Having a bit of wifi issues with the hg659b

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Having a bit of wifi issues with the hg659b

anotherasian

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#206138 11-Dec-2016 15:03

So ever since a few days ago my router's wifi doesn't seem to work if it's been left on too long. And it wont work again until it's physically reset.

But the ethernet connection is still fine so i'm convinced it's just the wireless part of it that doesn't work.

There are several pc's and laptops connected wirelessly and by a ethernet cable. The computers connected via cable never have their internet go down, while the wirelessly connected phones/laptops all experience the same problem and they arent able to connect to the router. (as of now my phone can't connect to the internet while my pc which is connected via a cable is obviously posting this right now)

I've called in to spark several times and all they told me to do (and all the advice they were able to give after calling them several times) was to change the wireless channel, i did this for some channels 1/3/4/6/11 and probably some more after everytime someone in the house started screaming. (i would also check my phone to confirm wireless was not working)

Anywho i asked if they could give a replacement for the router (hg659b) but they said since there was no problems with the connection between their end and our end they wouldn't replace it.

Do i have to buy a new router or are there anymore options for me?

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#1686089 11-Dec-2016 15:36

this might help

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=201316&page_no=2

look at this answer from Wheelbarrow01,

In terms of the Consumer Guarantees Act, it's pretty clear cut in my opinion - if the modem was, but is no longer, operating on the 2.4GHz frequency then it's no longer fit for purpose.

Balm its gone!

KiwiME

213 posts

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#1686090 11-Dec-2016 15:40

The router says "Spark" on it, no?

Anyway, join the club. My sister went through the same fuss with the same problem, WIFI went down every few days over a few months until it was completely dead. Eventually they honoured the warranty and replaced it with the same model. I took the old HG659B apart to see if it could be repaired and it's completely dead, with only 2 LEDs weakly glowing and no obvious part failure or intermittent connections. It's not the best SMD wave soldering I've seen and it's a complex board.

I have had one for about a year and it's dropped out once only.

anotherasian

15 posts

Geek

#1686094 11-Dec-2016 15:55

Yeah funnily enough the people i called wanted me to sign up to the $120 tech support as well. I'm pretty sure subscribing to something won't repair the router

Anywho nice to know that we have a rep here.

I'll wait to see the router die a few more times before i contact him (or if he contacts me first)

gzt

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#1686107 11-Dec-2016 16:07

The channel change is intended to eliminate interference as a cause.

anotherasian

15 posts

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#1686110 11-Dec-2016 16:15

gzt: The channel change is intended to eliminate interference as a cause.

I figured that out by the first time they told me to do that but they aren't offering any other fix. Last call i had with them said theres nothing else they can/going to do since there's no fault between them UP to the router (ie ethernet works, but since ethernet works and wireless doesnt i just have to suck it up)

gzt

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#1686120 11-Dec-2016 17:19

There are things like this for some idea if interference is a real issue:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en

Similar things around for windows and mac.

sbiddle

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#1686123 11-Dec-2016 17:32

How many devices do you have connected?

The real world reality is that in some dense urban areas 2.4GHz is now virtually unusable. If you're in an area with lots of 2.4GHz noise, have a largish house, multiple devices and some of those devices are connecting with a poor signal strength then you're just asking for problems.

Have you tried forcing devices that support 5GHz to the 5GHz SSID? Lots of people don't even realise the difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz and why 5GHz is better.

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anotherasian

15 posts

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#1686131 11-Dec-2016 17:54

sbiddle:

How many devices do you have connected?

The real world reality is that in some dense urban areas 2.4GHz is now virtually unusable. If you're in an area with lots of 2.4GHz noise, have a largish house, multiple devices and some of those devices are connecting with a poor signal strength then you're just asking for problems.

Have you tried forcing devices that support 5GHz to the 5GHz SSID? Lots of people don't even realise the difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz and why 5GHz is better.

I could stand in front of the router and i still cant connect.

And at the above comment i've tried half the channels by now and it makes no difference.

The problem just started happening a few days ago so i doubt it's an interference issue. As there's been basically no change to anything.

sbiddle

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#1686132 11-Dec-2016 18:02

anotherasian:

sbiddle:

How many devices do you have connected?

The real world reality is that in some dense urban areas 2.4GHz is now virtually unusable. If you're in an area with lots of 2.4GHz noise, have a largish house, multiple devices and some of those devices are connecting with a poor signal strength then you're just asking for problems.

Have you tried forcing devices that support 5GHz to the 5GHz SSID? Lots of people don't even realise the difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz and why 5GHz is better.

I could stand in front of the router and i still cant connect.

And at the above comment i've tried half the channels by now and it makes no difference.

The problem just started happening a few days ago so i doubt it's an interference issue. As there's been basically no change to anything.

The fact it just started could easily be an interference problem if there was something high powered in the 2.4GHz band such as a video sender that's suddenly appeared.

What about 5GHz?

antoniosk

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#1686137 11-Dec-2016 18:19

I agree with Steve. Just because wifi is lowish power doesn't mean it can't cause havoc - I can pick up the aerohive cells in the local primary school, and it's 800m away (clear line of sight though

________

Antoniosk

mdf

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#1686154 11-Dec-2016 19:07

The way I read the OP was that following a reset the wifi works fine. After a period it will stop, then after a reset it will work fine again for a while.

I would have thought that this would point to a fault, not interference? I might have read it wrong though.

What firmware are you on?

gzt

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#1686244 11-Dec-2016 21:57

It could go either way.

The router may have auto channel selection and selects a different initial channel on reboot. Either way, consumer routers in general do flaky things and do not always respect user settings etc.

anotherasian

15 posts

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#1686278 11-Dec-2016 23:54

mdf:

The way I read the OP was that following a reset the wifi works fine. After a period it will stop, then after a reset it will work fine again for a while.

I would have thought that this would point to a fault, not interference? I might have read it wrong though.

What firmware are you on?

I'm on the newest firmware (offered on sparks page). I've tried basically nearly every channel on the drop down list and it still dies every now and then. But yes your first sentence is correct.

Also when the wifi dies both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz band goes does as well.

Is there that much interference even if i'm standing right next to the router?(with my phone)

richms

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#1686280 12-Dec-2016 00:02

With carrier sense protocols like wifi then yes, you can be right beside the router and it will not transmit because it sees someone elses transmission. But it shouldnt totally stop working except for analog video senders, someone malitiously screwing with you with deauth packets or someones leaky microwave. It should just get really really slow as there are more wifi networks around.

That is why the common advice of not using the same channels as other networks is often totally wrong, since if they are on auto they might be avoiding non wifi interference so you putting it on the "free" channel might be sitting ontop of someones video sender, which will always win when that battles with wifi since the transmission is just on all the time with no breaks in it for wifi to transmit.

Richard rich.ms

Linuxluver

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#1686304 12-Dec-2016 07:51

anotherasian:

So ever since a few days ago my router's wifi doesn't seem to work if it's been left on too long. And it wont work again until it's physically reset.

But the ethernet connection is still fine so i'm convinced it's just the wireless part of it that doesn't work.

.....

Do i have to buy a new router or are there anymore options for me?

I was seeing exactly the same behaviour. I had to re-boot it maybe every 48-72 hours.

I bought a new router (D-Link "Saipan" - really fast!) and connect it to the HG659b via ethernet. The HG659b is in bridging-only mode and seems to be utterly reliable in that dumbed-down, non-wifi, state.

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