My router connection issues

[stevymac]

Need help with my router from true. True techs been out twice it works for a while then connection is rubbish again. Anyone good with things like this? If can come out and fix I'd be happy to pay.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Pib]

Probably don't have anything to do with your router, but the True line, be it fiber, cable/DOCSIS, or xDSL, goinig to your residence.  

 

Now if you are making a connection between your computer and the True router via Wifi within your residence and the connection is rubbish, be sure to try an ethernet/LAN cable connection.  If the connection is then fine, then you just have a Wifi problem...probably interference from other Wifi routers like neighbor's Wifi signals or you have a weak Wifi signal maybe due to fighting through obstacles such as walls/floors.   And using a 5Ghz band Wifi connection will most likely give a  better/faster Wifi connection than a 2.4Ghz band connection.

[Pib]

Regarding whether to use the 2.4 or 5Ghz band, you will usually be much better off using the 5Ghz band as it will probably be less crowded plus it uses a completely different transmission modulation method to achieve much higher speed.   Now the 2.4Ghz band will generally have better wall/floor/obstacle "penetrating" capability....that is, have less signal strength loss which also reduces speed than the 5Ghz band.  

 

Kind like when it raining/cloudy if you are using a KU band satellite system with the small dish since the KU band operates around 12Ghz it has a hard time penetrating the clouds/rain....just the nature of higher frequencies.  But that same person's neighbor who is using a C band satellite system with the big black dish operating around 4Ghz (much lower frequency that 12Ghz) should continue to receive a strong and clear signal with all those clouds/rain.   That the way it works for me as I have KU and C band dishes plus cable TV).  It not so much a bigger dish that must be used with C-band (lower the frequency the bigger the dish is needed) it's just the 4Ghz frequency band has much better penetrating capability than the 12Ghz frequency band.

 

But back to the Wifi 2.4 and 5Ghz band, especially when you have a lot of neighbors close by like living in a condo with "lots" of neighbors around you, there is a good chance "most" of them are operating on the 2.4Ghz band if they are just using the Wifi router provided to them by their Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as True, 3BB, AIS, etc., simply because they probably provided a router with only 2.4Ghz capability although ISPs are now beginning to provide routers with 2.4 and 5GHz capability as the cost of routers continue to come down and internet plans are increasing in speed....higher speed plans which I will classify as anything plans over 30Mb that a 2.4Ghz only router has a hard time or simply can not fully keep up with.   But some 2.4Ghz only routers are durn good....I have a 2.4Ghz only ASUS router (one I bought) which can handle up to around 100Mb speed on it's 2.4Ghz band, but a typical/lower cost 2.4Ghz router will max out far below that....probably around 45 to 50Mb.

 

Now for me, I live in a standalone house here in Bangkok....one neighbor's house  is only about 5 meters away which I pick up a strong signal from.  Next closest two neighbor's house 20 meters away and I pick up moderately strong Wifi signal from them.  And even pickup weak Wifi signals fromseveral neighbors further away like around 50 meters away.   All of these fine neigbors are operating on the 2.4Ghz while I have set my router up to also use the 5Ghz band for "most" of my devices (computers, smartphones, etc), but I still have to use the 2.4Ghz band also since I have a few devices than only have 2.4Ghz capability.   

 

Below is a snapshot using the Windows program InSSIDer showing me picking up 10 Wifi signals....4 of them of mind....the two strongest 2.4Ghz signals and the two 5Ghz signals.   I have two channels/signals on each band (2.4 and 5Ghz) since I use two routers....one for downstairs and one for upstairs to ensure strong signal coverage through my 2 story thick concrete walls/floors house.  The 6 other signals are all neighbor's 2.4Ghz signals.  All these 2.4Ghz signals have turned the 2.4Ghz band in my house's area into a 8 channels cage fight (neighbors six 2.4Ghz signals plus my two 2.4Ghz signals) with them interfering, beating-up on each other which can really reduce everyone's Wifi speed and connection reliability.   

 

But my two 5Ghz signals (I use a different channels for my upstairs and downstairs routers) are operating all by themselves, not overlapping, not interfering with each other....nothing like the 8 channels cage fight going on in the 2.4Ghz where the signals are overlapping, fighting with each, beating each other up, etc., with the end result max throughput speed possibly being lowered to a speed lower, even significantly lower, than what their internet plans are providing.   

 

Would recommend you use a variety of free apps out there, for computers or smart devices, to see what Wifi channels are operating in your area so you can adjust your 2.4 and/or 5Ghz channels usage according to get the least amount of interference which can really beat-down your Wifi speed....and that beat-down can vary greatly....be working fine for a few hours (or minutes or days) and then all of sudden out of the blue be operating like rubbish.  

 

The problem may simply be Wifi interference...if you get a stable, full speed connection when using an ethernet cable connection between the router and your device then Wifi interference is most likely the problem.  But if the connection is not improved by using a direct ethernet connection then it's most likely a problem with the ISP's line coming to  your house, his local circuit, or his central servers....only your ISP can fix that problem.  

 

I was with True DOCSIS/cable for over 5 years (now with AIS Fibre) but on True's lower speed plans...20Mb and 15Mb....the True uptime/reliability was like 99.99%.   And once I got my Wifi channel usage setup to minimize/eliminate signal interference....I only use Wifi in my house....I never had a problem with rubbish connections.   This is not imply True's "international" speed was great, as it wasn't....just OK most of the time.   

 

2.4GHz band on left side (look at all the channels overlapping each other); 5Ghz band on the right (no overlapping signals)

[partington]

I don't know much about this but isn't signal strength a log scale? And wouldn't this mean that your neighbours signals are, at 80dB, about 1000 times less strong than your own at 50dB?

 

Does this still mean they can seriously interfere?  (Some of my neighbours signals are 45dB while mine are 50dB!)