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Author Topic: Home network connection dropout issues  (Read 9375 times)

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Offline jztemple

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Home network connection dropout issues
« on: December 12, 2013, 08:59:36 pm »
I'm having an issue with the wireless network in my home, so I'm hoping you smart folks might be able to help me. I got the Almond to try to solve the issue, but  it turns out to be something I think that is in the router. It's a recent problem, which is weird because I've had my Netgear Rangemax WPN824 v3 router for years, but this problem has only occurred the past couple of weeks.

I'll have my netbook (yup, I still have one of those) logged on to my wireless network (either directly from the Netgear wireless or from the Almond). Suddenly, after several hours or maybe a day or two, the netbook will say that the link has limited or no connectivity. If I try to reconnect to the same network link, the status will loop through authenticating, then obtaining IP address, then back to authenticating, and so on. Oddly, if I try to connect to the other wireless network, IE either the original Netgear net or the _Almond second network, the connection is made right away. Also weirdly, it doesn't matter which is the original network I'm connected to; when it drops out, the other works fine.

Now I thought the problem might be the netbook, but I eliminated this as the likely source of my problem when I found that my Nexus tablet exhibited the exact same behavior.

I haven't updated the firmware in the router in forever on the theory of don't mess with what works. However, I'm holding off messing with that, hoping that some great minds here can identify a more obvious solution to the problem.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

Offline Patrick Wilson

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Re: Home network connection dropout issues
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2013, 09:42:12 pm »
I'm having an issue with the wireless network in my home, so I'm hoping you smart folks might be able to help me. I got the Almond to try to solve the issue, but  it turns out to be something I think that is in the router. It's a recent problem, which is weird because I've had my Netgear Rangemax WPN824 v3 router for years, but this problem has only occurred the past couple of weeks.

I'll have my netbook (yup, I still have one of those) logged on to my wireless network (either directly from the Netgear wireless or from the Almond). Suddenly, after several hours or maybe a day or two, the netbook will say that the link has limited or no connectivity. If I try to reconnect to the same network link, the status will loop through authenticating, then obtaining IP address, then back to authenticating, and so on. Oddly, if I try to connect to the other wireless network, IE either the original Netgear net or the _Almond second network, the connection is made right away. Also weirdly, it doesn't matter which is the original network I'm connected to; when it drops out, the other works fine.

Now I thought the problem might be the netbook, but I eliminated this as the likely source of my problem when I found that my Nexus tablet exhibited the exact same behavior.

I haven't updated the firmware in the router in forever on the theory of don't mess with what works. However, I'm holding off messing with that, hoping that some great minds here can identify a more obvious solution to the problem.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

Some questions for you:

  • What configuration are you using on the Almond?
  • Is your Almond setup as a "Wireless Access Point",  or as a "Range Extender"? 
  • How far apart are the Netgear and the Almond?

I tried using my Almond as a Range Extender here,  but the distance between them was too large,  so I simply "wired" the Gray WAN port on my Almond to my main Router,  reconfigured the Almond to act as a Wireless Access Point and then configured both to use the exact same SSID,  so that my devices can "roam" between them without issue.   Perhaps if you told us more about your operational environment,  I'd be able to provide a less generic suggestion. 

   

If you have a Smart phone,  you can probably install a Smartphone App such as Farproc's Wi-Fi Analyzer,  in order to check  the signal stength of each device,  at the location of the other one.  Try to route any wiring away from electrical cabling,  and "noisy" devices such as microwave ovens (which generate interference in the 2.4GHz band). 

How feasible would it be to "wire" the two together as I have? 
« Last Edit: December 12, 2013, 09:52:11 pm by Patrick Wilson »
Patrick Wilson
Victoria, BC Canada

Offline jztemple

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Re: Home network connection dropout issues
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2013, 10:26:27 pm »
Thanks for your quick response. I'm using the Almond as a range extender. I set it up using the wizard, in fact my steps were just like the video on the front page of your site. The Netgear and the Almond are about twenty-five feet apart, same floor, wood frame interior wall between them.

I don't really think it's a signal strength issue, as I can use the Netgear's wireless signal in the living room where my netbook is located, if I need to, which is about fifty feet away. It's a bit of a weak signal, but until a couple of weeks ago, I never had any trouble. I got the Almond to replace a Linksys range extender that had fallen off the top of a book case a couple of times. It still worked, but there were some pieces floating around when you shook it, so I figured I'd replace it. I use Amazon a lot and the folks there simply love the Almond, so I decided to go with that. As I said, I don't think the issue is with the Almond, but with my old router. If the Almond had a couple more ports I'd just use it in place of the Netgear.

I'll download that Wi-Fi Analyzer app and give it a whirl, more data is always useful.

Right now it's not really an option to run an Ethernet cable to the Almond, but I will keep that in mind for the future. I hadn't considered that, but it's good to know it's an option. Another reason to like the Almond!

Offline jztemple

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Re: Home network connection dropout issues
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2013, 12:08:16 am »
I failed to mention that if I rebooted my router the problem would go away, at least for awhile.

Offline Patrick Wilson

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Re: Home network connection dropout issues
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2013, 07:08:05 pm »
Thanks for your quick response. I'm using the Almond as a range extender. I set it up using the wizard, in fact my steps were just like the video on the front page of your site. The Netgear and the Almond are about twenty-five feet apart, same floor, wood frame interior wall between them.

I don't really think it's a signal strength issue, as I can use the Netgear's wireless signal in the living room where my netbook is located, if I need to, which is about fifty feet away. It's a bit of a weak signal, but until a couple of weeks ago, I never had any trouble. I got the Almond to replace a Linksys range extender that had fallen off the top of a book case a couple of times. It still worked, but there were some pieces floating around when you shook it, so I figured I'd replace it. I use Amazon a lot and the folks there simply love the Almond, so I decided to go with that. As I said, I don't think the issue is with the Almond, but with my old router. If the Almond had a couple more ports I'd just use it in place of the Netgear.

I'll download that Wi-Fi Analyzer app and give it a whirl, more data is always useful.

Right now it's not really an option to run an Ethernet cable to the Almond, but I will keep that in mind for the future. I hadn't considered that, but it's good to know it's an option. Another reason to like the Almond!

Setting it up as an "Access Point" (via Ethernet) will provide at least twice the throughput of this same device configured as an "Range Extender".  (This is the nature of  Range Extenders in general,  and applies to all manufacturers). 

But yes,  I'm afraid if the issue is in the main router,  then any changes made to the Almond are unlikely to resolve this problem for you.  Our Almond+ product will be released to the retail market next year,  so it might be worth considering for your future Router upgrades.  (You could provide additional ports for your Almond by simply plugging a Ethernet switch into it,  but this too will not resolve issues on the main router).

Perhaps at this point you should check out the Netgear Forum to see if someone there can provide any suggestions to help you.   Good luck resolving this issue,  I can definitely appreciate the frustration caused by connectivity issues.  I wish I had something better to offer in the way of assistance. 

Patrick

Patrick Wilson
Victoria, BC Canada

 

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