screenshots from it. Then once you have sent them to me, I do the rest & make recommendations to help sort the problem.

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Reynold Francis
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1 Introduction This is a large document, but there is a lot to cover on this subject. Plus where any configuration changes are outlined, this covers just about all TalkTalk routers, which in itself contributes greatly to the length of this document. If you are having intermittent breaks in your signal, or are getting a much lower speed all the time on Wi-Fi devices compared to wired ones, then you may be suffering from interference on your Wi-Fi channel. In addition to this & just as important is where the router is situated within the property. I have produced another guide on Wi-Fi guidelines, if you need to know more about this, please ask for it. It is also vital to understand the router may not be the cause of your problems, it could equally be the Wi-Fi adapter in your device. Your part in this is easy, I'll analyse the results for you. All you really have to do is read the section called Are you suffering from interference prove it first. You chose the WiFi analyser for your device's operating system, follow my help on how to use it & get screenshots from it. Then once you have sent them to me, I do the rest & make recommendations to help sort the problem. Table of contents Are you suffering from interference prove it first Why does rebooting the router work for a while? What channels can be used in the 2.4GHz band Changing channels - Huawei routers Changing channels HG633 / HG635 routers Changing channels - D-Link DSL routers (up to DSL-3780) Changing channels - D-Link DSL-3782 router Changing channels TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub (Sagemcom Fast 5364) Bandwidth, Channel Bandwidth, or Channel Bonding Page 1 of 29

2 Are you suffering from interference prove it first This is the easiest & best way to prove if you are suffering from interference from other Wi-Fi networks. I can help with this issue, but it depends on if your have a PC, or laptop that connects via wireless that can run a program called Acrylic Wi-Fi Home, which is a free Wi-Fi analyser for Windows. I used to recommend "inssider Home", whilst the current inssider version is excellent, it is no longer free. The freeware version is an older one, which does not fully support ac and can incorrectly display some characteristics with this newer Wi-Fi standard. Please read the section on Using Acrylic Wi-Fi Home including the section on setting it up & which screenshots I require. Note 1 : this is only available for the Windows operating system for PCs & laptops, some alternatives for different operating systems are listed within this guide. Note 2 : Acrylic Wi-Fi Home is an Wi-Fi analyser, it cannot detect RF interference from non devices that operate at 2.4GHz. Continued on the next page. Page 2 of 29

Acrylic Wi-Fi Home This free analyser for Windows (alternatives for other operating systems are listed

com/en/wlan-software/wlan-scanner-acrylic-wifi-free/ Once installed you must first put Acrylic into

This is done by clicking on the menu icon near the top right & click to turn on advanced mode as shown:-

3 Acrylic Wi-Fi Home This free analyser for Windows (alternatives for other operating systems are listed below), it can be downloaded from the vendor's website: Once installed you must first put Acrylic into Advanced mode. This is done by clicking on the menu icon near the top right & click to turn on advanced mode as shown:- Then the analyser will start running, if you wish to stop it, because you have made some changes to your router, click on the stop icon:- To start the trace running again click the start icon:- Continued on the next page. Page 3 of 29

Using Acrylic Please start by maximising the Acrylic window, otherwise screenshots you take of the display will often be too small to read & some information may be obscured requiring scrollbars to

4 Using Acrylic Please start by maximising the Acrylic window, otherwise screenshots you take of the display will often be too small to read & some information may be obscured requiring scrollbars to see everything. Do not use a camera to take a picture of Acrylic, that will not give the quality required to read the text information within this analyser display. Once running in Advanced mode it will look like the example below. Please can you click on your router's network name (SSID) in the SSID list in the upper pane? If the problem is on the 5GHz band, then select that SSID. This will allow me to see your network much more clearly in other panes:- Let the trace run for about 5 mins during the time period when you have the problem. All screenshots can be taken with the Windows Snipping Tool if required (Windows 7 onwards), or another utility of your choice. Screenshots required are listed over the next page. Page 4 of 29

5 Screenshots required If running Windows 7 or later, you can use the inbuilt Snipping Tool to take the screenshots. Unlike inssider you cannot see everything in one go with Acrylic, so please can you get me screenshots of all of the displays listed over the next few pages, by clicking on the tabs across the lower part of the window. Please always get a screenshot of the complete program, so as I can see both the AP list at the top & the chosen tab at the bottom. Please do not forget to highlight either the 2.4GHz, or 5GHz SSIDs (network names) in the top pane, as appropriate. Signal Strength Make sure that the time that the trace is running for covers the time period where the problem occurs. Get one screenshot with your 2.4GHz network highlighted & another with your 5GHz network highlighted (if appropriate). Network Quality Get one screenshot with your 2.4GHz network highlighted & another with your 5GHz network highlighted (if appropriate). Continued on the next page. Page 5 of 29

please insert them all via the Photos icon on the

6 2.4GHz APs Channels (highlight your 2.4GHz network for this screenshot):- 5GHz APs Channels (don't forget highlight your 5GHz SSID for this window):- Send screenshots to me To do this, please insert them all via the Photos icon on the editor's toolbar of your reply:- Continued on the next page. Page 6 of 29

7 Each one will probably be around 250K in size for a.png file and in the Photos upload section in the forum, please ensure the size is set to Large :- Alternatively, you can PM me, if you do, please can you also provide a link in there to your thread, to help me find it more easily. When I see your screenshots, I made need some others depending on what the first set of them show. Page 7 of 29

8 Alternative Wi-Fi Analysers If you do not have a Windows PC that can run Acrylic, here is a list of some alternatives, you would need to get similar screenshots as listed above with Acrylic. OS Analyser Website Windows 10 Phone WiFi Analyzer by Matt Hafner Android WiFi Analyzer by Farc details? id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en_gb MacOS Netspot The next few pages give a brief overview of these alternative analysers & the screenshots I would require from them. Continued on the next page. Page 8 of 29

tab & choose which Wi-Fi band at the bottom right.

9 Windows 10 Phone I will need to know which network name (SSID) is your one. The software works best if the WiFi network is connected. First make sure that the Connected tab is active to get an overview of your network & take a screenshot:- Next click on the Analyze tab & choose which Wi-Fi band at the bottom right. Please collect screenshots each of the screens shown over the next few pages, taking one of each for the 2.4GHz band & another for the 5GHz band (if your device supports both bands). Channel display:- Page 9 of 29

Then switch to the signal strength/time display via the icon

another screenshot:- Then click the Networks tab at the top &

display:- Finally take a screenshot of this view (you may have

10 Then switch to the signal strength/time display via the icon bottom right & let the analyser run for a few minutes & take another screenshot:- Then click the Networks tab at the top & set to detailed view by this icon in the bottom right of the display:- Finally take a screenshot of this view (you may have to take a couple of screenshots to include all networks):- Page 10 of 29

these views outlined over the next few pages. Please collect each of them for the 2.4GHz band & then for the 5GHz band (if your device supports both bands).

11 Android I will need to know which network name (SSID) is your one. Please get screenshots (most Android devices can take a screenshot with simultaneous pressing of the power & volume down keys, but some require volume up, not down) of these views outlined over the next few pages. Please collect each of them for the 2.4GHz band & then for the 5GHz band (if your device supports both bands). Switch between 2.4 & 5GHz bands Channel graph (2.4GHz) To switch the displays in this analyser between the two Wi-Fi bands, tap the top left of the display where you will sometimes see a 2.4GHz label, this will change it to display the 5GHz band:- Continued on the next page. Page 11 of 29

To see additional sections of the graphs where the channel used by the router is greater than 64, tap top

12 Channel graph (5GHz) The 5GHz channel graph will now be displayed. However, this only shows the channel range 36 to 64. To see additional sections of the graphs where the channel used by the router is greater than 64, tap top left:- Now the 5G graph shows the channel range 100 to 112 (if you are on a higher channel than that, you may again need to tap the top right of the display):- Continued on the next page. Page 12 of 29

13 Time graph (shows signal strength against time) Channel rating AP List If a dual band router & the names of the SSIDs have not been differentiated between the two bands, please see the notes on the next few pages. Page 13 of 29

It will show a small arrow to the left of the SSID name & end in (..).

14 AP List & Dual band routers The normal recommendation is to append 5G to the network name (SSID) for the 5GHz band of your router. However, if this is not done, the analyser will see it as one SSID containing multiple APs (wireless Access Points), one for each band. It will show a small arrow to the left of the SSID name & end in (..). Tap the small arrow or the SSID name ( myssid in this example) to expand this:- The individual APs (or bands in this case) can now be seen below:- Another scenario is described on the next page. Continued on next page. Page 14 of 29

15 If you also have a dual band network extender & everything is using the same SSID name, then when expanding the entry in the AP view you get:- Page 15 of 29

MacOS Netspot can be used on MacOS, but unfortunately not on iphones, or ipads. Apparently it is free. I do not have any Apple products & thus test this product.

16 MacOS Netspot can be used on MacOS, but unfortunately not on iphones, or ipads. Apparently it is free. I do not have any Apple products & thus test this product. Set the Discover/Survey switch on the main toolbar at the top is set to the Discover position. Please ensure that all of the networks listed in the SSID column are ticked, otherwise not all of the networks are displayed in the graphs. In this case please just tell me your network names (SSIDs). When you take the screenshots, please can you ensure that the graph windows are aligned such, that they do not obscure upper pane data behind it for your networks, as I will need full visibility of both (unlike this example):- Please collect the screenshots listed below, with the Signal & Noise one running for about five minutes before you take the screenshot: Signal & Noise Tabular Data Channels 2.4GHz Channels 5Ghz Note: the NetSpot versions purchased in the Mac App Store do not include Discover Mode. Therefore they will not be of any use. Page 16 of 29

17 Why does rebooting the router work for a while? Most TalkTalk routers have their Wi-Fi channel setting defaulted to Auto, so how is it that my channel is suffering from Wi-Fi interference? The problem is that most consumer routers, except perhaps the most expensive 3 rd party routers, only scan the channels on initial power up, they never rescan them. If it was to pick perhaps channel 6 for example, as that might have been free of interference at the time, other routers in the area might start using channels that interfere with 6 at a later time. This is why sometimes the problem is seemingly rectified by rebooting the router, as this will force it to rescan the channels again. Some of the more expensive consumer routers & commercial Wireless Access Points (APs) do this in a better way. Not only do they scan the channels at power up, they also rescan them at set intervals. This way if 6 was initially chosen, on the rescan it might decide 11 is now better & moves to that one. Page 17 of 29

Log on to your router Open a web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox & Google Chrome etc) and then enter this address in the address bar - http://192.

Unless you have changed this, the default is normally:username : admin password : admin On the HG633 router, this uses it's own unique

18 Log on to your router Open a web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox & Google Chrome etc) and then enter this address in the address bar - At the admin username & password, enter the logon credentials. Unless you have changed this, the default is normally:username : admin password : admin On the HG633 router, this uses it's own unique password, see the label on the rear of the router for this:- Each D-Link DSL-3782 also has its own unique logon password, which is also documented on the rear label:- Page 18 of 29

What channels can be used in the 2.4GHz band Within the older frequency band for 802.11n & earlier Wi-Fi standards, the 2.4GHz band there are only three non-overlapping channels, these are 1, 6 or 11.

19 What channels can be used in the 2.4GHz band Within the older frequency band for n & earlier Wi-Fi standards, the 2.4GHz band there are only three non-overlapping channels, these are 1, 6 or 11. Don't take my word for this, it is covered in these articles: There are some router chipsets that support channel 14 within the 2.4GHz band. In this case that channel can be used, as it does not overlap with channel 11. However, as most chipsets used in the UK tend to be US ones, then this will be unlikely to be an option. The later n routers & wirelessly connected devices may be Dual band, in addition to the 2.4GHz frequency band, they also can use the newer 5GHz band. This suffers much less from interference, because it has a lot more non-overlapping channels than the 2.4GHz one & they do not share this band with common household items that use the same 2.4GHz radio frequency band (not Wi-Fi). If the router & wireless devices support the newer standard ac, then that only operates within the 5GHz band. Changing channels - Huawei routers (not HG633/635) Log into the router, then go into Advanced mode then go to:basic > WLAN Look at the option called Channel & try one of the ones suggested previously and click submit. Page 19 of 29

20 Changing channels - Huawei HG633 & HG635 routers Before doing this it is best to change the network names (SSIDs) of the 2.4GHz & 5GHz bands. This will make it much easier to see which band you have connected to. Log into the router, select on the "Customise my Wireless Network" icon. You can then change them. One recommendation is to append "5G" to the end of the Wireless 5GHz SSID so that it looks something like:- (TALKTALKXXXXXX5G). To change the channel, click on the "Home Network" tab at the top. Click on "Wireless Settings" down the left. Scroll down the page to "Advanced Settings" & expand that if minimised. There you will find the channel setting, one for the 2.4GHz band and another further down for the 5GHz band. This is the one for the 2.4Ghz band:for the 2.4GHz band use channels 1, 6 or 11 and for the 5GHz band use channels Note 1: in some rare cases, after setting the 2.4GHz channel to a dedicated number, some devices can no longer detect the network name (SSID). If this is the case, also in the "Advanced Settings" section, set the n bandwidth to 20MHz and the n guard interval to Short in the 2.4GHz band. You may also need to set the n/ac guard interval to Short in the 5GHz band as well. Note 2: Some devices can no longer detect the network name (SSID) in the 5GHz band if you use a channel higher than 48. This is a limitation of the network adapter in the connected device, it is not a problem with the router. Page 20 of 29

Then click the Manual Wireless Network Setup button.

21 Changing channels - D-Link Routers (prior to DSL-3780) Log into the router, then click the Setup tab at the top, then Wireless Setup on the left hand side. Then click the Manual Wireless Network Setup button. In the resulting screen, untick the Enable Auto Channel Scan option and then change the Wireless channel option to channels 1,6 or 11. DSL-3780 Go to:advanced Wireless > WLAN Performance Page 21 of 29

22 Changing channels D-Link DSL-3782 This router is different from the older D-Link routers supplied by TalkTalk. It is a dual band (2.4GHz & 5GHz) router hence if required to change a channel you need to make sure that you do it on the correct band. Login to the router & go to:settings > Wireless (Wi-Fi) Then click on the Advanced settings link for either the 2.4GHz or the 5GHz band. By default the channel is set to Auto, before you can change the channel you must first disable this by sliding the Auto Channel switch to Disabled :- To set to channel 6 for example:- The principal for changing channels in the 5GHz band is identical to that above, except the channel numbers are different. For the 2.4GHz band use channels 1, 6 or 11 and for the 5GHz band use channels Note: Some devices can no longer detect the network name (SSID) in the 5GHz band if you use a channel higher than 48. This is a limitation of the network adapter in the connected device, it is not a problem with the router. Page 22 of 29

23 Changing channels TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub (Sagemcom Fast 5364) Log on to the hub & for the 2.4GHz band go to:dashboard > See Wi-Fi Settings > Manage Advanced Settings > Wi-Fi 2.4Ghz gear icon > Basic Change the Channel Selection dropdown box from Auto to the required channel:- For the 5GHz band go to:dashboard > See Wi-Fi Settings > Manage Advanced Settings > Wi-Fi 5Ghz gear icon > Basic Change the Channel Selection dropdown box from Auto to the required channel:- Page 23 of 29

24 Bandwidth, Channel Bandwidth or Channel Bonding Depending on the make/model of router this can be called: n bandwidth Channel width Bandwidth Channel bonding Note: Apple normally recommend only using 20MHz channel bandwidth for their products, irrespective of interference. To check this log into the router & follow as per the particular router: Huawei HG523a & HG533 Huawei HG633/HG635 D-Link DSL routers up to & including DSL3780 D-Link DSL3782 TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub (Sagemcom Fast 5364) Page 24 of 29

Huawei HG523a & HG533 routers Go into Advanced mode, then go to Basic > WLAN In there change the 11N Band Width option, the choices are: 20 20MHz channel width only 20/40 either 20 or 40Mhz channel

25 Huawei HG523a & HG533 routers Go into Advanced mode, then go to Basic > WLAN In there change the 11N Band Width option, the choices are: 20 20MHz channel width only 20/40 either 20 or 40Mhz channel width depending on initial negotiation between device & router MHz channel width only Set this to 20MHz only & monitor the situation. Huawei HG633/HG635 Once logged in, go to:home Network > Wireless Settings Then expand the Advanced settings section. Go to the 2.4GHz Frequency Band section & change the 11n bandwidth option to 20MHz:- Page 25 of 29

26 D-Link DSL routers up to & including DSL-3780 Click the "Advanced" button from the initial summary screens & click on "Advanced" tab along the top, followed by "Advanced Wireless" on the left. Set the bandwidth based on what is required, if it uses one channel this is the equivalent of 20MHz & two channels uses 40MHz. On the 3780 the bandwidth option is in the "WLAN Performance" section, which is off "Advanced Wireless" down the left hand side:- Please see next page. Page 26 of 29

Here is it set to use one channel (the equivalent of 20MHz) up to 270Mps :-

27 The bandwidth option on these routers is called Channel Width, this needs to be set to 20MHz only. However this is not as simple as some other routers. Here is it set to use one channel (the equivalent of 20MHz) up to 270Mps :- This is it set to use two channels (40MHz) Forces to 300Mbps :- Page 27 of 29

28 D-Link DSL-3782 Go to:settings > Wireless (Wi-Fi) In the 2.4GHz band select Advanced Settings In the performance section set the Channel Width to 20MHz:- Click the Save button. Then go to the 5GHz advanced settings & this can be found in the same area. This should be left at 20/40/80MHz normally:- Click the Save button again. Page 28 of 29

29 TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub (Sagemcom Fast 5364) For the 2.4GHz band go to:dashboard > See Wi-Fi Settings > Manage Advanced Settings > Wi-Fi 2.4Ghz gear icon > Advanced In all but a very few cases, set the Bandwidth dropdown box to be 20MHx only:- For the 5GHz band go to:dashboard > See Wi-Fi Settings > Manage Advanced Settings > Wi-Fi 5Ghz gear icon > Advanced In this band leave the Bandwidth dropdown box at 80MHz:- Page 29 of 29

However, first it is always best to prove which channels are in use via inssider Home.

However, first it is always best to prove which channels are in use via inssider Home. Introduction You may be suffering from interference on your wi-fi channel. Try changing this to channels, but only use channels 1, 6 or 11. The reason why you can only use these three channels is covered