Poor Wireless Connection

[chaz]

Hi I am pleading for some Help here Please on a subject I do not have a clue about Hope you can help me.
My Broadband service is Virgin Hub which is upstairs and I have a Harmony Hub which is downstairs which was on my TV Table which was fine when I had the Harmony 1100 But since having a other hub been having problems. with it.
The Harmony Hub started causing problems a few weeks ago and stopped working right ( Will not go into details as it is on other forums) but to say I could not figure it out I then Remembered That Virgin sent me two wireless plug ins I tried them it worked but only just it worked though by plugging the Harmony hub into the wireless Plug in the spare socket on the front of the Virgin wireless but that right next to me that is not good enough for me.
The Point I do not have many sockets in my house most of them taken up with my HiFi and Home Cinema so if I want to use this Virgin Plug in I will have to unplug a other piece of gear use a two way plug adaptor to put the spare unit plug into as the other one is being used by the Virgin unit and the spare socket on the front of the virgin wireless plug my Harmony hub is plugged into.
Is there a More powerful Wireless Plug that I can use where I do not have to Plug the Harmony hub to make it work just one more thing we also get a bad wireless signal in the garden would a more powerful unit help this?
I wish I had never gone to Virgin I was told I get a 400mp down load ( Which I do ) but it is the wireless is 100% Crap Thanks Guys

 

[oneman]

Check if you have changed from 2.4GHz connection to 5 GHz with newer device. You can switch off the 5 GHz on the superhub to check. 5 GHz is faster speed but shorter distance so near edge of reception is actually worse than 2.4GHz.

If that isn't the issue then have a look for a powerline adapter with passthrough. This one also has some extra ethernet ports and WiFi as well.

Amazon product

 

[chaz]

I Own the Hub 3 so I presume I can not change what ever you said to change I said I knew nothing about this. Should I go for one with antennas so it is more powerful. Thanks for the help you are giving to a idiot like Me

 

[oneman]

I Own the Hub 3 so I presume I can not change what ever you said to change I said I knew nothing about this. Should I go for one with antennas so it is more powerful. Thanks for the help you are giving to a idiot like Me

You can temporarily change the SSID of the SuperHub for 5GHz network. There are plenty of instruction if you Google it.

 

[mickevh]

So called "high gain" antenna are not "more powerful," they are "more directional." They are highER gain in one set of directions at the expense of some others, compared to a theoretically perfect antenna that radiates uniformly in all directions (in reality it's impossible to construct such an antenna.)

Thusly, using a simple "stick" antenna as an exemplar a 6dBi "high gain" antenna radiates more energy perpendicular to it's axis than a 3dBi. The radiation pattern looks like a doughnut (ring not jam) sat on your finger. A high gain antenna means the doughnut is a bit more squashed so it bulges at the sides more. Consequently, you can "steer" the coverage pattern a bit.

Remember your high school physics - energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another, so "magic" antenna are not conjuring up energy out of thin air. They are just more directional. Wi-Fi transmit power is capped by law and most kit is, and always has been, at or very close to the max. Whatever energy goes into the bottom of the antenna is what comes out (less a few losses due to cables, resistance and so on,) thence it is a matter of pointing it where we want it. YOu could experiment a bit with changing the orientation of you router and see if that makes any difference (and get it into free space and occluded by anything wet of metal.)

95% of the time, the solution for Wi-Fi coverage issues is to get the communicating peers closer together, remove the obstructions between them or both, rather than look for "magic" boxes with "much better signal" or whatever BS the vendors are pumping out this week. Better still, if possible, not use Wi-Fi at all and put in cables.

Before throwing money at this problem, I'd conduct the sort of tests @oneman is suggesting.

 

[chaz]

Sorry I did not understand a word of the above my Grammar School physics I was useless at but my Latin was top notch as was my Rugby and Cricket All I want to do is get my harmony remote to work which is why I need a more powerful plug in and asking on here which is the best one to buy Thanks

 

[chaz]

I am still not sure what to do

 

[oneman]

If you are just interested in a better plug in booster then the TP link one is better then the one Virgin Media supply.

 

[chaz]

OK will this be OK getting a better signal in the garden What about this Then also on the front the plug ins you recommend me it shows plug socket on the front does that mean that I will have to give up one of my sockets to put this in and then plug in my Harmony Hub into the same unit like I said guys I only need this for my harmony hub and a good signal in my garden
Amazon product

 

[chaz]

Or this one Amazon product

 

[chaz]

Just to add the only way I can Get my Harmony hub to work it is like I said is plug it into the Virgin wireless plug it only works then less than 8 inches away!!!! and my Samsung/ Harmony then works try it anywhere else
forget it

 

[GTeng]

Tenda Nova MW5 3 pack is down to £50 in Curry’s at the moment, I’m now getting wifi in the garden and up to my detached garage

 

[oneman]

Network extenders work in one of two ways. They either take an existing WiFi signal and resend it, that is what you have linked to.

The other option is to use electric mains cable, aka Powerline which is what I have listed. Generally speaking I find Powerline to be more reliable. Powerline adapters come with and without WiFi capabilities. If you want to extend WiFi as well as network then get the model I linked to.

And are you connecting the Harmony hub with an ethernet cable to the bottom of the extender ? In which case it's Ethernet not WiFi you are looking for.

 

[chaz]

No the Harmony Hub it is not earthnet it is plugged straight into the socket of the Virgin WiFi Plug in does this Powerline give a strong enough signal so I do not have to plug my harmony to the spare socket in front of the Powerline like I am at the moment also what about getting a WiFi signal in the garden would the Powerline sort that out as well. Or should I get both. Here is a picture where it is now as you can see that is not good enough!!!

 

[oneman]

Taking a step back,

Do you have a laptop or phone you can install WiFi Analyzer app on and check signal strength where the harmony hub is. This is with the the wifi extender switched on and off.

You are looking for signal strength and also if there are other WiFi network that could be interfering at that location.

 

[chaz]

I presume I can put one on my Samsung Phone but where do I get it and how do I use it? Other networks I do not Know near me

 

[oneman]

I presume I can put one on my Samsung Phone but where do I get it and how do I use it? Other networks I do not Know near me

Yes, its available for Samsung phones. Just be aware that the harmony only supports 2.4GHz so that is what you need to test. The following is a pretty good guide on how to use it what the results mean.

Its not entirely clear in the video but I would stick to either 1, 6 or 11 if you change the 2.4GHz channel number.

 

[chaz]

Ok I will give it a try Just to add as you cane see from the photo of how it works now that is not good enough is it ? so would I need a plug in & a booster as well? saw this any good
Amazon product

 

[oneman]

Ok I will give it a try Just to add as you cane see from the photo of how it works now that is not good enough is it ? so would I need a plug in & a booster as well? saw this any good
Amazon product

Just get the powerline adapter that linked to. It's got built in WiFi.

But do the WiFi analyser before you spend any money.

 

[chaz]

OK oneman you have got to understand This is totally beyond me at 71 years old

 

[chaz]

Update used the WIFI app upstairs at the moment it reads just below the -30minus Line and beside the tip of there is a reading ~ 0m if I go to the next line my box is in read -20 and going up slightly the broadband is set at2.4GHz. Downstairs it read -60 on one graph ~7 beside the graph on the other Access point it say the Freq is 2437MHz (20MHz)CH6 underneath that it reads WPA2PSK-CCMP when I go the best channel Channel 6 is 1 star and that is RED 5 & 7 are yellow What does all this mean?????? I am going to ring Virgin about the broad band and wireless Not working I have Tried the new wireless router you recommended I still have to plug the harmony Hub to get it to work will let you know how I get on

 

[mickevh]

That sounds typical. You could literally sit on top of an AP and never see 0dBm. Don't worry too much much about the values - your measuring device (and software) is highly unlikely to have been accurately calibrated - they are more of a "wet finger in the air" indicator where we are looking for ball park figures and trend.

2437MHz (20MHz)CH6 is an interpretation of the nominal radio frequency. The actual radio frequency (2437MHz) is ascribed a shorthand "channel number" (Ch6) for (human) convenient so we don't have to remember the real frequency numbers. In the 2.4GHz waveband there are 13 available (C1-C13.) You could Google the actual frequencies, but it doesn't really matter as the technology knows what they are.

Wi-Fi does not transmit "one bit at a time" (which is called "bit serial" in data networking jargon.) Wi-Fi transmits using multiple frequencies simultaneously, rather like a barber shop quartet where each singer sings at a different pitch, but Wi-Fi uses many more singers. The number of voices used (we call these "sub carriers") is defined in the Wi-Fi standards which effects how "wide" a Wi-Fi channel is - this is what the "20MHz" is saying (that's the basic channel width which has 54 sub carriers.) Some newer Wi-Fi protocols increase throughput ("speed") but increasing the number of sub carriers used and thusly the channel "width." 802.11N ( or just "N" to it's friends) introduced an option to roughly double the number of sub carriers and thusly the channel width expanded to "40MHz." 802.11AC (or AC to it's friends) doubled the channel width again to 80MHz and sometimes 160MHz. The "wide" channels are all optional, so it's not mandatory for the technology to support them all.

WPA2PSK-CCMP describes the encryption and authentication mechanisms being used: WPA2PSK means you are authenticating using a "Pre Shared Key" (PSK) IE a "Wi-Fi Key." There's other alternatives available, but they are rarely used in SOHO devices. CCMP describes the encryption - there's an older one called TKIP (and WEP) but these have vulnerabilities and are being depricated in favour of CCMP.

The red and yellow stars is just your App trying to determine how "good" (whatever that means) your radio channels are. They are more or less meaningless and you can ignore them. What you want to look for is trend as you move around and how big any "difference"is between your AP and any others using the same channel (called the "signal margin") - the bigger the better, but again trend is what's important rather than the actual values. This informs whether you could select a better channel.

That all said, non of the values you've cited give (me) any course for concern - they are pretty typical (expected.)

 

[chaz]

Thank You Professor or as they say in Latin Tibi gratias ago tibi Professor

 

[chaz]

Right here is a weird update I went out brought the TP Link the 800 as advised above installed it done NOTHING!! So I tried using the Harmony Hub on its own in a plug socket at the other end of the room and the TP plug at the other end of the room still NOTHING!!! So took the TP PLUG IN to where the Harmony HuB is unplugged the hub put the TP Plug in the main socket then the Hub in. It works Yippee .
But this not the end of this Tale I disconnected TP plug upstairs from the PC went downstairs my Harmony hub still worked just fine. So there is no wireless signal now coming though wall socket.
So I then took one of my Virgin plug ins took the TP Link out and put the Virgin one in My Hub Worked still inputs on the Amp Vol up Vol Down etc and changed input fine No Problem
Now more strange things if I disconnect the hub removed the Plug in put Harmony Hub back in It would change the Activity just fine like turn TV on or watch cinema Projector comes on Screen comes down Blu Ray player comes on it does everything it should expect TURN ON THE AMP!!!!! but if I put the plug in back in then the Hub The Amp works just fine exactly what it says does on the Tin. One other thing I sometimes get the message saying the hub says It is not connected but it is. Need help here to solve this strange things what are going with this Hub