Fix wifi channel on talktalk SagemCom Fast 5364-3-TB

[Giraffe]

Is it possible in the above hub settings to fix the selected wifi channel?

Using frequency 5ghz I find channel 104 provides reliable wifi upstairs but after a while this auto changes to 56.

[KeithFrench]

You're very welcome.

[Giraffe]

To conclude. Following further advice and a challenging discussion today finally got the Wi-Fi Booster ordered. Many thanks to KeithFrench for his help and advice. 

[KeithFrench]

I have sent you a PM @Giraffe

[Gliwmaeden2]

So why would an agent insist that the £8.00 monthly charge would have to go on?

Should just be a one-off charge to pay for the booster?

[KeithFrench]

You don't want total home WiFi, just one booster.

[Gliwmaeden2]

@Giraffe, the agent might not have known, but the Better Value team / Retentions  or LOYALTY team are all the same team - their name seems to change with the weather but comes round periodically to the same thing...!

@KeithFrench, it looks like Talktalk are charging a monthly rate for the extender as part of their Total Home Wifi deal:

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Articles/About-Total-Home-Wi-Fi/ta-p/2813274

So in addition to paying £30 for the equipment.....?

[Giraffe]

Hello KeithFrench

Problem locating the Better Value Team. I rang 0345 172 5157 and the person at the other end said she was with the retention department, knew nothing about the Better Value Team or the Sagemcom FAST 266 Wi-Fi Booster. All she could offer me was a Home Booster which would add £8 per month to my TalkTalk Account so I stopped our discussion there!

Any chance you could make some further enquiries?

Bye the way my TalkTalk Hub version is shown as SG4K100208 so I trust it is the last three numbers you are referring to in your attached post and that my Hub is ok for the Booster?

Regards

G

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Giraffe 

First, a WPS connection links the booster to the router, over the router's Wi-Fi. Leave it there for about 10 mins to allow for any firmware updates to take place. Then move it approximately halfway between the router & the dead spots. Once powered up, it should connect automatically back to the router.

There are a couple of ways to check the signal strength of the "Backhaul" channel to the router. This is the connection between the F266 booster & the router, it carries any internet-bound traffic from devices locally connected to the F266, destined for the internet, out to the router & from there to the fibre/broadband. One is via the status light on the F266, the other is from the router's UI. 

Devices will connect to either the F266 or the router's WiFi, depending on which one is offering the best signal quality (greatest signal strength combined with least WiFi interference). The router's UI offers various displays on the mesh topology (more than one F266 can be deployed if required & this displays how they connect back to the router). It also displays statistical information about the signal strength of the backhaul channel and a Devices listing, showing which device is connected to which mesh unit, on which WiFi band and its signal strength.

I have produced an in-depth guide to the F266. If you decide to buy an F266 Booster, then I will send you a copy if you want one. In the meantime, have a look at my sticky on connection to the router as the instructions supplied with the F266 is not correct:-

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Fibre/Very-Important-V2-Sagemcom-FAST266-Wi-Fi-Booster/m-p/30582... 

[Giraffe]

Hello Keith

Thanks for your advice.  I am moving toward your suggestion on adding the extender you recommend but before I do I wondered if you could explain a little more on the practicalities of fitting and using in my home, upstairs in particular? 

Thanks

G

[nambuso-TT]

@Giraffe Alternatively you can use the live chat link:)

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Articles/Our-live-chat-team/ta-p/2230529

[KeithFrench]

Hi @nambuso-TT 

You're very welcome.

[nambuso-TT]

Hi there @KeithFrench thank you very much for the above information.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Giraffe 

One option that you could consider, yes, I know that you said you didn't want any more equipment, is the Sagemcom FAST 266 Wi-Fi Booster. This connects to your existing Sagemcom over its Wi-Fi network & forms a mesh network with it. It is capable of Wi-Fi 6 connectivity for any device that has connected to it, rather than the router. It only costs £30.00 (normally £60.00) plus delivery at the moment. If you want one, contact the Better Value Team (old Legacy Dept), please call:  0345 1725157. 

Opening hours:-
Monday to Friday 9AM to 7PM
Saturday 9AM to 6PM
Sunday Closed

[Giraffe]

Hi Keith thanks for your reply although I can sense the wifi home router channel selection subject could get a bit too technical for me!

You did sort my home wifi out earlier this year when I was having issues using 2.4Ghz wifi upstairs for watching football on my TV. Your checks and suggestions pointed me toward 5Ghz and this has and continues to work for NowTv Sport but I have had viewing issues with football via Amazon Prime.  I was thinking therefore as it is the start of the football season I would look again at my upstairs wifi.

My 5Ghz channel signal can range between 73 to 68 dBm which I think is at the topside of a suitable wifi signal for football and possibly seems not necessarily enough for football on Amazon Prime? 

I was thinking about improvements without paying out for further devices and now I am reading my 5Ghz signal chosen channel choice of 104 is not best practice however as you have mentioned the router is making the choice and therefore it seems there is nothing I can do about channel selection?

Maybe I will just have to carry on as I am and await the arrival of full fibre although I have no idea when that will be or how that could effect my home wifi it is just my presumption that is should/could?

A final point my TalkTalk Router is downstairs and sited where the 13 amp plugs are so no obvious alternatives for repositioning.

Thanks so far. G

[siphosethu-TT]

Hi there @Giraffe, I hope @KeithFrench did all the work and I'm left with nothing. I'm joking, do you still need any help? 🙃

[KeithFrench]

No. WiFi Optimisation controls this router's channel allocation; it will override any WiFi configuration it deems fit. This cannot be disabled anymore. There is also a problem with selecting 104 as it is a DFS channel. Suffice to say that there is a higher priority service that uses the same frequency spectrum used by channels 52 to 140; any WiFi will be instantly moved off this channel, usually to the 36 - 48 channel range. I can explain this in more detail, but it will get complex.

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 band can sometimes have a better range; however, this all depends on your local area.

In other words, I offer a free, impartial analysis of your Wi-Fi network and will try to help you optimise your Wi-Fi connection. In the past I have found very few cases where Wi-Fi Optimisation is the cause; most of the time, it is something else. The next stage involves sending out a guide 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 @Lorrainef, the manager of the TalkTalk support staff on this forum.

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 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.