Broadband Dropping Out

[dan_taylor]

Hi all,

Whilst my Sky broadband is fine, my Grandad suffers from frequent drop outs when he is using his laptop.

This is solved by a reboot of the router.

It's a Sky SR102 router.

I've changed the wireless channel from auto to channel 06 and also turned UPnP off. This seems to have helped a little.

I have a feeling that it may be something to do with the noise margins. Both downstream and upstream seem very low.

I've pasted the stats as of now, 16:57, 10/08/2014.

Broadband Link	Downstream	Upstream
Connection Speed	14268 kbps	1252 kbps
Line Attenuation	34.5 dB	21.3 dB
Noise Margin	3.3 dB	4.4 dB

Can anyone offer any advice to rectify the issue, so the connection is more stable for him.

Thanks in advance!

[dan_taylor]

Update: I've just ran a speed test on speedtest.net, and the download speeds here are 12.10 Mbps.

Not sure if this helps, I think perhaps the line is not stable enough for this speed.

Thanks again!

[Isitme]

Although the noise margins are low, they are acceptable or DLM would not have set them. If the laptop is dropping the wireless connection its more likely to be a wireless problem. Best thing to do is download Inssider from the link below and use it to find the quietest channel in the area. If all the channels are busy, then channel 13 is often a good bet.

[dan_taylor]

Thanks Isitme! I'll give InSSIDer a try when I'm next round there.

Just a hint, though, the link in your signature for InSSIDer is no longer working!

[bubblegun]

Channel 6 is usually the most congested as most basic routers seem to default to this for some reason.

[Isitme]

Thanks Isitme! I'll give InSSIDer a try when I'm next round there.

Just a hint, though, the link in your signature for InSSIDer is no longer working!

Link fixed.

Not only is channel 6 the most popular, channel 7 which overlaps it, is the default channel for older BT Hubs, many of which are still in use.

[dan_taylor]

Hi all,

Thanks for your help so far!

I've installed InSSIDer and now changed the channel to 01, it turns out that all the other networks around here use channel 06.

I'll report back in a few days to see if there's any change.

The problem is worst at around 4PM in the evening, which makes me question whether changing the channel will make any difference...

[Scubbie]

Is it possible that there might be something that a neighbour is using at that time, such as a Microwave Oven or a DECT telephone which uses the same frequency?

Both affect the 2.4GHz frequencies.

[Isitme]

The problem is worst at around 4PM in the evening, which makes me question whether changing the channel will make any difference...

Check Inssider when the problem is at its worst. It is possible some networks are just switching on at that time (schools out?) and may be on the channel you are set to. Unfortunately the 2.4 band is heavily congested not only by routers, but by phones, baby monitors, etc.. Your best bet may be to buy a 5ghz router to take you out of the 2.4 bandwidth all together.