Can I automatically connect to the strongest wifi network under Windows 7?

Question

I have a Windows 7 laptop, and 2 wifi connections.

Windows 7 allows me to specify a strict preference list of networks in the "Manage Wireless Networks" under the Network and Sharing Center. However, of these 2, I'd always like to just connect to the strongest of the two networks, which varies depending on exactly where I am.

Is there a way I can configure Windows to do this? Using Windows or third-party software. I tried unchecking "Connect to a more preferred network if available" for both networks, but it still seems to default to the higher one on the list.

Answer 1

Not that I am aware, and if it were to work like that, it could be potentially very dangerous.

If I mis understood you, and you mean simply connect to whichever connection is strongest at any given moment from a pre defined list, again, this is not how it works.

Windows should automatically always connect to the strongest signal at the time it is turned on and will not switch until the connection is lost/very weak.

One of the easiest solutions I can think of is to quickly toggle wireless off/on when you want to switch but this is more of a workaround than a good solution.

Answer 2

I was looking to do this myself just now. What you want to do is set the "roaming aggressiveness" of you wifi adapter. You should be able to do this by

1. going to network and sharing center
2. select change adapter settings
3. select your wifi adapter and select properties
4. click the "configure" button on the popup window (network tab)
5. click the advanced tab
6. if roaming aggressiveness is there, set it to "highest.

Your laptop should now seek out the strongest signal.

Answer 3

This isn't always desirable. For example, say you're sitting right next to an access point, but so are 20 other heavy internet users. You might do much better connecting to the access point across the hall. Or say you get 5 bars from the wifi router powering your 6Mbit home dsl connection, but you get one bar and a good relationship with the owner from the business across the street that has a 20mbit synchronous connection siting largely unused most evenings.