Terrible WiFi Signal Despite Close Proximity and Signal Strength

Softfalcon · Sep 21, 2014

Hi folks,

I've got quite the networking pickle. My WiFi signal randomly turns to absolute crap every so often (especially during the evenings).

The system is setup with a modem hard connected to the router via a Cat 6 (1 Gbps) cable. Media server is connected to this router via a similar cable and the media client is connected via Wifi with a direct line of sight to the router.

Server -- Ethernet --> Router -- WiFi --> Client

The client has full bars and a quality signal. However it continues to fail to achieve more than 500 KB/s over a 802.11n connection.

I know what you're thinking, so I'll get a few of the "usual suspects" out of the way.

- Strong Signal? System has a full 5 bars of signal strength from router.
- Quality Signal? Latency tests using Xirrus and other wifi detectors indicate the router is both on a different channel from other local networks, but also has a low latency (under 100 ms)
- Distance from Router? Router has been moved within 10 feet of antenna with clear line of sight and no obstructions. Speed issues persist.
- Router needs replacement? Suspect router has been replaced with various other brands of router from D-Link to Linksys in attempts to isolate a bad router device. No luck.
- Router has bad connection to modem? The routers have been tested with multiple Cat 6 cables and have a solid full gigabit connection to the modem.
- Connection is due to ISP? A media server is hard connected via Gigabit Cat 5e (as well as tested with Cat 6 alternate cables). Connection is still bad (< 1 Mbps) when pulling files from this server. This is a top of the line media server and no other machines on the network experience these speed issues when hard connected.
- Connected client has WiFi issues? Suspect machine has had its WiFi card replaced, all new firmware and drivers for each card. No effect to recurring speed drop.
- Modem issues? Main modem and router have hard connected devices that do not have any speed issues.
- Restart required? Modem, router, and device restarts have no effect on speed issues.
- Virus/Malware? Scans using MalwareBytes, McAfee, and Microsoft Security Essentials turn up nothing for all devices on my network.

I'm going a little nuts over this. There is literally nothing that should be stopping this WiFi connection from performing absolutely top notch. I can reach with my arms the distance between the USB connected antennae and the routers I'm testing. Everything is perfectly hooked up with the best connections money can buy.

What in the world could be causing this speed drop? It's literally like someone is sitting underneath my home with a frequency jammer attempting to blockade my WiFi.

Please help!

Sincerely,

Frequency Frustrated Software Engineer

bill001g · Sep 21, 2014

Try to force the router into 20mhz channels. Although it cuts your maximum speed it also reduces you chance of interference. You also want to try to use channel 1 or 11 since 6 is always used when someone uses 40mhz. There is only 60mhz total on 2.4g so only 1 person can use 40mhz in the neighborhood.

Unfortunately most the so called wifi locating software is just looking for the beacon packets sent by a router. It can not detect actual traffic sent by the routers or client machines or see any router that has the ssid transmission disabled. It also can not detect any other form of interference like baby monitors or cordless phones. You would need a spectrum analyzer to do find this. The company that makes the popular tool INSSIDER sells one but the actual cheapest way to get one is to buy a outdoor wireless bridge from ubiquiti they include their waterfall tool for free with all their outdoor wireless equipment.

Still it doesn't really matter if you can find the interference or not the solution is still the same. You keep changing channels until you find one that works. You are best off using 5g channels especially when you are very close. These tend to be blocked by wall very easily which also reduces signals from outside your house.

It being time of day based points to it being interference. It is highly unlikely it is anything on the internet since you are transferring data between devices inside your house you should be able to turn off the modem to the internet and it still run. Most other issues like software levels etc do not care what time it is.

Softfalcon · Sep 21, 2014

bill001g :

Try to force the router into 20mhz channels. Although it cuts your maximum speed it also reduces you chance of interference. You also want to try to use channel 1 or 11 since 6 is always used when someone uses 40mhz. There is only 60mhz total on 2.4g so only 1 person can use 40mhz in the neighborhood.

Unfortunately most the so called wifi locating software is just looking for the beacon packets sent by a router. It can not detect actual traffic sent by the routers or client machines or see any router that has the ssid transmission disabled. It also can not detect any other form of interference like baby monitors or cordless phones. You would need a spectrum analyzer to do find this. The company that makes the popular tool INSSIDER sells one but the actual cheapest way to get one is to buy a outdoor wireless bridge from ubiquiti they include their waterfall tool for free with all their outdoor wireless equipment.

Still it doesn't really matter if you can find the interference or not the solution is still the same. You keep changing channels until you find one that works. You are best off using 5g channels especially when you are very close. These tend to be blocked by wall very easily which also reduces signals from outside your house.

It being time of day based points to it being interference. It is highly unlikely it is anything on the internet since you are transferring data between devices inside your house you should be able to turn off the modem to the internet and it still run. Most other issues like software levels etc do not care what time it is.

Thank you!

I set the frequency range to 20 Hz for both antennae and played with the channels. Transfer rate from the server is up from 500 KB/s to 2.87 MB/s. It's not great, but it'll allow us to stream the HD movies from the server at the very least.

Thank you again for your help!

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Terrible WiFi Signal Despite Close Proximity and Signal Strength

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