Sagecom Router Won't Stay Locked to Manually Selected Wi-Fi Channel.

[CeeBee2001]

Hello there. Whenever I try to manually set channels on my Sagecom Router to avoid interference from neighbours, after a day or so, they switch back!

This is completely unacceptable as the router always seems to find the most congested channels on both 2.4 and 5Ghz bands, you couldn't ask it to find worse channels if you tried!

I beleive this problem is unique to the Sagecom router and is down to a feature called 'Wi-Fi Optimisation' which needs to be switched off remotely by yourselves.

Please could you do this for me as soon as is humanly possible, I'm at the end of my tether with poor Wi-Fi reception at even 2-3 Metres from the modem on some days.

Many thanks in advance.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi @CeeBee2001 

My colleague in the faults escalation team has advised that they have contacted you this morning.

Thanks

Debbie

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi @CeeBee2001 

You're welcome 🙂

Debbie

[CeeBee2001]

Many thanks, Debbie!

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi @CeeBee2001 

Thanks for your reply.

I've passed this over to the team now and asked them to make contact as soon as possible so they can discuss this with you.

Debbie

[CeeBee2001]

That would be fantastic, thanks, Debbie, have a great day!

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi @CeeBee2001 

I can pass this to our faults escalation team so they can discuss this with you. Would you like me to arrange this?

[CeeBee2001]

Hi Debbie. Running these checks won't change anything other than taking up our valuable time. I've clearly stated the issue, I need the ability to manually set Wi-Fi channels on my Router.
A booster would be of no use at all, it would only likely increase congestion and interference for others in the building. I'm only 2-3 metres from the modem with most of my Wi-Fi equipment.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi @CeeBee2001 

Would it be ok to run through a few WIFI checks, we can also send a WIFI booster to help with coverage issues.

[CeeBee2001]

That's fine, Debbie, not your fault. I just need to know how we move forwards from this. As far as I can see, the only viable solution is to send me a router that doesn't have this so-called 'Wi-Fi optimisation'. Could you look into this for me please?

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi CeeBee2001

I'm really sorry about this. It was a business decision to no longer switch off WIFI optimisation.

[CeeBee2001]

I just need the ability to change channels. When I have changed them to non congested channels in the past (for a day or so), the problem is resolved, every single time.

I should also add that I'm an ex-commercial Wi-Fi installation engineer so I'm more than familiar with channels, congestion and RF.

I run WiFiman scans regularly that confirm that there is a congestion issue due to my router automatically hopping on to the most congested channels.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Thanks @KeithFrench 

@CeeBee2001 WIFI optimisation is enabled for all Sagemcom WIFI hubs.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @CeeBee2001 

I can see that @Debbie-TalkTalk has stated TalkTalk's position on WiFi Optimisation. While I am not defending this decision, I often find cases where the cause is actually something else.

Slow speed, intermittent dropouts, breaks in the signal or no signal on some or all devices or no internet access might be caused by Wi-Fi interference from other local networks, which can also lead to a permanent reduction in speed. No ISP can be responsible for your local environment, this is mainly a byproduct of the popularity of Wi-Fi.

Generally speaking, the 2.4GHz band suffers a lot more from interference than the much faster 5GHz band, but the 2.4GHz one can sometimes have a better range, but this all depends on your local area.

In other words, I try to help you optimise your Wi-Fi connection. The next stage involves sending out a guide to you to help you get me some important diagnostic results so that I can analyse them for you and recommend changes to your router configuration to solve them.

I only send this out to people who request it.

[CeeBee2001]

Hi Debbie, thanks for the info. Could you arrange send me a router on which I can manually select channels then, please?

I know exactly what is causing the interference, it the fact that most people in my block of flats are on Channel 1 (2.4Ghz) and Channel 40 (5Ghz) These are the channels that my Sagecom router seems to love to jump on hehe. It's quite the chocolate teapot!

I await Keith's advice but I'm not sure anything he can say will help with this particular issue, to be fair. I remain open-minded however 🙂

Thanks.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi CeeBee2001

Apologies for this.

We are no longer able to switch off WIFI optimisation.

We can do some checks with you to see what is causing the interference. Our Community Star @KeithFrench provides really great advice on improving wireless performance.