Disabling Wifi optimization

[mgkyo]

Hi,

Could wifi optimisation be switched off please on my router (TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub version SG4K100136) as the channel keeps changing and not to a good one?

I had it  disabled via this forum a year ago and the wifi stability did improve massively.  However,  after a router reset it looks like I've now lost that settings and the channels keep reverting to  an overcrowded one, resulting in many iot devices constantly loosing connection.

Thank you

[KeithFrench]

Please bear in mind that I do not make TalkTalk policy, I am just a customer. However, that does give me the chance to be independent in my analysis.

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.

[mgkyo]

Hi Keith,

thank you for the quick response.

> TalkTalk can no longer disable WiFi optimisation, this was a business decision & cannot be altered.

That is quite frustrating, and frankly probably not a smart decision from talktalk.

> [...] might be caused by Wi-Fi interference from other local networks [...]

that's exactly why choice of a less congested channel helps a lot, as I had succesfully for years. I do get better wifi for the brief time the router keep my desired settings before the wifi optimization kicks in, so wifi optimization is almost certaintly to blame here.

> [...] can analyse them for you and recommend changes to your router configuration to solve them.

If the router does not persist the changes to the relevant wifi settings I don't see how this is worth the time. The smart devices only support the 2.4GHz bands (the 5GHz connection also used to work faster on the channel I had manually set, but at least that work reliably for now), their position is fixed, the router position is fixed, etc. etc..

Please send over the guide and I can take a look, but really sounds like the talk talk router is something to bin.

[KeithFrench]

TalkTalk can no longer disable WiFi optimisation, this was a business decision & cannot be altered.

However, with your help, I can provide an independent analysis of your network. WiFi Optimisation is often blamed but is not always the cause.

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.

The information below is provided by TalkTalk, for confirmation please contact @Debbie-TalkTalk or@Michelle-TalkTalk.

KeithFrench is one of our valued Community Stars and can help with a range of issues related to wireless and networking. At times he may ask you to send him test results via a Private Message to help analyse/diagnose an issue. Although Keith does not work for TalkTalk, he very kindly shares his time and knowledge to help with others.

If you need further help or, if we need to take any details such as personal information about your account like phone numbers, account numbers etc. one of the TalkTalk team will jump in and help out.