I have no idea what to do - help please.

[Topgrower]

Had Full Fibre 150 installed today. Upon having this installed I managed to connected my upstairs laptop and our downstairs TV (the router is downstairs). But having tried many things my Philips TV (upstairs) will not connect the internet to the router. I see the Talk Talk icon under the network availability but continually fails. I am at the end of my tether and true to say I am not techy. Would a wi-fi extender be needed? Help anyone please?

[KeithFrench]

Certainly @Topgrower. However, I think your issue now is more the router's location, rather than Wi-Fi interference.

Do not worry about interpreting the results; I will do that for you. I will send a PM to you that contains a link to a guide of mine on Wi-Fi interference. It is quite lengthy (approximately 30 pages), but you will likely only need to review 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, 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.

Please collect the required screenshots 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 & uploading 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.

[Topgrower]

Thank you Keith.

You mentioned how you have some information for those who ask you for it. I'd like to read this and surely learn more of you could reply with your document attached please.

Paul

[KeithFrench]

You're very welcome, Paul. If you want my help again, please do not hesitate to ask.

[Topgrower]

Hi

Firstly thankyou for your continued communication here. It's just really welcome to think someone is prepared to invest their time and knowledge upon my issue. And with the huge bonus of me not having to navigate a 'bot.

There has been progress here. This morning when I went to get my first coffee of the day (and whist the wife was still asleep) I decided unplanned to move the router from one side of the cabinet its on to the other side. Previously is was above the internal full fibre box the engineer installed yesterday, whereas now I moved it maybe 4 feet to the middle of the kitchen/diner. Then I went to try a TV wi-fi set up and it worked! Yes the 'net signal icon appears no stronger but it connected - I was amazed. But hold on a moment. To come to the point I tried several times to log into my You Tube account but kept being returned to verify. After several tries and only being able to see You Tube as a guest I tried the phone method. But as I do not have a phone I tried to sign up on my laptop and eventually I was in on my You Tube account. I also managed (with the wife's phone help) to change the Google account phone number from the landline which we now no longer have to the wife's mobile.

As for the Kelly Services engineer I have thought about giving my my findings here, but have decided not to because I see that as unfair when they are not here to reply for themselves. Also, I do not want anyone to see this as me being some cantankerous old man. I'll leave at that and I am sure anyone reading this understands.

Thank you, Paul

[KeithFrench]

The main problem is that the installer is supposed to site the router & ONT box where you want them. I bet this was the easiest location for him. The trouble is that it is about the second-worst possible location for a router. Being in a kitchen, with all the metal of the appliances, you will never get a good signal. Moving the router is the best solution & it is not as difficult as you might think.

Buy a longer Cat6 minimum Ethernet cable of the appropriate length. This is an example of a 5M one, it is available in different lengths:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yauhody-Ethernet-Network-Gigabit-Internet/dp/B0FWHWSC4X/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?cri... 

Then run it, probably requiring a small hole to be drilled into a wall to pass it through. If required, you can hide the cable in white self-adhesive trunking to the new location for the router. This should ideally be in the centre of your property and fairly high up a wall, away from any other electronics. Make sure that the cable connects from the Ethernet port on the ONT to the red WAN port of the router.

[Topgrower]

Hi

Yes, I have this as the Openreach technician showed me where it was - on a plastic card slotted on the back of the router itself. 

Update - this morning I moved the router from one end of the cabinet its on to the other, a distance of maybe 3.5 to 4 feet. I managed to sign into the 'net, although the signal strength upstairs remains weak. But I wanted to watch YouTube which meant requiring to sign into my Google account. To do so I know my email address and my Google password but when I try and press enter it take me back to sign in again and again! I did get an email saying its blocked the sign in as it was an unknown location! I clicked on 'yes its me' but still going around in circles!

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Topgrower 

I know it won't be the case, but are you using the correct Wi-Fi password, not the router/admin password?

[Topgrower]

Hi again

Yes, advice would be welcome. I cannot stress how out of my depth I feel in this modern world. To give you an idea and I know some people do not know how i survive but true to say I have never owned a mobile phone. As for the full fibre, using Copilot's help/advice I renamed the 2.4 by adding -2G to the name of it, and the 5.0 by adding -5G to the name of it. My laptop is connected to the -5 as is the downstairs TV. I am so confused as to why the upstairs TV has the new Talk Talk Full Fibre icon in the list of networks (as of a few neighbours services such as BT, EE, Sky) but I cannot connect to that icon even when i try a manual connection by tying in the password. So for any help I'd welcome this, however, I wish to confirm I am a novice here.

Thanks, Paul 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Topgrower 

I will be glad to help you, but I will not have much time tomorrow. This might be down to WiFi interference, which if possible I will try & resolve. 

Wi-Fi interference (nothing to do with electrical interference) can cause:-

1. Slow speed,
2. intermittent dropouts,
3. breaks in the signal,
4. no signal at all,
5. or no internet access.

This can affect one or more devices. This can also lead to a permanent reduction in the speed of one or more devices. 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 far more from Wi-Fi interference than the much faster 5GHz band. However, the 2.4GHz band has a longer range than the 5GHz band and can penetrate walls better. This may very well change depending 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. The next stage involves my sending out a guide to help you get important diagnostic information for me. I will then analyse these results for you and recommend changes to your router configuration, if required.

I only send this out to people who request it.

[Topgrower]

HI Keith

How strong is the connection? How many bars does it show - on my laptop which is connected and working and only a few feet from the Philips TV,, then on my laptop it highlights just the centre dot and there are no other bars if this is what you mean).

Is this a new router or the one previously used? - new router that was sent in the post by Talk Talk yesterday.

If new, did you change the router user name and password to match the old router? This would save you having to change all your devices to the new user id. - I used the password etc as was on the new router plastic card. This new full fibre router is in our kitchen diner at the back of the house and the old ADSL was connected on an adjacent wall to the front wall so they are in completely different locations. The ADSL originally came from the Post Office in 2009 and the password etc plus email has not changed when this was taken over by Shell then later Talk Talk.

Can you try moving the router closer to the upstairs TV, maybe higher? - no because the router is connected to the kitchen diner back wall, so I am unable to move it. So, Copilot said something about an extender but being technology illiterate I've no idea if it would make a difference or be a waste of money.

Thank you, Paul

[fr8ys]

How strong is the connection? How many bars does it show.

Is this a new router or the one previously used?

If new, did you change the router user name and password to match the old router? This would save you having to change all your devices to the new user id.

Can you try moving the router closer to the upstairs TV, maybe higher?

@KeithFrench is our resident router expert and can usually help with WiFi issues and hopefully he will have time to pop in and offer help?