Indicator signal wi-fi for x pi. Smart light bulb with Wi-Fi repeater is a convenient technology for a smart home or office. Buying or building a directional antenna from scrap materials
I decided to prepare a separate article with solutions to the problem when the Wi-Fi indicator on the laptop does not light up, which signals the operation of the wireless module on the laptop. It doesn't matter how you got this problem. Immediately after buying a laptop, reinstalling Windows, or the Wi-Fi indicator suddenly stopped burning. I think the tips in this article will help you fix this problem. We will consider solutions using Windows 10 as an example. But if you have Windows 7, or Windows 8, then you can apply all the solutions for yourself. Likewise with a laptop. Tips are suitable for different manufacturers: ASUS, HP, Lenovo, Acer, Packard Bell, etc.
First you need to find out what specific case you have:
- Most often, when the Wi-Fi indicator on a laptop is off, then, accordingly, Wi-Fi does not work. And this is quite logical. We will consider solutions of this particular case below in the article.
- It also happens when a laptop can connect to wireless networks without problems, everything works, but the light that is responsible for indicating the operation of the wireless network does not shine. In this case, I advise you to just ignore it. Works well. But if you still want to fix this, then start by reinstalling the drivers.
The indicator of wireless networks itself can be located anywhere on the laptop case. It all depends on the specific model. It is often built into a button that is responsible for enabling / disabling wireless modules. On my ASUS laptop, this indicator is on the front panel.
In the photo above, the indicator does not light up only because I turned on airplane mode in Windows 10. It is turned on by a keyboard shortcut on my laptop. And in Windows 7, it was the Wi-Fi module that was controlled. After installing the appropriate drivers and utilities. Also, this light will most likely not light up if the wireless adapter driver is not installed on the laptop at all. But first things first.
If you have such problems with Wi-Fi after reinstalling Windows, then you can immediately skip to the part of the article where I will talk about problems with drivers and their installation.
If Wi-Fi stops working suddenly, then try to remember what you did before. What could be the reason.
A few articles that you may also find useful:
- - a very detailed guide with many solutions.
Turn on the Wi-Fi indicator with the keys on the laptop
Yes, not to go straight into the jungle, let's try a simple way. Almost every laptop has a key combination that is responsible for enabling and disabling wireless modules. Sometimes, this is a separate switch on the case.
Combinations for different manufacturers:
- ASUS - FN + F2
- HP - Fn + F12
- Lenovo - Fn + F5
- Acer - Fn + F3
- Samsung is the keys Fn + F12, or Fn + F9
- DEL – Fn + F2 or Fn + F12.
For example, on my ASUS laptop:
As you can see, the F2 key has the same icon as near the indicator. We press the combination of these keys and see if the light is on, and if the Wi-Fi is working. As I wrote above, I have Windows 10 installed, and the combination of these keys simply turns on and off airplane mode. When airplane mode is on, the indicator is off.
But most likely this is because I do not have a utility from ASUS installed, which is responsible for the operation of the function keys. And if I had Windows 7 installed, the combination of these keys would not work at all without installing a special utility from the manufacturer. Each manufacturer has a different name for this utility. Look for them on the manufacturer's website, in the download section for your laptop.
Checking the status of the wireless adapter. Turn on programmatically
We need to go to "Network Connections" and check if the adapter "Wireless Network" or "Wireless Network Connection" is enabled. To do this, we do this:
After that, the wireless network on the laptop should work.
An important point! If in the "Network Connections" window you do not find the "Wireless Network" or "Wireless Network Connection" adapter, then the problem is most likely that you do not have the Wi-Fi adapter driver installed, and you need to install it.
We continue to understand.
Wireless driver and indicator
You need to open the device manager and see if there is an adapter that is responsible for the operation of the Wi-Fi connection.
Press the Win + R keyboard shortcut, type (copy) the mmc devmgmt.msc command and click Ok. Or start the device manager in another way convenient for you.
Immediately open the "Network adapters" tab, and see if there is an adapter in the name of which is "Wireless", "Wi-Fi", "WLAN". Most likely, you will not see it there. I have this adapter, and it looks like this (name and manufacturer may be different):
The XIAOMI Yeelight light bulb is another step towards creating a smart home. It is controlled from a smartphone via a WiFi connection. Through the application, you can turn on / off the light, set the settings for automatic on / off (timer or even make a schedule), adjust the brightness, select preset modes. There are several options:
- with colored LEDs (RGB) - more suitable as decorative lighting.
- with white LEDs - for work lighting. I also want to tell about it.
The lamp with an updated design - White Color Edition, came in an ordinary box with a small logo. 
On the back there are technical specifications. 
Only a light bulb and a small instruction are included. The instructions contain a link to the application. You can use different applications - a smart home from Xiaomi (if there are other devices from the smart home series, it is convenient to control from one application) and another application specifically for a light bulb - Yeelight, which is available in the market, completely in English and in my opinion is more convenient. 
The application will be described in more detail below, but for now let's look at the light bulb. The dimensions are quite large. The total length is 12 cm, the maximum width is 5.5 cm. This must be taken into account, because it will not fit into every lamp. The body is made of dense high-quality plastic of a milky color, in the upper part there is a translucent diffuser. 
The characteristics are also applied to the lamp itself, let's highlight the main ones:
- E27 base
- Color temperature 4000K (neutral white)
- The maximum consumption is 8W, and it is indicated that there are 7 1W LEDs in the lamp, and another 1W apparently consumes WiFi.
- Luminous flux - 600 Lm. That is, it should shine approximately like a 60W incandescent lamp, but visually it shines brighter, in my subjective opinion, like a 75W incandescent lamp, perhaps this is due to the color temperature. 
The base is a standard E27, the whole lamp is neatly executed. 
The diffuser does its job perfectly. The light is distributed evenly, without a highlighted spot of light. 
How it all works. If you do not install the application, then the lamp will work as usual. It will turn on at maximum brightness. If you install the application, everything becomes much more interesting. As I said, it's better to download the Yeelight app. In it, you connect to the lamp, if there are several of them, you can create groups or control each separately. Also, I immediately checked the firmware and updated to the latest version. I have not stitched bulbs in my life :)) 
The main screen of the application allows you to carry out the main control - changing the brightness and enabling / disabling. The brightness changes very smoothly if you swipe up or down anywhere on the screen. Any intermediate value can be set. In colored bulbs, you can choose the color of the light, but keep in mind that it is more suitable for decoration, because the white color there is created by mixing different colors and looks to put it mildly - not very much.
In addition, there are preset modes on the main screen, which, in principle, are enough for me for any scenario:
- Baby mode: minimum brightness that can be used as a night light. An irreplaceable thing for those with small children.
- 25% brightness
- 50% brightness
- Reading: maximum brightness required for reading 
There are also additional functions in the settings section. You can set an automatic shutdown timer. You can generally program a specific sequence. Just imagine the situation, you get up early for work, when it’s still dark outside - together with the alarm clock, the light turns on at minimum brightness and you can safely go to brew coffee, and after a while it turns off automatically)) And on the weekend it will not wake you up if you yourself do not want this - you can even set the days of the week. Or you left the city for a few days - so that thieves would not lick their lips at your apartment during your absence, you can set the light bulb on in the evenings for a couple of hours, creating the effect of presence. In fact, you can come up with a lot of scenarios and all this (on, off, and mode) can be set in the settings. 
Now impressions about the light. Personally, I am used to warm colors and I always buy Warm white bulbs, so at the beginning the light was unfamiliar to me. Although it is called neutral white, it seemed to me - coldish. The difference is especially noticeable if you insert it into a chandelier, where it shines throughout the room. Although after some time the vision gets used and the light seems to be ordinary. For full illumination of the whole room - one lamp is not enough. At least I'm used to bright light and it seems to me that for a small room you need at least 2 pieces, and for a large one - 3 pieces. The light from one lamp is only suitable for activities that do not require strong eye strain. I took a photo in all brightness modes by inserting it into the chandelier on the ceiling: 
In a desk lamp opposite - its light seemed to me more suitable for working at a computer or reading. The brightness is more than enough, if the lamp is not far away, then reading is already comfortable at 50% brightness. Natural white is more appropriate here, so I decided to use it in a table lamp. Also a photo in several brightness modes. 
An attempt to disassemble it was unsuccessful, the diffuser did not even move. I didn't want to break the latches, so there will be no disassembly. But on the Internet I found a schematic diagram, maybe someone will also be interested: 
I liked the light bulb very much for its functionality and quality. I did not find any shortcomings. If you have experience using a light bulb, share it in the comments. Thank you for attention!
Video review:
The product is provided for writing a review by the store. The review is published in accordance with clause 18 of the Site Rules.
I plan to buy +27 Add to favourites I liked the review +29 +58There are dozens for Windows, but such as WiFi SiStr unique in its kind. This is an extremely simple application that will allow you, as a user, to know the signal strength of any Wi-Fi point. Of course, if it is within the reach of the sensor.
Interestingly, the strength of the wireless signal is displayed numerically on the screen. After you click downloadWiFi SiStr and install the program, a small panel will appear on the desktop. You can place it anywhere on the screen: bottom, top, or even in the middle. The digital and graphic values of the signal level will be visible on it.
It often happens that a user cannot enter the site for unknown reasons - especially if you are connected via Wi-Fi. There is also another situation: the messaging client periodically interrupts the connection - you have to constantly reconnect. To solve this problem, just look at the signal status bar and make sure that it is sufficient for a stable and fast Internet. If you have a WiFi SiStr program, it is quite easy to do this.
Features of WiFi SiStr:
- Flexible in customization. Despite the simple interface of the panel, you can even customize it. Just right-click on the status bar and a menu with settings will open.
- Convenient. You will be able to monitor the signal level right on the desktop of your PC or laptop.
- It does not consume a lot of system resources, it has not just a small - a miniature size.
- For WiFi SiStr to work correctly, you need .NETFramework version 1.1 or higher.
- At startup, it always minimizes to tray and does not interfere with computer work at all.
In view of the appearance, recently, inexpensive and stable in work Wi-Fi routers, Internet users in apartment buildings began to massively acquire such devices. However, in the Wi-Fi coverage area in apartment buildings, there may be Wi-Fi routers, the number of which exceeds the number of allowed channels, as a result of which one or more routers will be jammed by neighboring ones. The more powerful and more expensive the routers and access points installed at neighbors, the more the situation with stable Internet access via Wi-Fi is aggravated. This can manifest itself in the following ways:
- Writes constantly getting an IP address, but the signal indicator is more than two "sticks"
- Periodically disappears and a Wi-Fi connection appears, but the signal indicator has more than two "sticks"
Second and third symptoms
99% of cases occur precisely because of the noise level of the frequencies used for Wi-Fi, and it can be both neighboring Wi-Fi devices and microwave ovens, PCs, as well as wireless mice, keyboards, WEB cameras, etc.Over time, such problems will become more common. How can you avoid this situation? There are several ways to solve the problem.
- Manual selection of WiFi channel - Self-selection of a free Wi-Fi channel.
- Purchase of a 5 GHz router - purchase of a 5 GHz range that is not yet noisy.
- Purchase of detachable antennas with high gain (in case the router has the ability to change antennas).
- Changing the location of the router in the apartment.
- Antenna extensions.
- Installing a repeater or access point
- Buying or building a directional antenna from scrap materials
- Replacing the Wi-Fi adapter with a more powerful one
- Buying a more powerful router (read expensive)
1.Select WiFi channel manually
The selection of a channel can be carried out either at random or using special programs to determine free or least noisy channels in your room.
When multiple Wi-Fi routers occupy the same channel. Interference with radio signals from wireless networks is occurring and is the main cause of problems with Wi-Fi hotspots and routers. Due to interference, not only does the speed of data exchange and the speed of the Internet connection drop significantly, but sometimes there is no connection at all.
Programs such as "inSSIDer", Android utility "WiFi Analizer" and many others will help you find the frequency with the lowest signal strength. Then you just need to set a free frequency on the router / access point for broadcasting on it.
2.Purchasing a 5 GHz router
Purchase of a router that supports ac-standard Wi-Fi, i.e. operating on a 5 GHz carrier may not always be a panacea. The standard is relatively new and manufacturers of end devices are in no hurry to implement it for various reasons. This means that if you are not ready to additionally purchase USB Wi-Fi adapters for every computer that does not support this standard. Even purchasing such a router will not help you. Although this technology is the future of Wi-Fi.
3.Purchasing high gain detachable antennas
Purchased detachable antennas with high gain can be much longer than those that came with the kit and often reach several tens of centimeters. Also, the radiation pattern, taking into account obstacles and interference, changes in an unpredictable way for the user. Plus a set of two "inexpensive" antennas can cost more than the cost of the router itself.
4.Changing the location of the router in the apartment (the directional pattern is changing)
The choice of location in the apartment can be carried out following the general rules for placing undirected Wi-Fi hotspots.
The access point must be located in the central part of the room, and also not on the floor, close to the wall, and close to massive metal objects. Walls and ceilings significantly weaken the signal, so it is advisable to place the router / access point in line of sight from the connected devices.
5.Antenna extenders
If there is no opportunity to move the router to a more favorable place, then in the case of removable antennas, it is possible to move the antenna to the right place using a coaxial cable (waveguide). A convenient option seems to be the presence of two "twisted" antennas, which will allow you to distribute a signal at two points at once.
6.Installing a repeater or access point
In conditions of increased interference, the coverage area of your Wi-Fi router may significantly decrease, and the signal will become unstable and weak. A repeater or access point is used if communication problems occur only at a certain distance from the router. In fact, they expand its coverage area. The difference between a repeater and an access point is that the access point connects to the router via the LAN port with a cable, and actually distributes its network, while the repeater connects to the router via Wi-Fi and expands its network due to its coverage area. Many routers can be configured as repeaters, and all Wi-Fi routers can be configured as access points, as well as all modern "home" access points can be made a repeater.
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| Extending the coverage area of the Wi-Fi repeater |
7 buying or building a directional antenna from scrap materials
At first glance, the simplest home-made modification of the router antenna is to add a parabolic reflector, usually made of foil or tin, but this method requires an accurate calculation of the distance between the reflector and the antenna. The second option is the construction of a directional antenna, but it also works only towards the receiving device, changing the directional pattern towards weakening the signal in all other directions.
8. Replacing the Wi-Fi adapter with a more powerful one
Replacing the Wi-Fi adapter, read the purchase for a more powerful one. Usually, buying a better quality USB Wi-Fi adapter will significantly increase the stability of your Internet connection.9.Purchasing a more powerful router
Buying a more powerful router. The wide range of Wi-Fi routers can confuse even a wireless knowledgeable person. Implementers are trying to merge stale models, however, the danger may lie, rather, in insufficient functionality and excessive sensitivity to voltage surges, which can be expressed in a periodic reset of the settings, rather than in the strength of the Wi-Fi signal. How to choose a router:- Buy a router from well-known companies only;
- Pay attention to the gain of the antennas and their number;
- It is advisable to purchase with removable antennas for possible subsequent replacement;
- The difference in the coverage area of a two-antenna router and a single-antenna router is much greater than the difference between a two- and three-antenna router;
- If you are offered externally identical routers of the same company, take a more expensive one.
Homes and offices are getting smarter, no one doubts this anymore. They are getting smarter in the sense that smart gadgets, smart systems and devices in homes and offices are becoming more and more every year. And no wonder - after all, projects of this kind of devices appear every day. Some projects are being implemented and even becoming popular, while others do not find understanding among buyers.
One of the more popular categories of smart devices is light bulbs. Yes, ordinary light bulbs that illuminate the room. True, some of them are already so advanced that a little more, and the chandelier will talk to the owner, asking how he is doing. Let's take a look at what the most advanced devices of this kind are capable of.
Sengled Boost
An even more advanced device with built-in Wi-Fi repeater. That is, if a Wi-Fi router signal is lost in a house or apartment halfway through, this light bulb can be used as an amplifier for this signal.
Among other things, Sengled Boost works in much the same way as the Philips Hue. The developer has provided for the ability to control Sengled Boost both individually and in groups. The bulbs can be simply turned on or off, or the brightness can be adjusted.
Installing a light bulb is very simple - no special tweaks are needed.
Inside there are two built-in antennas that provide data transmission over the air at speeds up to 300 Mbps. Also, the light bulb is compatible with most smart devices working with Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11b / g / n at 2.4GHz.
Boost App - Allows you to add new bulbs, tweak your internet connection and dim your home's lighting.
Specifications
- Power supply: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50 / 60Hz, 87-41mA
- Power consumption: 7.5W (LED + Wi-Fi repeater) 9W maximum
- Color: neutral white
It is clear that the more such bulbs there are, the fewer “dead zones” there will be in a building that needs wireless Internet. Buy Boost in the Russian Federation.
The same manufacturer also has other types of lamps. For example, Sengled Pulse Solo, Sengled Pulse Solo, and Sengled Snap.
Sengled Pulse Solo is an interesting light bulb with two built-in speakers with a total power of 6 watts. The speakers are wireless, the music is streamed over Bluetooth, and the developers promise quality playback.
Looks like this lamp and Sengled pulse- everything is the same here, only one speaker.
These two models are perfect for creating a cozy atmosphere - automatically changing the brightness of the lighting, softly (or loudly - here it is for an amateur) sounding music. You can make a relaxation room, but you can, on the contrary, turn an apartment almost into a club.
Sengled Snap is another model of a light bulb from the same company (there are four of them), only not with a speaker, but with a built-in Wi-Fi camera. The video resolution for such a camera is 1080p, plus it is also equipped with a motion sensor. The video is transmitted to the smartphone in real time. Now the developers are finalizing the device, and soon it should go on sale (the exact date is still unknown).
Samsung Smart Bulb
This lamp of the South Korean company does not use Wi-Fi - instead, the company chose to use another wireless channel, Bluetooth. Samsung bulbs can change brightness and color, plus 64 smart bulbs can be controlled at the same time.
The user's mobile device is used for management.
There are other devices on the market from manufacturers such as Philips, LG, Samsung and other well-known companies.
Philips Hue
This is probably the most famous representative of its class. The Philips lamp can change the color, the brightness of the lighting, it adjusts to the user's current activity (watching a movie, having a party, reading a book, etc.).
You can control the device from a mobile device, which in this case works as a remote control. Philips Hue is compatible with Apple HomeKit platform, supports this light bulb and IFTTT service.
Different bulbs can be formed into groups and controlled all together at the same time.
LG Smart Lamp
Another South Korean company, LG, unveiled its own light bulb. This lamp came out last year, and the reviews about it, in principle, are pretty good. Using the application, you can control the color, brightness of the lamp, turn it on or off.
In addition, bulbs can be formed into groups (for example, by room), and controlled as a single system. LG has provided interesting modes of operation, including, for example, imitating the presence of a person in an apartment, when the lights turn on and off in different rooms on their own.
It also reacts to calls to the user's mobile phone - if they forgot to take the phone out of the bag, and the call is not heard, the light will show that someone is calling. This feature is customizable.
As a conclusion
Smart bulbs are pretty convenient. You can set it to turn on / off automatically, or to automatically control the brightness and color of the bulbs throughout the day. A light alarm clock, where a light bulb acts as a signal, which turns on when it is time for the user to get up, is one of the functions of some models.Of course, smart bulbs are more expensive than conventional LED bulbs (and even more so, incandescent bulbs). But there are much more opportunities here, plus you can significantly reduce electricity bills if you configure an automatic shutdown when the user leaves the room.
