Lower connection strength when laptop is pointed away from router?

[PowerRanger]

Hi all. First, my wireless router is in another room, thus there's a wall between it and my work desk. On the desk, I have two laptops, one is facing completely AWAY from the router's direction, while the other is in a 90-degrees position.

The laptop that is in the 90-degree position has FULL signal strength (5 bars). However, the laptop that is facing away, only has a signal strength of "low", sometimes going to "good" (2-3 bars).

So my question is, is this normal? FYI the 2 laptops are different. One is an Acer 5595, the other an Asus F8Series. Both using the integrated wireless controller. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[n0cmonkey]

It could be. Depending on the antennas, where they're placed and how good they are it could definitely be normal. Switch the two laptops and see if the signal changes. Or move the "low" laptop around a bit.

 

[JackMDS]

In addtion (n0cmonkey post ) the bars do not mean much.

http://www.ezlan.net/wbars.html

 

[PowerRanger]

n0cmonkey, thanks, I will give that a try.

JackMDS, thanks, I'll look into that.