What Next!

So I'm upstairs streaming a bit of Now TV and all of a sudden, WiFi signal seems to jam, now this happens around the same time every night...

Next door has a baby, I think the issue is a Baby Monitor interfering with my 2.4Ghz WiFi, So how do I sort this... seems like I can't short of buying and forcing my neighbors to use another baby monitor.

Now I have 3 WAP's as i live in a big house with thick walls, all other AP's are fine, just upstairs WAP that jams, I've tried changing channels and switching between 20/40mhz...

I have a 5Ghz WAP downstairs and that does get weak coverage upstairs for my laptop, phones and tablets don't work so well though and Now TV and some other devices don't support 5Ghz... I also don't fancy paying out another £100-£150 on another Dual Band PoE AP.

So am I stuck with the one option of dictating to my neighbors what equipment they can use to monitor their child?

Just think of your neighbours ... they may well be rather annoyed by you too for using a device that interferes with their baby monitor.

The 2.4GHz band is an ISM band, Industrial Scientific Medical. This is unlicensed spectrum in which licence-exempt equipment may be used, your WiFi is suitably tested and CE marked as is their baby monitor I expect.

Microwave ovens leak a lot of energy when they're running, but generally the gaps between pulses are sufficient to keep WiFi and Bluetooth operating.

The problem you are experiencing is expected in a dense RF environment.

Will that be the case though?

Also what came first on 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi or Baby Monitor?

Besides that not my issue, my issue is lack of internet upstairs!

Had no idea it was unlicensed... That would explain why so many devices use it then.

So would I be right in saying I'm screwed then!

Do you know your neighbours well? At the moment you are not sure that it is the baby monitor. Why not work with them to check that the baby monitor is the source of the problem by getting them to test it at another time of the day to ensure that really is the cause. Once you have worked with them to do that you could then discuss how you might best solve the problem between you, particularly if your signal is affecting their baby monitor in the same way that their signal may be affecting your WiFi.

Have you tried Inssider, or something similar?

Inssider won't find the baby monitor. You would need full on RF scanning to do that which when I last looked could be fairly expensive.

The Baby Monitor !

The only way round it is to work with the neighbours ...

Not too surprised it is affecting all channels - a relatively high power transmitter close to your PC receiver will swamp the whole front end not just a single channels.

Ask them exactly where it is ... is it against te part wall? can it be moved across the room.

I will speak with the neighbours but I the issue here is the manufacturers still making devices that are limited to 2.4Ghz...

Even worst, companies are still manufacturing faster technologies on 2.4ghz using basically all the spectrum for one WAP!

In reply to a post by mlmclaren:

I will speak with the neighbours but I the issue here is the manufacturers still making devices that are limited to 2.4Ghz...

Even worst, companies are still manufacturing faster technologies on 2.4ghz using basically all the spectrum for one WAP!

There are only a few small areas of the spectrum where unlicensed equipment can operate ... 433 MHz, 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.7 GHz and then up at 24 GHz. 433 MHz is too low for good throughput and is swamped by toys, car keys, alarm systems and more. 900 MHz is not worldwide and 24 GHz is not really suitable either - short range and easy to block. So, WiFi can only really use 2.4 and 5.7 GHz.

I totally agree with your second comment about taking the whole spectrum for a single WAP - they say customers demand it, however they fail to tell customers that if they and their neighbours all have one ten there could be problems for all of them.

Here, everything is normally wired if it requires high data rates and the four WAPs are limited to single channel only.

In reply to a post by MHC:

So, WiFi can only really use 2.4 and 5.7 GHz.

Here, everything is normally wired if it requires high data rates and the four WAPs are limited to single channel only.

Well I think it's time that 2.4Ghz wireless is phased out and everything is made reliant on from 5.2-5.8Ghz

I also have everything possible wired, but it's inevitable for Phones, Tablets and Also Now TV in the case, I also have 5 Sonos stations... Thats a joke in its self but not going into that.

Thanks for the recommendations and info anyway!

Trouble with 5Ghz is it has a shorter range and therefore is less likely to cover the average house requiring people to then start having multiple access points. It is also more easily blocked by physical objects.

2.4Ghz will be preferred for coverage. More devices are also moving into the 5Ghz range to avoid 2.4Ghz issues (like AV transmitters). I wouldn't be surprised if you can also buy baby monitors that use 5Ghz.

The problem is there just isn't enough available bandwidth, at present, for all the wireless stuff people want to do.

Homeplugs?

In reply to a post by Stevenage_Neil:

Homeplugs?

Not possible to plug, Phones, Tablets and Now TV into a homeplug or even the massive home network that I have wired throughout

Move to 5GHz and the same will occur there. There is only 150MHz of spectrum which may be more than the 100MHz at 2.4HHz however it will soon fill up as people move.


5GHz is also shorter range and attenuated by brick, block, plasterboard &c to a greater degree than 2.4GHz. 5GHz has power limits for indoor use however outdoor services have higher limits which can cause interference issues.

They need to co-exist - and maybe licensing of them at manufacturer level is required along with restrictions on channel usage/width. How long before someone produces an 80MHz device that runs on Ch 1, 5, 9, 13 and swamps everything?

Yes I agree about 5Ghz, specially with most manufacturers making their wireless equipment restricted to channels 36 - 48...

Stupid f..... EU Regs!

But my issue is 2.4Ghz at the moment!

Anyway, I've had enough of the topic I'm currently trying to get some sense out of Linksys to why I my Business grade WAP will not use any other channels other than 36-48 when both my neighbours are using all 36-48 with their AC routers

Thanks again for information but were all wasting our time i'm sure!

In some parts of Europe the higher channels - above 48 require Dynamic Frequency Selection and Transmit Power Control to be implemented. Does the Linksys have that?

If it has location setting changing to US will not help DFS is required and similarly Japan. There might be some regions where it is not required.

I'm not sure if the Linksys has those features but I'm aware of what your taking about...

The only thing that can be changed (location wise) on the LAPAC1200 is the time location, If I was using a TP-Link router I could set it to the US and use channels 149+

Unfortunately this isn't the case with the Linksys as it has been manufactured for the UK and seems that Firmware has restrictions based on Hardware ID!

Luckily for me, my neighbour has a BT HH5 which can have its channels changed manually to higher ones to free up space for mine sitting low...