WiFi Signal Degradation with Laptop Lid Closed

[Dino901]

I have an HP Presario DV6 running Windows 7 64-bit. 

It has an Atheros AR9285 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter using the 8.0.0.172 Version of the driver dated 9/23/2009

I have noticed that if I run the laptop with the lid closed there is a marked degradation in WiFi signal.  Specifically, with the lid open I can see the signal from my router with -77dBm, but with the lid closed this drops to -87dBm. (No other changes to the environment)

I have checked that the power settings all keep the network adapter fully powered with the lid closed.

Is this degradation simply a feature of the antenna location and hardware design?  Is there anything I can do about it other than get an external USB network card?

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

I recommend you install the latest driver. That may help a little. 

But the main reason your signal degrades, is because the antennas are in the screen bezel. When the screen is open, they stick up. When closed, they are inefficient as the ends are pointing horizontally, and lower (toward you) instead of vertically.

Latest driver:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=US&swItem=ob-951...

Paul

[Dino901]

Tested by rotating the laptop to stand on its hinge putting the screen in the vertical plane with the lid still closed.  WiFi signal immediately returned to normal levels.  I now plan to mount the laptop in this orientation using an external harddrive mount.  A great solution since this also frees up desk space.  Perhaps HP should sell a custom mount for this purpose!

[LovelyGirl]

I've just found this problem. I was really excited that I was able to close the lid of my new laptop without it going to sleep but now there is no point if the wifi signal drops. A stand is not a lot of use as you will have to take the laptop out of the stand to get to the power button, it would be better if the power button was on the side.