Can anyone help with my damn home network issue

[The.316]

Its been a couple of months now. I got the router swapped for a new one, which is a new model from the phone company. I keep getting my connections frozen, or slowed down to the extreme, for a few seconds, then it would go back to normal. I spoke to the tech support, and one person told me that it could be the switch that I am using with my TV, PS5, etc., but Ive never heard of the switch messing with my wifi. The switch is a few months old, and I like I said, I wasnt having this problem around a month a so ago.

I thought maybe Id run new ethernet wires to that switch, which I will do regardless, but again, I dont think that is the issue. It seems that something is bottling up my network. Sometimes, I would be on my ipad, and my iphone would not work on the network, so I forgot the network, and re-added it. After I would do that, I would lose the network on my iPad.

I created a 2nd 2.4GHz network just for the door sensors and LED adaptors, made the names all hidden, and changed the passwords, but I am still getting this pause in my network throughout the day.

BTW...my network is 100/10. I usually get 95-100/10 wired, around 93/10 wireless, but only on the 5GHz channel. On the 2.4GHz channel, I get 40/10 max.

Someone suggested to me that I just get a wifi router, and turn off the wifi on the modem/router I have now. But that seems like a bandaid rather than a cure. Anyone have any thoughts or opinions on the matter? Its driving me crazy. And its impossible to talk to the tech support of the phone company, because I know more than most of them there, unfortunately.

 

[velocityg4]

Just to clarify. You said you've put in your own WiFi router and turned off the ISP included WiFi. Did this resolve the issue and the issue is only when using the ISP included WiFi?

Since you commented about being concerned it is just a bandaid. It isn't. Using your own WiFi equipment and relegating the ISP hardware to nothing but a fancy modem is a perfectly valid solution.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

You just need to start narrowing stuff down honestly with questions such as;

- Are any of the hardwire devices affected that are connected to the switch? If not then you can probably rule out any physical hardware/cable issues.

- If only the wifi devices are affected then start looking at that, maybe placement of the router or go extreme and factory reset the router.

- If the router is in an open area and factoring resetting doesn't work then try disconnecting the switch from the router to see if the switch is causing issues (effectively you're using two switches since the router is a switch as well). If that works then you need to either re-evaluate your setup or settings. You could try a hub instead of a switch but it would be much slower.

The "proper" way would be to take the internet port from your current router and run it into a separate router then connected everything to the separate router. You would disable any wifi SSIDs from your old router in the process and basically just use it to get the "internet" from point A (old router) to point B (new router).

 

[The.316]

Just to clarify. You said you've put in your own WiFi router and turned off the ISP included WiFi. Did this resolve the issue and the issue is only when using the ISP included WiFi?

Since you commented about being concerned it is just a bandaid. It isn't. Using your own WiFi equipment and relegating the ISP hardware to nothing but a fancy modem is a perfectly valid solution.

No. I am working off the ISPs modem/router, which was just switched out. I was recommended by someone to turn off the wifi on the ISP modem/router, and go with a different router. Something like this:

Xiaomi Mi Router 4A (Gigabit Version) Ασύρματο Router Wi‑Fi 5 με 2 Θύρες Gigabit Ethernet

Δες τιμή, χαρακτηριστικά & πραγματικές κριτικές χρηστών για το προϊόν Xiaomi Mi Router 4A (Gigabit Version) Ασύρματο Router Wi‑Fi 5 με 2 Θύρες Gigabit Ethernet. Αγόρασε εύκολα μέσω Skroutz!

www.skroutz.gr

It seems that it has two ethernet ports on the back, so I can run it where I have the switch now, and plug the switch into that.

I figured that since I was going the route of turning off the wifi on the ISP modem/router, and using a 3rd party router, maybe that was bandaid-ing the problem. So this would be a way to go?

You just need to start narrowing stuff down honestly with questions such as;

- Are any of the hardwire devices affected that are connected to the switch? If not then you can probably rule out any physical hardware/cable issues.

- If only the wifi devices are affected then start looking at that, maybe placement of the router or go extreme and factory reset the router.

- If the router is in an open area and factoring resetting doesn't work then try disconnecting the switch from the router to see if the switch is causing issues (effectively you're using two switches since the router is a switch as well). If that works then you need to either re-evaluate your setup or settings. You could try a hub instead of a switch but it would be much slower.

The "proper" way would be to take the internet port from your current router and run it into a separate router then connected everything to the separate router. You would disable any wifi SSIDs from your old router in the process and basically just use it to get the "internet" from point A (old router) to point B (new router).

So when I was on the phone with the technician from the ISP, they had me disconnect the ethernet cable running to the switch. When I did so, he saw my speeds go up to normal, which is around 100. When I reconnected the switch, the speeds went back down. The thing is, Ive never had this problem before a couple of months ago.

What I am using is this:



Similar to that. I think the one I have is 1000/100 one, if that makes any difference. The only thing connected to that is my Samsung TV, Apple TV, PS5, and Cosmote TV, which is like a cable box. The PS5 and Cosmote TV are off when Im not using them, not on standby.

Another example....most times when I leave, or open/close a balcony door, my iphone/watch would signal that the door was opened or closed. Sometimes, I wouldnt get that message for a few seconds later. Once in a while, Id get it minutes later.

And as I am typing right now, on my iMac, which is connected via the 5GHz wifi, my Apple TV is playing a music streaming app on it, and the music is cutting out, like its losing the signal. Again, the Apple TV is connected via ethernet, via the switch.

I dont know what the #$% to do, its just frustrating.

 

[rhett7660]

Just to clarify. You said you've put in your own WiFi router and turned off the ISP included WiFi. Did this resolve the issue and the issue is only when using the ISP included WiFi?

Since you commented about being concerned it is just a bandaid. It isn't. Using your own WiFi equipment and relegating the ISP hardware to nothing but a fancy modem is a perfectly valid solution.

This is the way. I would imagine, most if not all of the WiFi equipment you receive from the phone company is going to be "not that good". I basically turned off all of my WiFi setting on my issued router and now use my Mesh networked router as the main WiFi point.

 

[oneMadRssn]

As someone said above, you need to narrow it down.

Unplug and turn off everything. Then start adding stuff one at a time, testing between each one.

Start with just your ISP modem/router and your Mac plugged via ethernet (AND NOTHING ELSE, NO SWITCH, NOTHING). Does it work well?

Then add the switch, test again. Then add other devices one at a time, and test again. So on and on. This should narrow it down for you.

What you described, especially with the balcony door stuff, sounds like it might be an wiring issue on the incoming signal from your ISP.

 

[The.316]

As someone said above, you need to narrow it down.

Unplug and turn off everything. Then start adding stuff one at a time, testing between each one.

Start with just your ISP modem/router and your Mac plugged via ethernet (AND NOTHING ELSE, NO SWITCH, NOTHING). Does it work well?

Then add the switch, test again. Then add other devices one at a time, and test again. So on and on. This should narrow it down for you.

What you described, especially with the balcony door stuff, sounds like it might be an wiring issue on the incoming signal from your ISP.

Just so you are understand, Im using a wireless door sensor from Sonoff, which works with an app on my devices. I believe its bluetooth, and connects to the wifi network, without a hub. I cant use it in Home, but it works with my Alexa devices.

 

[velocityg4]

No. I am working off the ISPs modem/router, which was just switched out. I was recommended by someone to turn off the wifi on the ISP modem/router, and go with a different router. Something like this:

Xiaomi Mi Router 4A (Gigabit Version) Ασύρματο Router Wi‑Fi 5 με 2 Θύρες Gigabit Ethernet

Δες τιμή, χαρακτηριστικά & πραγματικές κριτικές χρηστών για το προϊόν Xiaomi Mi Router 4A (Gigabit Version) Ασύρματο Router Wi‑Fi 5 με 2 Θύρες Gigabit Ethernet. Αγόρασε εύκολα μέσω Skroutz!

www.skroutz.gr

It seems that it has two ethernet ports on the back, so I can run it where I have the switch now, and plug the switch into that.

I figured that since I was going the route of turning off the wifi on the ISP modem/router, and using a 3rd party router, maybe that was bandaid-ing the problem. So this would be a way to go?



So when I was on the phone with the technician from the ISP, they had me disconnect the ethernet cable running to the switch. When I did so, he saw my speeds go up to normal, which is around 100. When I reconnected the switch, the speeds went back down. The thing is, Ive never had this problem before a couple of months ago.

What I am using is this:

View attachment 2000760

Similar to that. I think the one I have is 1000/100 one, if that makes any difference. The only thing connected to that is my Samsung TV, Apple TV, PS5, and Cosmote TV, which is like a cable box. The PS5 and Cosmote TV are off when Im not using them, not on standby.

Another example....most times when I leave, or open/close a balcony door, my iphone/watch would signal that the door was opened or closed. Sometimes, I wouldnt get that message for a few seconds later. Once in a while, Id get it minutes later.

And as I am typing right now, on my iMac, which is connected via the 5GHz wifi, my Apple TV is playing a music streaming app on it, and the music is cutting out, like its losing the signal. Again, the Apple TV is connected via ethernet, via the switch.

I dont know what the #$% to do, its just frustrating.

It's possible that the switch or device attached to the switch may cause an issue. If one of them is faulty. You can only resolve that by systematically testing devices. You don't have something like a second DHCP server do you?

For the router replacement. You'd go ISP modem > your router > switch. The ISP modems often have a setting to disable all router functions and act purely as a modem. With only one designated Ethernet jack working. Dig through the settings. I think some require doing this through your account on the web. Then their servers update your modem.

If you also get TV from them you don't want to do that. You use their jacks for their boxes and one jack to your router. Then your router to your switch.

If you wanted to go Mesh you can. Since you already have Ethernet throughout. I'd get one that supports wired backhaul. You also want one which offers seamless handover (aka seamless handoff).

Check the channels used by neighboring WiFi. Make sure you are well outside their channels as many have overlap. On 2.4 Ghz you want to use 1, 6 or 11. If neighbors use something in between. Get as far from that channel as you can. 5Ghz has more options to avoid overlap. Something like channel channel bonding can increase speed. But reduces the number of available channels without overlap. So, on 5Ghz you might choose 20/40 Mhz for reliability over 80 Mhz for speed (24, 12, 6 channels without overlap respectively). If you are in a population dense area. But you need to walk around your house and sort of map out the channels used on neighbors WiFi and signal strengths. To figure out what is best for you. Check the link for how 2.4 and 5 Ghz overlap works.

Channel Planning Best Practices for Better Wi-Fi | Ekahau

Developing a channel plan is critical for designing & deploying a wireless network. A well-developed channel scheme will assist with high performing WLANs.

www.ekahau.com

As for your router choice. I have no idea if Xiaomi is any good. My preference is ASUS or TP-Link when I set up a budget residential WiFi. Unless someone is willing to spend the money for Ubiquiti or other premium product. Which I only see in upscale houses.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Just an FYI. My brother has AT&T U-verse. He was having issues with internet drops, by the time he called customer service it was back up and working.

I convinced him to get the latest Orbi (wifi 6). He added an extra satellite and has had 0 issues since.

I have an older Orbi (RBK53) with a total of 3 satellites on my 7,300 sq ft property. I can use my wifi in my neighbors houses, and have perfect handoffs between access points. I have one of my cable boxes running off of the outputs on the satellite (also running a smart TV, and several wireless devices), no issues at all with the wireless in-between. I have Fios 120/120 and get above for both.

 

[chown33]

...
So when I was on the phone with the technician from the ISP, they had me disconnect the ethernet cable running to the switch. When I did so, he saw my speeds go up to normal, which is around 100. When I reconnected the switch, the speeds went back down. The thing is, Ive never had this problem before a couple of months ago.

What I am using is this:

View attachment 2000760

Similar to that. I think the one I have is 1000/100 one, if that makes any difference. The only thing connected to that is my Samsung TV, Apple TV, PS5, and Cosmote TV, which is like a cable box. The PS5 and Cosmote TV are off when Im not using them, not on standby.

Another example....most times when I leave, or open/close a balcony door, my iphone/watch would signal that the door was opened or closed. Sometimes, I wouldnt get that message for a few seconds later. Once in a while, Id get it minutes later.

And as I am typing right now, on my iMac, which is connected via the 5GHz wifi, my Apple TV is playing a music streaming app on it, and the music is cutting out, like its losing the signal. Again, the Apple TV is connected via ethernet, via the switch.

I dont know what the #$% to do, its just frustrating.

The symptoms I marked in bold suggest a failed or failing switch.

Switches fail. Sometimes they go dark. Sometimes they spray noise. Sometimes they go intermittent, or only malfunction when they get too warm.

If you have an unused spare switch, swap it in and see what happens. Even if it has fewer ports or lower speed, the important thing is to remove one component (the switch) entirely, while keeping the remainder of the network as intact as possible.

If a swap solves the problem, then it's a good indication that the problem is the switch.

I think it will be easier to isolate the problem if you turn off all wifi and only work on the wired network first. Once you've confirmed that everything wired is worked correctly, turn on only one band (2.4GHz or 5GHz) and test that.

 

[The.316]

The symptoms I marked in bold suggest a failed or failing switch.

Switches fail. Sometimes they go dark. Sometimes they spray noise. Sometimes they go intermittent, or only malfunction when they get too warm.

If you have an unused spare switch, swap it in and see what happens. Even if it has fewer ports or lower speed, the important thing is to remove one component (the switch) entirely, while keeping the remainder of the network as intact as possible.

If a swap solves the problem, then it's a good indication that the problem is the switch.

I think it will be easier to isolate the problem if you turn off all wifi and only work on the wired network first. Once you've confirmed that everything wired is worked correctly, turn on only one band (2.4GHz or 5GHz) and test that.

I took out the Ethernet that was going to the switch, and everything was working ok, except for what wasn’t connected to the switch obviously, because they weren’t connected to the internet.

I then ran new cable from the ISP modem/router, to the switch, and after a few minutes, I was having the same problem (the music issue).

So I ran the cable from the router directly to the Apple TV, bypassing the switch, and all was fine. So it seems the problem is the switch, or one of the three lines going into that switch is bad, correct?

What I also noticed was that I had a cheap rj45 connector, that I used as an extension from my tv to the switch, because The cable was short 15 inches. Would that be a possibility as well?

The music has been playing fine for a few hours now, I’m getting normal alerts from the door sensors, and the speeds on my mobile devices are normal. This is with the ethernet cable going to my Apple TV. The switch is not connected right now. It’s almost 9pm here, so tomorrow I will connect each device alone to the switch, along and use my Apple TV music stream as a test to see if any of the other lines is causing the problem.

 

[The.316]

It's possible that the switch or device attached to the switch may cause an issue. If one of them is faulty. You can only resolve that by systematically testing devices. You don't have something like a second DHCP server do you?

For the router replacement. You'd go ISP modem > your router > switch. The ISP modems often have a setting to disable all router functions and act purely as a modem. With only one designated Ethernet jack working. Dig through the settings. I think some require doing this through your account on the web. Then their servers update your modem.

If you also get TV from them you don't want to do that. You use their jacks for their boxes and one jack to your router. Then your router to your switch.

If you wanted to go Mesh you can. Since you already have Ethernet throughout. I'd get one that supports wired backhaul. You also want one which offers seamless handover (aka seamless handoff).

Check the channels used by neighboring WiFi. Make sure you are well outside their channels as many have overlap. On 2.4 Ghz you want to use 1, 6 or 11. If neighbors use something in between. Get as far from that channel as you can. 5Ghz has more options to avoid overlap. Something like channel channel bonding can increase speed. But reduces the number of available channels without overlap. So, on 5Ghz you might choose 20/40 Mhz for reliability over 80 Mhz for speed (24, 12, 6 channels without overlap respectively). If you are in a population dense area. But you need to walk around your house and sort of map out the channels used on neighbors WiFi and signal strengths. To figure out what is best for you. Check the link for how 2.4 and 5 Ghz overlap works.

Channel Planning Best Practices for Better Wi-Fi | Ekahau

Developing a channel plan is critical for designing & deploying a wireless network. A well-developed channel scheme will assist with high performing WLANs.

www.ekahau.com

As for your router choice. I have no idea if Xiaomi is any good. My preference is ASUS or TP-Link when I set up a budget residential WiFi. Unless someone is willing to spend the money for Ubiquiti or other premium product. Which I only see in upscale houses.

Thats what it is giving me during the scan. Is there another app to give me more info about the networks around me, and what channels to use? And I dont know if I should cover the BSSID or not, so I just did. The top black row is my 2.4ghz network, the one underneath is the 5ghz network.

The blue, and the 5GHz directly above it, are my two networks.

 

[velocityg4]

View attachment 2000920
Thats what it is giving me during the scan. Is there another app to give me more info about the networks around me, and what channels to use? And I dont know if I should cover the BSSID or not, so I just did. The top black row is my 2.4ghz network, the one underneath is the 5ghz network.

View attachment 2000926
The blue, and the 5GHz directly above it, are my two networks.

That looks fine. The other sources are pretty well separated and too weak to really matter. Where channel 1 and 5 have a slight overlap. Which the router must have chosen to get away from the stronger signal on channel 13.

 

[chown33]

I took out the Ethernet that was going to the switch, and everything was working ok, except for what wasn’t connected to the switch obviously, because they weren’t connected to the internet.

I then ran new cable from the ISP modem/router, to the switch, and after a few minutes, I was having the same problem (the music issue).

So I ran the cable from the router directly to the Apple TV, bypassing the switch, and all was fine. So it seems the problem is the switch, or one of the three lines going into that switch is bad, correct?

What I also noticed was that I had a cheap rj45 connector, that I used as an extension from my tv to the switch, because The cable was short 15 inches. Would that be a possibility as well?

The music has been playing fine for a few hours now, I’m getting normal alerts from the door sensors, and the speeds on my mobile devices are normal. This is with the ethernet cable going to my Apple TV. The switch is not connected right now. It’s almost 9pm here, so tomorrow I will connect each device alone to the switch, along and use my Apple TV music stream as a test to see if any of the other lines is causing the problem.

To me, that sounds like either the switch itself, or one (or more) of the cables being used with it.
When checking the switch, make sure its power jack and power supply are good. Wiggle the plug a bit while it's plugged into the jack, and see if it feels tight. If the switch has an LED, make sure it doesn't blink.

I once had an Ethernet hub with a flaky power connector. It only failed when I moved the AC adapter around on the floor, which moved the cable a bit, and that wiggled the plug, and that made the power go off and on. Once I'd figured out what component was failing, I popped it open and immediately saw a bad solder joint on the power jack. Resoldered it, and it worked until I retired it.

Swap out the Ethernet cables one by one to see if that makes a difference. Also try a single cable in different RJ45 jacks on the switch. Sometimes it's the RJ45 jack that goes bad, and depending on the cable, it could fail, or work, or be intermittent.

 

[The.316]

To me, that sounds like either the switch itself, or one (or more) of the cables being used with it.
When checking the switch, make sure its power jack and power supply are good. Wiggle the plug a bit while it's plugged into the jack, and see if it feels tight. If the switch has an LED, make sure it doesn't blink.

I once had an Ethernet hub with a flaky power connector. It only failed when I moved the AC adapter around on the floor, which moved the cable a bit, and that wiggled the plug, and that made the power go off and on. Once I'd figured out what component was failing, I popped it open and immediately saw a bad solder joint on the power jack. Resoldered it, and it worked until I retired it.

Swap out the Ethernet cables one by one to see if that makes a difference. Also try a single cable in different RJ45 jacks on the switch. Sometimes it's the RJ45 jack that goes bad, and depending on the cable, it could fail, or work, or be intermittent.

I’m going to check them today. I have the switch mounted to the side panel, inside my entertainment stand. It doesn’t move, nor does the cables or power supply. It’s probably just the switch, but I will make sure to rule everything else out.

Appreciate all the help from everybody.