News:

On Tuesday September 6th the forum will be down for maintenance from 9:30 PM to 11:59 PM PDT

Main Menu

Wifi disconnects

Started by alivoiper, February 28, 2021, 06:28:46 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

alivoiper

I have an netgear Orbi 753 (mesh system with one router and 2 satellites). I have a very noisy environment but have found the 753 to provide very reliable wifi. I have 70+ wifi devices especially with 4 people constant Zoom for school/work.

2 of my 70+ devices constantly drop wifi. Both my Obihai Obi2182 phone and Epson printer can connect to wifi without a problem, however, they will drop their connection (sometimes after a short amount of time, sometimes after a few days). When the wifi connection drops, I can't reconnect even after putting in the SSID and password. If I change to the guest network it will connect to the guest network. Then I can go back to my main network by switching to the main network. Or I can unplug my Obi for a short amount of time, replug it back in and it will connect back to the wifi. I tried to use a fixed IP address and that does not fix it. This is the exact same issue with my Epson.

It's also strange because sometimes the phone (or the printer) works for days. Other times hours. To be clear, it's not that they both disconnect at the same time it's just that both of these are the only devices that have this issue of my 70+ devices.

I do not think any of my other devices have the same problem. Just those two.

Not sure what would cause only these two devices to have this issue... Maybe they "roam" and are trying to reconnect or there is a security issue where it roams to a different satellite?

I decided to hardwire my phone because I had calls constantly disconnecting. When hardwired there is no issue so its not like the router is causing the disconnect (at least while hardwired).

Any suggestions welcome to make my wifi connection to my Obi2182 more stable?

SteveInWA

Your issue is, of course, off-topic for this forum, since it's a WiFi network problem.  My guess is that you simply have too much stuff competing for the same WiFi channel(s).

You found the obvious solution for the phone:  leave it connected via Ethernet.  I just set up another Epson printer last night, by coincidence, and it worked perfectly over WiFi on a LAN with far fewer devices.  I'd suggest connecting it, and as many other devices as possible, via Ethernet vs. WiFi for improved reliability.

alivoiper

Steve, I do appreciate your reply but could not disagree more.

First of all, it relates to my phone's wifi, so it's not off topic. If I have 70 devices that have no connection issues and only 2 have an issue, then it's a setting with the devices.

Second, my router is capable of handling the traffic. I'm not having issues where the wifi is unstable. It disconnects and won't reconnect. Would it be better to have them wired? Sure. However, sometimes I want to use it in another location where I can't hardwire it.

Third, no offense but your logic regarding your epson printer is really specious. I mean, is your epson the same printer model? Same router? Plus my printer does connect. It just loses connection and won't reconnect. I brought up my printer because it may be a similar setting on the printer and the phone that is causing the disconnects.

Finally, if my wife and kids can be on zoom video classes/meetings and my other kids can watch netflix etc on thier devices (iphones, tablets, computers etc) with no issues, no video quality issues - no disconnects, and ONLY the phone and printer have a problem... its the phone and the printer. Since its the wifi of the phone it's on topic.

Sure, I could wires running all over my house... and just turn off wifi... I could also have corded phones... Heck, who needs a mobile phone? Lets just use landlines! Or tin cans connected to a string!

My point is that the phone has the capability to be wireless and I want to use that feature but its not working properly. I did open a support ticket... but thought I'd ask this forum in case anyone has ideas how to change settings or fix it so that I can use my phone via Wifi.

Thanks!

SteveInWA

There is no setting nor other solution in the phone that would cause or fix that issue.  I can tell you that the WiFi adapter in those phones is pretty sub-par, in terms of signal strength/quality.  Among other factors, it has no external antenna(s), is buried in the phone, and has very poor range.  I have two 2182s.  One is in a direct line-of-sight to the router and it works fine.  The other is in a corner with wallboard and whatever wiring is inside the wallboard separating it from the router on the other side of that wall.  It can't reliably maintain a strong enough connection.  I ran Ethernet cable to it instead.

Good luck with your ticket, but frankly, there is nothing you can do with the phone's settings to make it work better, other than to only use 2.4GHz band, which tends to survive crappy signal issues.

alivoiper

is there a way to change the phone to 2.4 only?

drgeoff

Quote from: alivoiper on March 02, 2021, 11:35:22 AM
is there a way to change the phone to 2.4 only?
One reason why I dislike Wi-Fi systems that cannot be configured with different SSIDs for the 2.54 and 5 GHz bands.

SteveInWA

#6
Quote from: drgeoff on March 02, 2021, 11:50:54 AM
Quote from: alivoiper on March 02, 2021, 11:35:22 AM
is there a way to change the phone to 2.4 only?
One reason why I dislike Wi-Fi systems that cannot be configured with different SSIDs for the 2.54 and 5 GHz bands.

Welcome to the future:  801.11s mesh networking and 801.11ax WiFi 6.  It really depends on the brand, complexity and price point.  I have a new and quite expensive Amplifi Alien mesh router system.  The main SSID will enable connections on either frequency, and to any of the mesh points, automatically.  However, my router also supports additional SSIDs for the 2.4 and 5 GHz radios (it has multiple hardware radios).

There are two solutions to the OP's problem, other than using Ethernet:  if possible, disable the router's 5G radio temporarily, then setup the phone, which will grab a 2.4GHz connection.  It's possible that it will retain that connection after re-enabling the 5G radio, but all bets are off if the router and/or the phone are power-cycled.

The other solution, which I have had to use with one device (which is in the garage, and can't connect via the weaker 5GHz signal, and is too stupid to fallback to 2.4GHz), is to add an old-school WiFi extender in AP mode (the extender is connected to the router via Ethernet, and is simply a pure access point).  Disable the 5G radio in the extender, or give it a different SSID.  The product I am using is an inexpensive TP-Link RE220.  This could also be deployed the opposite way:  connect the extender to the router via WiFi and plug the phone into the extender via Ethernet.  This reverse solution won't work with my mesh router, but I am just listing it for completeness.

alivoiper

I may try connecting an extender via Wifi and plugging it in. What I don't understand is why I can connect, have "5 bars" and perfect wifi and then it drops and won't connect again. My desktop and laptop have a setting for roaming aggressiveness and a way to only connect to 2.4 band. The phone has a wifi. There should be software that makes the wifi chip work. The software should be able to lower aggressiveness etc. I have plenty of devices that connect to 2.4 and don't drop like this, including some very old devices.

I really think this is a software issue that causes it to drop and then not reconnect, especially when it gives me an "authentication error". That suggests to me that its getting confused by the different satellites. There should be a way for the software to tell it to stick to one satellite or not drop if they don't match.

Maybe I'm wrong.

drgeoff

Quote from: alivoiper on March 03, 2021, 02:24:06 PM
I may try connecting an extender via Wifi and plugging it in. What I don't understand is why I can connect, have "5 bars" and perfect wifi and then it drops and won't connect again. My desktop and laptop have a setting for roaming aggressiveness and a way to only connect to 2.4 band. The phone has a wifi. There should be software that makes the wifi chip work. The software should be able to lower aggressiveness etc. I have plenty of devices that connect to 2.4 and don't drop like this, including some very old devices.

I really think this is a software issue that causes it to drop and then not reconnect, especially when it gives me an "authentication error". That suggests to me that its getting confused by the different satellites. There should be a way for the software to tell it to stick to one satellite or not drop if they don't match.

Maybe I'm wrong.
I have a mesh Wi-Fi system though not a Netgear one.  The configuration software for that system, not the clients, enables a client to be bound to a chosen satellite.

alivoiper

I tested it with a wifi extender. The extender which is 2.4 only connects to the router. Plugged my phone into the extender's ethernet port and works like a charm.

So frustrating that I need an extender to connect when it has wifi embedded. I'm still waiting for Poly support to get back to me.