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Help WiFi 2.4GHz vs 5GHz issue

B

billrosenblatt

Newbie
Hi,

I have a WiFi router which can be switched between 2.4GHz and 5GHz but not both at the same time (not dual band). Our internet connection is a 50Mbps cable modem. We live in an old NYC apartment with thick masonry walls. At 2.4GHz there's lots of interference and connections are flaky throughout the apartment. I tried switching to 5GHz. The connection is much MUCH faster, but for some reason, my Galaxy S3 barely detects any signal at all (zero or 1 bars) in another room from the router, while my laptop in the same room gets 2-3 bars but solid 20Mbps connection. I tried setting different channels on the router instead of the Auto channel setting, but none made any difference.

I don't get it. The S3 supposedly receives 5GHz WiFi. Why should it do so much worse than my laptop in another room?

Any advice or suggestions would be welcome - switch to a true dual band router? Get a range extender? Tweak the router in some other way? I didn't see any WiFi settings on the phone to tweak...

Thanks!
 
I've experienced that.

It's more likely an issue of the difference in antenna gain in the laptop vs the phone - the phone antenna is less sensitive.

A dual band router would help but your phone will still be at the mercy of the noise you're trying to escape.

You can try "Wifi Analyzer"

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer

And see if you can find a clear 2.4 GHz channel that's not crowded with other people's routers and set your router to a better channel choice than automatic.

That's a great app, swipe left-right to see the different screens.

EDIT - sorry, I'm talking to three people at once - I see you've already tried changing channels. :(
 
The laptop probably does better than the S3 simplify because it has a larger, more sensitive antenna.

5GHz is usually faster than 2.4GHz just as you saw, but 5GHz doesn't carry as far or penetrate walls as well, also as you saw.

A dual- band router would be nice. 5GHz speed for devices close enough to the router, 2.4GHz range for farther away. An extender (aka repeater) could help though for some reason they can be a little tricky sometimes. If you get one, buy the same brand as the router, they seem to play nice together better.

If you get a dual band router, give the 5GHz and 2.4 GHz bands a different SSID. When setting up the 5GHz band set the router to use a channel well over 100. Over 150 if there's a clear channel. For both bands use channels with the least interference and best signal.

To find the best setup I use WiFi Overview 360. An excellent tool, the best WiFi analyzer I've found. The free version is probably all you need but the Pro version is cheap. The Google Fiber guys use it to setup WiFi when installing.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.android.wifioverviewpro

Edit: nija'd again!
 
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As those two ^ hit on, 5GHz's higher frequency means a shorter wavelength which means less penetration. I imagine that's hitting you especially hard with the thick masonry walls.

I'd take EM's suggestion on the super-handy Wifi Analyzer app - it will give you a quick graphical representation of what channels are occupied. Hopefully you can find a gap somewhere on 2.4GHz that isn't oversaturated.
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies.

A couple of years ago I went through the process of trying to find a 2.4GHz channel that was less bad than the others, but with my laptop, not the phone. The 2.4GHz channel is currently set to Auto (probably because I factory-reset it at some point since then). I'll try it again using one of the WiFi analyzer apps suggested here. I ordered a range extender but will try this first so that if I find a solution at 2.4GHz I can return the extender unopened :-).
 
*#0011#
menukey
wifi
WIFI Power Save Mode on too off(only lasts for the current boot)
but yea

wifi analyzer will show any wifi on channels, use the least busiest channel try 1 for a day, try 6 for a day try 11 for a day this is being 2.4ghz sometimes you would pick other channels but those are the 3 unique channels(can have 3 routers with aps, one on 1 one on 6 one on 11, making so they wont overlap. when you pick a channel, it uses the 2 numbers next to it both sides, so if you pick number 6, you be taking 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. for it. so less overlaps = better. hope this helps
 
OK, I decided to go with the range extender that I had already ordered. Problem solved. Now I get a solid 47Mbps download on the laptop and a perfectly acceptable 16Mbps on the Galaxy S3, both with 5 bars. FYI the range extender is a TP-Link AC750. Installation was a breeze.

It seems that 5GHz has little trouble going through wood-and-glass doors but big trouble going through masonry.
 
Maan I was gonna be the smartarse and talk about the higher frequency having a shorter wavelength and what happens.... A few smart asses get in first and blow my 1st chance at seeming intelligent on here.
Thanks guys!! :( :D
 
comps said:
*#0011#
menukey
wifi
WIFI Power Save Mode on too off(only lasts for the current boot)
but yea

wifi analyzer will show any wifi on channels, use the least busiest channel try 1 for a day, try 6 for a day try 11 for a day this is being 2.4ghz sometimes you would pick other channels but those are the 3 unique channels(can have 3 routers with aps, one on 1 one on 6 one on 11, making so they wont overlap. when you pick a channel, it uses the 2 numbers next to it both sides, so if you pick number 6, you be taking 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. for it. so less overlaps = better. hope this helps
Click to expand...
Just tried wifi analyser (thanks) and it seems our router is on a busy channel (one of the neighbours routers name is "I can hear you having sex" lol.

So how do I change channel? Is it done through a browser (im a PC idiot so Android would suit me far better)
(were on Virgin UK)
Thanks :thumbsupdroid:
 
I used it to determine the least busy channel. IIRC I set my router to broadcast on that channel. I didn't have to do anything on the clients. Mind you, I live in a single family home and was only picking up interference from my neighbors a couple hundred feet away.
 
So would that be like a Web site unique to my router mate?
I seem to remember, years ago having to type a long number into the browsers address bar?
I'll look into it tomorrow coz were getting like 3-5mb/s while my wife's 4g gets 40 lol
 
Unforgiven said:
I logged into the router via the my browser using the normal 192.168.1.1 ip address. I went to the wireless settings menu. Under the channel option I chose Channel 10 instead of automatic.
Click to expand...
Excellent mate cheers. So how do I find out my ip? (or are you saying I use the one you provided?
 
You should be able to use the IP I posted. Some may be different. If you are using Windows press and hold the windows key and hit the R button on the keyboard. Type in "cmd" and hit enter. From there type "ipconfig" and the address for your router will be the IP address listed under "Default Gateway".
 
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