Just looking for a bit of help.

I have Sky at home (the house is 13 years old timber kit so should be relatively ok for signal) however I find that my desktop computer upstairs is getting a really poor wifi signal at times (such as last night - checking the speed it registered at 2.5Mb instead of the 34). It appears to be only that device though as other devices such as tablets seem to be getting decent enough speeds). There is only a couple of partitions (timber) and the floor between the router and the PC. The cordless phone is next to the router though (about 2 ft away).

Could it be:
1) The Sky router - it is the Sky Hub 2 which only covers N. Worth paying £60 for an upgrade to the Sky Q hub which is AC (without the Q tv)?
2) The network adaptor - TP link as per link IIRC. Worth upgrading to an AC card?
3) Worth trying powerline adaptors?
4) Hardwiring a link- possible but awkward as would need to route it up to the loft (via a soil stack, across the loft and dropping it down in the corner of the room the computer is in). What cable would be best for approx 20-30m distance?

I have a similar issue, my PC is on wifi - pretty much directly above the router but has dial-up speeds when I connect on a 5Ghz channel. If I switch it to 2.4Ghz I get much better speeds. Considering it's literally about 3-4 metres away (through a floor/wall) I expected better. Upgraded the card to a newer AC one and same issues. Pretty much resigned to the fact that I need to run some Cat5 if I want it quicker. Living with the speed I get on 2.4Ghz which is plenty for general browsing but occasionally slow enough to get lag rage online when gaming.

 

Oddly enough if I sit the Macbook, phone or tablet next to the PC I get pretty much max speed from the Wifi. The only thing I'm left considering is seeing if a Wifi card with an external antenna might work on the PC – assuming it's the case or it's placement under the desk that's causing it?

1 hour ago, kilted said:

Just looking for a bit of help.

I have Sky at home (the house is 13 years old timber kit so should be relatively ok for signal) however I find that my desktop computer upstairs is getting a really poor wifi signal at times (such as last night - checking the speed it registered at 2.5Mb instead of the 34). It appears to be only that device though as other devices such as tablets seem to be getting decent enough speeds). There is only a couple of partitions (timber) and the floor between the router and the PC. The cordless phone is next to the router though (about 2 ft away).

Could it be:
1) The Sky router - it is the Sky Hub 2 which only covers N. Worth paying £60 for an upgrade to the Sky Q hub which is AC (without the Q tv)?
2) The network adaptor - TP link as per link IIRC. Worth upgrading to an AC card?
3) Worth trying powerline adaptors?
4) Hardwiring a link- possible but awkward as would need to route it up to the loft (via a soil stack, across the loft and dropping it down in the corner of the room the computer is in). What cable would be best for approx 20-30m distance?

 

So the Sky adviser wasn't shining me on when I rang to complain that the WiFi coverage in my house had plummeted since I 'upgraded' to Sky Fibre and intended to cancel. In summary the adviser admitted that the Version 2 Sky Hub gave poor coverage. A gratis Sky Q Hub, was sent although I think I paid £10 for the delivery and restore a decent signal and 25-30+ MB comes through depending on time of day. 

I have a similar situation, but with Virgin.  What was originally my Games Room is now my Office as my XBox 360 no longer connects to Virgin Wifi, not even to the extender.  Getting my HP laptop to connect to the router which is directly below the office is hit and miss.  When I first had it installed in January 2017, my XBox was booming.  However, my Galaxy S7 can connect to the router when upstairs no problem.

 

I'm even having issues watching Netflix on Virgin (millisecond stuttering, but enough to notice), even though my Tivo is hardwired to the router.  I have asked repeatedly for an engineer and they just brush it off.

 

I never had any of these issues with Sky, which I will be going back to in December.  Will miss the baseball on BT Sport. :(

 

As an aside, if anyone can advise on how to change the settings from 5Ghz to 2.4Ghz (or vice versa) on an XBox 360 and HP Envy laptop, I would be extremely grateful as it will mean no more sitting through endless reruns of 'Pitbulls and Parolees'!!

5 hours ago, kilted said:

The cordless phone is next to the router though (about 2 ft away).

Hardwiring a link- possible but awkward as would need to route it up to the loft (via a soil stack, across the loft and dropping it down in the corner of the room the computer is in). What cable would be best for approx 20-30m distance?

 

Try moving / even disconnecting the cordless   - I've seen them cause untold problems.

For  cabling- CAT 5 ( if you're on fibre with two separate outlets on the master to give you phone out and PC. ). Problem is getting ends up with out damage if you get RJ45 fitted. I usually cheat and asa I've got both patchleads and sockets use sockets on both ends. IF you go down the cable route ,then if terminating the cable in sockets- keep the twists as close to the termination point. And use a good quality IDC tool. ( preferably one that cuts the unwanted ends flush)

 

If just on Wifi, did you try changing channels? 

Get a phone app call Wifi analyser which will tell you any problems 

Thanks for that ,GG- I've been having problems all day - turns out my router ( set on auto) wasn't changing channels and at time I was on near lock up. I had a look at my BB settings and I was on same channel as two other houses. Took it off auto, changed channel to something remote from other two and I’m running on all cylinders . Put selection back to Auto and speed ( well all 10mb OF IT) is still there. 

You could always buy a decent wifi access point and turn off the wifi entirely in the Sky router. I've a ubiquiti access point and I'm getting whole house coverage at decent speeds.

Thanks for all the input but I have decided to bite the bullet and go hardwired. Despite it being a ballache to do, there appear to be too many ifs/buts and maybes to the other options.

The SR102 black box sky router is known for pish WiFi. 

In fact the 2 I had maxed out at 45meg even when sitting on top them with pretty decent kit on the other end. Temp resolved with good AP using the SR102 as a modern only. 

 

Took 2 minutes to get them to send me  Q router gratis once they came out. Not great, but better wireless. I don't move files around with it any more, only stream so as long as it can provide my 80meg broadband it is fine. 

Kilted- I've made some suggestions in previous post. Long time since I did any cat 5, but keep twists ( if using sockets ) as close to termination point as possible. And get a DECENT IDC ( also know as a Krone tool) tool . One that cuts excess off the back of  insertion  points. Best way of striping a cable back ,is to cut it a bit long ,cut the sleeve ( we always use a sheath cutting tool, but if you cut it long ( longwise with a sharp knife/Stanley - fingers- NO Lowland blood on mat)), there should be a strip cord to pull back the excess, JUST in case you've damaged the insulation.

Idea of sockets- fit back box and faceplate close to master socket ,with splitter. Run cable to other end . Terminate in socket ,and use premade Cat 5 leads to splitter socket and from other one to PC. That's what my son does, and he's running a lot faster than you- something 80 MBS to two PC.

 

BUT- survey the route, and then look again. And possibly again- Sometimes , the most obvious route for cabling  comes at once to the old hand, and after many hours of thought to the uninitiated.

For Cat 5- most folk go for 90m as limit. But if buying cable from local dealer + sockets and patch leads- might be worth looking at on line for a box of 1000 metres, as most places charge more for 30 metres, than on line for a box. The ,with extra sockets and confidence, you can  possibly set up a network. Hint- cable start lengths are on the sheath of cable.

Edited 16 June, 20179 yr by VWD