Wireless router advice please

[KneesUp]

I have a wireless router at work, but it seems unable to cope with the devices connected to it. This peaks at 2 x laptops, 2 x phones and 4 x CCTV cameras but normally the laptops are connected via cable (along with 2 PCs, one of which only has access to the LAN, and a printer)

However, I'm finding recently that the wi-fi keeps cutting out and various devices are getting disconnected throughout the day. In addition the router rarely lists the wireless devices that are connected as being connected. I've changed the router (the ISP sent me several when I signed up - another story for another day) and it's behaving the same way. There are lots of other networks 'visible' and I've tried various different channels - I think the issue with that is the other networks are all set to 'auto' and so if I pick a static channel it becomes the 'wrong' channel as the others change in response to each other. However, if I leave it on 'auto' it is no better - perhaps as it keeps changing and some of the devices can't keep up?

I could really do with the connection being reliable. My question to you learned IT types is will a better router solve the issue - I guess it could be that the processor in the current router is overwhelmed or has a weak signal that gets swamped - and if so, which model would you recommend for my needs?

EDIT - this is the result of running a scan of the networks (nmcli d wifi) with the names removed. Ours is the one with 100% signal, although I was within 6 foot of the router. It's showing as channel 6 here but it had changed to 11 a few minutes later.

Cheers

 

[ColinJ]

Bit of a long shot, but I discovered that the reason for my sister's router doing that was her cordless landline phone interfering with it. I sorted that out by making sure the router used a different channel and fixing it to that one. I also moved the phone's base station to the opposite side of the room.

 

[ColinJ]

And I suspect that other cordless devices like baby monitors would potentially cause the same problem.

 

[KneesUp]

It's a good lead - I've moved one of the handsets in the office, but it's now further away from the router. It could be something someone has in a nearby building though I guess.

 

[Tanis8472]

Cctv cameras WiFi?
All those other routers are trying to share the same channels. It's one of the problems with WiFi these days. Hardwired is the best way to go if you can.

 

[Tanis8472]

Oh and WiFi really not that good with cameras etc

 

[mjr]

All those other routers are trying to share the same channels. It's one of the problems with WiFi these days. Hardwired is the best way to go if you can.

^^ This. I know you removed the names for privacy reasons but are a lot of them BT routers? They have the twin problems of only using three of the 2.4GHz band channels (1, 6 and 11) and being quite aggressive at reconfiguring during interference. However, you can't colour all maps with only three colours, so once you get enough of them in an area, then they play "it's a knockout" far too frequently and everyone's wifi goes to hell.

You can colour a map with four colours, so we could use 1, 5, 9 and 13 (second chart in the image below) and it should basically work, but the USA doesn't have channels 12 or 13 so as far as I know, no major router types use 1/5/9/13 automatically and there are enough BT 1/6/11 hubs in most places to screw things up, so even if you move to this plan, unless all your neighbours reconfigure their routers (and then their neighbours reconfigure and so on), it basically ain't gonna work - thanks USA(!)

 

[KneesUp]

Thanks for the replies - I've stuck ours on Channel 1 now as that seemed the least congested at the time I selected - my theory being that the rest of the routers would try to avoid it.

A fair few of them are BT and I note they too seem to be on channel 1 today.

I think I might need to invest £20 and a few hours hardwiring, although I will also need a switch because I've run out of connections.

EDIT - I presume the colours mean something on the scan, but I'm not sure what. Some of them were brown yesterday.

 

[mjr]

A fair few of them are BT and I note they too seem to be on channel 1 today.

Each BT hub appears at least twice, once as the BT hub SSID for the owner and once as BTWifi for all other BT customers to use if they want.

EDIT - I presume the colours mean something on the scan, but I'm not sure what. Some of them were brown yesterday.

Looks like signal strength.

 

[Tanis8472]

^^ This. I know you removed the names for privacy reasons but are a lot of them BT routers? They have the twin problems of only using three of the 2.4GHz band channels (1, 6 and 11) and being quite aggressive at reconfiguring during interference. However, you can't colour all maps with only three colours, so once you get enough of them in an area, then they play "it's a knockout" far too frequently and everyone's wifi goes to hell.

You can colour a map with four colours, so we could use 1, 5, 9 and 13 (second chart in the image below) and it should basically work, but the USA doesn't have channels 12 or 13 so as far as I know, no major router types use 1/5/9/13 automatically and there are enough BT 1/6/11 hubs in most places to screw things up, so even if you move to this plan, unless all your neighbours reconfigure their routers (and then their neighbours reconfigure and so on), it basically ain't gonna work - thanks USA(!)
View attachment 375796

And another problem is if you have overlapping frequencies that also causes problems with strengths etc

 

[mjr]

And another problem is if you have overlapping frequencies that also causes problems with strengths etc

Yeah, that's why you'd need a whole area to switch from 1/6/11 to 1/5/9/13. If only some switch, then there's be lots of overlap between 5 and 6, as well as some between 9 and 13 with 11.

I note the 38whatever router is using channel 13 anyway which is going to be overlapping with the Virgin and Plusnet ones on channel 11. It also seems to be on channel 6 which is a bit bizarre, not sticking to either plan.

Wifi seems to be a tragedy of the commons. Two possible ways to get a stable network are to screen out all other routers (lead panels? jammers?), or to secure your devices in a lead box while disabling all others with an EMP. Beyond that, you're just managing how shoot it is.

 

[Tanis8472]

Build a Faraday cage around your house