Home wifi connection drops

[Maple98]

Hey! New to PM (from Telus) as of Monday & I seem to be losing my wifi connection in more areas of my home than I was with Telus (though there have always been issues in certain ‘far corners‘ of the house), which seems odd to me since PM is owned by Telus & runs off same network (right?). Can’t imagine why wifi range would be affected? Anyone else having this problem or have any insights?

I did notice a couple of threads concerning excessive data usage, but none mentioned their wifi connection as being the issue, so those replies didn’t really seem relevant, though I wonder if that may be what’s contributing to their higher data usage (not my concern yet, since I usually notice quickly when phone switches from wifi to data). 

Thanks!

[RossN]

@Maple98 yea its worked for me in the past at home and at work

[Maple98]

@RossN  Interesting! Definitely need to try that. I have just about all of my electronics set up in the same location. Thanks for the tip! 

[CellGirl]

@srlawren  muchas gracias  

[srlawren]

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@CellGirl wrote:

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@computergeek541 

Which mesh system would you specifically recommend?

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@CellGirl no personal experience, but The Wirecutter generally do a very good job of making recommendations.  I linked their May 2019 round-up earlier in this thread:

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@srlawren wrote:

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@computergeek541 too bad you didn't read The Wirecutter's "The Best Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Kits" artcile before purchasing.  

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[computergeek541]

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@CellGirl wrote:

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@computergeek541 

Which mesh system would you specifically recommend?

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I'm still tryijng to figure that out myself and whether it is worth the trouble.  I just know which model to now avoid.

[CellGirl]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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@srlawren wrote:

@Maple98 do some googling on Wi-Fi extenders vs. Mesh.  Depending on your needs and budget, a mesh system is (usually) going to give you better results.

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Maple98, if you decide on Mesh system, I would strongly advise against the Asus Lyra Trio (MAP-1750).  It is just a bad overall product with firmware bugs that make it almost impossible to get these things connected to each other using the most recent router firmware.   The kicker is a bug that causes a "sync no surf" issue very night on some devices.   The other Oracles already know what I think about that Asus model.  I would be sure to compare reveiws, and I don't mean those on some websites that used the product for only 2 hours and prematurely declare a product as good or bad.

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@computergeek541 

Which mesh system would you specifically recommend?

[liuxinbing]

my iphone works excellent without even a SIM in. So weak wifi has nothing to do with PM or Telus. Just coincidence. 

ISP's 3-in-1 device is not good, because it does too much job. The CPU may not be able to handle it especially in the hot summer thus gives you problem of wifi. The solution is: let the ISP's device doing only the modem job. Get the wifi job out of its hand, do the wifi by your own device.

My suggestion: Get a mesh router. ISP modem -> CAT6 network cable -> Mesh router which is doing the wifi job.

DHCP job can be left in the modem, as it uses very very little capacity, can even be omitted.

[srlawren]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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I'd settle for poor performance if the Asus Lyra Trio worked - it doesn't. 

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@computergeek541 that's probably why it "had reviewed particularly poorly elsewhere".  

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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I'm considering the T-PLink Deco M4 3 pack available from multiple retailers for $200.

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What about their top pics:  the Netgear Orbi RBK50, or Euro kit?

The article talks about the Deco M5 (not the M4---newer version maybe?) and says:

"The Deco did slightly outperform the budget Eero kit when in a simple “star” placement, with both satellites connected to the router, but it falls down in multi-hop mode, which suggests that Eero will be a better fit for more houses. We also prefer Eero for most people because it offers a better interface, more features, and the option of expanding to the full three-piece kit (or further!) in the future. Although you can add extra nodes to Deco M5, its degraded performance in multi-hop mode strongly implies they won’t actually help much."

Oh I guess M4 and M5 are related:

"In April 2019, TP-Link introduced the Deco M4 mesh networking kit. The dual-band M4 has three nodes, and promises to service a home up to 5,500 square feet. The M4 is compatible with, and can be used to expand existing Deco M9 Plus and M5 mesh networks. We plan to test the Deco M9 and M4 in our next update."

[computergeek541]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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Maple98, if you decide on Mesh system, I would strongly advise against the Asus Lyra Trio (MAP-1750).  

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@computergeek541 too bad you didn't read The Wirecutter's "The Best Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Kits" artcile before purchasing.  Here's what they said about the Lyra:  "In this round, we dropped some of the poorest-performing kits from our first rounds of testing (Luma and AmpliFi) and skipped one that had reviewed particularly poorly elsewhere (Lyra)"

@Maple98 if you do decide to go with an extender instead of a mesh kit, make sure to check out "The Best Wi-Fi Extender and Signal Booster".  Also, for some balance on my earlier suggestion to check out Extenders vs. Mesh networks, check out:  A Regular Wi-Fi Router Was As Good As Mesh in This 2,300 sq. ft. House

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I'd settle for poor performance if the Asus Lyra Trio worked - it doesn't.  I'm considering the T-PLink Deco M4 3 pack available from multiple retailers for $200.

[srlawren]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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Maple98, if you decide on Mesh system, I would strongly advise against the Asus Lyra Trio (MAP-1750).  

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@computergeek541 too bad you didn't read The Wirecutter's "The Best Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Kits" artcile before purchasing.  Here's what they said about the Lyra:  "In this round, we dropped some of the poorest-performing kits from our first rounds of testing (Luma and AmpliFi) and skipped one that had reviewed particularly poorly elsewhere (Lyra)"

@Maple98 if you do decide to go with an extender instead of a mesh kit, make sure to check out "The Best Wi-Fi Extender and Signal Booster".  Also, for some balance on my earlier suggestion to check out Extenders vs. Mesh networks, check out:  A Regular Wi-Fi Router Was As Good As Mesh in This 2,300 sq. ft. House

[computergeek541]

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o@srlawren wrote:

@Maple98 do some googling on Wi-Fi extenders vs. Mesh.  Depending on your needs and budget, a mesh system is (usually) going to give you better results.

---

Maple98, if you decide on Mesh system, I would strongly advise against the Asus Lyra Trio (MAP-1750).  It is just a bad overall product with firmware bugs that make it almost impossible to get these things connected to each other using the most recent router firmware.   The kicker is a bug that causes a "sync no surf" issue every night on some devices.   The other Oracles already know what I think about that Asus model.  I would be sure to compare reveiws, and I don't mean those on some websites that used the product for only 2 hours and prematurely declare a product as good or bad.

[RossN]

one thing that I don't believe was mentioned is,if is at all possible move your wifi router a foot or two away from the rest of your electronics it will cut down dramatically on interference and will extend your wifi coverage

[srlawren]

@Maple98 do some googling on Wi-Fi extenders vs. Mesh.  Depending on your needs and budget, a mesh system is (usually) going to give you better results.

I won't go into a ton of details but for anyone curous why: 

(1) you maintain ONE sid (effectively, only one unified network for your devices no matter where you are in the house); Okay yes, if you know what you're doing, you can kind of set this up with an extender as well but it's more work

(2) speed.  When you use an extender, it has to communicate with your regular WAP (wireless access point--your "WiFi Router") on the same channel as any other devices connected to it, slowing it down.  So even though you may get a better signal in remote parts of your home using the extender's network, it may not be any faster.  Each node in a mesh systems uses a dedicated channel to talk to one another, seaprate from the channel your devices are using.  This results in a more efficient network.

(3) ease of setup.  You'll pay more for a mesh network than just buying an extender, but they are built to work together, rather than having to configure an extender.

Just my two cents.  Depending on your budget and size of your home, make the call that works for you!

[mh1983]

Your WiFi is likely on a busy channel. If you feel comfortable going into settings, you can change the channel to something with less activity on it. Also, you might want to delete and then readd the WiFi profile on your phone. They can be finicky when they have too many WiFi access points in "memory."

Most routers that ISPs send out w/ their service are cheap hardware (likely a modem + router combo). It's always a good idea to get a separate hardware router and turn off the router part of the modem + router combo. But again, that'd require a little more comfort w/ the technical. Something to keep in mind and perhaps enlist a techy friend to help if the problem persists.

But as others have said, yes, there's no correlation between switching mobile providers (uses mobile data) vs. WiFi connection problems (uses your internet service provider's data and WiFi is broadcast from the modem/router combo they provide).

[shskr]

Try rebooting your home router and wait a few minutes. I do this every so often when i keep dropping wifi at home. if you are in a part of the house you get no signal try buying a wifi extender. It is like a antenna that plugs in your wall socket that picks up your wifi signal and boosts it so it can be full signal anywhere in the house even outside on the patio.

That's what i've done and it works great.

[Maple98]

Awesome! Good to know! Thanks everyone! Seemed odd that I've been having so many more issues with the wifi this week, but my tech skills are limited. Lol

Will definitely look into an extender. 

Thanks again!!

[Triguy · Accepted solution]

Your home wi-fi has nothing to do with your PM data access.  You might want to try getting a wi-fi extender to increase your wi-fi coverage area.

[srlawren]

@Maple98 changing your mobile provider will have no impact whatsoever on your home internet or home internet Wi-Fi access point.  

[laptop5000]

It is just a coincidence that you are having Wi-Fi issues after switching to PM. Your phones Wi-Fi connection has nothing to do with your mobile carrier.