Wifi dropping in and out, I'm desperate

[#1]

I've been with Plusnet for over 4 years now. Quite a record regarding the bad performance of my line/router.

Now I've reached a stage where I cannot bear the problems any longer.

The wifi connectivity for upstair (router right underneath the location of the laptop (ca. 1m only the wooden ceiling/floor in between) has virtually gone. Now, I'm having the same problems within the room where the router is located (ca. 2m between my laptop and the router, no wall, just air). It all started when our neighbours switched from TalkTalk to Vodafone. I can see that their signal is much stronger than ours, even within the room, let alone upstairs.

I'm doing online exams ATM and already had to pay extra to resit exams because right in the middle of a test, my wifi disconnected.

The message I get on my screen is that a network change has been detected.

This happens when the neighbours are at home (which is 80% of the time).....

at some stage I noticed that when one of them is (probably) texting, my router/wifi goes completely mad, as if my neighbour sending off txts or receiving messages caused my router to drop in and out (thin walls, can hear the gong/bing for messages down here).

Is there anything I can do? Or is this the time/reason for me to switch providers?

I'm dead serious as this has been going on for 6 months now and I cannot afford to waste any more time or money on something that doesn't work (and I could definitely find stronger words!)

To answer your question: yes, I have pulled the plug and the rest of it. Doesn't work.

Jule

[#2]

I forgot to mention that I can't even print things out via Wifi because the connectivity is abysmal.

Landline, though, is fine.

[#3]

This is getting worse by the minute. Literally!

Hardly any connectivity....

What should have taken minutes too exactly 1 hour 47 minutes.

How about you do something about it? NOW!

[#4]

@brennanthurston 

If this has been going on for 6 months then it's a pity that you haven't come here before.

The first thing to confirm is that this is just a wireless problem. Have you checked your speed using an Ethernet cable between your router and a computer? If your computer has an Ethernet port and you use it withing 2m of your router then the sensible thing to do is to use a 2m Ethernet cable whilst doing critical tasks such as exams. They're cheap enough.

If it's definitely a wireless problem then there are several things to try:

Which router do you have? If it's a Plusnet Hub Zero then I would recommend going on to the likes of EBay and getting a BT Smarthub 6. They go for very little money. The wireless performance of a Hub Zero is pretty dire. Setting up instructions for a Smarthub are here: https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/Using-the-BT-Smarthub-6-on-a-Plusnet-Account/m-p/1587673#M85...

If it's a Plusnet Hub One then try splitting the bands and use the best. See https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/2-4ghz-and-or-5ghz-best-practice/m-p/1351966#M840 If your laptop will support it then the 5GHz band should work best.

If you only have a 2.4GHz band then download a WiFi sniffer app, I use WiFi Analyzer on and Android phone. With this you can see which channels your neighbour is using. With this information go into your router advanced wireless setting and manually select a channel not used by your neighbour.

If this is a wireless problem do not expect Plusnet to be able to instantly fix it, work through this list and come back here.

[#5]

he answer have been any different had I come here 6 months ago?

No, I don't think so.

I don't see any useful content in your reply, as much efforts you may have put into it.

1. I'm not intending in investing in a router from BT

2. I'm not an IT engineer and haven't understood one single word of what you're telling me to do.

3. I'm most certainly not putting any suspicious apps on my laptop. I haven't got a smartphone of any type.

4. Why have I got a wifi connection if I'm expected to use an ethernet cable like back in the mid 90s? I want my wifi to work, not wifi on life support.

5. Under the bottom line: Plusnet has nothing better to offer than the router I've got? And no chance of getting a stronger whatever?

Another disappointing Plusnet experience. 

Well, haven't I had it before when I was more or less accused of lying about my landline lacking a wall plug for the phone and modem? And in the end I was right that there was no such thing in the house? It's all so disappointing, really.

[#6]

@brennanthurston 

For the record I am just another customer like you trying to help. Obviously this is not possible if you're not prepared to try to help yourself.

[#7]

@brennanthurston 

If you want a fast and certain way of doing your exams, I suggest the ethernet cable for now.

Once the exams are done you can investigate the WiFi problems in more depth.

There probably isn't a "magic fix" someone can suggest to solve the issue.

If asked, Plusnet would probably send a new router but I suspect that wouldn't be a complete fix (or possibly any fix).

[#8]

Hi @brennanthurston

Thanks for highlighting this - I'm sorry that you're experiencing wifi issues.

The advice you've been given by @Baldrick1 is absolutely sound and entirely echoes the advice I would have given had he not beaten me to it. Although I appreciate that wifi issues are frustrating, they rarely go away without some sort of intervention on your part.

Just to add some context around wifi - I have an issue in my home where I cannot get wifi signal in my bathroom - as soon as I walk in there the signal drops - happens with both my Plusnet router and a BT Home Hub - sometimes there is no magic fix and it's just a case of trying to optimise the signal that you do have - hence Baldrick's advise.

Please let us know how you get on with the wifi troubleshooting that has been provided - to help narrow things down, you have a Hub Zero.

Thanks

Dave

[#9]

Wifi troubleshooting here

[#10]

---

@brennanthurston wrote:

The wifi connectivity for upstair (router right underneath the location of the laptop (ca. 1m only the wooden ceiling/floor in between) has virtually gone. Now, I'm having the same problems within the room where the router is located (ca. 2m between my laptop and the router, no wall, just air). It all started when our neighbours switched from TalkTalk to Vodafone. I can see that their signal is much stronger than ours, even within the room, let alone upstairs.

The message I get on my screen is that a network change has been detected.

This happens when the neighbours are at home (which is 80% of the time).....

at some stage I noticed that when one of them is (probably) texting, my router/wifi goes completely mad, as if my neighbour sending off txts or receiving messages caused my router to drop in and out (thin walls, can hear the gong/bing for messages down here).

Is there anything I can do? Or is this the time/reason for me to switch providers?

---

I've edited the original post, but the bits I have left in don't make sense to me. Somehow, it appears the neighbours router is swamping the OP's, or his/hers is trying to connect to theirs - and failing, or theirs is connecting to his/hers. This just doesn't make sense to me.

Anyone with more knowledge of networking or router operation than me care to comment?

[#11]

I've been experiencing similar issues with Plusnet Hub One. Used to work fine but can see a lot more SKY WIFI networks from neighbours and think this may be the issue. Even with a WIFI analyser it looks congested across channels.

Have taken your advice @Baldrick1 and am buying a BT Smart Hub 6 on ebay. Although not OP, thanks for the reply.

[#12]

It's not congestion that matters, so long as your signal level is substantially greater than everybody else, on your chosen channel.

I don't use wifi - except for a couple of mobiles and my signal strength is 20dBm more than neighbouring signals, so I get no problems.

Example - through an internal brick wall.

[#13]

Quite correct, @VileReynard - my signal is nearly 40dBm higher than my nearest neighbour - only 2 doors away and 55dBm + greater than the other ones my program picks up.

However, and thanks for your input, this is not going to help the OP ( @brennanthurston ) - from what they have posted above, this doesn't look like a simple wi-fi band congestion problem.

[#14]

Less than 5db difference across multiple channels and I'm measuring about 5 meters from the Hub (only wood between me and the hub). Neighbours at least another 15-20m away. I need a stronger signal.

[#15]

There are legal limits on how much power you can put into a wifi aerial. Maybe your Hub is broken(?)

You will struggle without at least 10dB clear margin (preferably more).