Powerline

bouicca21

I'm having problems with slow internet speed. My internet cones down the phone line and is usually between 15 and 17 download speed. At times it drops markedly and this seems to be down to wifi interference. Changing to channel 11 hasn't solved it, so I'll try another channel today.

However I do have some powerline plugs - they must be well over 10 years old. Should I replace them with new? Presumably like everything else the technology has moved on?

neilmcl

Before you go about replacing them, give the powerline adaptors a go.

Are you sure it's down to your wifi signal, have you tested this by connecting directly to the router via an ethernet cable.

psychic_teabag

When you say you have some powerline plugs.. are you actually using them ? If not, the obvious money-saving answer is give them a try, and only replace them if they're inadequate. Do they indicate what rate they offer ? According to wikipedia, Homeplug AV from 2005 (which is what I'm using) is 200Mbs, which should be far in excess of your internet speed, so upgrading to something even faster seems unnecessary. Homeplug 1.0 from 2001 was only 14Mbs, which would limit your overall rate (though it would at least be consistent, which might be sufficient for your needs).


I'd try testing the download speed with your computer wired to your router, so that you can definitely eliminate the possibility that it's just your internet connection slowing down. (Either that, or get the router to run a speed test of its own, if that's offered.) Unless you know for sure that it's wireless interference, of course.

If you are using the adapters and are getting dropouts, it could be that something is generating interference on the mains, and a newer powerline adapter might well suffer just as badly.

SouthUKMan

Hi. I's worth spending a few minutes doing some basic fault checking before investing in new powerline adapters.

1) Plug an ethernet cable directly into your router and PC - is the speed now consistent, or does it still vary? If the speed is consistent, then you have a wifi issue (either channel interference from neighbours, a faulty router OR possibly your PC's wifi itself has gone faulty...you can check this by logging on with other wife devices). If the speed is still fluctuating, then your router could be faulty or there could be an external fault (eg. connection box outside your house, by the road, or with your service provider).

A few more thoughts. If your router is faulty, then your broadband provider should likely provide a free replacement (most do). Also, if your router is faulty - as opposed to being subject to interference from neighbours wifi - then simply plugging in new or old powerline adapters won't solve your issue, as they rely on receiving a solid signal to start with in order to pass on the signal.

Really hope that helps.

bouicca21

Sorry should have said that when my laptop is plugged directly into the router the speed is fine. Thus Plusnet reckon it was interference and we swapped to channel 11. Today the problem is just as bad. How would I tell if it is a faulty router?

The desktop and iPad are slow. They were slowing in the evening but now are slow most of the day too. Both are connecting via wifi. I did have the desktop connected by powerline but it started kicking off, saying no IP address, and refusing to connect at all, so I tried disabling the wired connection and just using wifi, which was substantially slower than the proverbial paint drying.

FYI last summer I was able to sit in the garden and connect to wifi at a decent speed - that's way further away than my desktop is. However that was with another router and a different ISP. I still have the old router (too old for the ISP to want it back) so if I knew how to make it work with Plusnet I suppose that might be a basis for considering whether the new router is faulty?

neilmcl

Might be worth downloading and install inSSider from Metageek. It'll give you an idea of how congested your wifi signal is.

bouicca21

Thanks for all the advice so far. I've downloaded the free version of inSSIDer. Strangely since I set the channel to 11 yesterday it said I was using channel 1. Checked the router and found it was set to auto. Pretty sure I changed channel correctly but maybe I didn't.

Changed to 11 now. On the inSSIDer display on my laptop, the 2 top results both register channel 4, and under the heading RSSI have solid flat green lines and .58. Mine is the third result, also has a green line and has a fluctuating level in the region of 40. This is good, yes? But disconnecting the Ethernet cable immediately pushed the reading up into the 50s and 60s.

The download speed has crept up a bit but I suppose it will take a little while for it to settle so I will check again later tonight.

were

use the home plugs

Frozen_up_north

were wrote: »

use the home plugs

Not much use for iPads, phones and the garden...

Often I pick up a dozen or so WiFi signals. I guess most are 2.4GHz, in many homes congestion is almost a certainty. In addition, some non WiFi devices can use 2.4GHz, such as cctv cameras, baby monitors, etc... it all adds to the fog.

Newer routers also have 5GHz (802.11a), which has 23 channels and may help provided your devices also have that band and you get enough range.

were

Frozen_up_north wrote: »

Not much use for iPads, phones and the garden...

Please re-think about the Home plugs. These support both wifi AND ethernet
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Passthrough-Beamforming-UK-TL-PA9020P-KIT/dp/B01FFBN4MO/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

DavidP24

Does it happen at a certain time of day, e.g. when billy upstairs starts downloading virtual machines or torrents?

So although Plusnet traffic shape you, his ISP may not, so he may be swamping the bandwidth.

I had a friend with this issue in California. now if you think we have it bad here you need to see it there, 52 SSID's, what I found was they all had AC routers, so their signal was way more powerful.

So my friend went out and got the strongest AC router they could buy, it solved the problem although I suspect another poor sod was then affected.

I got some wifi sniffing software, was quite good but I can't remember the name, thing is you have to check it for at least 24 hours, ideally more.