Other device interference? 5Ghz

[Carnagerover]

Hi all,

I am currently back to my ISP router while they sort out some internet issues, however I noticed when checking a channel graph using WifiAnalyzer on my S8 that I have two devices that are also using the 5Ghz band, they are;

Nvidia Shield - Direct-Android - 48 (42)
Astro A50 Wireless Headphones - Astroh2-hh

Im not sure what channel the Astros use but its within 36-64 as thats where I noticed it today, I think its a bug where the base station stays on when it shouldnt and is looking for the headset.

My router is on channel 36 but I can only choose from 36 to 48, will these devices be causing interference on my 5ghz network, if so how much.

Thanks

 

[Carnagerover]

Also I noticed around the time that I bought my Samsung S8+ that I can no longer get full internet speed on 5ghz WiFi even in the same room as the router.

My internet is 63Mbps but I don't get more than 50Mbps in the same room as the router. My iPad also used to max out my internet but that also cannot max out the internet on 5ghz anymore.

The router is set to AC 20/40/80mhz, my normal router is the Synology RT2600 but I was having the same issue on that, not sure why.

 

[Internet Man]

These two sources state that the Astro A50 wireless headphones could use 5GHz Wi-Fi channels 149 - 165 and they recommend keeping your 5GHz Wi-Fi network out of that range.

The nVidia Shield controllers also apparently use 5GHz Wi-Fi channels. Hopefully they scan for a clear frequency when they first connect or something to avoid interference.

The headphones and controllers should only use one or two 20MHz channels (I hope) so they could potentially both find room in the 149-165 range. For maximum performance, your wireless router would use four channels in 80MHz mode and it sounds like it needs to be explicitly set to use the lower channels (36, 40, 44, 48). Hopefully you don't have any nearby neighbors who are using these channels too.

I would power down all of these 5GHz devices then first turn on the router so that it can claim its low channels. Maybe get a 5GHz client streaming youtube or something to get some traffic flowing (IDK if this is necessary). Next, power on the Shield and hope that it will claim a channel up in the higher range. Finally, turn on the headphones and hope that they find a separate channel away from the router's range.

 

[SoSouthern]

I have the Astro A50 as well and my router is a little over 10ft away from my base. I have a triband router tho so I can't say I've ever experienced issues with devices and my router. I can say that there are times when my headset cuts in and out and I figure it's the interference but I came to expect that since it's within the same bands. I have the first Gen A50 tho. I think the newer ones added more bands or something to combat that.

I'd do what was suggested by Internet Man as far as altering your settings. I've had to force the channel on my third radio due to it choosing a channel that some of my devices couldn't pickup. Strange technology right lol. Hope you get something working. You may have to provide more distance between your router and headset or possibly look into a triband setup. More radios to choose from.


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[Carnagerover]

I can't seem to get the Android box to change from its current channel.

I see

Vodafone 5ghz 36 (42)
Direct Android 48 (42)
*** Channel 157, assuming Astros and that's it.

I have weird problem though, when browsing the web on both my Samsung S8 Plus and my iPad Air 2 I get issues where.pages stop loading. If I open another browser on the devices the pages work, but not on the current browser. Eventually they start to work again.

I also have a remote Plex server, it has a good route to me and I get 58Mbps out of my 63Mbps connection. However again there I get random buffering, most of the time on small files of no more than say 5Mbps.

I can't figure out what the issue is, I have a good 63Mbps connection my ISP doesn't use traffic shaping and my internet is unlimited.

 

[Carnagerover]

Also,

Now my internet is back to normal I have put the RT2600 back in and I can set that to channel 100 so I am on a different channel to the android box and there are no other 5ghz devices.

I still can't max out my internet on either the iPad air 2 or Samsung S8. The air used to do it but after changing every wireless setting I can find it no longer will.

 

[SoSouthern]

Drop the channel width to 40mhz from 80mhz. See if you get the same results.


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[Carnagerover]

Drop the channel width to 40mhz from 80mhz. See if you get the same results.


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I get full speed again now using 20/40mhz, thank you. Connection rate is 450Mbps.

Is that interference? The devices I’m using? Or an older device connecting to the 5ghz band.

Thanks again, I’m not sure what has happened to stop the 80mhz setting from giving full speed.

iPad results 63Mbps
Samsung S8+ 54Mbps

Not sure what’s with the S8, I’ve never got full speed on it.

 

[SoSouthern]

It's a complicated mess lol. I went through a very similar situation. From what I understand, you have to have the router set to AC only to experience 80mhz. I run an AC/N on both 5ghz radios. Running with N is considered Legacy and can't utilize 80mhz. N needs 40mhz to connect devices. I'm not a router guy but work in IT so I had to investigate and go through trial and error. The N protocol and 40mhz made sense and I stuck with it. I was even having issues when I had the width set to auto. My devices could see the 2nd radio at all. Could have also been a bugged firmware release but I just did a hard set to 40 and kept it moving. I recently set it back to auto after I've updated the firmware twice and it seems to not be a problem now.

But I'd definitely recommend you run it in this config or make your 5ghz AC only and then set it to 80 and have your not AC devices connection to 2.4. You don't seem to have a large network so you should be able to accomplish that. Keep the 2.4 at 20mhz of on congested area. I have over 30 devices on and talking at any given time and an access point connected by powerline on the bottom floor and this setup seems to keep me sane lol. Before this I was pulling my hair out.

Jeez I rambled. Glad you're set though and I hope this post helps others rest easy.


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[Carnagerover]

It's a complicated mess lol. I went through a very similar situation. From what I understand, you have to have the router set to AC only to experience 80mhz. I run an AC/N on both 5ghz radios. Running with N is considered Legacy and can't utilize 80mhz. N needs 40mhz to connect devices. I'm not a router guy but work in IT so I had to investigate and go through trial and error. The N protocol and 40mhz made sense and I stuck with it. I was even having issues when I had the width set to auto. My devices could see the 2nd radio at all. Could have also been a bugged firmware release but I just did a hard set to 40 and kept it moving. I recently set it back to auto after I've updated the firmware twice and it seems to not be a problem now.

But I'd definitely recommend you run it in this config or make your 5ghz AC only and then set it to 80 and have your not AC devices connection to 2.4. You don't seem to have a large network so you should be able to accomplish that. Keep the 2.4 at 20mhz of on congested area. I have over 30 devices on and talking at any given time and an access point connected by powerline on the bottom floor and this setup seems to keep me sane lol. Before this I was pulling my hair out.

Jeez I rambled. Glad you're set though and I hope this post helps others rest easy.


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No worries I appreciate the help, I've no idea why the S8 doesn't use all the bandwidth, I had a further play with it before work and set the router to AC 20/40/80mhz and it worked fine, then I set it to N/AC and it was fine again so I'm not sure what's happening.

Is it an older device that once connected slows others down. I'm not sure how it works.

Most of my devices are wired but we have the following that are wireless.

Amazon Echo
iPad Air 2
iPad 2
iPad 3
iPad mini
iPhone 7
Samsung S8 Plus
Nintendo Switch
Tplink smart bulb
Harmony Hub

 

[Carnagerover]

I decided to run Iperf on the iPad Air 2 and Samsung S8, same room as the router and I get the following with the Synology RT2600AC at AC only 20/40/80mhz.

Connecting to host 192.168.1.115, port 5201

[ 15] local 192.168.1.35 port 61689 connected to 192.168.1.115 port 5201

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth

[ 15] 0.00-1.00 sec 30.9 MBytes 259 Mbits/sec

[ 15] 1.00-2.01 sec 32.0 MBytes 267 Mbits/sec

[ 15] 2.01-3.00 sec 31.8 MBytes 268 Mbits/sec

[ 15] 3.00-4.00 sec 31.6 MBytes 265 Mbits/sec

[ 15] 4.00-5.00 sec 31.5 MBytes 264 Mbits/sec

[ 15] 5.00-6.00 sec 32.1 MBytes 270 Mbits/sec

[ 15] 6.00-7.00 sec 32.0 MBytes 268 Mbits/sec

[ 15] 7.00-8.00 sec 32.4 MBytes 272 Mbits/sec

[ 15] 8.00-9.00 sec 32.1 MBytes 270 Mbits/sec

[ 15] 9.00-10.00 sec 31.8 MBytes 267 Mbits/sec

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth

[ 15] 0.00-10.00 sec 318 MBytes 267 Mbits/sec sender

[ 15] 0.00-10.00 sec 318 MBytes 267 Mbits/sec receiver


iperf Done.

[Process completed]

On the Samsung S8,

280 MBytes 28 MBytes /sec

Should the above be faster?

 

[Carnagerover]

I borrowed a friends Tp link 3200 trio band and got pretty identical results to the RT2600AC, not sure what the deal is.

 

[SoSouthern]

Your speed will be affected by the least compatible device. Having N/AC configured means your router will fall back to N and not AC if a device connects with N. Setting the router as AC will force your devices to use AC. N/AC is fine but know you're handicapping yourself by allowing N as a legacy standard. Have 2.4 support the older devices in your home and AC handle your latest devices.

That TP-LINK sounds like the Archer C3200. That's the router I have. My current config is 2.4 B/G/N, 5G-1 is set to N/AC, and 5G-2 is AC only. Best speeds are achieved on 5G-2 of course. More devices will cut down total bandwidth but I can still do what I need without worrying about slowness.

Some other things you could also look into going forward. I'm upgrading my wireless network soon to take advantage of MU-MIMO going forward. The TP-Link 3200 doesn't have that feature and will definitely come in handy with all of the devices I have roaming my home that support it. Something to think about.




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[Carnagerover]

Your speed will be affected by the least compatible device. Having N/AC configured means your router will fall back to N and not AC if a device connects with N. Setting the router as AC will force your devices to use AC. N/AC is fine but know you're handicapping yourself by allowing N as a legacy standard. Have 2.4 support the older devices in your home and AC handle your latest devices.

That TP-LINK sounds like the Archer C3200. That's the router I have. My current config is 2.4 B/G/N, 5G-1 is set to N/AC, and 5G-2 is AC only. Best speeds are achieved on 5G-2 of course. More devices will cut down total bandwidth but I can still do what I need without worrying about slowness.

Some other things you could also look into going forward. I'm upgrading my wireless network soon to take advantage of MU-MIMO going forward. The TP-Link 3200 doesn't have that feature and will definitely come in handy with all of the devices I have roaming my home that support it. Something to think about.




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Hi again,

It is the Archer 3200 that I have borrowed that gives the identical for the most part results, I have tried running only AC devices on the 5ghz but it doesn't change my bandwidth.

My router the Synology RT2600 has Mu-Mimo but I haven't noticed any difference when it's been enabled.

Have you used Smart connect with the TP Link, looks like that provides the best performance for a lot of devices.

 

[SoSouthern]

I have but I haven't been able to really discern any value. I've had issues of slow loading times when using smart connect. Smart connect would sometimes make the device switch frequencies while doing I was using the device. I think it's a great feature but it doesn't seem to be as seamless as it's intended to be.


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[Carnagerover]

Wish I had a faster bit of WiFi kit to test, I just assumed the Samsung would be able to do faster than 250Mbps and that it’s my equipment that is the issue.

 

[Carnagerover]

Still no look, I give up.

I tried my ISP router again, moved it to another area and for some reason I just can't get my full internet speed wirelessly no matter what I do.

50Mbps is as good as it gets via wireless, 64Mbps as soon as I test on my PC.

Weird thing is this started happening when I switch ISP, but it's not like they can hamper my wifi download speed so it must just be coincidence.

Anyone got a router recommendation, tried the following.

Synology RT2600AC
TP-Link Archer AC3200

 

[Carnagerover]

At my parents house I tried a speedtest, I got 110Mbps on my Samsung S8+ and my father uses his virgin ISP router. It's in his attic and I did the speedtest from the ground floor.

If I don't see other channels on the WiFi analyser then what can be causing my issues.