Fibre 65 - migrated from Shell but wifi drops persistently

[MissyG]

Hi, 

I am contracted with Shell broadband which migrated to TalkTalk last year and am now on the Talktalk 'Fibre 65' plan. Since the migration, my wifi connection has been great until mid November 2024 where I have had to reboot my router at least twice a week as my wifi connection drops.

Has anyone else experienced such issues and how was it resolved?  I have been in touch with the online chat on multiple occasions and they have tested the lines and stated that there is no fault there.  The Talktalk staff then instruct me to reboot and reset my router.  This is fine and then my wifi connection returns but it doesn't last long.  It has been less than 24 hours and my wifi connection has dropped again!  This is absolutely ridiculous for a service that I am paying for which isn't exactly chum change!

If someone in the talktalk team could respond and permanently fix this issue for me, that would be great!  If this is not possible to resolve, I would appreciate if I could be released from the bound contract without penalties to pay and I will take my business to another provider. 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @MissyG 

No problem. I assume that you are using a Shell router as you mention green lights, what make/model is it?

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.

[MissyG]

Hi Keith, 

Thanks for responding to my topic!  The lights on the router are always green even when I see a wifi connection drop.  I have already split the channels and use both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Also, I use a combination of both wired and wireless connection, it seems that when the wifi connection drops, the desktop that is wired via an ethernet cable remains uninterrupted and service is as 'normal'. However, all other devices on wireless will no longer get a wifi connection and therefore, cannot connect to the internet unless it switches to mobile data i.e. for mobile phones. 

I am interested in the guide that you mention to help optimise the wifi connection. Would you be able to send me a copy, please?  Much appreciated, thanks! 

[KeithFrench]

The TalkTak team on here cannot help ex shell customers. However, I might be able to.

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.

However, other factors should be investigated first. When this happens, what are the lights showing on the front of the router? Do you have any wired connections & if so, how do they perform?

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.