Your phone shows full bars across the room. Your desktop drops the connection.

The router is the same. The difference is the computer.

A phone is built to catch Wi-Fi. The antenna sits where the signal can reach it. The whole device is small and open to the air.

A desktop often is not. The Wi-Fi hardware is inside a metal case. The antenna sticks out of the back, or it is a small stub that rides along with a USB adapter. The case sits on the floor, under a desk, against a wall. That is the worst place in the room for a signal.

Metal blocks Wi-Fi. So do concrete, brick, and water. A steel shelf, a filing cabinet, or a fish tank between you and the router costs you signal.

Distance matters too. Every wall and every few rooms cuts the signal further.

The symptoms.

Pages stop halfway. Video buffers. The computer says it is connected but nothing loads. A video call freezes while the same call on your phone is fine. Sometimes the computer stops responding for a moment while it waits on the network.

None of those prove Wi-Fi is the cause. Part 2 shows how to find out.

What is not the cause, most of the time.

It is rarely your internet plan. It is rarely a virus. If your phone works fine in the same spot, the internet is fine.

This week is five parts. Part 2 measures the signal. Part 3 is the antenna fix. Part 4 is the cable option. Part 5 is the router end and when to call.

Tomorrow: Part 2, Measure the Signal Before You Buy Anything.