Difficult internet access

Barman58 said:

The DB reading is the interference figure, (losses), so lower is better Ideally you should look for a figure between 65 and 67 DB for a usable signal

Why is almost everything negative in Wi... - Cisco Community

According to the signal strength synopsis in your link, I'm lucky to get any useful connection at all where my PCs are located. Thanks for the info about negative db numbers.

Barman58 said:

If the phone is bought in the UK and the Router is french then you should be OK - UK built phones are designed to not cause interference

If you are getting a low signal at the PC then other issues must be at least contributing If this is an issue due to layout, ( I used to live in a stone built cottage with thick walls and had to sit in the window opening to get cell reception), then there are devices that can help, Boosters for WiFi or Power socket based systems if the issue causes a serious issue for you

This is in fact a stone cottage with a 2 foot thick wall between the router room and the PCs. One small opening between the two. There is no cellphone signal here at all so we have a gadget that retrieves a signal via the internet and produces a wifi signal for our mobiles in the house. So there's a third wireless signal path to confuse the issue. I am planning to re route the incoming phone line cable to the same room as the workstation so I can then use an ethernet cable link to the main PC.

Aardvarkly said:

This is in fact a stone cottage with a 2 foot thick wall between the router room and the PCs. One small opening between the two. There is no cellphone signal here at all so we have a gadget that retrieves a signal via the internet and produces a wifi signal for our mobiles in the house. So there's a third wireless signal path to confuse the issue. I am planning to re route the incoming phone line cable to the same room as the workstation so I can then use an Ethernet cable link to the main PC.

That is the best solution and probably the less expensive

Barman58 said:

Powerline may be an option for you - they are available in France (and UK)

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There is a cost involved of course, but it may be less than the cost of re-routing cabling, Locate one in the room where the PCs are located and one where the signal enters the house and you should then have Network where you want it, If you want it elsewhere in the house it's just a case of adding another adaptor, (assuming you do not have multiple electrical circuits in the house)

I have been avoiding the Powerline option. I have heard there have been odd things happening after the new Linky meters have been installed. Like wireless and touch lighting circuits switching on and off by themselves due to the meter using the mains for telemetry. Since it looks like we poor sods in France will one day be forced to accept the installation of the Linky meters it might just affect powerline solutions. I will go with direct cabling which I can do myself. I already had to run my own cable from the telecoms junction down to the house. The infrastructure in rural France is certainly "third world".

Certainly good advice. Very shortly after moving into my first stone cottage here I bought a fairly heavy duty SDS machine. I use nothing else now, even to plant a 7mm rawlplug. The problem often encountered when trying to get cabling through the typical French stone wall is that after penetrating the first course of stones the space in the middle is loose filled rubble. This drops and jams the drill before you can get to the surface on the opposite side.

Sorry if this is "thread drift".