Easy/cheap way to test WiFI radio?

[Zero Knievel]

My WiFi is a combo cable (coaxial) modem/router unit.  It’s gone out once before…so I know it can fail.  Last time, one of the two radios failed completely.

 

What warning signs are there that the radio is going out?  I have a 2.4 gHz and a 5 gHz channel.  I suspect the 2.4 is dying…again.

 

What can I do to test WiFi performance (to/from router)?  How would healthy vs. failing look?  Of late, internet performance has been bad, but between weather, haze in the air, etc., I don’t know if it’s the router or not.  Downloading 10 GB of data (game update), the download kept failing.  I have “rebooted” the router 3 times…which helped the performance for a while.

[SwampNut]

The analog drivers in both modems and wifi seem to have a lifespan (in consumer gear, not so much enterprise gear).  The way to isolate wifi from the ISP/modem side is to test both speed and latency with a wired connection, then with a wireless connection.

 

[Zero Knievel]

2 hours ago, SwampNut said:

The analog drivers in both modems and wifi seem to have a lifespan (in consumer gear, not so much enterprise gear).  The way to isolate wifi from the ISP/modem side is to test both speed and latency with a wired connection, then with a wireless connection.

Recommendations on what to use to do that?

[SwampNut]

Speedtest.net but install the application, it does more than the online version. 

 

Jitter = variation in response, and is a sign of problems.  Particularly if you have extreme jitter on wifi versus low on wired.  It's normal for wifi to be a little more jittery.  

 

I use Netspot for mapping wifi and testing its reliability all over the site.  It plots test results as you walk around.

 

[Zero Knievel]

Curious.

 

Just now, wired has a jitter of 238ms…wireless was 152ms.

 

The 5 gHz channel is not showing on phone, pad or laptop.  Interface says it’s on.  I’ll try a hard reboot of the router.

 

Nope.  No change.  Granted, the laptop is from 2013, iPad is 5th generation, but iPhone is a 12, so unless all of these don’t utilize the 5g band….

 

Work laptop does see and operate on the 5g radio, but I can’t install Speedtest as an app and the online version doesn’t report jitter.  There’s a saved link to a different test.  If it reports jitter, I’ll see what it gets.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Zero Knievel

[SwampNut]

2 hours ago, Zero Knievel said:

The 5 gHz channel is not showing on phone, pad or laptop.

 

Wait...sigh.  I think I know what's coming.  Did you split your 5 and 2.4 networks so they can't work together?

 

[SwampNut]

Also, those jitter numbers are beyond retarded.  Who's the ISP again?  Cable or DSL?  How old is the modem?

[SwampNut]

These are very good numbers on our cable, but you really should see latency below 50, well below, and jitter over 20 makes voice useless.

 

[superhawk996]

Mike, don't fall for it, Carlos is fucking with you.  It's the new TV antenna that's fucking with your internet.

[superhawk996]

Or it could be the new differential oil doing it, his brother is a dick too.

[Zero Knievel]

On satellite, I can’t go by latency because…satellite.  What is considered “healthy” jitter?  I downloaded an app (WiFi SweetSpot) to test data transfer rates between device and router (in-home WiFi), but without a guide of what is good and what indicates trouble, the data is of little use.

[Zero Knievel]

Okay, the results from my work laptop using speed.cloudfare.com.  WiFi results taken within 3 feet of modem/router.

 

And, yes, it appears the WIRED connection did worse than WiFi.  At the time of these tests, I'm on my "bonus" time (no throttled performance) and there should be considerably less internet usage than during work hours.

 

WiFi 24 20230724 0458am.csv WiFi 24 20230724 0458am.pdf WiFi 50 20230724 0502am.csv WiFi 50 20230724 0502am.pdf wired 20230724 0454am.csv wired 20230724 0454am.pdf

Edited July 24, 2023 by Zero Knievel

[Zero Knievel]

8 hours ago, SwampNut said:

Wait...sigh.  I think I know what's coming.  Did you split your 5 and 2.4 networks so they can't work together?

Have no idea what that means.  The modem has 4 channels.  Primary and guest for both 2.4 and 5.0.  I have no idea if they can see each other, not that I’d expect that to matter where connecting to the internet or when testing between a device and the router as compared to device to device within the network(s) run by the router.

 

8 hours ago, SwampNut said:

Also, those jitter numbers are beyond retarded.  Who's the ISP again?  Cable or DSL?  How old is the modem?

HughsNet satellite.

 

8 hours ago, SwampNut said:

These are very good numbers on our cable, but you really should see latency below 50, well below, and jitter over 20 makes voice useless.

 

That my jitter is worse via cable compared to WiFi is mystifying.

[SwampNut]

Ah, right, Hughes blows.  You need Starlink.  That makes the jitter numbers irrelevant outside the network.  Normal jitter?  Well, voice has problems above 20, and I would be skullfucking someone at my ISP if it hit 10.  On your LAN it should approach 0.

 

Are the 5 and 2.4 bands separate, as in, they are two networks you join individually?  These days a modern access point uses them together with seamless transitioning to assure better connections.

 

Why do you have a guest network?  That eats CPU time, which low end routers have little of.

 

I'll look at the docs shortly.

 

 

[Zero Knievel]

Both guest networks are turned off.  I only turned on the 5g one a few months back…and I use it for my work laptop presuming that sharing bandwidth with other devices on 2.4g was causing an issue.

 

ironically, the internet’s working pretty good this morning, even though my download is throttle because I’ve used up my allotment for the month.

 

It’s possible that my problem has nothing to do with my in home network, but rather the rest of the Internet. Too many people trying to access the same basic website at one time resulting in poor responses or dropped transmissions.  The downlink station being overtaxed by too many users at one time?  Hell, I don’t know to what end the forest fires in Canada could be impacting things, and even at the office, when plugged into the network directly, of late it seems to be less responsive than normal.

[SwampNut]

12 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

I only turned on the 5g one a few months back…and I use it for my work laptop presuming that sharing bandwidth with other devices on 2.4g was causing an issue.

 

One of the questions in the back of my mind, because this is historically true...what changes did you make to the normal config?  Normally on a modern access point, the two bands work together and devices move among them as needed.  Most routers have a way to save a config.  I think I'd start with doing that, then a full factory reset and try it with the most minimum config possible.

 

14 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

It’s possible that my problem has nothing to do with my in home network, but rather the rest of the Internet.

 

Sure, in the sense that your Yugo-sized connection is absolutely overwhelming a 10-lane highway with a 100 MPH speed limit, sure.  In other words, no.

 

It might just be time for new hardware, or it might be that this Hughes bullshit just is what it is.

[Zero Knievel]

23 minutes ago, SwampNut said:

One of the questions in the back of my mind, because this is historically true...what changes did you make to the normal config?  Normally on a modern access point, the two bands work together and devices move among them as needed.  Most routers have a way to save a config.  I think I'd start with doing that, then a full factory reset and try it with the most minimum config possible.

 

In truth, I've changed nothing.  My house is too far away from anything to even bother changing the password.  Default had 2.4 and 5g turned on.  I turned 5g off and just used 2.4.  I suppose I could try a factory reset, but I'd not expect it to do anything more than a power cycle restart would do.

 

23 minutes ago, SwampNut said:

Sure, in the sense that your Yugo-sized connection is absolutely overwhelming a 10-lane highway with a 100 MPH speed limit, sure.  In other words, no.

 

Not me, but maybe so many others overwhelming a data choke point.  At work, even on the IT backbone, responsiveness drops when everyone is trying to get work done at the same time (e.g., right before end of shift).  It's why I log off 15 minutes before going home...nothing is going to get done efficiently during that window when everyone wants to get last minute work done.

 

Things went from sugar to shit (for my normal performance) in the last half hour.  My iPhone, iPad and work laptop being the only thing drawing on the network.  No change in weather.

 

*** Ironically, it's gotten better in the last 15 minutes. ***

 

23 minutes ago, SwampNut said:

It might just be time for new hardware, or it might be that this Hughes bullshit just is what it is.

 

Well, this bullshit is my only option.  Starlink requires unobstructed sky and we keep being told fiber optic landline is coming, and I'd rather hold out for that if I can.

 

My question is why would the router work fine for several hours then turn to shit if it's failing.  I'd expect consistent issues 24 hours day...not just during certain time frames.  So far, it seems most of the buggery kicks in around 11:30-12:00 and stays that way the rest of the day.  Router is on 24/7 and is located in the basement, so I shouldn't be a heat issue. 

Edited July 24, 2023 by Zero Knievel

[SwampNut]

2 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

Starlink requires unobstructed sky

 

Just like Hughes, sure, except it's actually far more tolerant of obstructions, while Hughes must have a clear view period.

 

2 minutes ago, Zero Knievel said:

So far, it seems most of the buggery kicks in around 11:30-12:00 and stays that way the rest of the day. 

 

If it's a pattern then it's just related to the satellite.  Again, you have to do some inside testing, like machine to machine, versus outside, to figure out if the issue is inside or outside.

 

No, there is no way that the internet in general is just too busy for you.

 

[superhawk996]

9 hours ago, Zero Knievel said:

So far, it seems most of the buggery kicks in around 11:30-12:00 and stays that way the rest of the day.

That's when the guy driving the satellite takes his lunch, and when he starts drinking.