3BB router limits number of wifi devices?

[Iamemjay]

I have the basic 3BB 10mb broadband plan in my home. My family already uses the wifi capability with a laptop, and mobile devices - 2 tablets, 2 mobile telephones. However we need to add two new telephones, but both of them refuse to connect to the wifi, showing "authentication problem" despite the fact that correct passwords are being used and the wifi settings are all correct. (These phones work on other wifi networks (eg. coffee shops) without any problem.)

 

My question is whether there is some sort of limit imposed by 3BB on domestic routers as to the number of devices which may be able to be used (not all at the same time of course) and how, if such a limit exists, one may remove a device from the list which the router supports?

 

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

[mistephenso]

If you are talking about the standard 'white' 3BB router, then you may be limited to the number of Wifi connections...!? I think it all depends on the type of router you are using....

Have you tried logging into the Admin GUI to see what it says about connections there (normally the default IP address is 192.168.1.1 - see here for one of the manuals)? You will probably need a direct (cabled) connection to open the GUI.

Good luck!

[Iamemjay]

Hmm. Problem solved (inexplicably!)

 

For all previous devices we successfully used the password which I chose when 3BB first installed the router - no problem. So, mistephenso (heads up to you!) following your wise suggestion of getting into the configuration of the router I dug out my router original documentation and discovered another password which the 3BB techie had handwritten in the margin. I tried this in the phone and it worked!

 

Why is this device treated differently?? Go figure!

[KittenKong]

The current 3BB router is capable of creating up to 4 different wifi networks, which can be kept separate for security reasons. So it may be that the technician configured a second wifi network with a different password, whilst retaining the first network.

What is certain is that if you use one password for one wifi network on one device then you cannot possibly use a different password for the same wifi network on another device.

[Mobi]

I have a standard 3BB connection at my bar which I share with the adjacent bar.

 

Last Sunday I had a big crowd in watching the F1 and my phone would not connect to the wifi. I tried over and over, checked the password was correct and even re-started the phone, but no luck.

 

In the meantime my lap top was connected and was working fine.

 

When all the F1 punters had left, I tried again and the phone immediately connected.

 

According to a friend who works in the mobile phone business, the wifi routers are usually set to a max number of users, he thought 16 but it could be as low as 8.

 

I very much doubt that there were 16 users logged on, but there could have well have been 8, so I am assuming that was the problem.

 

I think 8 user maximum is fine otherwise the bandwidth allocation will be too low to work properly. 

[KittenKong]

The 3BB router does have a client limit setting that by default is set to 4 but is turned off by default also. Maybe someone has turned it on?

In theory you can have lots more connected clients than that, but it is all going to get very slow as mentioned. A domestic grade router will probably fall over completely if asked to deal with more than 10-20 clients.

[RichCor]

I have a standard 3BB connection at my bar which I share with the adjacent bar.

 

Last Sunday I had a big crowd in watching the F1 and my phone would not connect to the wifi. I tried over and over, checked the password was correct and even re-started the phone, but no luck.

 

In the meantime my lap top was connected and was working fine.

 

When all the F1 punters had left, I tried again and the phone immediately connected.

 

According to a friend who works in the mobile phone business, the wifi routers are usually set to a max number of users, he thought 16 but it could be as low as 8.

 

I very much doubt that there were 16 users logged on, but there could have well have been 8, so I am assuming that was the problem.

 

I think 8 user maximum is fine otherwise the bandwidth allocation will be too low to work properly. 

 

When connecting via WiFi, people usually rely on the router's DHCP service to 'Dynamically' issue them an IP address from a reserved pool of IP addresses. If all the reserved IP addresses are assigned then no more can be issues until they're released for re-use.

 

You can adjust the amount of reserved IP pool addresses, but each device connected reserves WiFi and Router resources (Memory, NAT tables, CPU time, etc) and eventually maxes out the device.

 

Many routers also have the ability to serve 'Fixed' IP addresses to devices that have a pre-registed MAC address recorded in the setup.  I use this so my Laptop and Smartphone get issued the same IP address every time and they're easily remembered. If this is set up you'll always get a connection.

[FreedomRouters]

I have a standard 3BB connection at my bar which I share with the adjacent bar.

 

Last Sunday I had a big crowd in watching the F1 and my phone would not connect to the wifi. I tried over and over, checked the password was correct and even re-started the phone, but no luck.

 

In the meantime my lap top was connected and was working fine.

 

When all the F1 punters had left, I tried again and the phone immediately connected.

 

According to a friend who works in the mobile phone business, the wifi routers are usually set to a max number of users, he thought 16 but it could be as low as 8.

 

I very much doubt that there were 16 users logged on, but there could have well have been 8, so I am assuming that was the problem.

 

I think 8 user maximum is fine otherwise the bandwidth allocation will be too low to work properly. 

 

@Mobi, Not sure you've looked into this yet but a router upgraded with certain firmwares will optimize signal clarity and stability, as well as provide some powerful bandwidth management and user management capabilities which should help eliminate that issue you described. A good choice for a bar or restaurant would be this Asus model for example. Good luck.