ADSL Router - Ethernet is fine, Wireless is not

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Vulpes

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

# 142638 19-Mar-2014 11:21

I've had ADSL with Telecom for about 2 years, and am still using the Thompson router I received when I signed up.

Connected to the router through Ethernet cable, I get a consistent 10mbps downsteam and around 0.8 up - not blazing, but good enough for my purposes.

However, the wireless connection tops out at around 3-4 mbps and regularly drops below 1, which makes watching streaming video or similar things almost impossible. I've tested this with several wireless devices sitting right next to the router, so it should not be an issue of distance or receiving device.

I have spoken to tech support at Telecom and they cannot see any issues with my connection - which makes sense as it's clearly not the ADSL that's at fault.

I live in a large apartment building, which leads me to suspect that the wireless frequencies may be overloaded - is there some way to test this?

Failing that I am forced to suspect the wireless transmitter on the router is faulty. Contemplating buying a more reputable router to replace it - any recommendations?

On a possible related note, the router takes forever to reset and re-establish connection (over 2 minutes in some cases) - is this normal with the Thompson routers?

Sorry for asking several different questions at the same time, thanks in advance for your help!

PeterReader

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Geekzone

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# 1008842 19-Mar-2014 11:21

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

plambrechtsen

1948 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

# 1008854 19-Mar-2014 11:29

Which model Thompson/Technicolor do you have? If it's a TG582n then you may have a faulty one, or perhaps your wireless client can't perform that well.

The older model TG585 sometimes gave issues, but the TG582n which is the new one is pretty good.

However now I believe the Huawei one the HG630b is the main modem:

sbiddle

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Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

# 1008866 19-Mar-2014 11:35

In many urban and CBD areas 2.4Ghz WiFi is now on the verge of being totally unusable due to congestion.

Perform some basic fault finding first of all by changing wireless channels. 1,6, and 11 are the best 3 and the only that don't overlap. There are plenty of apps such as inssider which will tell you what channels nearby access points are on.

Vulpes

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

# 1008874 19-Mar-2014 11:45

Thanks guys. I'll check the model number tonight and try playing with the channels and see if that helps.

Sideface

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# 1008935 19-Mar-2014 12:56

sbiddle: ... Perform some basic fault finding first of all by changing wireless channels. 1,6, and 11 are the best 3 and the only that don't overlap. There are plenty of apps such as inssider which will tell you what channels nearby access points are on.

Look for inSSIDer Home version 3 by MetaGeek (FREEWARE released Dec 2013) (avoid version 4 as it is not freeware).
This has a good user interface and will show all local 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels, including your own.
Look for other strong transmissions on your selected channel, and switch as required.

Sideface

1101

1906 posts

Uber Geek

# 1009772 20-Mar-2014 12:14

On some sites, wifi NEVER works particulary well. Just the way it is.
2.4 is a free for all frequency, it can be used for anything, not just wifi.

Also try ....
a new wifi router , you may have a dud .
Try a new wifi reciever on your laptop/PC, USB wifi dongles are pretty cheap
**TURN OFF ALL CORDLESS PHONES (turn off ,not unplug)**, av senders,wireless keyboards/mice, BT devices and anything else using 2.4G
Setup router to Wireless G only (if possible) , or WirelessN only
disable WPS on the router
set the wifi password to WPA2 (not WPA or WEP) , WPA2 might make things worse if the router is a dud.
see if the router will show how many are connected to its wifi : some wifi routers start to struggle as more users connect to it
is the wifi better if you are in the same room as the router
try moving the wifi router, dont put it on the floor or behind desks etc
the wifi simply may not go like going through your walls or floors, just the way it is

Vulpes

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

# 1009800 20-Mar-2014 12:48

Changed the wifi to channel 11 from 1 and noticed an immediately performance boost - now averaging 5mbps. InSSIDer didn't show 11 as being particularly less congested but it seems to have helped regardless.

Thanks for all your help.