Help re-connecting wireless printer/scanner - new router

[ANC_567]

Grateful for any help....

A month ago I changed to Full Fibre 65 and received a FAST 5464-2.T4 router. Since then it has been almost impossible to wireless connect my printer HP3050A J611n. It is on 2.4ghz band.

I've checked the wifi signal through the house, and actually the FAST 5464 seems no better if not worse than my old talktalk router, and to be honest the printer location ain't great (about-65dBm to -73dbm). However,  I've moved the printer near my router (about -35 dBm), but it still won't play ball.

I've tried countless WPS button set ups to connect the printer (it says the current configuration is WPA_PSK) but almost exclusively without success.

There is also a PIN set up option on printer wifi, but I've no idea where to get the PIN qnd where to enter it on my router settings (192.168.1.1).

I've seen suggestions of changing network names and SSID away from default (presumably having to reconnect all my other devices using this), but don't know if this would help.

Other thing I'm not sure about is all the stuff about (802.a/c/n??) or whatever those settings mean..can't remember what they actually are on modem and printer

As far as I know the drivers are as late as possible on printer

Where do I start? Do I also need to refer to HP help?

Many thanks

[KeithFrench]

Hi @ANC_567 

I did request that you try channel 11 in the 2.4GHz band, not channel 6. Channel 6 has another network in it that is of a greater signal strength than yours, which will only make things worse for you. With the way you block out all other networks in your AP View, I cannot tell what network that is. There is no need to do this, as I am the only one who will see your PMs. 

Despite using a bad 2.4GHz channel, your signal strength is not actually dropping out now, where it was before.

Other than that, you do not seem to have made any other changes and the rest of your screenshots haven't changed either.

[KeithFrench]

HI @ANC_567 

Having just read your latest PM, do not touch the router's firewall as you will render your network insecure.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @ANC_567 

Thanks for your PM, I'll read that shortly. You raised a question about the other WiFi settings & could they affect your printer problems, the answer is no, but let me explain what they do. I'll cover everything except channel selection, as you already know that.

2.4GHz Basic

SSID (network name) & password - these should be obvious.

Security - This affects the level of security of your WiFi band, anything less than "WPA2 Personal" should not be used these days as they are insecure. If you have any old devices that do not support this setting, these devices should be updated or replaced.

WiFi Mesh (2.4 or 5GHz) - ignore this unless you also have a Sagemcom FAST 266 WiFi Booster.

WPS  (2.4 or 5GHz) - provides initial connectivity for devices that support WPS. It is not used on subsequent connection attempts at all. My recommendation is to keep it disabled, unless you have a new device to connect, because if enabled, it provides a security vulnerability.

2.4G Advanced

Wireless Mode - this can be changed if desired to 802.11n, but this will then prevent any older 802.11b or g devices from connecting. For maximum compatibility, leave it at 802.11b+g+n.

Bandwidth - should only ever be 20MHz otherwise this will dramatically increase the amount of Wi-Fi interference in this band.

MAC Filter (2.4 or 5GHz)- this is a way of preventing devices from connecting to your router that you do not want. However, MAC addresses can easily be changed these days, so the best security is achieved with a longer & stronger Wi-Fi password.

5GHz Basic

The same as the 2.4GHz Basic but the channel numbers are higher. There can be compatibility problems with some devices if channels 52 to 140 are used, due to Ofcom regulations.

5GHz Advanced

Wireless mode - leave at the default of 802.11a +n+ac this will ensure maximum compatibility of devices that support this band.

Bandwidth - Due to this band having a wider frequency spectrum, this is really best left at Auto.

I hope this helps your understanding, but it is very unlikely to help with your problem at all (unless there is anything to the contrary in your PM).

[KeithFrench]

Hi @ANC_567 

This is a very long thread and whilst you got WiFi interference turned off, I can't go back via every post to see this.

If your printer can connect to the router sometimes, then it is not an issue with the printer or router as far as connection configuration. Your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network is very badly congested and there is nothing much that can be done about that. However, were the screenshots done close to the printer, as WiFi interference can vary tremendously from room to room? If you want to get me another set of screenshots, since making the channel changes & PM them to me, I'll take another look for you. From what I can see the printer can only use the 2.4GHz band or USB. The latter might be the only way to get a reliable connection.

Perhaps you could expand on " expert advice" - I can advise on any of these issues and unless you have been changing things unknown to me, my diagnosis still stands, it is a very bad case of WiFi interference. 

[ANC_567]

@Keith French.. thanks for the guide and all the advice for wifi interference, etc. Ive changed to channel 6 and things look better regarding drop outs on the 2.4gHz on the analyzer. Regarding the wifi optimization, sorry, but my previous posts stated that I'd already had that switched off.

I'm going to go back to the real problem though... I cant get my HP 3050 deskjet 611a printer to connect.. see OP.

Im now of the opinion that my wifi is not significantly worse than my old router, as ive improved my channel. And a few times, my printer has connected  but, then wont find a network, despite the signal being good. So im after any expert advice on settings i can try, like SSID naming, separating bands, etc....any tricks to get a device to connect.

If this is more an HP problem then thanks and I'll look elsewhere. But as I dont understand much about MAC filtering and WPA security types and device IDs, id just like to know if theres anything left in the advanced router settings that I can try....

Then I'll leave you all alone! 🙂

[KeithFrench]

Thanks for that @Debbie-TalkTalk.

Hi @ANC_567 please can you try my recommendations in my previous post, but I am not too hopeful.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi ANC_567

@KeithFrench  I've checked and the WIFI optimisation has been switched off.

[KeithFrench]

Thanks for the screenshots, there are a lot of problems, some of which might be impossible to correct. I appologise for the length of this post, but there is a lot to cover.

Initially, you should not use channel 8 in the 2.4GHz band, which is classed as an overlapping channel. The only non-overlapping ones are 1,6 & 11. Looking at the other usage in the band, I would recommend changing to channel 11, but not until after WiFi optimisation has been disabled (I will chase this up with TT for you). However, whilst not suffering from interference from other channels, there is another network on this channel, it is a bit close to your signal strength. If that network's signal strength increases at certain times of the day (highly possible) it will not give you enough headroom and could easily interfere with your network.

Your 2.4GHz band or your network adapter has other problems of a more serious nature. Your network drops out altogether around 15:34 to 15:39. This could be down to you using channel 8, Windows power management or electrical interference from nearby devices such as:-

1. Cordless phone (DECT) base stations
2. TVs
3. Loudspeakers & any sub-woofers (including those used with a PC)
4. Computer monitors
5. Electrical appliances – they often transmit their own signals that can interfere with Wi-Fi signals.
6. Bluetooth devices – they operate on the same Wi-Fi frequency as your broadband, which can cause signal problems.
7. Mirrors – they actually reflect Wi-Fi signals, stopping them from passing through walls and reflecting them back into the room.
8. Anything containing large amounts of water – things like fish tanks and boilers can absorb Wi-Fi signals like a sponge.
9. Large metal objects – radiators, for instance, will have the same effect on your Wi-Fi as mirrors. If you have a tower PC case with an internal WiFi card, the metal of the case can block signals to & from the antennae if they are located behind the tower case.
10. If you are using a USB Wi-Fi adapter, use a USB socket on the front of the PC, as there is more open space around it than at the rear. If a USB extension cable is used, try to ensure that it is fairly short, so as the power from the computer is not attenuated. Long extension cables can cause the adapter to not have enough power from the computer to work correctly.

Where USB or PCIe-connected WiFi adapters are concerned, power management is best disabled if running in Windows to keep a reliable Wi-Fi connection working at full speed. Once you have made the changes outlined below, it is probably best to restart the PC.

Windows Power Management issues. To check this in Windows 10 or 11, open Device Manager and expand Network adapters. Then right-click your WiFi card & select Properties. Next, click on the Power Management tab and untick Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. If the adapter is connected via USB, then expand the USB section in Device Manager and the same option can be found in the Power Management tab in most Root Hubs and USB Controllers. Untick it in there as well.

All of this, unless it can be rectified, could easily make your 2.4GHz band totally unusable. This is not uncommon these days.

The 5GHz band is not without problems either, there is some other network very close to your signal strength on the same channel. The 5GHz band allows better sharing of the channel range you are using, but a network of nearly the same signal strength is not desirable. You could move this to channel 100. This will take around 60 seconds from selecting it to becoming available to your devices though. However, there is a caveat here, channels 52 to 140 (so including your current channel) may not be compatible with all 5GHz capable network adapters in your devices, as these channels require extra ciruitary in them to be compliant with Ofcom regulations.

You really need to try & move anything you can from the 2.4GHz band or consider wired connections via Ethernet, with or without Power Line Adapters.

[KeithFrench · Accepted solution]

You need to use the insert photos option on the editor's toolbar. For your privacy, I would recommend sending them to me in a PM.

[FrankNicklin]

So are you using drag and drop to add the files or browsing to the files. 

when you reply, under the text window is the option to upload files either by drag and droppping the images over your question or browsing to the files you have saved from screenshots.

[ANC_567]

I've done all the screenshots from a Windows 10 laptop, but I can't get them to upload to this message board😫. When I press on 'Done' or 'Upload' nothing happens...any ideas? So sorry

[FrankNicklin]

I would avoid a factory reset if at all possible just to avoid the wait for TT to remove the optimisation again. It annoys me that if TT can turn it off then so should the customer be able too.

[KeithFrench]

Yes, a factory default will always re-enable Wi-Fi optimisation.

I will PM you a link for a guide of mine on Wi-Fi interference & initially look at the section called "Are you suffering from interference – prove it first". This section includes full details of 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. Do not worry about interpreting the results, I will do that for you.

Please post the screenshots that I have requested in my guide (no photos please they can be difficult to read as text can get out of focus when zoomed in), from the analyser you are using (also in my attached guide). 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. If they are too small, I will not be able to read them & although I can enlarge them, this puts the text out of focus. If you prefer PM them to me. If you do PM me, then please add a link in there to this thread, so that I can find it easily.

[ANC_567]

Keith, id really appreciate the guide if u could send it. Im trying to get the printer/scanner to work primarily for my wife's homeworking. It worked ok, until the router 'upgrade' when we moved to Full Fibre 65.

Thanks Frank Nicklin and Keith French.... the limits of my knowledge showing here! I didnt realise that overlapping is worse than sharing channels! Thank you, I'll change it back.

As for optimisation, i already got the admin to disable that, although im faced with having to do that again if i have to factory reset my router for some reason.

[KeithFrench]

You will need to request WiFi Optimisation be disabled in your reply, as TT are the only ones who can do this. I can also help a lot with WiFi interference. 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 much more from interference than the 5GHz band, but the 2.4GHz one can sometimes have a better range, but this all depends on your local area.

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.

[FrankNicklin]

I should have also said that Wifi can be impacted by cordless phones, microwaves, and wireless devices that use their own internal frequencies to talk to each other such as alarm system to name a few.

The further annoyance is that with the move to VOIP people are forced to plug cordless phones in to routers or rj11 adapters locating them right next to their routers and potentially exacerbating the interference. 

[FrankNicklin]

@Gliwmaeden2 This is one reason why I never use ISP routers.

[FrankNicklin]

Channel 8 is not a good choice. I listed the channels you should use. 1, 6 and 11. They are non overlapping and less prone to interference. Channel 8 effectively overlaps with channel 6 and 11 thus increasing the risks of interference. Wi-Fi is not an exact science and takes a lot of tuning to get good coverage, but all based around using 1,6 or 11 as a channel, then you look at power and channel width, but generally 2.4ghz should stay on 20mhz and 5ghz on 40 or 80mhz..  Your logs say the printer connects and disconnects, so this could potentially be interference across that channel.

Read this article about Wifi and the spectrum, the fact we have all these channels to choose from doesn’t mean they are all a good choice.

https://www.metageek.com/training/resources/why-channels-1-6-11/

The plug and play ISP routers are not well tuned and designed to try to optimise the wifi where best it can, but this inevitably means constant channel changes because it is adjusting channels where it sees congestion/interference. They can also select any channel 1 to 11 making matters worse not better. I believe Optimisation is only channel optimisation and not power or channel width optimisation so the defaults can give good wifi when it works but doesn’t allow for the occasions where you need specific settings to overcome specific issues.

Turning off optimisation is a good start. Please try channel 1,6 and 11 only. 

[Gliwmaeden2]

For reference, it's not possible for customers to switch off wi-fi optimisation with the Sagemcom routers, @FrankNicklin.

It always has to be done by staff, and if the router is factory reset or there's a firmware update, we have to ask them to switch it off all over again......! 😊

[ANC_567]

Hi Frank,

Already had optimisation turned off by TT, and I'm manually set to channel 8 to avoid the local clutter, and it's clear.

I've just looked an event log in my router settings from earlier this evening while I was trying to set up the printer. It shows that  every ten seconds or so the printer connects successfully, then disconnects from the SSID...and keeps on doing that. (Frustratingly, I can't share the screenshot of the log off my tablet here as it doesn't allow jpg. attachment)