Wireless and packet loss

I've been told accessing SL on a laptop via wireless connection results in too much packet loss. Anyone have an opinion?

depends on the strength of the signal and how good your computer is. while in NYC I had better connection on my laptop and wifi than on my desktop and DSL broadband

I don't have any of these problems accessing wireless. But I have a honking router.
That's not to say that I don't encounter some packet loss though. I do have my veryyy slow days on SL, but somehow manage to stay connected where others can't.

I assume you are talking about a home wireless network?
The problem is that all these wireless devices use the same limited radio frequencies as everything else. Cordless phones are the worst about stomping on your signal because they default to channel 6, which is the default of most wireless network access points.

Also, all this noise is hard on the router. When using the wireless I have to reset my router once or twice a week. Of course this is one of those router/switch/wireless access combination devices typical of home networks. If I disable the wireless, then I reset it may once a month.

The more crowded your immediate area, the more probelms you may have. Appartments are worse than houses. Hotels are teh suk! With all that said, my wife usually plays on a laptop in the living room connected via a wirless NIC.

Wireless is a good tool, but it has it's limits. A land line is better, but a wireless is mobile and accessible anywhere in it's range. Choose acordingly.

Hrmmmm....and on that note, I have never once had to reset my router. I don't even think I would know how! Maybe if I did, I'd have an even better connection?

I have been using an Airport wireless home network with SL for 3 years with relatively few problems. Certainly not enough problems to make me give up the convenience of using my laptop anyplace I want in the house and even outdoors on the patio.

Unplug it, count to 30, plug it back up.

I'm using a little cheapy lynksys wireless access and router and it is getting a bit dated. One of these days I'll buy a real setup.

The wifi software should have some form of signal strength indicator. If it is reporting excellent or good, then you should have no problem and any packet loss is most likely to be somewhere on the internet between LL's hosting company and your router/wifi hub.

If you are dropping into poor you are too far away from the wifi hub or there is a thick floor/wall in the way, and you either need to move the laptop, the hub or get a wifi repeater.

Matthew

Do you mean a home wireless router, or do you mean a wireless anywhere service such as from Verizon? I think the former should work fine (always has for me). I think the latter is not officially supported by SL (or didn't used to be).

I almost exclusively use a wireless network at home and usually have negligible packet loss-but my connection and speed is excellent. When I'm in the garden, though, it might happen that SL disconnects me-but that rarely happens.

OK I'm on my MacBookPro using an Airport wireless connection, logged into 2nd Life in Shona, a mainland sim, with 7 walls including a book case full of books and a clothes closet also full, between my laptop and the base station.

I have 4 of 5 bars signal strength, frame rate of 50+, packet loss pegged at 0.0 with no fluctuations.

Don't forget microwave ovens. Another fun interference item. Whenever someone here decides to warm up an evening snack, I might as well log off and wait until they're done.

I have never had a problem.

A wireless conection does not always equal packet loss problems - as much as Linden strongly reccomends not using that connection type for Second Life.

The problem with Wireless, is it can be unpredictable from a support perspective. Many users don't know how to check the quality of their wireless connection - and since its your equipment, Linden has no control over it.

I think to make support simpler, Linden just goes with the least common denominator, and officially doesn't support Wireless connections. But that doesn't mean its not possible to have a good with it experience anyway.

I also use a wireless connection on my high-end laptop, and experience no notable packet loss issues. That's with a strong signal strength, and full 54mbit speed, however.

I am also on a wireless connection for my laptop (which I use 90% of the time for SL)

it is quite happy running SL at 30fps, along with Photoshop, Poser and skype - and is two years old and definately not top-of-the-range

But I really want a 'honking router' now - I feel very deprived that mine doesn't honk. It sounds so much more fun