Connection struggling with streaming

[ceedy]

We do have Sky Q, and at least 3 mobiles in use at most times,and all devices have issues with streaming either just with Facebook rubbish, and any movies, via prime, netflix etc. they seem to play ok, for a long time   but start buffering towards the latter part of the stream. 

Get no issues with on demand stuff, just movies on the big apps Disney, prime and netflix 

We do live in an old house 350 years old with very thick walls, and also use a 3 box mesh system, that gives about the same WiFi speeds as the TT router 45 Mbps ISH .

The 11st mesh box  is in direct unobstructed line with the TT router and in the same room as the Sky Q box.

Any clues guys N gals , thanks 

[KeithFrench]

Hi Ceedy,

The 5GHz band does not work the same as the 2.4GHz one, where WiFi interference is concerned. You can have multiple networks sharing the same channel. If you specified channel 36 for example, you are not specifying that channel at all, but the channel group 36 - 48. The router or AP will use whichever is the best one out of those 4 channels at any given moment.

You have specified a DFS channel currently. I will explain more bout this if you want, but it is rather complex. Needless to say, WiFi Optimisation will move you back to 36 - 48 soon.

[ceedy]

jut trying it with the mesh completely off...

got these screens on my phone after moving the 5mhz  to a clearer channel..

Will see how  it gets on ..

C

EDIT: Images removed to preserve privacy

[KeithFrench]

Yes you can. In fact I think you should see what it's like with the Wavelink mesh turned off. That is flooding your 2.4GHz band anyway. Does it have Wi-fi configuration available, most mesh systems don't?

[ceedy]

Yes the talktalk 9C0918 is my router , can connect to either that or the mesh.

c

[KeithFrench]

Hi @ceedy 

The signal strength of the 5GHz band of your Wavelink mesh BSSID ends in A9:35) is low. The various nodes in the 2.4GHz band are giving a very high signal strength, but are taking over your 2.4GHz band. All except two of these are using 40MHz channel bandwidth which is wrong in this band, they must use 20MHz, which will mean that you will have very poor throughput. 

Is the TalkTalk WiFi yours as well?

[ceedy]

Thought as much when I saw there was no 5mhz.   My laptop is quite ancient. an only use my android phone at the moment ..will see what I can find on play store.

C

[KeithFrench]

Hi @ceedy 

From what I can find out from the specification of your WiFi adapter card, this is very old & needs to be replaced, as 802.11G is the best it can do & is not compatible with the 5GHz band only. This is restricting you to 54Mbps maximum. Your TalkTalk router is capable of much faster speeds. Unless the Netspot files were taken on a different PC, there is not much I can do as there will be no visibility of your 5GHz band. Perhaps you would be best looking to purchase a USB Wi-Fi 6 wifi adapter. 

Do you have any other devices that can run one of my recommended analysers?

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Thanks @KeithFrench 🙂

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Michelle-TalkTalk 

@ceedy has sent me the files now & I will try & have a look at them later this afternoon.

[ceedy]

Hi Keith,

try this google drive link . 

EDIT: I have removed the link otherwise any one can see the files. Only send the link via a PM, please.

C

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Michelle-TalkTalk 

A bit of an update, @ceedy has sent me some screenshots etc via Dropbox, but there was no obvious way to download them. I have replied to him via a PM for guidance as I do not use Dropbox.

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning ceedy,

How are you getting on?

Thanks

Michelle

[ceedy]

Thanks Keith, just going through it now, having to resurrect my old slow laptop for the wifi-ing analysis.

C

[KeithFrench]

HI @ceedy 

Do not worry about interpreting the results, I will do that for you. I will send a PM to you that contains a link for a guide of mine on Wi-Fi interference. It is quite long (about 30 pages), but you will probably only need to look at three or four pages in total. Initially look at the section called "Are you suffering from interference – prove it first". This is the first link in the table of contents. This section includes full details of free Wi-Fi analysers that I recommend for Windows, Windows phone, Android and Apple operating systems. However, I have no way of testing the Apple product. Select the analyser of your choice & my guide explains how to use it.

If you are using Wi-Fi Scanner, then please attach the zip file to this thread. As soon as I have downloaded it, I will remove the attachment from your post, to preserve your privacy.

With all other analysers, please follow my instructions below.

Collect the screenshots that I require and include them in your reply.

Please post the screenshots to me in a PM (to protect your privacy), which I have requested in my guide. No photos please as they can be difficult to read, because the text can get out of focus when zoomed in. Please ensure that the analyser window is maximised (if Windows) before taking the screenshots & upload them via the "Insert Photos" button (in a mobile browser it's the picture icon) on the post editor's toolbar with the Size parameter set to Large.

[ceedy]

Many thanks for your replies and help, reckon  I will have to try adjust the router  settings with your assistance 😬 😁

Chris

[KeithFrench]

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.

[KeithFrench]

There is no throttling done by TalkTalk at all, that is a total misconception. If you want my help let me know, but you will need to carry out my recommendations once in the day when all is OK & again when it is bad in the evening.

[ceedy]

Apparently the QBox uses dual band to a Sky hub, but the sat box setup is very limited and doesn't  give any details , we have a Panasonic smart TV very close to the sat box, and can  run apps on it so did one today showing the speeds, to both the mesh ( line of sight WiFi) and the talktalk router, which is either round a corner through a door ,or through the thick stone wall. , if this of any help.

Both seem quite quick compared to the advertised speeds, have very little problems in the daytime, but early and late evenings it's the worst, which makes  think it's might be bandwidth throttling.?

C

[KeithFrench]

In that case, then I think it would be beneficial to check for WiFi interference @ceedy 

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.

[ceedy]

Thanks for the replies,

I have tried a  long Lan cable, but  a permanent cable through  the door and across the room is just not practical.

The mesh (3 boxes, 1 connected by a short lan cable, and talking to the other 2 ) is separate from the router with different names and passwords.