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oporhatch
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Wifi interference causes

Wed Feb 26, 2020 6:12 am

I have recently experienced large drops in my Wifi download speed and I am trying to prove to my internet provider who states as long as I get the relevant download speeds through ethernet the problem is not there's. To a degree they are correct. However I believe ti could be congestion but am not savvy enough about Wifi networks to prove it.

My question is could Wifi's around me on 2.4Ghz in someway impact my 5Ghz download speeds.
I am the only person using 5Ghz near me , but I do notice that a new 2.4Ghz wifi has just been added recently and they are defined as the same channel (6) as my 2.4GHZ. My 5Ghz is channel 56

Would large contention with my 2.4Ghz wifi network , somehow impact the my 5Ghz wifi .....as I said ethernet it fine, I get my full 150Mbps 99% of the time, its just off wifi I can get 150mbps but recently I have seen it drop to 110mbps (regularly) and even lower as 80/90 mbps

I used the Wifi analyser which stated no issues with 5ghz, but to move my 2.4Ghz to Channel 1.

Any info or knowledge that can be shared on this matter would much be appreciated
 
just brew it!
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Re: Wifi interference causes

Wed Feb 26, 2020 8:10 am

2.4 GHz should not interfere with 5 GHz.

5 GHz has less range though, and can have a harder time working through walls and other solid obstacles. Depending on how far you are from the access point and how many obstructions exist, any gains from the higher speed can be negated (or worse) by the weaker connection. So it is entirely possible that you will get worse performance on 5 GHz than 2.4 GHz, even with all else being equal.

If you're using the WiFi access point provided by your ISP, using a 3rd party one instead may yield some improvement.
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roncat
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Re: Wifi interference causes

Wed Feb 26, 2020 8:23 am

Is your router 802.11n or 802.11ac? Either should be able to do 150Mb easily.

Most routers will only scan for congestion on a channel when they start up. They typically will not continually monitor for congestion and dynamically change channels. If congestion on one channel is a problem, powering off and on the router should return things to "normal". If the entire band is congested, some routers have options to automatically drop devices if their transmit power is below a certain level. Upping that threshold slightly may help.
 
oporhatch
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Re: Wifi interference causes

Wed Feb 26, 2020 8:27 pm

I have an Archer C5 router.
I have seen this drop in bandwidth from about 6 weeks ago. My device Is less than 2 foot away from the router and hardwired just got 149mbps and Wireless 117mbps...........32 mb drop
6 weeks ago I was getting nearer 150mbps on wireless everytime I did a speed test.

I have seen drops in my overall bandwidth , which I never used to get..........my problem is 32mb loss from 150mbps is tolerable, however yesterday a speedtest showed 80mbps (wired), with the
32 mbps drop (50mbps) and then a VPN on (30mbps)........I started to buffer.

Would you expect to see download and upload speeds be effected the same from a speedtest. Interestingly a lot of my speedtests show a drop in download but no drop in upload speeds would this suggest download speed line contention ??

regards
 
roncat
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Re: Wifi interference causes

Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:39 am

Hmmm...

Appears something else is going on, that it's not just a wireless issue.
 
ludi
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Re: Wifi interference causes

Fri Feb 28, 2020 1:28 pm

- Have you rebooted the router?
- Has the router recently been changed in any way, for example a configuration change or a firmware update?
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oporhatch
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Re: Wifi interference causes

Fri Feb 28, 2020 11:26 pm

Thanks for the reply
I have rebooted the Router and Modem several times.
Previously when I had seen these situations of drop in wifi speeds a reboot fixed this....( and I believed these situations were caused by not cleanly stopping the VPN I have, leaving orphaned storage in the router, but that is not the case this time)

Currently I do not have access to the router only the ISP ( has they own the router ) I do not believe any Firmware update has been done ( since i got the router) and I am requesting the ISP to come out
1) to update the firmware if required
2) Do do a complete device reset

What I do find puzzling is the environment I am in (my house) does not change much, however the Wifi speeds can be so variable . yesterday at one point device was getting 149mbps(150 limit),
Been most constantly at 119mbps and dropped to high 90's.......the 119mbps is probaby the most consistant
 
oporhatch
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Re: Wifi interference causes

Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:58 am

Would upgrading my router make a big difference.........currently have an archer C5 but would pay 200+ to improve say an Archer C9 which is the Latest

regards
 
roncat
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Re: Wifi interference causes

Mon Mar 02, 2020 8:18 am

oporhatch wrote:
Would upgrading my router make a big difference.........currently have an archer C5 but would pay 200+ to improve say an Archer C9 which is the Latest

regards


It's possible, but your current router may be fine. The typical "speed test" measures your ISP + modem + router performance. Your ISP will may have more traffic at various times of the day, so your actual download/upload speed degrades from maximum during those periods. The ISP likely advertises "up to xxx speed", and sometimes you are experiencing the "up to" part.

Buying a new router will prove it is or isn't caused by the router.
 
oporhatch
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Re: Wifi interference causes

Tue Mar 03, 2020 6:24 am

I agree with you ........the problem is its a moving target and to prove to my ISP (even though they should, I would have thought be able to pull of stats!!). but They will
not visit my house at 18:30 at night or over the weekend...they turn up on a monday mid morning and state there is nothing wrong, which is probably when the broadband near me is least used

I may try a new router later in the year .....

regards
 
roncat
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Re: Wifi interference causes

Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:38 pm

oporhatch wrote:
I agree with you ........the problem is its a moving target and to prove to my ISP (even though they should, I would have thought be able to pull of stats!!). but They will
not visit my house at 18:30 at night or over the weekend...they turn up on a monday mid morning and state there is nothing wrong, which is probably when the broadband near me is least used

I may try a new router later in the year .....

regards


There are lots of free tools.
https://techtalk.gfi.com/the-top-20-free-network-monitoring-and-analysis-tools-for-sys-admins/

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