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Help Epic WiFi issues

C

Caveman8

Lurker
Hello all,

I just got an Epic yesterday. I've been running in to problems with WiFi reception. Here are my specifics:

I have two access points set up.

A Linksys WAP54G running mixed mode b/g, WPA2 shared key, AES and broadcasting SSID, on channel 1

A Trendnet TEW 637AP running 802.11n only, WPA Shared key, AES and broadcasting SSID, on channel 11

It seems that my Epic has a difficult time staying connected to either of these access points. At distances where other equipment receives a very strong signal, the Epic is unable to connect.

Additionally, using "WiFi Analyzer", and a few other WiFi diagnostic apps on the Epic shows my WiFi signal varying widely in strength with the phone standing still. To be more specific, running inssider (a PC WiFi metering program) from a PC in my loft shows a steady signal strength of -50 dBm. Tools on the Epic show the same signal to be much weaker, and varying by 10 dBm from -80 dBm to -90 dBm. These measurements are all for the 802.11 n access point.

Even accounting for differences in calibration between the two programs, I shouldn't see a bouncing signal on the phone, and a solid signal on the PC two feet away.

I've come to the conclusion that the Samsung is doing something strange in handling the WiFi signal. A quick Google search turned up about a dozen other complaints of WiFi issues with the Epic, and a temporary fix - reset the phone to factory specs.

Here are my questions:

Is anyone else on this forum seeing this issue?
Is this a known Android 2.1 issue?
What sort of range is normal for an android phone on a WiFi connection?
Has anyone seen a difference in performance between b/g and n access points?

Thanks for any thoughts or info,

Caveman8
 
I am having a similar issue to those on the Sprint Thread. Just started last night getting the "unable to scan for networks". I haven't seen any discussion about this on the main board. Should there be a poll started over there about this?
 
I've discovered that I had overlooked something basic in my original setup - both of my access points were still using the same SSID. I modified one SSID and am now able to connect reliably at greater range.

I *still* see a bouncing WiFi signal from my Epic, and the strength displayed remains very low compared to that indicated by adjacent equipment. But my connection works.

I also made one other change - I put the device in airplane mode to turn off the 3G radio and then turned WiFi on via setup. I'm not sure if this helped any, other than to save some battery life.

Caveman8
 
So it doesn't sound like you are getting the error message that I am getting. I have a "guest" one set up on my wifi that doesn,t require a password if that is what you are referring to. Still doesn't help. Don't mean to hijack your thread about my issue if it is a separate one. I did post a thread about my problem before I saw yours. I am getting the sick feeling that Samsung has a problem here. Otherwise, except for battery issues and the wifi, I love this phone.
 
I'm having a similar issue. When I go into my home office the signal is very weak! The room is only about 30 feet away from my wireless modem!!

Any suggestions?
 
toyman317 said:
So it doesn't sound like you are getting the error message that I am getting. I have a "guest" one set up on my wifi that doesn,t require a password if that is what you are referring to. Still doesn't help. Don't mean to hijack your thread about my issue if it is a separate one. I did post a thread about my problem before I saw yours. I am getting the sick feeling that Samsung has a problem here. Otherwise, except for battery issues and the wifi, I love this phone.
Click to expand...
It looks as if your issue is different than mine, but similar to what I found in numerous places when searching for "Epic WiFi problem".

So hijack away, within forum constraints. My specific problem is resolved.

Good luck.
 
Caveman8 said:
I've discovered that I had overlooked something basic in my original setup - both of my access points were still using the same SSID. I modified one SSID and am now able to connect reliably at greater range.

I *still* see a bouncing WiFi signal from my Epic, and the strength displayed remains very low compared to that indicated by adjacent equipment. But my connection works.

I also made one other change - I put the device in airplane mode to turn off the 3G radio and then turned WiFi on via setup. I'm not sure if this helped any, other than to save some battery life.

Caveman8
Click to expand...


My original issues seem to have been resolved when I found my problem with duplicate SSIDs. However, I did do some tweaking of my WiFi infrastructure prior to making my discovery. That tweaking may also have had an effect. Here's what I checked or changed:

I used separate radios (access points) for 802.11n and 802.11b/g.

I set the two radios to use channels that were as far apart as possible (1 and 11).

I live in an area with very little WiFi traffic. All channels come up pretty clean on scans (other than my APs).


Since making these changes I
 
Hey Thanks Caveman. I was able to fix my problem although the signal strength seems to be suspect. Started working great after I toggled the Airplane Mode on and off. Doing that seemed to reset something and let it scan again.
 
Yesterday my WiFi stopped working. Turning it on failed to turn on the icon in the task bar, and the phone would not pull an IP from my router. Various reboots/battery removal had no effect.

I just created a static IP for the phone on my router. Entered the info on the phone and Boom! The status icon came back on the the phone connected to the network!

No idea if it is a permanent fix, or if it will help in other locations... Just thought it might help someone...

Lance
 
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