sry, I didnt know where this belonged. My parents were trying to stream netflix on their tablet from their bedroom (their modem and router in the livingroom), but they were saying the connection was laggy, it kept buffering. I came over with my Galaxy Note 8.0, connected to their wifi, downloaded and opened the "Wifi Analyzer" app, started next to the router and walked to their bedroom. By the time I stopped the signal was at about -72 dBm. Im wondering if there is a minimum that a signal strength has to be in order to stream smoothly. I know the higher the strength the better, that goes without saying. But im looking at possibly either having to hardwire to the bedroom, setup a repeater/booster router, or simply moving the router. Im hoping I can just do the later, but either way, more network cable will be required.
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at what -dBm does streaming get laggy
- Thread starter varxtis
- Start date
-72dBm is actually relatively strong and should stream stuff just fine.
Have you thought about changing what channel the router uses? If there are a lot of devices connected to the router or there are a number of other routers in the area, the channel could be congested.
The WiFi Analyzer app will be able to tell you what the best channel is.
Have you thought about changing what channel the router uses? If there are a lot of devices connected to the router or there are a number of other routers in the area, the channel could be congested.
The WiFi Analyzer app will be able to tell you what the best channel is.
I did not know that. Im very confident that they do not have enough devices connected to it to make a difference. But could you explain how the channels work a bit more or direct me to a decent site? Embarrassingly enough, I never took too much consideration of the "channel" option, just leaving it to its default set which is usually 6.
In regards to the dBm though... the scale provided on WIFI Analyzer is scale of -30 to -100. Im under the impression that -100 is the lowest signal you can have, 0 being the best. So i thought -72 would be considerably weak...
Close standing a foot away the signal strength is around -33. At my house it almost an identical reading on my network.
In regards to the dBm though... the scale provided on WIFI Analyzer is scale of -30 to -100. Im under the impression that -100 is the lowest signal you can have, 0 being the best. So i thought -72 would be considerably weak...
Close standing a foot away the signal strength is around -33. At my house it almost an identical reading on my network.
brecklundin
Lurker
Download an app called Wifi Analyzer. Use that on your Android device to examine the wifi conditions then set the router accordingly. It's pretty obvious how to setup to mimimze channel overlap with other nearby router.
also google a bit about 2.4GHz interference. There are many things common to a household which will cause wifi issues,
also any hardwired devices on the network could be causing issues if/they are starting to fail. Even a bad network cable can affect the whole network.
good luck!
also google a bit about 2.4GHz interference. There are many things common to a household which will cause wifi issues,
also any hardwired devices on the network could be causing issues if/they are starting to fail. Even a bad network cable can affect the whole network.
good luck!
I definitely appreciate any degree of practical response, so right off the bat I want to thank you Brecklundin.
1.)"Download an app called Wifi Analyzer. Use that on your Android device to examine the wifi conditions then set the router accordingly."
Please make sure to read an individual's full post when trying to help...
I had already explained I did that. Its a really impressive tool. I found myself wanting to walk back and forth just to see how quickly the scale went up and down lol.
2.) "It's pretty obvious how to setup to mimimze channel overlap with other nearby router."
I know that sometimes when im explaining something tablet or computer related to a friend or family member I have to remember that it may be Greek to them, that just because it's "obvious" to me, it may not be so obvious to another person. Help is only helpful if you help... not just boastabout what you know lol
The matter of Channels is not so obvious to me... can you fill me in a bit or post a good link you could suggest? Id appreciate it very much.
And thank you again for your help
1.)"Download an app called Wifi Analyzer. Use that on your Android device to examine the wifi conditions then set the router accordingly."
Please make sure to read an individual's full post when trying to help...
I had already explained I did that. Its a really impressive tool. I found myself wanting to walk back and forth just to see how quickly the scale went up and down lol.
2.) "It's pretty obvious how to setup to mimimze channel overlap with other nearby router."
I know that sometimes when im explaining something tablet or computer related to a friend or family member I have to remember that it may be Greek to them, that just because it's "obvious" to me, it may not be so obvious to another person. Help is only helpful if you help... not just boastabout what you know lol
The matter of Channels is not so obvious to me... can you fill me in a bit or post a good link you could suggest? Id appreciate it very much.
And thank you again for your help
Changing the channel on the router can differ between models. On Mine, I access the router admin panel, then head to Advanced Settings -> Wireless Networks.
What make and model router are you using?
Once you've found the option, changing it is as simple as selecting from a drop down.
What make and model router are you using?
Once you've found the option, changing it is as simple as selecting from a drop down.
No need to apologise, I just think I misunderstood.
Think of channels on your router like a motorway. If that motorway is busy, with tonnes of cars, it's probably going to take longer to and be a bit more difficult to get to where you want to go.
If there are no other cars on the motorway, it's plain sailing.
Does that make sense?
It's not a perfect example, but it's probably the easiest way of looking at it.
Think of channels on your router like a motorway. If that motorway is busy, with tonnes of cars, it's probably going to take longer to and be a bit more difficult to get to where you want to go.
If there are no other cars on the motorway, it's plain sailing.
Does that make sense?
It's not a perfect example, but it's probably the easiest way of looking at it.
The areas between houses are large enough where I can't imagine residence of one house on their network effecting another network in another house, but I want to ask just to understand a bit better:
1.) If two residents/houses live close enough, have their own networks, completely different SSIDs, Passwords, even encryption types, but happen to both use channel 6, can they still effect one another and merge traffic on the freeway/motorway?
2.a) If so, is that where a tool like Wifi Analyzer comes in handy to see the congestion of any given channel, and select one with the least traffic in the area when setting it up?
2.b) If it doesnt effect/interfere with other local networks in the neighbor hood, i guess I still don't understand the purpose of it with your own network since you can only have 1 channel per router/network? Or maybe its more for if you have to have a secondary router as a booster or signal repeater?
Sorry, but this is actually helpful and very interesting. If I can adjust settings appropriately to maximize signal strength, it makes me curious ^_^
1.) If two residents/houses live close enough, have their own networks, completely different SSIDs, Passwords, even encryption types, but happen to both use channel 6, can they still effect one another and merge traffic on the freeway/motorway?
2.a) If so, is that where a tool like Wifi Analyzer comes in handy to see the congestion of any given channel, and select one with the least traffic in the area when setting it up?
2.b) If it doesnt effect/interfere with other local networks in the neighbor hood, i guess I still don't understand the purpose of it with your own network since you can only have 1 channel per router/network? Or maybe its more for if you have to have a secondary router as a booster or signal repeater?
Sorry, but this is actually helpful and very interesting. If I can adjust settings appropriately to maximize signal strength, it makes me curious ^_^
1 - Yep, if both are using the same channel/frequency, even though everything else is different, they can interfere with each other.
2a) Yep, select one with the least congestion. On initial setup, I suppose you'd be best to check when the only device connected to the network is your phone running WiFi Analyser.
b) I've no experience with signal booster or repeaters, so I can't really answer that one, sorry.
2a) Yep, select one with the least congestion. On initial setup, I suppose you'd be best to check when the only device connected to the network is your phone running WiFi Analyser.
b) I've no experience with signal booster or repeaters, so I can't really answer that one, sorry.