Posted: 8/3/2012 4:34:35 PM EDT
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Okay, I'm usually pretty good when it comes to troubleshooting my home network, but this has me completely stumped.
Yesterday, I was playing on my Xbox when all of a sudden, my connection dropped. I couldn't get it to reconnect wirelessly, so I ran a cable to it and it worked fine. I just figured that the wireless radio on my router went kaput again. Funny thing is that if I am within 15 feet of the router, the signal is fine and I can use it fine. Once I get further than 15 feet, the signal drops in and out. I have a WiFi analyzer app on my phone and it shows the signal strength go from very strong to nothing. Up and down repeatedly. Did a reset, tried with and without security, changed channels, and bought an access point. It does the exact same thing with the AP, which leads me to believe it's some kind of interference, but nothing has changed environmentally wise. None of my wireless devices will connect because the signal is too unstable. I'm using N 2.4Ghz. Any ideas? |
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I'd look for some environmental that is causing interference. 802.11n is more susceptible to interference than .11b or g.
Is this new? Has it been working up o now? Do you have an A/b/g you can try? I'm not sure about n but Bluetooth used to be a big problem. Same with microwave ovens. Edit: copy dump 802.11n  If you have an 802.11n wireless access point or wireless router, there are additional things you need to know. 802.11n operates as if it was two separate 802.11g access points. One set of frequencies is the "primary" set and operates just like an 802.11g access point. This set of frequencies (the primary lobe) is 20 MHz wide, just like an 802.11g access point. Any clients that are 802.11g-only connect to this primary lobe.  The 802.11n access point then selects another 20 MHz wide lobe (the secondary lobe) exactly 4 channels away from the primary channel. Thus, for example, if the primary lobe is on channel 9, the access point begins operating a secondary lobe on channel 5. This results in a total of 40 MHz of bandwidth being used for the 802.11n access point, overlapping a total of 8 channels (in this example, channels 3-7 for the secondary lobe, and 7-11 for the primary lobe).  This is why 802.11n is generally subject to more interference than 802.11g, because the large slice of the spectrum that it uses can pick up more interference (double the width of an 802.11g access point).  InSSIDer will report the channel that the 802.11n access point is operating on in 2 different ways depending on whether you are scanning it from an 802.11g-only laptop or from an 802.11n laptop. If you are scanning from an 802.11g-only laptop, the channel will be reported as the channel of the primary lobe (channel 9 in the above example), and you will not be able to see the secondary lobe. If you are scanning from an 802.11n laptop, the channel will be reported as the channel where the primary and secondary lobes touch each other, which is channel 7 in the above example. Also note that InSSIDer will not report the correct width of an 802.11n access point –– it always shows a width of 20 MHz, even though the access point frequency spread is double that.  As a further complication, some laptops with 802.11n network cards can be set to operate in 802.11n single-lobe mode. In this mode, the laptop connects using 802.11n protocols, but only to the primary lobe, resulting in a maximum speed of 150 Mbps. If you have a laptop set to do this, InSSIDer will report the 802.11n access point channel as if the laptop was operating in 802.11g mode (channel reported as the primary lobe).   Potential Sources of Interference other than 802.11 Networks  Many consumer devices operate in the 2.4 GHz band. All of these devices can interfere with your wireless network, and they won't show up on InSSIDer's graphs. Some of these devices are:  Microwave Ovens - A very common offender. Microwave ovens can have interference that appears all over the spectrum, but many microwave ovens have interference specifically near channel 11 and channel 7, and somewhat in between as well. If the microwave oven is a problem in your household, try using the lower channels (1-3) for your wireless network.  Cordless Phones - Another common offender. Older cordless phones operated in the 900 MHz band, these won't interfere with wireless. Some new cordless phones offer 5 GHz capability, or 1.9 GHz capability (the 1.9 GHz phones are marketed as "DECT 6.0"). Either of these types of cordless phones won't interfere with 802.11 wireless. 2.4 GHz phones have 2 different types: One type hops frequencies all over the 2.4 GHz spectrum, causing a lot of interference on every channel. A second type stays on one particular frequency, and can be selected to others by the user using a switch or by programming the phone through the keypad. If you have the former, you may be out of luck. If you have the latter, they typically operate in the low channels (channel 1-3), but you will have to look at the specs to see the exact frequencies. To correlate the frequencies with the 802.11 channels see the 802.11g article at Wikipedia.  Bluetooth - Bluetooth operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, but is typically very low power. Additionally, there are protocols that wireless and Bluetooth use to peacefully coexist, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.  Wireless Video Senders - Most of these devices operate in the 2.4 GHz band, and their frequencies can overlap 4-6 channels. You will have to look at the specifications to see what frequencies are in use.  Baby Monitors - These devices operate very similarly to the wireless video senders, but typically don't overlap as many channels.  |
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Quoted:
I'd look for some environmental that is causing interference. 802.11n is more susceptible to interference than .11b or g. Is this new? Has it been working up o now? Do you have an A/b/g you can try? I'm not sure about n but Bluetooth used to be a big problem. Same with microwave ovens. I have no A/B/G devices. It worked fine all the way up to last night. Microwave not running. No cordless phones. No baby monitors. Nothing in my house changed. The only thing I can think of is somebody nearby got a new router and turned it on causing interference with my network. I finally got it working by placing the access point somewhere else. I took a long cable and plugged my new access point and walked around the house with it. It works perfectly except in a 5 foot radius of where my networking equipment is at. So now I just placed the AP in another part and ran a cable to it. I don't know why the spot where everything worked for years has now turned into a dead zone. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I'd look for some environmental that is causing interference. 802.11n is more susceptible to interference than .11b or g. Is this new? Has it been working up o now? Do you have an A/b/g you can try? I'm not sure about n but Bluetooth used to be a big problem. Same with microwave ovens. I have no A/B/G devices. It worked fine all the way up to last night. Microwave not running. No cordless phones. No baby monitors. Nothing in my house changed. The only thing I can think of is somebody nearby got a new router and turned it on causing interference with my network. I finally got it working by placing the access point somewhere else. I took a long cable and plugged my new access point and walked around the house with it. It works perfectly except in a 5 foot radius of where my networking equipment is at. So now I just placed the AP in another part and ran a cable to it. I don't know why the spot where everything worked for years has now turned into a dead zone. Might be overheating and the amp cuts out/down. It's worth trying to dust it. ETA: in my neighborhood there's an asshat that runs something unshielded, probably woodworking. When he's doing his bullshit no wifi. |
| Ok after some more testing, while the network works as it should (no roller coaster connections) with the AP in a new location, I'm getting severely reduced range. About half of what I used to get. It's like somebody pointed a directional antenna of interference at my house. |
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our house alarm system with wireless key fobs started acting crazy. And not all the fobs worked so poorly. The range was cut to a quarter of where they used to be able to control it and sometimes even with new batteries not even two feet. But this wasn't all the time. The company switched the receiver/panel to one that should and now does pick up at 100 feet. But at first that didn't even work any better. Trial and error, first circuit breaker we tripped, let us identify the Coleman rechargeable lantern we have had for camping and emergencies for 14 years was the culprit. The techs were at a loss as to why now and said some of the new lighting, especially leds are playing havoc with their systems. Have you changed or added any lighting? |
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Get one of the wireless analysis software packs and see what your neighbors are doing. I bet someone got some new device. Here is the one I use: http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/ (inSSIDer)
Also, futz with the antenna on the router / pc (if there is one). Sometimes they come loose, or you just need to change the angle. Unplugg ALL of your household appliances and plug them in one by one testing in between. This sounds a lot like interference. Try changing channels on the router. Routers are NOT TOLERANT of heat, make double dog sure it's not getting too warm. Sunlight is enough to crash them so cool it way down (put it in a tupperware container with an open lid with ice on the bottom or something) |
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Okay I ran the the analyzer for a while everyday for the past few days. I picked up all the previously known networks in my area plus about four or five more new ones on channels 6 and 11. Originally, I had my network set to channel 9 because strangely one of my devices would not detect the network on channels 10 and 11.
I've set it to channel 11 and hardwired that computer and we'll see how things go. Strangely,if I place my AP in its original location, it still exhibits the original problems. |