Like I said in a comment earlier you wont know whats happening without test gear.
And I think a point everyone has overlooked to its a two-way signal path if you look at it
the laptop is going be a weaker signal just for being a laptop.
Low freq signals tend to travel through stuff easier and high freq dont as much depending
on the material.
-10dbm is .1mw -30dbm is .001mw -50dbm is .00001mw and -70dbm .00000001mw
so you can see how lower dbm signal is better. (dbm is going be neg number and mw will be a pos number)
If you look at chart below the biggest loss is close to router (This is the null of the antenna) and you have less loss farther away from router
So it kinda helps you understand about the dbm example I gave earlier and why walls ect effect signal so much.
I guess best way think of it like a garden hose on stream the water stays strong put it on spray and its weaker and spread out like radio waves most radio signals that float around in the air are dependent on the power put out.
I think most routers around 100mw ouput. (Below chart is just example)
-10dbm is 70711uv and -50dbm is 707.11uv This is the signal recievers use so you can see how much stronger the lower dbm signal is.(Kind of put the two in perspective of each other)
I dont have any router service manuals so I dont know the dynamic range of router receivers.
So I cant tell you what signal level is best.
Also in your router if you go to wireless diagnostics you have some signal info there to.
(Done Ramblin just info)
