Q: Mac Mini network question.

If you're just using WiFi, you should only need to Turn ON WiFi, find your household WiFi network and Join it with the appropriate passphrase.

- iOS: Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points

After you change setting in the router, changes to the connecting devices may or may not be required. It depends upon the changes made.

Where is the Mini located? Is it I a cubbyhole that would shield it from the wifi signal?

Are they any electrical devices nearby? The can create interference with the wifi signal

The first two things I thought of are 1) how far away is the mini from your router and 2) what is nearby that might interfere with it? Illaaas and I are on the same page here.

Quick story - I had to move my computer from its original location in the basement after I set up my WiFi wiring closet in the upstairs linen closet. It was a great location for the router, central to the entire house. Unfortunately the main heating duct ran directly underneath the closet and my computer was directly above the duct putting it in a WiFi ‘shadow’.

The original WiFi standard broadcast on 2.4GHz which is shared by lots of other wireless devices including baby monitors and wireless phones. If your router supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz it is a good idea to configure it to broadcast on both. Older devices can only receive on 2.4GHz so you many not be able to use just 5GHz. In my household this switch made for a nice change on our newer devices.

I am the OP's roommate. We checked out the floor plan in relation to the mini's location and it was the same as how you describe yours. So we moved the modem and airport into the office with  mini and connectled with Ethernet which brings me to another challenge i have been meaning to post about. I am unable to access network--or any other for that matter--settings in system preferences. I keep getting a "cant load pane" message on all options. Any suggestions?

i know  is a seperate discussion but it applies to the situation because now I can't test if the connection is any better, worse, or indifferent.

For WiFi information hold option and then click on the WiFi icon in the menu. This will show you transfer speed (Tx Rate), noise, and other information.

As for System Preferences. Try these in the order given:

1. Restart in Safe mode by holding the shift key as soon as you hear the chime. Once at the desktop see if the Preferences Panel will open. If so the problem was probably due to a munged cache which Safe Boot fixed. Reboot as normal and check again.
2. Normally the next step would be to create a new user but...can't do that without the System Preferences. But if you do have another user account on the computer, try logging into that account and using System Preferences. If you can then the problem is local to your account and it is worth moving on to steps 3 & 4. If you cannot skip to 5. If you have no other account go on to 3 & 4.
3. Open your Library (hold option and select the Go menu in the menu bar). Then open the Preferences Folder. Look for the file called com.apple.preference.general.plist and move it to the desktop. Log out and back in. Now try opening Preferences. This forces the system to create a new generic plist - you'll have lost some preferences if it worked so you'll want to check all the panes and reset your prefs. If it didn't work return the original com.apple.preference.general.plist to the Library.
4. Inside the Library folder theres a folder called Preference Panes. Pull it out to the desktop, log out and back in. Try again. If this works either one of the 3rd party preference panes in damaged or incompatible with your OS. Check them all out for updates and compatibility. (Rather than put the folder back in, I'd re-install the software for each one)
5. You can reinstall the OS on top of the current OS and that may fix the problem. Reboot in recovery mode (command R when you restart), download the OS and install it. Don't erase the hard drive.