Going the Distance

I had recently bought the Microsoft Wireless Desktop Pro keyboard & mouse for use with my newly built multimedia pc that's stationed in the family room.

The setup is great, there's not too much you can expect from a keyboard and mouse. After all it is that, a keyboard and mouse. My only qualms is the distance that this thing gets.

Only works within 6ft. (as the box says) I'm only able to get it to work within 0.5-1ft within the receiver. I even tried swapping out the batteries, no luck. I have to scoot the sofa closer and move the receiver practically next to the set up. The setup operates on a MHz frequency which may be to blame. I can't tell if I'm getting interference or not.