Why does my wifi dropout

Hi, great post! My router provides a perfect wired ethernet connection with no issues, but all my wireless devices disconnect from the router for a few seconds about once an hour.

It persists over a router restart. Any thoughts? This can be a problem with the router itself, Andrew. Try the usual stuff like updating to the latest firmware, backing up, reseting, etc. Maybe try another router? Since signal levels look good, interference may still be the problem on the 2. I get stronger and more consistent signal output on my Asus p on the higher bandwidth channels in my 3 level townhouse. You may find that there is a device on your network which is scanning or probing the network.

My guess is that might be scheduled to run hourly and doing so a bit aggressively which may interfere with some clients. Do you have any network monitoring or home automation equipment? The cable connection runs faultlessly and without any issues. The WIFI however drops out or runs erratically quite frequently.

I have checked with a WIFI analyser and it runs at between dB and dB and even when the analyser shows a good signal it can still drop out. There are 14 wireless devices connected. When it drops out or becomes erratic restarting my computer or hub will normally rectify the problem, but as the problem seems to occur several times daily it is not practical option also some of the wireless devices are badly affected by the problem. I have tried updating my drivers, the hub firmware etc and am wondering if a WIFI booster will help or is a case of rubbish in rubbish out???

The problem has only arisen in the last two months and EE have replaced the hub but it has not cured the problem. Stat with this post and figure things out yourself. I actually wrote a piece of software that transfers data within a few network devices constantly and measures speeds, disconnections, etc.

You can do something similar by copying data from one device to another. More on my testing in this post. For the first 5 months of this year I did not have any issues with wifi. Since May 31, I drop wifi at least once a day if not more for anywhere from 5 seconds to 5 hours. I have a Netgear AC purchased in January.

I have 16 devices connected — 4 wired and the rest wireless. The cable company replaced all lines and installed a new modem, I live near the beach so salt water intrusion was a problem, even so I still have drops.

I changed from auto channel to a fixed channel. I still have drops. What should I be looking for to keep from dropping so much? Can this router handle this many devices? That might not be a Wi-Fi problem, Angela. Wi-Fi and Internet are two different things. A new router would only help if it were your router that caused the issues.

Since this one is relatively old, you can try getting a new one — one of these. Am I missing something Dong? She claims her Netgear was purchased in January. I would suspect her WiFi settings if the problem is limited to her WiFi clients. Make sure the power electricity at the place for the router is OK, Ahsan. If it restarts at a particular time like that, Ahsan, then it gotta be something to do with the power source, OR somebody has programmed it to automatically restart using its web interface.

I am sure there is no power issue, because router is connected with the same power source where other devices are connected , like server and switches. Hi Dong My wifi calling at my home network is not working whereas it works fine in my office.

Since it is working fine in my office network, I guess my home router is the culprit. I have reset my router to factory settings but wifi calling on my iPhone still failed to work. Out of the blue, it will show wifi calling for a minute or two then it will drop off. I had a VPN client connected in the past but I had disconnected it long ago when my wifi calling started to have a connection issue. Could you please advise? Thank you in advance.

It might just be your internet connection, James. Home Internet is generally not as good for Wi-Fi calling as business one. But check out the QoS section in this post for more. After talking to a technician he said I need a new modem is this true.

Dong, great article as usual. I have a question about IP reservation. The Asus can handle 60 IP reservations, i believe but you can check with its interface. Thank you for your prompt reply. I understand is better to use network cables than Moca but my home only came pre-wired with two network ports that I am using for the aimesh nodes.

I have a third aimesh node at my garage connected to a powerline adapter since it was the only way to get a wired connection inside my garage that was not getting wi-fi signal due to the concrete wall construction.

I only use MoCA adapters because my home came pre-wired with coax cable at all rooms. I may as well reserve the assigned IP address of my powerline adapter TP-Link AV though so far I have not experience any drops on the aimesh node signal.

Dong, to clarify my previous post. I know how those things work, Ricardo. Great summary on ways to stabilize the routers based on environments. Latest batch of updates address dnsmasq vulnerabilities. Wi-fi crashing out randomly on all devices in both bands. Dong, I was hoping you could point me in the right direction. Both running latest version of merlin. Internet is poor at the cottage running off high altitude satellite with latency of around ms.

I powered up the cottage and everything connected. I upgraded the firmware on the routers as they would not have been updated since last spring. Wifi radio is turn off and on. I will stay on for hours other times on and on every 10 minutes. Reduced TX from Performance to Good on 2. I see ASUS has a newer one then merlin. Merlin patch in Alpha.

I can wait for Merlin for a week or two. The routers are not hardwired together. It is used to extend into the yard. However can be stable for hours.

Have not used to for hours since reducing power level. Though it did cycle right after I changed them. Thank you for your time. Also, if possible, run a network cable to link the two. I will wait a few weeks for Merlin to catch up.

Hopefully that will fix the issue. I might do a factory reset re-apply I will keep everyone posted. You can always back up the setting and restore them with the newer version then. But sure, you can wait, too. More on Asus routers and Merlin in this post. Well I stopped be Lazy, Saturday did a factory reset and on my and all is good now.

I did not export the setting as I figured it was upgrading from aimesh 1. After main router was solid. I reset my AC66u node. Has been stable for hours and the laptop I was using was taking big win 10 update. So I think I am good.

Dong, thanks for another excellent and comprehensive article. Nest Learning Thermostat. The Nest is located approximately 6 feet from one of my XT8 nodes, yet still consistently connects via the 2.

If I try to reconnect the Nest via the Asus GUI, or bind it to the closest unit, I get a warning message that the signal is too weak and may preclude connection to that unit. I would worry about what hardware unit the client connects as long as they work, Thomas.

What you see is not what you get! More on that in the roaming section of this post. Thomas — I have exactly the same issue with a Nest 3rd gen thermostat and my mesh XT8 system. I have tried lots of configuration changes on the 2. I read an article today which suggested that after a recent ASUS firmware update it effectively broke the 2.

Unfortunately the only way to resolve it is a full factory reset of the nodes and then manually resetting all the configuration. I plan to try this at the weekend. I will feedback on my results. I did a full factory reset of my my three XT8 nodes running the latest version of firmware.

I created 3 separate WiFi networks again I use ethernet backhaul — all WiFi settings left as default. So far Nest 3rd generation thermostat is working perfectly with no drop outs or offline in app. Thanks Dong! Another great post. Honestly I have learned so much through all your posts, they are truly fantastic. Very stupid question on the subject of interference, and more specifically on interference within my own mesh network.

As you mentioned in another post, one cannot control the channel used by individual satellites in an Asus AI mesh network can only control a channel for all. Yet if I am using a 5GHz back haul, that means that the router and the satellite need to be close enough for the 5G to get through, ideally without too much loss. But since the 2. Is that true?

But on 2. You can think of them as sharing the same signals, so to speak. But the 2. At least once a day I lose my internet for seconds, both wired and wireless. I am running the latest firmware version. Any thoughts as to what I should try — could it be hardware? There are several ZenWiFi models , Steve.

But it sounds like you live near an airport and have issues with DFS channels, I mentioned that in this post. Many thanks Dong. We are rurally located, and can only see one neighbors WiFi, but are close to a number of radio towers. Additionally we are approx 6. Yeap, I suspected that you use the XT8, Steve. They are all using backhaul to the main. I am constantly having to start the main node and the firmware has never updates. The app is also slow to update.

I was thinking of switching back to Amplifi with the new Alien and 2 extra Aliens using backhaul. But, you have made me start thinking about switching to ASUS instead. What do you think? Dump the MX units? ASUS or Alien. House is sqft.

Use the web interface instead. Seconded fwiw. Dong, thanks for all of your informative reviews and articles. Updated to latest firmware, reset to factory default and then reset my network through web GUI. The node is connected to router through dedicated wireless backhaul on the 5Ghz-2 channel. It will flash blue for a few minutes and then reconnect solid white. Great signal strength dBm. Disconnects happen periodically throughout the day. The main router always maintains its Internet connection to the cable modem.

As a result of the node disconnect all connected devices reroute to the main router. So I end up with 30 devices on the main router and nothing connected to the node. Then slowly as devices find the node again it will connect them — until the node randomly disconnects and all devices go back to the main router. Is this an issue I can address myself or a hardware issue that needs to be sent to ASUS for diagnosis? I cannot game, I can barely watch tv.

And signal is constantly dropping. A colleague has mentioned adding a few mesh access points? I think you need to start with this post. After this, power cycle all your equipment. We also recommend clicking the advanced button and opting to not have Windows automatically connect to the network. Hopefully, your WiFi will now connect and remain stable. If you keep losing internet connection, comment below for help. If, when running ipconfig, as described above, you get an IP address already allocated message, it means the DHCP server is unable to assign you a new IP address.

If none of the above work, and your computer is currently set to retrieve its IP address automatically, you may want to try to give it a static IP address instead.

To do so, simply:. Save your settings and restart your PC and see if your connection works. Just make sure you backup your registry first in case anything goes awry. Try disabling any third-party networking software you may have installed, power cycle through your system , and see if that gets the wireless connection back up and running. Just make sure you create a system restore point and backup your registry before trying either of the below methods. If you start getting the trying to renew IP address error , your connection is probably struggling to find an IP address as described above.

To have Windows diagnose the issue, run the Windows network diagnostic tool as described below. The Windows network diagnostic tool will analyze various components of your network connection and point out problems it finds. You can run it as follows:. If not we can appreciate your stubborn resolve! Provide as many details as you can no personal or sensitive info please. Alex has been involved on the business side of the internet since the early 's.

We Rock Your Web had its roots back in as the tech blog for a web design and development company Alex founded that has grown and evolved into the parent company of We Rock Your Web. While some will likely have taken steps to update their broadband speeds as a result of home working, others are still suffering from a dodgy connection. One of the main complaints from those using their home internet to work is the slow speeds they receive with others saying their broadband drops out altogether throughout the day.

Even if sat next to the router, it seems that slow speeds and even a complete loss of internet is a common problem. But why is this? If the issue is with the internet, why do smartphones seem to be able to function as normal? This is Money asked some internet experts to explain the common causes for this sort of problem - and what can be done to fix it. Matt Powell, editor of Broadband Genie, replies: If this is only occurring on a specific device then it would suggest the laptop is the cause of the issue.

First, try updating the Wi-Fi driver on the laptop to ensure it is running the latest software version. Depending on the operating system, this might be something you can do automatically via the device or network settings or you can manually download and install the latest version from the laptop or Wi-Fi adapter manufacturer.

You may need to check your laptop specification or contact support if you're not sure about model numbers. You should also ensure the operating system is fully up to date with the latest feature updates and security patches. Another potential fix is to configure the network mode of the Wi-Fi adapter to match the Wi-Fi network, for example, make sure both are set to The power management settings of a Wi-Fi adapter can also impact stability - check that the computer is not allowed to switch off the adapter to save power.

With many still working from home, having access to decent internet speeds is imperative. Nick Baker, broadband expert at Uswitch, replies: Few things are more frustrating than a poor or unreliable broadband connection at home. Your smartphone can be a useful diagnostic tool to get to the root of the issue. If you turn off its mobile data connection and can't get online through your Wi-Fi network, there's a good chance your broadband or router are to blame.

On your device's Wi-Fi settings, check if it has previously been connected to another local network or hotspot, as it might be the laptop is attempting to connect to this instead - which can cause dropouts. If this is the case, click 'Forget this network' on the unwanted network to ensure you're always connected to the right one. Old programs or software can also slow things down, creating potential problems with connectivity, so make sure everything is up-to-date and that you uninstall outdated software you no longer need.

If the issue persists, try connecting to the router directly via ethernet connection and if that doesn't fix the fault then this would need to be addressed by your broadband provider. Broadband outages are very common and our recent data shows that almost 15million households suffered from them in the last year, with some areas more affected than others.

Speak to your provider, as they can diagnose any problems in your area and assess your connection to see what speeds you are getting.