bars depending when the phone is next to it. The Toshiba has ALWAYS shown 5 bars as if it were the only icon it could show, but the Lenova has show varied bars, making me believe that there is something up with the icons not with the speed.

 

[strollin]

Not sure what the issue is but the number of bars the phone displays will have nothing to do with how many bars the laptop shows. The bars are SUPPOSED to reflect relative signal strength so it is totally plausible that your phone could have only 1 bar but your laptop still show 5 bars due to close proximity to the phone.

 

[andrew129260]

Good be that the wifi chip in the laptop is way better then the other machine. All wifi cards and adapters are not created equal.

 

[ngc7293]

Not sure what the issue is but the number of bars the phone displays will have nothing to do with how many bars the laptop shows. The bars are SUPPOSED to reflect relative signal strength so it is totally plausible that your phone could have only 1 bar but your laptop still show 5 bars due to close proximity to the phone.

Thanks, I took what you said and noticed that the Lenova Laptop had 2or 3 bars when my cell phone was in another room. I have always had the cell phone NEXT TO the Toshiba so I never noticed a difference until I moved it to the far end of the house. The Toshiba then showed a couple bars on the wifi.

You are right that it doesn't matter the bars on my cell phone because it showed 2 or three bars when it was next to either computer and they showed 5 bars.

I do wish there was a way to see what my cell phone was showing instead of my computer 'pegging the meter'.

Thanks. I suppose I got my answers. Does the admin close the thread or do I?

 

[derekimo]

You can run Speedtest on all your devices,

Speedtest.net by Ookla - Mobile

Speedtest.net by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Also, we don't usually close threads but you can mark it solved by clicking the green solved button if you want.