• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Weird 2.4ghz throughput problem

H

havand

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 15, 2001
Messages
420
A few months ago, the internet slowed down a bit. Last couple of weeks, it has basically stopped working @ 2.4ghz. My SSID used to transit 2.4 and 5 under the same name, but I divided it up to help diagnose the problem.

The wifi shows the 2.4ghz SSID is coming in at full strength, but when I try to do anything, I get no throughput. I tried pinging google.com and it will timeout a bunch of times, then connect for a few with high ping, then timeout again. I tried changing the channels with little effect, although 11 does slightly better ~1Mbps down, half the time won't connect up.

I wondered if my router (netgear V3700 V1) was going so I bought a new Asus (AC56U) router. Same crap. 5ghz is full speed, 2.4ghz shows good connection, no throughput. Looked at an analyzing program for my nexus 7 and I see a lot of drops in both my network and several networks around me almost like something more powerful is broadcasting right over top of them. It shows several routers (1-3) on several channels, which I would imagine isn't really too much of a problem given how many routers must be in a NYC highrise. The really interesting part is the analyzer shows which channels are best. It seems like something is taking out the whole center of the channels. 1 has very little getting through, almost everything is dead up to channel 11, then 12-14 show good. I can't select them.

I checked with the mac wifi analyzer and it shows reasonable amounts of noise. No spikes.

If I stand in the room, within 10 feet of the router, I get pretty much full speed. . Down the stairs and across the house (maybe 50 feet?) I get nothing while getting (-61 signal, -91 noise according to mac wifi diag) This is why I was wondering if the router amplifier had gone.

I am pretty much at a loss. I am no networking expert, so please let me know if it is something obvious. Right now, I am at a loss. I'm going to ask my neighbors, in the next few days, if they are having problems too. One strange thing is my neighbors router doesn't seem to drop out on the analyzer, but his guest network does...Both have stronger signal than the router in my house.

Any help would be appreciated.

My desktop wired to the router gets good speed (25Mbps up, 6Mbps down) any time I test it.

P.S. Almost forgot to mention. I have a video baby monitor. If I hold it next to the nexus, everything comes to a stop. I thought it was the culprit - and it certainly isn't helping since it is a 2.4ghz device with a feature to get bandwidth priority...but the problem persists with all parts of the system turned off.
 
There are so many things that can interfere with a wifi signal. Distance is only part of it. Distance it actually passes through objects is another. 5 feet away at a 90 degree angle though a wall is not the same as 5 feet away at a 45 degrees through a wall. The distance the signal travels in the medium is what counts when it comes to distance. The medium itself matters a lot too.

You should also be aware that being on the SAME channel as another wifi device is better than overlapping with another WiFi device. If you're on the same channel the devices will see each other and try to avoid interfering with each other, if you're on overlapping channels they just see the other wireless signal as pure noise.

Strong electrical devices or signals can interfere with wifi.

You said you tried another router, did you verify it isn't the wireless device you're using? Do you have another laptop/cellphone or anything you can test with?
 
MysticRyuujin said:
You should also be aware that being on the SAME channel as another wifi device is better than overlapping with another WiFi device. If you're on the same channel the devices will see each other and try to avoid interfering with each other, if you're on overlapping channels they just see the other wireless signal as pure noise.
Click to expand...

Can you please elaborate on this and give examples of what you mean?

Are you saying we'd all be better off using the same channel on everything? Even a crowded apartment complex with 20 routers and 100 devices?
 
MysticRyuujin said:
There are so many things that can interfere with a wifi signal. Distance is only part of it. Distance it actually passes through objects is another. 5 feet away at a 90 degree angle though a wall is not the same as 5 feet away at a 45 degrees through a wall. The distance the signal travels in the medium is what counts when it comes to distance. The medium itself matters a lot too.

You should also be aware that being on the SAME channel as another wifi device is better than overlapping with another WiFi device. If you're on the same channel the devices will see each other and try to avoid interfering with each other, if you're on overlapping channels they just see the other wireless signal as pure noise.

Strong electrical devices or signals can interfere with wifi.

You said you tried another router, did you verify it isn't the wireless device you're using? Do you have another laptop/cellphone or anything you can test with?
Click to expand...

Tried a Nexus 7 2013 and a Macbook Air. I could try my phone, but it seems redundant at this point.

The router was having serious issues trying to auto pick the channels. Very erratic. Kinda work one minute, not work the next etc. I'm reading up on a reddit post about 40mhz usage and how it can disrupt. How could I check what mhz other routers are using?
 
No, what I'm saying is that in the 2.4ghz range in the US there are only 3 non-overlapping channels

1, 6, & 11

If two devices are on channel 1 they are aware of each other, if one device is on 1 and one is on say 3 then they are overlapping but not on the same channel, they are basically half overlapping and generating noise for the other devices.

The ideal 2.4ghz setup is to have every single device in channels 1, 6 or 11 with identical channel devices as far away from each other as possible.
 
MysticRyuujin said:
No, what I'm saying is that in the 2.4ghz range in the US there are only 3 non-overlapping channels

1, 6, & 11

If two devices are on channel 1 they are aware of each other, if one device is on 1 and one is on say 3 then they are overlapping but not on the same channel, they are basically half overlapping and generating noise for the other devices.

The ideal 2.4ghz setup is to have every single device in channels 1, 6 or 11 with identical channel devices as far away from each other as possible.
Click to expand...

Ok, I understand. They can deal with each other if they know the other is there, but if the channels are misaligned, it is just seen as disruptive noise.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top