The wi-fi connections at home recently started dropping, and I've been completely unable to track down the source of the problem, and I'm hoping someone can offer some suggestions. I've gone through a few different setups trying to solve this problem, so I'll describe each one chronologically, so bear with me if this gets a bit long.
I. Initial problems
My basic setup started as follows:
- Broadband Cable (RCN) with an ISP provided cable modem
- The cable modem was connected to an older Apple Time Capsule router (2nd gen, I think). This was providing the wireless network in the house (both 2.4 GHz and 5GHz) as well as a few wired connections (including a switch in my office)
- In addition to the Time Capsule, I had a current gen Airport Express to extend the network
One morning, I noticed that my Nest thermostat was displaying a message that it couldn't find the wireless network. Shortly after this, I noticed that my phone was constantly dropping and reconnecting to the network, and my tablet was exhibiting similar behavior.
I tried restarting the router, but this didn't seem to make any difference. Initially, it seemed that the 5Ghz network might be more stable, but even this started dropping. Laptops didn't seem to lose their connection as repetitively, but would occasionally disconnect.
No problems were observed on any wired connections, so I assumed that something with the wireless radios was on the fritz, and since the Time Capsule is a bit older, I figured it was time to replace the router.
II. Removing the Time Capsule from the network
My next step was to remove the Time Capsule and just use the Airport Express as the only router to see if this would help. I disconnected the Time Capsule, moved the Airport Express to the living room, connected it up with the same ssid and password as previously used, and it seemed like things were working.
This lasted a couple of days and then I started to see the same behavior as before with phones and tablets dropping on and off the network.
I thought that perhaps there was some unknown device connecting to the network causing problems, so I changed the ssid and password and slowly started adding devices back one at a time. Again, things worked for a couple of days and then I was back to the same problem
III. Trying a new router
Since I am a T-Mobile customer, and they are giving away an Asus router that is very highly reviewed, I decided to take advantage of this and try out a different router all together. I got the router (a T-mobile branded version of the rt-ac68u), hooked it up and got things up and running.
Once again, things seemed to work, but even more quickly this time I ran into the same problem and devices started dropping off the wi-fi again.
IV. Moving the equipment
At this point, I was running out of ideas, but I had one last thing to try...I thought maybe the equipment, which was all located on my A/V stand with the TV, etc. might be in a location with interference from some other device, so I moved the entire setup (Cable modem, time capsule, and T-mobile router) upstairs to my office and tried them out there.
After doing a full reset on the T-mobile router, this seemed to work. I eventually decided to re-do the setup to use the Time Capsule as the router with the T-mobile/Asus router configured as an Access Point and handling the wi-fi connections (since the radios are stronger and faster). I set this up last Friday, and it seemed to work well for the entire weekend.
I foolishly thought I was out of the woods, but then I came back home this evening (Tuesday), picked up my tablet, and noticed it was, again, dropping the signal and reconnecting constantly.
At this point, I am at a complete loss for ideas. Wired connections are fine, so I don't think the problem has anything to do with the cable modem or my ISP. I've tried three different routers, and I end up with the same problem every time, so it doesn't seem to be an equipment problem.
it seems to me that the most likely culprit is one of the devices on the network causing problems. Here is the list of devices that are regularly on the wi-fi network:
- Three Macbooks
- 2 iPads and 1 Android tablet
- 2 Android smartphones
- Nest thermostat
- Google Chromecast
I have been wondering if perhaps the chromecast is the culprit and may be interfering with the network in the house, but I haven't had a chance to test this yet...Simply unplugging it hasn't resolved the problem.
Anyway, I am hoping that someone much wiser than myself can provide some insight or ideas.
I. Initial problems
My basic setup started as follows:
- Broadband Cable (RCN) with an ISP provided cable modem
- The cable modem was connected to an older Apple Time Capsule router (2nd gen, I think). This was providing the wireless network in the house (both 2.4 GHz and 5GHz) as well as a few wired connections (including a switch in my office)
- In addition to the Time Capsule, I had a current gen Airport Express to extend the network
One morning, I noticed that my Nest thermostat was displaying a message that it couldn't find the wireless network. Shortly after this, I noticed that my phone was constantly dropping and reconnecting to the network, and my tablet was exhibiting similar behavior.
I tried restarting the router, but this didn't seem to make any difference. Initially, it seemed that the 5Ghz network might be more stable, but even this started dropping. Laptops didn't seem to lose their connection as repetitively, but would occasionally disconnect.
No problems were observed on any wired connections, so I assumed that something with the wireless radios was on the fritz, and since the Time Capsule is a bit older, I figured it was time to replace the router.
II. Removing the Time Capsule from the network
My next step was to remove the Time Capsule and just use the Airport Express as the only router to see if this would help. I disconnected the Time Capsule, moved the Airport Express to the living room, connected it up with the same ssid and password as previously used, and it seemed like things were working.
This lasted a couple of days and then I started to see the same behavior as before with phones and tablets dropping on and off the network.
I thought that perhaps there was some unknown device connecting to the network causing problems, so I changed the ssid and password and slowly started adding devices back one at a time. Again, things worked for a couple of days and then I was back to the same problem
III. Trying a new router
Since I am a T-Mobile customer, and they are giving away an Asus router that is very highly reviewed, I decided to take advantage of this and try out a different router all together. I got the router (a T-mobile branded version of the rt-ac68u), hooked it up and got things up and running.
Once again, things seemed to work, but even more quickly this time I ran into the same problem and devices started dropping off the wi-fi again.
IV. Moving the equipment
At this point, I was running out of ideas, but I had one last thing to try...I thought maybe the equipment, which was all located on my A/V stand with the TV, etc. might be in a location with interference from some other device, so I moved the entire setup (Cable modem, time capsule, and T-mobile router) upstairs to my office and tried them out there.
After doing a full reset on the T-mobile router, this seemed to work. I eventually decided to re-do the setup to use the Time Capsule as the router with the T-mobile/Asus router configured as an Access Point and handling the wi-fi connections (since the radios are stronger and faster). I set this up last Friday, and it seemed to work well for the entire weekend.
I foolishly thought I was out of the woods, but then I came back home this evening (Tuesday), picked up my tablet, and noticed it was, again, dropping the signal and reconnecting constantly.
At this point, I am at a complete loss for ideas. Wired connections are fine, so I don't think the problem has anything to do with the cable modem or my ISP. I've tried three different routers, and I end up with the same problem every time, so it doesn't seem to be an equipment problem.
it seems to me that the most likely culprit is one of the devices on the network causing problems. Here is the list of devices that are regularly on the wi-fi network:
- Three Macbooks
- 2 iPads and 1 Android tablet
- 2 Android smartphones
- Nest thermostat
- Google Chromecast
I have been wondering if perhaps the chromecast is the culprit and may be interfering with the network in the house, but I haven't had a chance to test this yet...Simply unplugging it hasn't resolved the problem.
Anyway, I am hoping that someone much wiser than myself can provide some insight or ideas.
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