WiFi Signal Dropping

[DIYDouglass]

Hi there everyone. I'm hoping someone can solve a problem for me, or at least point me in the right direction.

I am a Virgin customer and get the full package (TV, Broadband,telephone), I'm happy with the service, except for an intermittent problem with the WiFi.

Normally the signal is good and strong and surfing the net is nice and quick, however, at random times of day and night the signal strength will drop off and things grind to a halt.

My wife's PC is hardwired to the router and doesn't seem to have any real problem, though she does say this might happen to her, but only maybe once a week. The rest of the household use the WIFI and we all encounter this problem 4/5 times a day for varying duration, to the point that sometimes I'll just give up.

I've tried switching the router off at the mains for ten minutes and sometimes this will work, but more often than not it'll have no effect at all.

This also occurs when I'm the only one home and I'm the only one using the internet.

I was wondering if the router is a duffer?

Any help will be gratefully received.

 

[JBR]

I'm glad you posted this because I have a similar problem and also have a Virgin broadband router (though no television).

Every now and again, in fact on most evenings, I suddenly find I cannot connect to the internet and the icon (five bars) in the notification area acquires a yellow mark. If I turn off wi-fi on my laptop, then turn it back on again, the problem is usually resolved. Sometimes, I don't even have to do that: it comes back on its own after a minute or two.

I don't know whether it's the router either. I had suspected my computer, but my wife's sometimes has the same problem.

I look forward to any advice that others can offer.

 

[AronSearle]

Had a similar issue in the dim and distant past.

I went into the router settings and changed the frequency, can't remember how as it was ages ago, and it was a BT hub so instructions would differ (You can probably google how, it was pretty simple to do).

Changing the frequency solved the issue, guessing that something else in the area or another bit of wireless equipment caused interferance on the channel it was using.

 

[kbdiy]

I would agree about changing the frequency (channel) to another less utilised to see if that has any effect. I have had Virgin cable broadband for many years (when it was Telewest) and now have one of the Superhubs. However I still use my own router as I prefer the security setup so can't advise how to change on the Virgin hub.

 

[JBR]

Thanks. I'll try changing the frequency. I believe it is currently set to Channel 6, so I could try Channels 1 or 11.

 

[Spark123]

I got a wifi scanner program for my laptop (MacBook pro) which shows the channels around us which are being used, their bandwidth and their strength. I set mine to a vacant channel but imagine I'd have got away with the same channel as another one with low strength.
There's probably a wifi scanner available for a windows PC too

 

[jj4091]

I got a wifi scanner program for my laptop (MacBook pro) which shows the channels around us which are being used, their bandwidth and their strength. I set mine to a vacant channel but imagine I'd have got away with the same channel as another one with low strength.
There's probably a wifi scanner available for a windows PC too

Would that be "Wireless Wizard"? It's free from d/l.com

 

[JBR]

I got a wifi scanner program for my laptop (MacBook pro) which shows the channels around us which are being used, their bandwidth and their strength. I set mine to a vacant channel but imagine I'd have got away with the same channel as another one with low strength.
There's probably a wifi scanner available for a windows PC too

I have 'inSSIDer Home'.

All of the adjacent signals are much lower than that of my router, with the exception of one that appears to be from my television. It disappears when the telly is turned off.

However, my router is set to Channel 6 and is the only one visible on that channel. I have an extender, though (one of those things that uses the house wiring), which is set to Channels 1 and 5, for some reason, and which therefore overlaps Channel 6. I'm sure that's not the cause of my drop-out problems, though, as they pre-date the installation of the extender.

I think it's looking more like a faulty router or the connection to it from outside, or possibly my computer is at fault.

 

[Spark123]

I got a wifi scanner program for my laptop (MacBook pro) which shows the channels around us which are being used, their bandwidth and their strength. I set mine to a vacant channel but imagine I'd have got away with the same channel as another one with low strength.
There's probably a wifi scanner available for a windows PC too

Would that be "Wireless Wizard"? It's free from d/l.com

I think it is called Wifi Scanner, it came from the apple App Store. Oddly there doesn't seem to be any for iPhone, iPod or iPad.

 

[AlanE]

I have an extender, though (one of those things that uses the house wiring), which is set to Channels 1 and 5, for some reason, and which therefore overlaps Channel 6. I'm sure that's not the cause of my drop-out problems, though, as they pre-date the installation of the extender.

Try disconnecting that and see if you still have the same problem.

These things a notorious for spilling out loads of interference to the extent that most are illegal devices in as far as they fail interference regulations. Trouble is there are so many in use it is now virtually impossible to control them.

 

[JBR]

I have an extender, though (one of those things that uses the house wiring), which is set to Channels 1 and 5, for some reason, and which therefore overlaps Channel 6. I'm sure that's not the cause of my drop-out problems, though, as they pre-date the installation of the extender.

Try disconnecting that and see if you still have the same problem.

These things a notorious for spilling out loads of interference to the extent that most are illegal devices in as far as they fail interference regulations. Trouble is there are so many in use it is now virtually impossible to control them.

But as I said, the problem was there long before I bought the extender.

 

[DIYDouglass]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm away from home right now but I'll investigate further when I get home.

Actually working away is how I know it's not my laptop, this issue never happens when I'm using the WiFi at a hotel.

The signal interference seems to fit the symptoms I'm experiencing as well, I'll have to see if I can find out how to change the channel to a less used one.

 

[mattylad]

The popular android app Wifi Analyzer is free and can be very useful to show you the wifi networks in your vicinity.

Most wifi devices are delivered on the same channel which can make it very busy, find a clear channel and move your router to it.

My neighbors sky WIFI is stronger in my living room than my own router (situated in the next room) and was on the same channel (even though I was here first!) so I moved channel and now my wifi works again.

Routers these days are supposed to be intelligent and change channel when they detect that other signals are resent so that they move to a clear channel - however with a limited number of channels available in a densely populated area it's difficult.

 

[JBR]

Yesterday, I got in touch with Virgin and the very helpful guy there had a look (remotely - clever eh?) at my router and informed me that a lot of customers in my area had been having problems when on Channel 6, despite there being no other apparent signals on that channel.

He changed it to Channel 11 and told me that, although they were currently doing some work on the lines in my locality that might cause some brief outages for half-an-hour or so, there should be no further problems. He also said he'd call me back after a couple of days to see if everything is now OK.

So far, neither my first wife nor I have noticed any more problems.

Perhaps you (the OP) should give Virgin a call.

 

[AronSearle]

Perhaps you (the OP) should give Virgin a call.

No cable in my area, otherwise I'd dump BT quicker than a ho with the clap.