Some devices on WiFi show as connected but have no internet connection.

[chsmeister]

Hub: Sagemcom

Hardware Version: FAST5464
Software Version: SG4K100174

I have had talk talk for roughly 1 year 8 months and not experienced any issues up until the last 1-2 months where connectivity of WiFi devices have been struggling with an intermittent fault. Most noticeably is my iPhone. The device shows connected to WiFi with full signal strength either upstairs or downstairs.  I can be sitting right next to the hub and it shows connected yet there is no internet connectivity.  I can see the Internet connection is fine as my devices connected with ethernet do not suffer from the same problem. When my iPhone is in this state of connected to WiFi but no internet connection - I did a test to see if  the iPhone can even connect to the router default gateway address (web gui) but it cannot.

The workaround is to disconnect the WiFi and enable it again and that resolves the issue on my phone but during the periods it has ‘phantom disconnected’ but shows connected I miss WhatsApp phone calls because of this which is not ideal.  When I get home from work now, I default to disabling the Wi-Fi on my phone as it’s just so unreliable lately – I don’t want to miss an important call from my family.

I have noticed the same problem with my ring camera Wi-Fi devices, and my partner has also reported that her laptop sometimes disconnects even though the Wi-Fi shows as connected.

I have tried contacting support and was offered by support to do a factory reset on the hub. This was offered during my lunch break and it was not an ideal time because my partner was WFH.

I have since tried a factory reset during a more convenient time through router’s web GUI however that did not help as I’m still experiencing the problem.

If anybody could help I would greatly appreciate it.

[chsmeister]

Hi Keith, 

Thank you for the reply. 

That is correct, the devices with red dotted line are not to do with my network. The Sagemcom seems to switch itself between 6 and 11 quite frequently on the 2.4Ghz band. I will switch it to 11 again.

I will try moving 5Ghz to channel 52 and keep my phone on the 5Ghz band. 

I have moved my router away from speakers however I'm still experiencing the issue where it says connected but there is no internet connection. I've reset the iPhone's network settings again in combination with your suggestion hoping for the best. 

Although it is clear other devices are suffering from interference I'm starting to suspect my iPhone has its own separate problem. My partner also has an iPhone, same iOS version but different model - however her phone does not suffer from the same problem. I am using an iPhone 12 pro and googling comes back with many other users in the same boat. 

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253812143?sortBy=best

[KeithFrench]

Hi @chsmeister 

Thanks for the recent screenshots.

Living Room:-

In the 2.4GHz band there are networks on the Channels 2.4GHz in solid & dotted red lines, I assume that they are nothing to do with you? You might be better off on channel 11 (if WiFi Optimisation does not move you back to channel 6).

The Channels 5GHz - there is an orange network that has a stronger signal strength than your SSID, I am guessing that this is not yours? You could try 52 here, providing that Wi-Fi optimisation may well move you off this channel.

However, 52 is classed as a DFS channel, which is not straightforward to use:-

What follows is a bit complex, but it needs to be considered to explain why, in some areas of the UK, Wi-Fi can seem very unreliable using most of the channels from 52 upwards.

All hardware operating on channels 52 – 140 must conform to DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) standards and TPC (Transmit Power Control) & both of these facilities must be enabled. This is because these channels operate in the same frequency range as some radar & weather services which have a higher priority than WiFi. DFS & TPC being enabled will allow detection of such services on the selected channel & an AP is not allowed to broadcast out on this channel if radar is detected.

Further to this, if radar is subsequently detected on the channel currently being used, an AP must stop transmitting immediately & move to a new channel, normally in the range of 36 to 48. If the router moved to another channel within the 52 - 140 range, then this will cause problems for the user as they could lose Wi-Fi connectivity for around 1 minute or longer.

With the 5GHz band, using any DFS channels, there are a couple of caveats with this:-

1. Once the channel is selected, there will be a delay of about 60 seconds before the router will broadcast out the network on this channel.
2. Channels 52 - 140 despite being permitted for use in the UK, not all network adapters in your devices may support this channel range. Please check that all 5G compatible devices work on the selected channel.

[KeithFrench]

I will PM you 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. Collect the screenshots that I require and include them in your reply. Do not worry about interpreting the results, I will do that for you.

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.

[chsmeister]

Hi Keith,

Thank you so much for the quick reply. I am happy to try out the next stage with you to grab some additional diagnostic data. 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @chsmeister 

Especially as the iPhone cannot log into the router, I expect that this is a WiFi interference problem & I should be able to help with that.

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.