wireless signal strength issue

[sitlet]

hey all, i got a netgear wireless router and a dsl connection. the router is upstairs and my room and laptop are downstairs. ive always had good signal strength (4-5 out of 5 bars) and usually stay connected at above 36 Mbps to the router. but in the last month ive had a problem with this. one day i noticed my internet was going slow so i checked the strength and it showed 1/5 bars and running at 5.0 Mbps. it stayed like this all night long, so in the morning i logged into the router to make sure everything was as it should be. after finding nothing wrong, i decided to change the channel of the wireless from 11 to 10. after restarting my connection, i got full strength again. this worked for a few days, and then it got slow again one night. so again, i changed the channel, from 10 to 9. again, i got full strength. this keeps happening every few days. i have now moved down to channel 5, and just a few minutes ago i noticed the router is going slow again. what could be causeing this? as far as i know, i am the only person on the block with wireless (everyone else is all old people around my neighborhood). i only have one cordless phone (2.4ghz digital). but the thing is, it worked fine the past year since ive had this router, now all of a sudden this started happening.

[yoda313]

Maybe your phone battery is dying and is causing a frequency problem???? That sounds odd that you have to switch channels to stay at peak power.

Have you updated your firmware at all?

[kosekjm]

Is it possible one of your neighbors just got a cordless phone?

The fact that you have to keep changing the channel indicates that something is locking onto that frequency, so my first guess would be a cordless phone (Or anything that uses the 2.4 GHz frequency ie baby monitor, cordless phone, wireless surround speakers. I've even heard rumors of microwave ovens being capable of interference, but that could just as easily be urban myth status as well).

Do you have a corded phone available? If so, could you unplug the cordless for a day or two to see if that eliminates your problem? I had horrible luck with my cordless phone and wireless router (D-Link). I finally opted for a 5.8 GHz phone and haven't had problems since.

Also, just have to ask, are you sure you're logged into your router? Not trying to insult you or anything, but I know when I first turn my laptop on, it actually finds my neighbors router before it finds mine (At least it did prior to me showing him how to secure his router )