WiFi weak and keeps dropping

[gabrielle_grow]

My newly installed R510 Unleashed is constantly dropping and is not sending highest frequency when it is working - i.e. smart TV buffering constantly. Any tips?

[alex_shalima]

Hi Gabrielle,

That is not a lot of data to work with. This sounds like lack of signal, i.e. R510 is too far or is too obstructed. Here are general tips that you can follow:

- Put your WAP (Wireless Access Point) up high, preferably above head level or above furniture. That will help Wi-Fi signal go above furniture and other things.

- Place it horizontally parallel to the ground. Even though the WAP has dual-polarity, it works best placed horizontally.

- Put WAP closer to your TV


In order to better determine if this is the signal issue you can use the two methods below:

1. Run some internet speedtests with your phone behind your TV. Literally stick your phone behind there and run the test. You want to see at least 5 Mbps for comfortable streaming. You can use speedtest.net app for that (iPhone and Android stores have it)

2. Download some sort of signal meter app (Airport Utility for iPhone or WiFi Analyzer for Android) on your phone and measure the signal behind the TV using your phone. You want to see numbers between -45 and -70 dB. Anything lower than that would most likely be an issue. In the case of low signal follow the tips above.

Let us know if you can provide more data for more accurate diagnosis, like how far is R510 from the TV, where is it placed, what is in between the TV and the WAP (walls, mirrors, rooms).

Hope this helps. 

Cheers,
Alex

[gabrielle_grow]

Thanks for the feedback Alex. It is installed correctly as you mentioned - it was actually installed as a feature as part of my Lennar home.

I'm wondering if I did not configure it properly since the signal just seems very very weak. Wondering how I can possibly trouble shoot this?

[michael_brado]

Do you have access to the APs under the Lennar home installation?  If the APs are in Solo/Standalone mode, they will choose the best 2.4 and 5g channels at the time they come up, based on a channel scan.  If they are managed by a ZoneDirector or SmartZone controller, they feed environment info back to the controller, who's algorithms will update/change the AP channels/power as needed for optimum coverage.

If you have only one AP, distance and obstructions like Alex mentions are the keys to coverage.  You don't want your AP mounted next to any electrical devices, AC/lighting, or on walls made of stucco with chickenwire underneath, as RF cannot pass through.

I suggest measure throughput from a device as things are now, reboot your AP, and test again with the same device from the same location, and did you see any difference/improvement?  (if you don't have AP access, your client can tell what frequency/channel it's using before/after)  Otherwise, is the AP in the "best" location?  I hope this is helpful.

[juan_acevedo]

I have a similar issue not only with WIFI but with devices connected via cat5 cable - the worst part it was working great for about 1 year

I use a Cisco VoIP phone with PoE capabilities - if I connect directly to the switch it powers the phone but from the server-side, it never registeres

if I connect the same phone directly to the ATT router phone registered and calls can be placed and recieved

the issue with a device connected over wifi is even works - connection drops, get time out msg while surfing

had to even disconnect the phone from wifi as it wont work with wifi calling

for a year the setup worked great now it's a complete mess - I have a switch and 2 AP that are worthless


with firestick if i run streaming over VPN it works great - if i take the VPN out - I cant log in to Netflix or any other streaming apps