Incompatible Movie Watchers (1 Viewer)

[JQuintana]

Would something like this be a good option?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01929V7ZG/ref=psdc_1194444_t1_B0046SQ8VW

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I can’t use Powerline, as discussed earlier.

 

[JQuintana]

Have you seen these mesh units? Pretty cheap and just need the two units to cover 4000 sq ft (est).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078MZTRBS/?tag=cheapskate08-vig-20

$129

 

[BobO'Link]

John, you any good with WiFi?

I got a WiFi extender and for the first week, everything was perfect - strong signal everywhere in the apartment. But after that, we’ve had issues. There are moments now where we’ll see that our devices are connected to WiFi, but the internet connection is just gone. (It stays working for wired devices.) After a few minutes, it usually returns. Then, it’ll drop out again for a few minutes a few hours later.

Everything was working so perfectly and we haven’t changed a setting or anything. Any idea what could be going on or how to fix it?

You might try using a free HeatMapper:

https://www.ekahau.com/products/heatmapper/overview/

That one's free - you do have to give them contact info but you don't have to be "accurate." It' can help you figure out what's going on. I'd guess you're getting some co-channel interference from something. It can come from another router, a microwave, and other electronics. Sometimes finding out what channel(s) are in use around you can give you the information to go into your router and set a channel to use. I had to do that at one point in my house as there were dozens of routers around me getting in the way of the primary channels. I just moved to one that's not used as much and the problems went away.

With the internet connection dropping but wifi saying up it could simply be the router is at fault. At that point I'd look to see if there's a firmware update for the router/extender.

 

[John Dirk]

John, you any good with WiFi?

I got a WiFi extender and for the first week, everything was perfect - strong signal everywhere in the apartment. But after that, we’ve had issues. There are moments now where we’ll see that our devices are connected to WiFi, but the internet connection is just gone. (It stays working for wired devices.) After a few minutes, it usually returns. Then, it’ll drop out again for a few minutes a few hours later.

Everything was working so perfectly and we haven’t changed a setting or anything. Any idea what could be going on or how to fix it?

Hey Josh - Sorry but no one can guarantee consistently acceptable WIFI performance in most environments as there are simply too many [potentially performance degrading] variables. Wired is always the better choice even if it means opening the checkbook for cabling work. Powerline Ethernet is next on the list. If I were in your home I'm confident I could make Powerline work for you. From here, however, I'm rendered mostly ineffective.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I get that there are no guarantees.

I’m wondering what would cause a WiFi network to stay active but to drop the internet signal intermittently. If it was a simple matter of interference, you’d think the WiFi network itself would stop showing a connection. My problem is that I’ll maintain a strong WiFi signal but that the network temporarily loses internet access.

 

[DaveF]

I get that there are no guarantees.

I’m wondering what would cause a WiFi network to stay active but to drop the internet signal intermittently. If it was a simple matter of interference, you’d think the WiFi network itself would stop showing a connection. My problem is that I’ll maintain a strong WiFi signal but that the network temporarily loses internet access.

The neighbor’s WiFi router running full power stomping all over your signal. I believe that will do it.

 

[TJPC]

I have one of these wifi extenders which works well at all times. My devices always show a strong signal. Unfortunately that strong signal comes from the extender even if the original signal from my router is not working.

When I go to settings on my devices, they list all the wifi signals in the house. The original signal is listed as say “muffins” where as the extender is listed as “muffins-EXT” or “muffens-EXT5G”. Even if the original signal is not working, the “EXT” ones show up on the list of signals.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I get that there are no guarantees.

I’m wondering what would cause a WiFi network to stay active but to drop the internet signal intermittently. If it was a simple matter of interference, you’d think the WiFi network itself would stop showing a connection. My problem is that I’ll maintain a strong WiFi signal but that the network temporarily loses internet access.

Are you losing the Internet connection via WiFi just in the bedroom where you have the extender installed? If so, the extender is probably dropping its connection from your main WiFi router.

As others have alluded to, getting reliable WiFi connectivity can be a challenge in many environments, including a multi tenant building like you live in. I used to do this for a living for a large multi-hospital system, and getting close to full coverage in some locations could be a struggle. As John suggested, using a tool to discover if there is some channel interference happening is the first step. Remember, though, that the interference may not be a constant, so running such a tool just once may not find the issue. Your best bet is to use the tool when your WiFi connection becomes unstable.

 

[DaveF]

Push comes to shove, less than $40 for 50' slim ethernet cable and a five port switch, to run cable along walls and ceiling from router to target hardware. Trade some aesthetics for cheap networking stability and speed.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13538

https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unmanaged-GREENnet-Switching-Protection/dp/B001QUA6R0/

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Are you losing the Internet connection via WiFi just in the bedroom where you have the extender installed? If so, the extender is probably dropping its connection from your main WiFi router.

No, what’s happening is that all internet connectivity on the entire network cuts out - both from the extender and the main router. Devices show a full WiFi signal being transmitted and received, but there’s no internet connectivity. The WiFi network itself gives all appearances of running at full strength.

 

[JQuintana]

What did your internet service provider say when they came to your place to diagnose the issue?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

No, what’s happening is that all internet connectivity on the entire network cuts out - both from the extender and the main router. Devices show a full WiFi signal being transmitted and received, but there’s no internet connectivity. The WiFi network itself gives all appearances of running at full strength.

If you shut down the WiFi extender, does the issue go away? If so, it’s probably something going wrong with the extender, causing it to drop the connection to the Internet through your router. Could be a configuration issue, or a firmware problem.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

If you shut down the WiFi extender, does the issue go away? If so, it’s probably something going wrong with the extender, causing it to drop the connection to the Internet through your router. Could be a configuration issue, or a firmware problem.

Yes, that’s correct - when the WiFi extender is removed, the issue goes away. The extender is the chief suspect here, I’m just unsure of what settings changes I should make to counteract it. Like I mentioned earlier, it ran flawlessly for the first week, but now causes the entire network to lose internet connectivity for brief periods each day.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Yes, that’s correct - when the WiFi extender is removed, the issue goes away. The extender is the chief suspect here, I’m just unsure of what settings changes I should make to counteract it. Like I mentioned earlier, it ran flawlessly for the first week, but now causes the entire network to lose internet connectivity for brief periods each day.

If you are losing Internet connectivity across the entire WiFi network, look for things in the extender configuration such as an IP addressing conflict, incorrect gateway or subnet mask, etc. It sounds like something is causing routing to drop, and these are common misconfiguration causes.

BTW, a former employee of mine — and still a close friend — would occasionally make a simple configuration error that would cause us issues. We took to calling him Miss Configuration, and would even saronade him with “there he is, Miss Configuration “.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I have no idea what any of those words mean but I will do my best to look them up and try to figure it out - thanks Scott!

 

[John Dirk]

Hey Josh - This type of problem is difficult to isolate/diagnose over an Internet forum [even HTF] but I assure you it can be solved. If you're serious about solving it PM me with a contact number and be patient.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

John - crazy schedule in the next week or so but I’ll be in touch - thank you for the generous offer!

 

[Mike Frezon]

I just wanted to check in and report that I have proactively ordered and installed a set of the wireless Sennheiser RS 175 RF headphones.

My time-at-home has not yet begun in earnest. But there have been a couple of opportunities for me in which I have watched a couple of films using the headphones: Bohemian Rhapsody and Peppermint--two rather loud movies which held no interest for Peg.

The headphones work great. They sound great, no dropouts, etc. I think everything about them is well-designed. I love the charging stand. And after reading some complaints about the fake leather ear pads, I ordered a replacement set of ear pads for the RS 185s which are covered in cloth. I've been using them and after a couple hours of continuous use, I never felt uncomfortable or over-heated.

In fact, the only surprise is that even though the headphones are a "closed" design, Peg told me that a fair amount of Queen music was leaking into the room and hearable by her. But dialogue and other sound was contained. Truth be told, I might've had the headphones up way too high.

I have to admit that I do miss the HT surround-sound experience of having a film like Peppermint up loud with bullets whizzing around the room and explosions rattling the windows. But I also think the headphone system will come in the handy when I'm kicking around the house on a more-regular basis.

Time will tell.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

That’s awesome, Mike!

I’d also like to update on mine and say that thanks to an assist from John, I’ve got WiFi coverage in the bedroom, and my wife has been enjoying Game of Thrones on the Apple TV in there.

Good day all around for home theater solutions!