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WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

ian2richardson
Newbie
Posts: 2
Registered: ‎30-10-2014

WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

We have just oved from BT and find that the in-house WiFi signal strength is poor.  Is this a factor of the PlusNet router?
12 REPLIES 12
Method0ne
Grafter
Posts: 134
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎12-12-2008

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

In a word, yes.
In several, the wifi isn't especially good on the supplied router due to it being a budget unit that works for the majority of smaller modern households, and the fact that it doesn't have an external antenna doesn't help that.
Jaggies
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 1,700
Thanks: 34
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎29-06-2010

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

@ ian2richardson
You can always use your Home Hub.
See here.
uther
Dabbler
Posts: 10
Registered: ‎02-10-2014

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

You could also try changing the wireless channel from automatic to manual. My wifi was showing 0.50mbps on speedtest with automatic, now its 25mbps on channel 6...
chenks76
All Star
Posts: 3,274
Thanks: 338
Fixes: 12
Registered: ‎24-10-2013

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

depends what you mean by "poor".
i can still connect to WIFI from outside the front of my house and the router is at the back of the house on the top floor.
wifi on the pn router may not be the best (just about every ISP claims their router has the best wifi range - they can't all be), but it's certainly not the worst.
the sky sr101 router had piss poor wifi range when i used it - and that just internal coverage.
adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 16,871
Thanks: 882
Fixes: 221
Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

A good way to get the most out of your WiFi router (assuming you're a Windows user) is to use the following command prompt:
netsh wlan show networks bssid
This will show you all the local networks picked up by your PC's WiFi adapter. It shows you which channel they're using so you can make a better judgement as to which to avoid when changing yours.

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
uther
Dabbler
Posts: 10
Registered: ‎02-10-2014

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

WiFiInfoView also works very well for this. I originally changed to channel 6, then after running that found a few local networks on 6 and changed to channel 13. Gained quite a bit by doing that.
CTFU75
Grafter
Posts: 44
Registered: ‎12-10-2014

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

The better alternative is Powerline Adapters like Devolo Netgear  which prevent you being exposed to the wifi emf issue.
Thats if you believe this issue is a health risk. The French seem to think there is an issue for kids and have banned their use in schools so if you have young kids it may be worth getting one to prevent exposure.
The DECT wireless phones are a lot worse too even more than a mobile I believe as the base station is 24/7 exposure. Base could be by your bed while you sleep pumping out at you. Although there is one brand where the base  doesn't emit out until you actually pick up the phone so exposure back down to mobile phone exposure times.

PeterLoftus
Pro
Posts: 2,599
Thanks: 182
Fixes: 5
Registered: ‎27-05-2011

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

Or you could make yourself a hat out of aluminium foil  Crazy
To do is to be - Neitzsche
To be is to do - Kant
do be do be do - Sinatra
CTFU75
Grafter
Posts: 44
Registered: ‎12-10-2014

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

Professor Lawrie Challis from the University of Nottingham, an expert used by the government to evaluate risk from EMR, says radiation exposure from a mast was at most 1/1000th that from mobile phones.
If you've got twenty minutes PeterLoftushttps://www.patrickholford.com/advice/are-you-being-electrified
PeterLoftus
Pro
Posts: 2,599
Thanks: 182
Fixes: 5
Registered: ‎27-05-2011

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

@carb I think we should both butt out and let the OP get his issue dealt with Smiley
To do is to be - Neitzsche
To be is to do - Kant
do be do be do - Sinatra
CTFU75
Grafter
Posts: 44
Registered: ‎12-10-2014

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

I agree with chenks76. The router has been independently tested by Which? it was given excellent wireless yet the ethernet ports only offer slower data transfer speeds of 100Mbps rather than 1,000 Mbps that some rivals provide. Yes they also found that it doesn't intelligently choose which wi-fi channel to use for beaming out its signal. It had a better score than the BT HH also.

HairyMcbiker
All Star
Posts: 6,792
Thanks: 266
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎16-02-2009

Re: WiFi strength from the Plusnet Router

Myself and many others have complained about this in the past. The best bet is to use your previous BT router if it is a HH3/4/5 then you are good to go, with the 3/4 connect to the modem and RESET your hh to defaults. Then setup using your <user>@plusdsl.net & password.
For the 5 reset as well, plug direct into the cable coming from the telephone socket removing the BT white modem, and setup as above.
You need to do a reset as you no longer have access to FON and don't want it on your wifi.