help! please....no wireless :(

Can anyone help?????
We moved into our new house in august last year, 100 yards from our previous home. BT infinity was transferred too. It was amazing at our old address, but from day 1 here, not so good. Wireless occasionally dropped out and was slower but it was ok.
For the last 4 months it has got worse and worse. Now we have excellent wired connection but our wireless is non existent. We've changed hubs. Nothing. Moved the hub. Nothing. We haven't changed anything. Its just stopped completely. BT cannot offer any explanations or any further ideas.
Just sorry. Put up with it.
There's no point in us moving suppliers if we have no idea if they'll be any better.
It did work. How or why has it stopped????
Kids are driving me crazy cos they want games, youtube etc plus homework and uni work needs doing.

Can you see any other wireless networks when you join a computer to your network? If there are a good number then it may just be that the wi-fi congestion is worse.

Another option is if this new house has foil backed plasterboard and the last one did not, then this will attenuate the wireless signal

Yes there are other networks but I've not noticed any new ones.
And this is a new house to us but not a new new house. Its 20 years old.
But I still don't understand why the wireless was working for September, October, November, December and has got progressively worse this year to now having no wireless at all or we can connect for a few seconds??

Is it just the one computer or several that are having problems?

Laptop is wired.
All mobile devices, phones (iphones and samsung galaxy's), tablets (ipad and samsung) and games consoles (playstation and xbox) cannot connect.

Used to suggest http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/ to look at network clashes but don't think it is free anymore

If other people have upgraded to faster N wireless they may be using 40 MHz wide bands which causes more problems, and while lots of wireless networks can co-exist it is only when people are not using them largely.

As a double check, no new video senders, baby monitors or other wireless devices that may be on the 2.4GHz band?

Nope. Nothing else wireless.
Had ps4 at Christmas time but that's been the only change in the house

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Used to suggest http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/ to look at network clashes but don't think it is free anymore

I think I installed inSSIDer Office (Version 3.1.0.100) for free for my Win8 from http://www.metageek.net/support/metageek-software-ar... .

And this will tell me if there are clashes with other networks??
Or with other wifi devices too?

It will tell you about other broadband wireless-enabled routers.

It won't tell you about other stuff that might cause the problem like some microwave ovens, some types of light (I expect) and some other things. If you look on the link given to metageek you will see they also have a chargeable product that covers all relevant sources of wireless relevant frequency radiation.

It's also possible the inbuilt WAP in your router is failing. A Linksys of mine did, but its wired was perfect. If you don't have a spare router to try, you could buy a separate WAP to connect to it and see if that solves the problem.

We have tried 2 different hubs and 2 different white boxes (I think this is the infinity bit??? So I didn't need separate filters on each phone)

Changing the white box (modem) won't make any difference. It sounds like interference rather than specific hardware issues. Need to use inssider as others have suggested to see how congested the wireless is and see if there are some decent free channels you could hop the wireless over onto.

I had this problem with a wireless TV extender, it totally destroyed the 2.4Gb band but the 5 Gb was less affected. I just binned the extender , now ok.

In reply to a post by sikantired:

I had this problem with a wireless TV extender, it totally destroyed the 2.4Gb band but the 5 Gb was less affected. I just binned the extender , now ok.

What ????

Sorry. I'm thick as far as these things are concerned.
what's an extender?? What do I need to replace? And from where?
Been thinking about all this loads overnight and it really has only dropped out over the last 2 months maximum. But completely over the last 2-3 weeks.

As already suggested, get a copy of inSSIDer installed and running to identify the other channels in use. You may or may not see congestion.

If you have a friend who has good WiFi, take your hub and devices to their house. Power up your hub, no need to connect to a phone line, and see if you can connect to the management pages. If you can then the hub is fine and your environment is the problem.

Is your hub close to power cables or your consumer unit? Do you have a plasma television and has it started playing up? what happens if you turn off everything in te house - including lights and fridge freezer - at the consumer unit and just have one circuit to power the hub? Is te hub in an adjoining wall? Has te neighbour bought a new TV or moved things around? Is the neighbour a radio amateur?

I would suggest then unplugged and totally turning off devices to try and see if its any one device.

Based on what you've said I would start with the PS4

NOTE: The new consoles with their always online modes do need the power pulling out, not just the soft off button pressed.

This appears to be the earlier version 2, free.

http://inssider.en.softonic.com/

There is a version 3, which was also free.


----------------------------------------

As others have implied, inssider is designed to show Wi Fi signals only, ie it "only understands Wi Fi protococol/language", so although some channels may appear to be clear, that is because the Wi Fi circuits are avoiding them, due to non-Wi Fi items "hogging them".

It may be worth setting the the Wi Fi Channel in your own router to "Auto", so that it can "frequency-hop". Your other devices are designed to cope with such automatic changes - so you should not need to change any of them.

Other aspects could be the location of the router within the new house.

For example, is it in a restricted area such as "the cupboard under the stairs", almost surrounded by foil-backed plasterboard, as suggested by Andrew?

(Foil-backed plasterboard has been used in houses for more than 50 years; and of course, may have been used when alterations have been made to even older houses.)

Have other metallic objects gradually been piled up around it, eg bikes, biscuit tins etc?

=============================

With inSSIDer, you should download it on to Wi Fi equipped laptop. In the present situation, you may have to do this using an Ethernet cable directly from laptop to router.

Install it etc. It is relatively easy to use.

===============================

An additional way is to download CONNECTIFY to the laptop.

This allows the laptop to operate as a WAP (Wireless Access Poinjt), just as the router is.


Then try connecting some of your other devices to that CONNECTIFY Wi Fi circuit. This gives you the ability to try different locations around your house.

If those other devices manage to maintain that CONNECTIFY connection, then it suggests that you may have a faulty router.

One aspect to be wary of. CONNECTIFY closes down after about 40 minutes; but you can re-start it etc.

=================================

With ALL Wi Fi devices, the transmitted power levels are incredibly small.

It is like trying to light your complete house interior at night, with a single, small LED. (A single typical candle emits more light/power.)

I'm personally thinking you've just been extremely unlucky and have two faulty BT home hubs.

To not see the network AT ALL is strange. If this occurs even with the laptop next to the router I would say it's faulty.

If it works by the router but not further away it's likely to just be the wireless doesn't go that far.

As I explained earlier, nothing has changed. No new objects within the vicinity. No changes whatsoever. It faded for a few weeks, so that password had to be re entered into iphone/ ipad. Samsung galaxy's seemed immune at this time. Then over the last 2 - 3 weeks, wireless has gone completely.
Wired is fine. Fast upload and download speeds and doesn't drop out at all.
It's just the wireless. Its in the position that the engineer installed it too.
Yes there is a tv near it. And sky. And there was a ps3 now a ps4. But again, other than swapping playstations, there are no other changes.
And it was working fine with all those gadgets including the ps4.

In reply to a post by clairej0:

As I explained earlier, nothing has changed. No new objects within the vicinity. No changes whatsoever. It faded for a few weeks, so that password had to be re entered into iphone/ ipad. Samsung galaxy's seemed immune at this time.

It seems odd that the password should have to be re-input in the iPad/iPhone. Normally and wireless device should just "remember" it. When you say the Samsung Galaxy devices are "immune" does that mean that the work or simply you don't have to input the password?

Since this is a wireless problem what form of security are you using? WPA2 / AES? WPA2/TKIP?

You could try turning the security (in the router) temporarily to see if that makes a difference.

Install an app in the phones to see what is going on in the wireless around you. I use "WIFI analyser" on my Android phone. I do not touch Apple devices so cannot suggest what to use there. You need to see what the signal strength is like throughout the house for both your network and others ideally for multiple devices.

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

This appears to be the earlier version 2, free.

Why go to an intermediary when you can get it str8 from the horse's mouth? See: http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/bt/t/4320988-re-hel...

This may be a silly question.

Are you using the default SSID (network name)? It could be that there is another router nearby with the same network name and that you are connecting to that and failing the security because password is wrong.

This is a long shot but is remotely possible.

Looks like I've got lots of things to try.
Thanks everyone.
The galaxy's don't need the password inputting constantly. They remember it which the apple products don't seem to.

"Used to suggest http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/ to look at network clashes but don't think it is free anymore"

From the horse's mouth-

Buy inSSIDer 4!
For Windows and Mac - Only $19.99

Edited by deleted (Fri 11-Apr-14 17:38:18)

This kind of thing. PAT-330 2.4G Wireless AV Sender Transmitter Receiver AV TV STB Extender. The problem with them is the amount of bandwidth they require means they use most of the frequency range used by wifi. As a result they don't get on well together. An IP based network using a media server is a much better solution anyway.

Duh! You obviously couldn't be bothered to read on from that quoted in my linked post to my reply pointing at the still free version 3 in their archives!

Speed reading is incomplete reading!

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

Buy inSSIDer 4!

Only reason to buy 4 is if you need AC wireless support. Free version 3 does G and N very well, and both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands

From Google this is a possible alternative (NB: I have not tested)
http://www.xirrus.com/Products/Network-Management-an...

On a Mac there is just but one choice, WiFi Explorer on the Mac App Store, for £1.99 its a no brainer:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/wifi-explorer/id4948...

Edited by jchamier (Fri 11-Apr-14 18:12:03)

It so happens that I have both Versions 2 and 3.

Given that the OP has little or no experience generally, I think that Version 2 would be the easier for her to use; and 3 is not much different technically - but a bit more confusing for a first-timer to use.

---------------------------

As a Scotsman, I was NOT recommending her to purchase Version 4, simply drawing attention to the fact that Version 4 clearly states a cost; and I had been unable to find a Free Version 4, both when it first came out, getting confirmation today by following through that link; and COPY/PASTE the metageeks site's own statement.

=============================

I have now followed through your link, producing-

SOFTWARE VERSIONS AND RELEASE NOTES
inSSIDer Office � For use with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8
Version 3.1.0.100 (July 31st, 2013) � Release Notes Download

inSSIDer 4 � Windows & Mac
Software can be found at inSSIDer.com

inSSIDer HOME � For use with Windows Vista, 7, 8
Version 3.1.2.1 (December 17th, 2013) � Release Notes

inSSIDer for ANDROID � available at the Google Play Store
contact support if you can�t access the GooglePlay Store.

Bearing in mind that the OP is inexperienced, consider what your link has presented her with, also bearing in mind that she is in a HOME environment.

She is presented with four apparent options-

inSSIDer OFFICE - ?? Is this appropriate for her HOME use?
Version 3 ... Release Notes & Download

inSSIDER 4 - (Has to be purchased etc)

inSSIDer HOME - Apparently what she would want to use; but~
Release Notes (only, no Download link given)

inSSIDer for ANDROID - Could she use that, she has not mentioned ANDROID devices.

-------------------------------------------

The link I gave takes her straight to a simple download site, so she can confidently access a version quite suited to her requirements immediately, without further action.

She has enough to contend with, without further uncertainty.

Edited by deleted (Fri 11-Apr-14 19:56:36)

Unfortunately, you have mis-interpreted that line - it is a direct COPY/PASTE from the metageek site; and I included it as a warning, not a recommendation.

Must take a look at those other offerings, thanks for the links.

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

inSSIDer Office � For use with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8
Version 3.1.0.100 (July 31st, 2013) � Release Notes Download

That's the one you want. That's why I spelt its title & version.

It's a moot point which is easier. My link also goes straight to a download site and is for a more up-to-date version but I was really answering the point that inSSIDer was no longer free.

Then possibly you should have posted that direct link for the Version 3 Download, to the lady concerned, taking her straight to the Download site, totally avoiding any uncertainty.

Basically we are all trying to assist her; and with her present, stated, limited knowledge, the direct link would be of immediate application/benefit to her, rather than confronting her with a link where she would have to make choices due to the presentation not being as clear as it could be.

I would just ring BT and get another hub as it seems it's faulty if you don't even see the wireless network when next to the router. I would tip this is the issue and you have just been unfortunate. It seems unlikely interference would entirely eradicate the signal from being seen, interference usually means you can see the network but cannot connect to it.

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

Then possibly you should have posted that direct link for the Version 3 Download, to the lady concerned, taking her straight to the Download site, totally avoiding any uncertainty.

Basically we are all trying to assist her; and with her present, stated, limited knowledge, the direct link would be of immediate application/benefit to her, rather than confronting her with a link where she would have to make choices due to the presentation not being as clear as it could be.

This site doesn't like links to direct downloads. The link Xray gave was the correct way to do it.

In reply to a post by clairej0:

Can anyone help?????
We moved into our new house in august last year, 100 yards from our previous home. BT infinity was transferred too. It was amazing at our old address, but from day 1 here, not so good. Wireless occasionally dropped out and was slower but it was ok.
For the last 4 months it has got worse and worse. Now we have excellent wired connection but our wireless is non existent. We've changed hubs. Nothing. Moved the hub. Nothing. We haven't changed anything. Its just stopped completely. BT cannot offer any explanations or any further ideas.
Just sorry. Put up with it.
There's no point in us moving suppliers if we have no idea if they'll be any better.
It did work. How or why has it stopped????
Kids are driving me crazy cos they want games, youtube etc plus homework and uni work needs doing.

Which Homehub are you using?

Homehub 3. And the replacement is the same. I was told that 4 and 5 would offer me nothing more as it isn't distance that is the problem. Plus I would have to pay for either with no guarantees that it would make the slightest bit of difference.
I can see the hub listed on my mobile devices in the wifi.
But I cannot connect. I just get a notification that says unstable wifi and it disconnects

Btw. I am extremely grateful for everyones help
But I really didn't want to cause any arguments x

Pity, because the Homehub 5 would report your line stats and the wireless is far better than on other Hubs.

The only thing I can suggest is if you have a friend with a working router, ideally the same make and model as yours but any should do just to test that WiFi will work properly at your premises, that you can borrow for a short while to test at your house. If that works then the problem is definitely somewhere in your router's WiFi section. If that borrowed one doesn't work, either there is something major wrong with your setup or there is something really weird going on at your place.

Edited by deleted (Fri 11-Apr-14 23:14:05)

I suggest you try manually changing the wireless channels on your Hub as it doesn't sound like Smart Wireless is working. Instructions here http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/32236

Also the trouble with general s/ware download sites is that the page with the thing you want is often splattered all over with other Download buttons which are just adverts for other things. It gets so confusing that I've sometimes downloaded (but not installed ) something I'm not after. Rather go to the originator's site every time.

@eckiedoo: Never realised that you had to address the OP directly with every point you want to make in a discussion here , as if the OP isn't going to follow their own thread.

In reply to a post by Kronos2001:

This kind of thing. PAT-330 2.4G Wireless AV Sender Transmitter Receiver AV TV STB Extender. The problem with them is the amount of bandwidth they require means they use most of the frequency range used by wifi. As a result they don't get on well together. An IP based network using a media server is a much better solution anyway.

WHAT? Another waste of space post.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

inSSIDer Office � For use with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8
Version 3.1.0.100 (July 31st, 2013) � Release Notes Download

That's the one you want. That's why I spelt its title & version.

Worth pointing out that it's just a 5 day trial version. Might be long enough for short term analysis though.

In reply to a post by Oliver341:

Worth pointing out that it's just a 5 day trial version.

That's funny! I never saw that when I installed it on 24 Jan. So I just ran it up and it says it has 6 days remaining in trial, making it about 87 days of use. Also my vers is 3.1.1.6 not 3.1.0.100.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

In reply to a post by Oliver341:

Worth pointing out that it's just a 5 day trial version.

That's funny! I never saw that when I installed it on 24 Jan. So I just ran it up and it says it has 6 days remaining in trial, making it about 87 days of use. Also my vers is 3.1.1.6 not 3.1.0.100.

Yeah, current inSSIDer Office 3 version on their website is only a 5 day trial unfortunately. Possibly when you installed it they hadn't started the trial periods yet, and the act of loading it just now has kicked off your 5 day trial (or in your case 6, near enough).

Edited by Oliver341 (Sat 12-Apr-14 01:36:18)

Sounds feasible!

Looks like eckiedoo's vers. 2 will come in useful now .

NM i've 2 of those WiFi sniffers free on my mobile.

Thank you - my mis-understanding.



But that does seem strange, particularly with free (versions of) software.



And that Andrew has given the link to the commercial version only; but with a warning'

whilst Xrayspex gave a link that included the commercial version.


Additionally, specific commercial hardware has also been mentioned.


Or is the protocol subtler than that?

Edited by deleted (Sat 12-Apr-14 07:13:25)

Like yourself, I do prefer to go to the originator's site generally; and specifically to minimise the splatter.

In recent months, particularly since getting a Windows 8.1 PC, after installing any software from the Web, I immediately go to the Control Panel/Programs page; and do a Reverse Sort on the Installation Date Column, bringing the most recently installed programs to the top, followed by uninstalling any suspect ones.

Of course, this is dependent upon the exact form of the Splatter/PUP; but it has proven to be a fast, simple way of removing some virtually immediately.

I have also found a program which appears to have removed most of the residual splatter, certainly has removed a lot of the nuisance.

-----------------------

Regarding posting a much more useful link directly to the OP, I have in mind that she has indicated that she is inexperienced and being pestered by her family, so posting directly to her, brings it directly to her attention, via the e-mail notification.

Of course, she should not be splattered with every point that is raised, I fully agree with you on that aspect.

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

Or is the protocol subtler than that?

Of course. It probably differs for each poster

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

whilst Xrayspex gave a link that included the commercial version.

Just to try and put my link to bed, yes, I realised that the linked inSSIDer page could be a confusing choice for anyone, which is not of my doing. That is why I specifically stated the title & vers. no. of the relevant download in my post.

At the time I believed that vers. was free to use as it was when I installed it 3 months ago. However we now find that it is only a 5-day trial. Therefore your link to the vers. 2 inSSIDer becomes even more important.

Given that you can see the WiFi connection this is now stranger. I assumed you couldn't even see it...

jcym advised trying a friends router and I second this advice. There's an alternative way if you have iPhone...
If you have an iPhone or a samsung galaxy you can do the following. Ensure you have 3G signal not Edge or GPRS...
On iPhone go to settings - personal hotspot - turn it on & if it asks to enable WiFi and bluetooth hotspot turn that on... and STAY ON THIS SCREEN. You should see the iPhone WiFi on another device now e.g. a laptop. Does this connect (it can take 60 seconds before it works)?

If it does then there's no reason the homehub wifi shouldn't work. It's using the same WiFi spectrum you see.
I personally just think the hub is faulty.

Turn this off now, it was just for a test

Have you tried changing the channel, try channel 1, then 6, then 11. If all of them fail I again feel it's a faulty hub. It's very very very unlikely that interference will create every non-overlapping channel to be unusable.

Edited by ukhardy07 (Sat 12-Apr-14 14:55:16)

In reply to a post by clairej0:

I can see the hub listed on my mobile devices in the wifi.
But I cannot connect. I just get a notification that says unstable wifi and it disconnects

Hello. Were you able to try out greenglide's suggestion "You could try turning the security (in the router) off temporarily to see if that makes a difference"?

..... also you could switch off the Samsung devices & check if the others operate. then switch-on one by onestarting with tablet & lastly any S3's/S4's to see if there is any impact. this has been reported as a "design feature" on some forums wrt HH3 with loads of finger pointing between BT Retail & Samsung.

..... lastly re iPad password retention, the "Remember Network" flag in IOS 7 needs to be on for it to store network passwords (default is remember but it can get confused).

Edited by deleted (Sat 12-Apr-14 16:18:43)