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morisato
join:2008-03-16
Oshawa, ON

morisato

Member

Ugh Nightmare with routers.

Okay So I am getting very weird issues with my router so i tried replacing it, - i tried the asus AC 66r from futureshop - found it was actually worse for signal penetration than my WNDR3700 v3, So tried to keep trucking, Thought it might be dieing again today, Tried a AC56u - LOved the 5ghz performance but 2.4ghz was a flat line of 3 mbps if more than 5 feet from the router.. did f/w updates etc.. gave up.

Looking to get a Simple Dualband Router, With either Solid Internal Firmware or DDwrt /Openwrt Compatibility any suggestions would be welcome. needs to be gigabit. reading about all sorts of 2.4 ghz headaches on the wdr3600 from tplink, and tplink is kinda hit and miss sometimes so.

MacGyver

join:2001-10-14
Vancouver, BC

MacGyver

What does a wireless survey of your home look like? How many neighbouring routers are competing for the limited 2.4 GHz band? It's getting pretty bad in my neighbourhood, so I stick with wired if I can.
69230940 (banned)
join:2014-12-10

69230940 (banned) to morisato

Member

to morisato
Not really much sense buying an AC router if you don't have an AC nic in whatever devices you are connecting to it.
HELLFIRE
MVM
join:2009-11-25

HELLFIRE to morisato

MVM

to morisato
said by morisato:

Okay So I am getting very weird issues with my router so i tried replacing it

Want to share what the "weird issue" you're getting is? From the sounds of it, it's poor signal range and poor wireless throughput.

Offhand, I agree with MacGuyver See Profile in that the first thing I'd do before plunking down more cash is a wireless survey -- head
over to the Wireless Networking Forum for some suggestions of programs to try.

I'd also get yourself iperf or similar and loadtest with two computers and your existing router only -- DO NOT use internet
speedtests to test your wireless speeds.

Also agree with 69230940 See Profile that if you want AC speeds, ALL your wireless gear has to be AC.

My 00000010bits

Regards
morisato
join:2008-03-16
Oshawa, ON

morisato

Member

i find the beamforming and options that the ac standard has improves even my N 5g, weird issue is that My router assigns dhcp But then that pc later on cannot access the internet at all. until i do a ip renew. internal network is fine and streaming files thru it a Okay Just the internet has this occur - Plus i do have some AC devices and i want to at least be buying future forward if i am buying , Unless u can show me signifigant savings for a N gigabit router. dualband.

MacGyver

join:2001-10-14
Vancouver, BC

MacGyver

Try assigning a static address to that PC, either through Windows IP settings, or Static DHCP on the router.
morisato
join:2008-03-16
Oshawa, ON

morisato

Member

I've done that for every pc And its not 1 computer that does this, it happens randomly to different pcs on the network, The router feeds into a 24 port switch, with a single cable, then all the devices that can be wired are but i need the wifi for the Upstairs. or i would just buy el cheapo gigabit. i may do that as it is and buy a second router for upstairs.

The issue does seem to not happen when i statically set my IPs though. hence router failure is my assumption

And i have Massive saturation prolly 30 networks somehow show up on wifi analyzer on my phone. ;( i wanna wrap my home in tinfoil to get rid of them all P:)

Waimea
join:2010-06-30
Toronto, ON

1 edit

Waimea

Member

I started having poor speeds when I bought a Sennheiser digital wireless headphones because they use 2.4ghz. What solved it for me was switching the channel width from 40mhz to 20mhz. I have a about 20 APs from neighbours but never had any issue with interference in the past. This is using an 5 year old netgear wnr3500Lv1 with shibby's tomato.

Where signal is weak, I got a tiny tp link router WR702N ($15 on sale at staples) to act as a bridge and it works well.
NefCanuck
join:2007-06-26
Mississauga, ON

NefCanuck to morisato

Member

to morisato
I went with a Buffalo Airstation AC-1750 DD-WRT router to replace my D-link 655 that was giving me serious connectivity issues.

The range of the AC connection isn't the greatest, but having DD-WRT firmware stock, including the extra ad-blocking features is a nice touch. It appears that there is no way to boost the antenna's signals on the supplied firmware, but it would probably be easy enough to flash the thing to "pure" DD-WRT to get access to that if you wanted.

The N connection speed is great and since all of my devices can use the 5GHz band I avoid all the 2.4GHz "noise" including my microwave :P

NefCanuck
analog andy
join:2005-01-03
Surrey, BC

analog andy to morisato

Member

to morisato
I scrapped Wifi for my computers and went with a Linksys power line kit. Surprised how good it works.

»store.linksys.com/powerl ··· prod.htm

Just keep the wifi going for phones/tablets.

BeerBox
@teksavvy.com

BeerBox to morisato

Anon

to morisato
I built a signal booster for my wireless router. Wrapped aluminium foil on the inside of a beer box (12box) cut on the diagonal and sat the wireless router between the foil surfaces. 3db gain on average.

BimmerE38FN
join:2002-09-15
Boise, ID

BimmerE38FN to morisato

Member

to morisato
Just FYI, just because your older router worked and the new one doesn't as well, be aware that older generation routers and 3rd party FW may not adhere to the "Good Neighbor" policy built in OEM FW that tells the WiFi radio channel width to go to 20Mhz from 40Mhz channel width in high populated Wifi congested surroundings which is now seen in newer generation routers by default and most router Mfrs in the USA must adhere to. Not sure about Canada requirements and policies. Thus if you used an older generation router which may not have had this in the FW or using 3rd party FW, then you may not have seen this issue and your older router was probably the WiFi gorilla on the block at 40Mhz channel width and depending on channel usage by others.

Also be aware that 5Ghz signals are affected by building materials and is best in line of sight. Maybe one wooden all away at about 15-20 feet max distance between the radio and connecting clients. Since 5Ghz is such a high frequency, it's signal can be attenuated by building materials. Nature of the beast. So if your looking for long range on 5Ghz in a house or building, you'll need to look for range extenders or use 2ndary wired APs in the remote locations that may need 5Ghz single.

Good Luck.
smackYYZ
join:2010-03-31
Brampton, ON

smackYYZ to Waimea

Member

to Waimea
I'm a long time Tomato user also using Version 1.28 by shibby. Love the control and features. I also use a NetGear wnr3500L but is a v2 .

Like Waimea make sure your channel width is set to 20mhz. And like others said do a WiFI analysis and make sure your not on a busy channel
HELLFIRE
MVM
join:2009-11-25

HELLFIRE to morisato

MVM

to morisato
said by morisato:

weird issue is that My router assigns dhcp But then that pc later on cannot access the internet at all.

can you ping the router's ip address when this happens?

What's a traceroute to google look like when this happens?

Does this problem follow for any computers wired into your existing router? If it does, sounds like your existing router's borked.
If it doesn't, I'd do that wireless survey and post the results.

If the 2.4Ghz range is just that crowded, you're looking at just using the 5Ghz band then.

My 00000010bits

Regards
morisato
join:2008-03-16
Oshawa, ON

morisato

Member

so far so good I reflashed my router to a new Kong Build of ddwrt and it seems ot be functioning again speeds are solid on wired and wireless is not something for me but for the renters upstairs it performs sufficently to serve that purpose as well. so all in all i think i may be okay.

sm5w2
Premium Member
join:2004-10-13
St Thomas, ON

sm5w2 to HELLFIRE

Premium Member

to HELLFIRE
> If the 2.4Ghz range is just that crowded ...

Personally I use channel 13 at home. I find I'm the only one using it! (yes, I'm being funny, and yes I do use 13).

BimmerE38FN
join:2002-09-15
Boise, ID

1 recommendation

BimmerE38FN

Member

Channel 13 is usually reserved for Europe and users out side of the USA region. Channel 13 isn't available in the USA on most Mfr Wifi routers.
HELLFIRE
MVM
join:2009-11-25

HELLFIRE to sm5w2

MVM

to sm5w2
2nd BimmerE38FN See Profile

Regards

sm5w2
Premium Member
join:2004-10-13
St Thomas, ON

sm5w2

Premium Member

No idea what your reply was intended to convey.
bw5745
join:2014-03-14

bw5745

Member

If you buy a brand name router from Futureshop and use the supplied firmware, you will find that channel 12 and 13 are not available. These channels are not allowed in the USA because they are too close to licensed frequencies for satellite and wireless services.

Since this is enforced by firmware, alternate router firmwares might let you select 12 or 13. Off-brand routers might not bother with different firmware for different countries, so it might let you set 12 or 13 out of the box.

Some client devices such as laptops might not work with a router set on 12 or 13. This is enforced by drivers or firmware. You might buy a new device that simply won't work with your current setup.

sm5w2
Premium Member
join:2004-10-13
St Thomas, ON

sm5w2

Premium Member

> If you buy a brand name router from Futureshop

Futureshop? Can't remember the last time I set foot in that store. I bought a Netis something at Factory Direct a few years ago, and about the same time bought a TP Link TL-WR1043ND from Canada Computers. Both had channel 13 available as drop-down choices. And I didn't mess with the firmware.

> These channels are not allowed in the USA

Good thing I'm about 100 miles from the US then.

> Off-brand routers might not bother with different firmware for different
> countries, so it might let you set 12 or 13 out of the box.

Or maybe I stumbled and chose the wrong country from the router's drop-down list...

> Some client devices such as laptops might not work with a router
> set on 12 or 13. This is enforced by drivers or firmware.

That was solved easily enough with a registry change on a win-7 laptop. A cheap Polaroid tablet (android) I bought 3 years ago has native channel-13 functionality out-of-the-box.

> You might buy a new device that simply won't work with your
> current setup.

I have a few D-link DCS-930 IP webcams (that apparently are sold world-wide) that don't seem to be able to operate on channel 12 or 13. So I have a separate router for those.
bw5745
join:2014-03-14

bw5745

Member

It's great that you were able to solve your congestion problem by fudging your gear to use channel 13.

I'm just elaborating on why channel 12 and 13 are not usually available here. Most people would buy one of the big name routers and have those channels locked out. Very few people would be willing to fudge their Windows registry and install a second router to make it work.
HELLFIRE
MVM
join:2009-11-25

HELLFIRE to sm5w2

MVM

to sm5w2
»www.radio-electronics.co ··· idth.php -- about 1/2 way down the page in
the section titled "2.4 GHz WLAN / Wi-Fi Channel availability."

Also, use of channel 13 doesn't guarentee you're free from interference -- again on the same page, channel 13 just overlaps with channel 11
...and not much of a suggestion of a fix for OP's situation.

Regards