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How to fix your wireless network

Some simple solutions to common wireless problems

By Kevin BishopPublished about a year ago 10 min read
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If you are finding that your wireless network is not as fast or reliable as you’d like, or there are parts of the house or office where the connection is not good enough, read on….

The aim of this article is to help diagnose and resolve most of the common issues with wireless networks. Many of the issues can be fixed without technical knowledge, it just helps to understand a little more about how it works and some simple changes you can make that can have a dramatic effect.

Potential non-wireless issues:

Before we get into fixing the wireless network, it is important to understand that many performance issues that might appear to be caused by the wireless network, may in fact have nothing to do with wireless. For example, a slow internet connection will make accessing the internet slow over wireless, but is not the fault of the wireless network.

Some examples of non-wireless issues:

• Slow or misconfigured device

There is a problem with the device or its configuration that is affecting its ability to use wireless efficiently.

Try other devices, if the other devices work well, the tested device may have issues that need to be looked into before trying to fix the wireless network.

• Misconfigured access point/router

Misconfigured routers will generally present slow or intermittent connectivity for all devices (wired and wireless), the symptoms are often similar to slow internet connection.

See: Slow internet connection

• Slow internet connection

If the internet connection is slow, that will affect all devices, wireless and those plugged directly into the router.

See Slow internet connection below.

• Slow website

Try other websites, if only one website is slow, the website itself may not be optimised for the volume of traffic.

Potential Wireless Issues:

The most common issues with wireless networks are listed here, along with the proposed diagnostic steps and resolutions, which can be found below:

• Poor signal

See Location of access point/router

• Intermittent connection

See Location of access point/router

See Interference

• Slow performance

See Location of access point/router

See Slow internet connection

Wireless Diagnostics/Resolutions:

It is useful to note that the speeds advertised for wireless routers, are based on theoretical speeds only possible with direct line of sight, right next to the access point, in a vacuum! The actual speed you are likely to achieve, even if there are no other devices on the network, in direct line of sight to the router, will be significantly slower.

For example, I am currently connected to an access point that sits 50cm from my laptop, using a protocol that boasts 1.3Gbps (Gigabits per second) and my laptop is reporting 0.4Gbps. There are a few other devices on the network, but nothing taking up too much bandwidth. 0.4Gbps is still quite fast. This difference in advertised and actual speed is quite normal with wi-fi and should be expected.

It is also worth mentioning that the power that an access point can transit, is limited by each country’s laws on radio transmissions. So most indoor access points are as powerful as each other. They may support technology that makes more efficient use of the air-waves, but range does not vary much. Some exterior access points, especially those designed for long distance links, are more powerful. I have seen these used indoors, in the hope that they might increase range, but the receiving device still needs to send the data back to the access point and most mobile devices are restricted for indoor use, so they will not work at long range anyway.

Location of access point/router

If you have a single access point (possibly built into your internet router) you need to locate the access point centrally to the area requiring wireless coverage. Ideally closer to areas requiring better coverage like offices, living rooms or gaming PCs.

Moving the internet router can be challenging as it needs to be connected to the internet line. Sometimes your ISP can relocate where your internet line is installed. You can also buy extension cables allowing you to move the router further away from the internet connection itself. Speak tou your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or take a photo of the cables on your router and take them to your local computer hardware store for advice.

Typically, wireless signals can pass through domestic house walls, but the signal is significantly reduced. At the time of writing, wireless networks operate on two frequencies; 2.4GHz and 5Ghz:

As a rule, 2.4Ghz (sometimes referred to as 802.11b/g or gn) is normally usable through one *wall/ceiling, maybe two, but I would recommend only one wall if the signal needs to be strong for an office or gaming PC.

5Ghz (sometimes referred to as 802.11a/an/ac or ax) does not penetrate walls as well as 2.4GHz. It should manage one *wall/ceiling, but is unlikely to manage two.

The wireless signal’s ability to pass through walls is affected by the distance from the wall and the construction and thickness of the wall. Plasterboard/drywall, glass or timber offer minimal resistance to wireless signals. The examples above (marked *) are based on a single skin of brick or block (about 4 inches or 100mm think). Wireless is not good at penetrating concrete, metal (including tin foil insulation) or walls thicker than a single skin of bricks.

Wireless can bounce around a room, especially 2.4GHz, but every bounce (like a wall) reduces the signal strength. So, line of sight is not essential, but always preferred.

Ceiling mounted access points are usually the best, as they have the best line of site within the room. Secondly, wall mounted access points, if mounted high on the wall. However, retrofitting ceiling and wall-mounted access points may not be pretty as you need to get a cable from the router to the access point.

Remember to consider the signal that will pass through the ceiling and floors, when locating access points. I always try to stagger access points in opposing rooms on consecutive floors, so the access point(s) on the floor(s) above and below will help cover areas further from access points on the other floors.

I do not recommend keeping your access point/router in a cupboard. The access point/router may not be pretty, but it will be significantly restricted if you put it in a box.

If you cannot locate your access point/router to avoid multiple walls, the I would strongly recommend you consider adding more access points.

Add more wireless access points

If you need to increase the coverage into areas that a single access point cannot reach, then adding more access points may be required.

Additional access points can be configured to use the same wireless network name (SSID), settings and password, so devices can seamlessly roam between them.

Suggested Access points:

2.4GHz Desktop access point

2.4GHz is the older frequency used by mobile devices. Most devices support 2.4GHz, but there is quite a lot of interference on the 2.4GHz spectrum. It is not as fast at 5GHz but it travels better through walls.

2.4GHz and 5GHz desktop access point

These routers support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz and your devices will connect to whicher they prefer and beleive will provide the fastest connection.

Wi-fi 6 access point

Wi -fi 6 is the 'new kid on the block' supporting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz simultaneously, providing teh best of both, at the same time.

Access points will ideally need to be connected directly to the router using a network or patch cable. This can be complicated in a domestic house, as it can be difficult to run cables without messing up the décor.

Powerline Adapters

If it’s not practical to run a patch or network cable to an additional access point, you could consider using Powerline adapters. These adapters create a network over the household mains electricity cables. You plug two of these devices into different rooms and they will create a network between themselves, so you can connect one to your router and one to the access point without having to run a wire between them.

Recommended Powerline Adapters

Powerline adapters are usually sold in pairs, but you can add more than two if necessary.

I would strongly recommend plugging the powerline adapters directly into wall sockets (not extension leads) and try to keep them all on the same consumer unit (fuse-box) otherwise their performance will be reduced.

If the electrical cabling in the house is very old, powerline adapters may struggle.

I do not recommend using powerline adapters with their own built-in wi-fi access points as I have found these to be very unreliable.

Mesh Access Points

Mesh is a technology that enables access points to link back to the wired network by hopping over the wireless network to other access points. They can really get you out of trouble if you have no way of getting a network or patch cable to an access point. However, the resulting wireless signal from a mesh-connected AP will usually be significantly reduced, as much of the throughput is lost on the backlink.

R ecommended mesh access points

I would always favour a wired connection over a mesh connection as they are faster and more reliable. As long as your mains wiring is suitable, I would recommend powerline adapters over mesh as well, so in my opinion, mesh as a last resort.

Managed Access Points

If you need more than one additional access point, then I would steer you towards a managed system like Ubiquiti’s Unifi with a Unifi Dream Machine (UDM) at the heart.

Unifi m anaged access points

Unifi Dream Machine

By installing a managed wireless network, you can configure the entire network from a single portal, from home or remotely. If you make a change, it will deploy the change to all access points, so you don’t have to configure each one independently.

Interference

Interference is caused by other devices transmitting noise over the same frequency as the access point. There are a number of devices that will legitimately transmit over 2.4GHz, such as; microwave ovens, DECT phones, Bluetooth devices, wireless video cameras, garage door openers and many more.

Some devices will emit Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) through poor design or engineering. Some imported amplifiers or power suppliers, that have not properly passed CE or BS certification, my emit interference on any frequency.

Neighbouring access points for wireless networks in building nearby, will also compete on the same wireless frequency band. Your access point is designed to handle this to some extent, but an older access point may struggle to compete with an access point using newer technologies.

If the connection is very slow or intermittent, in a location that has a good signal (e.g., standing next to the access point/router), you may have interference.

Move the access point/router at least 50cm away from any electrical equipment, cables or sockets, to avoid EMI.

Change the channel of the wireless network (usually a configuration option in the wireless access point or router). For example, if your router is configured to use 2.4GHz channel 1, change to channel 6 or 11 and see if that resolves the issue.

You could also connect using the other frequency band (2.4GHz or 5GHz) if your device and access point/router support both.

If you are struggling with interference, consider a professional wireless survey, please see blow.

Slow Internet Connection

Run a speed test over a wired connection, ideally with a laptop or PC plugged directly into the router (with the laptop or PC’s wireless interface switched off), while nobody else is using the internet. Run a speedtest 3 or 4 times, with a good 10 minutes between tests.

Speedtest website

Compare the results with the speed promised by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) (usually written on your internet services bill). Your actual speed will be slower as some of the speed is lost within the router itself, but generally only by about 10-15% slower. If your speedtest is more than 15% slower, then your internet connection may be slower than the speed the service promised and you are paying for. You can usually confirm the actual connection speed in the internet connection settings or status on the internet router.

The issue could be a misconfigured router or fault on the incoming internet line. In either case, I suggest contacting your ISP’s support team.

Wireless Survey

Sometimes the only way to understand what is going on over the wireless spectrum, is to visualize the network. The best way to do this, is with a wireless survey.

Unifi ‘Wifiman’ phone App

This is a very useful and powerful free app from Ubiquiti. The Signal Mapper is extremely clever at mapping the signal strength in different areas of the house using your smartphone.

Professional Wireless Survey

I conduct wireless surveys myself and can provide a wireless signal or interference heatmap overlaying a floorplan, to really understand what is going on with the wireless network spectrum.

See my website for more information

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About the Creator

Kevin Bishop

I am an IT consultant by trade and experiment with microcontrollers and electronics for a hobby.

I have been learning about technology, especially computer networking, for over 30 years and now I want to start writing it down. ...

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