New Hub2 fibre not as good wifi as Hub1 copper

[Marvel]

Just had fibre 150 installed yesterday I now am using the wifi hub 2 vs SGK100206.

It seems that the wifi signal is not as strong as the old hub (copper )

The day before the fibre install i did a key room and also garden test where i mostly use the internet and am now comparing the results.

At first thought that the signal/ speed was slower but I think the signal seems to be coming and going which may account for my seeing poor results on the new compared to the old, depending on the exact moment I start the sped test.

I have a wifi app that is showing me that the router is using channel 11 but this channel seems to be varying star wise from full stars - all the way down to 0 star and yet other channels are consistently stable at full stars. See screen shot from phone.

wi fi

[Marvel]

Is there any news on this for me please Debbie.

[KeithFrench]

Yes that's right

[Marvel]

Right ok thanks mine says this

TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub 2
version SG4K100206

So I take it that is ok as it says 206 on the end.

Thank you

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Marvel 

Please make sure that you read my sticky about the 266, before using them:-

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Full-Fibre/Very-Important-V2-Sagemcom-FAST266-WiFi-Booster/m-p/3...

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi @Marvel 

No problem 🙂

Debbie

[Marvel]

Great thanks 😊

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi @Marvel 

Thanks for your reply.

I will ask our warehouse team to order this for you. I will post back here to confirm once the WIFI booster has been ordered.

Thanks

Debbie

[Marvel]

Yes please that would be great, lets hope it improves things.

Thank you

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning,

I'm sorry to hear this. Would you like us to send a Wifi Booster?

Thanks

Michelle

[KeithFrench]

Yes, I would agree with you, which is why I am suggesting a 266 WiFi Booster.

[Marvel]

Thanks keith, yes this is a sub optimal room but I am comparing it with the old FTTC and those speeds in that room were better. Making me suspect that the wifi signal on the new Hub 2 is not as strong as the old one.

[Marvel]

Thanks keith. No there is no insulation like that in the way' 

[KeithFrench]

Your signal strength, by the time it reaches your extension, is very weak, you might benefit from a Sagemcom FAST 266 WiFi Booster.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Marvel 

The room that you are testing in is an extension, does this have insulation in the cavity of the walls between the original house and the extension? If so, could that insulation be covered in metal foil? This has been the practice for quite a number of years now. 

[Marvel]

Sending PM now - thank you.

[KeithFrench]

If you look at any router they all have channels 1 - 11 selectable with some offering 12 & 13 as well (depending on their chipset and country restrictions. They have done this the 802.11 specification was introduced back in 1977 I expect. I have no idea how the WiFi Optimisation algorithm works, probably that is something that only the manufacturers do.

[Marvel]

Ok thank you keith.

Yes indeed I set the router to 13 last night and this morning its back to 1. Although everything worked ok on 13. So why does the router give me the channel options if it ignores them and does what it wants.

Also how often does the router "have a look" at the signal and decide what is best. Because I can clearly see that the channel it has chosen is not the best (or at least I think I can see )

I will PM you the info. But with respect to all of the above questions - the router is in the same position as the old one. I have 2 devices that I am using for testing Wi Fi only - a phone and a tablet, computer is wired and no issues that I can see with wired speed although a little lower than I expected. I have 4 main testing areas. I will Pm you thank you.

For a reference point this is the speed at a wired PC on about 6m of Cat5/6 cable. Although I did do the screenshot before it had finished the upload speed otherwise when I get the final results screen it doesn't show the ms.

speed. 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Marvel 

In addition to all of the above, when dealing with devices that don't reach an expected speed, I can help with this as well. Please send me a PM containing:-

• Those screenshots from your WiFi analyser.
• The device makes & models that are low speed, if a PC, then it is the make/model of the WiFi adapter (card) within them that I need.
• Then I need to know where all of the devices are in relation to your router & rough description as to where the router is.
• I need to know approximately what height the router is & whether it is in a cupboard or out in the open, plus what electronic equipment is near it.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Marvel 

The channel setting makes no difference at all to WiFi optimisation, it can still override a dedicated channel as well as auto. You can use channel 6, but not 7 or 13 at all. The only channels that should ever be used within the 2.4GHz band are 1, 6 or 11. Don't take my word for this, it is covered in these articles:-

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

http://boundless.aerohive.com/experts/WLAN-Channels-Explained.html

Channels 12 & 13 within the 2.4GHz band cannot be used either, because they interfere with channel 11 (not 5 channels apart from 11) and not all devices support these two channels anyway.

The 5GHz band handles WiFi interference in a much more efficient way anyway. With the 5GHz band, unless it uses channels 36 - 48, not all devices that support this WiFi band can use channels 52 & above. They will therefore be related to the 2.4GHz band.  I will  explain why, if you want, but it is very complex.

[Marvel]

Another update from looking at my app I can see neighbours are using channel 1 - and someone else is using channel 11 so I have changed the 2.4Hgz to channel 13 - see how it goes.

But still from all of my tests it looks like the wi fi signal falls off a lot more than the old router HUB1 did the further from the router I go - I know that is normal but it falls off so much that the speeds on 150Mbs at the router are not any faster than the old 55Mbs router - in those furthest from places.