Are you able to connect everything involved via ethernet?
Wi-Fi can be unreliable for many reasons so being near it isn’t going to change the thought much.
A quick google suggests to me that it’s Vulkan if you are running it that way but I can’t confirm.
What may be happening is that when the connection is unstable it may not be well designed enough to handle the dropped connection gracefully to let you reconnect.
I’m running a Framework laptop and don’t have the LAN expansion card as it wasn’t release at the time I got my laptop. I can order one, but they also don’t sell Frameworks in my country so it’s a long freight forwarding process 🙁.
I’ve been considering a new gateway (rather than the ISP router) to see if that helps stabilise the network. Maybe that will be helpful until I can get a proper LAN connection.
Yes framework expansion card slots are just a bunch of USBC ports, but seems a waste not to get the proper expansion card that slots nicely into the laptop looking like it was built in instead of a boring regular dongle.
I checked out the app you suggested, not entirely sure what I’m doing but the app seems happy with my wifi. My network is strong, others from neighbours are all pretty weak.
Unfortunately I need 2.4Ghz wifi for a bunch of home automation things.
Some, at much lower strengths. Most of the graph is covered though, and the access point is using the recommended channel. It has band steering so automatically changes the channel to optimise.
I have the ISP router and two AmpliFi mesh access points to provide the wifi. The ISP router also has a wifi network, this is the 2.4Ghz one for the IoT devices.
When I try to change the channel for the access points, I don’t get the option for channel 106. I only get the option for 36, 40, 44, 48, 149, 153, 157, 161.
I also noticed that I had missed that there’s a little button in the wifi scanning app to toggle between 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. I noticed if I change the channel, a whole bunch of hidden networks come with it. I think this must be related to the mesh network, it’s a lot of networks though! 8 or 9 of them, two separate ones with the same network name (I presume the two access points), and the rest all marked as hidden.
In the app, what does the width of the bar represent? It says something like Wifi_Network 157 (155) and has a big flat top that seems to cover a range. Is that indicating that nearby channels can interfere with each other?
Another thought of mine is that wireless devices can perform poorly if they are too close to the AP. (Like less than a meter)
I don’t get the option for channel 106
Assuming you’re not in a country that blocks the use of those channels. There is a bunch of corner cutting gear out there that won’t let you use a big chunk of the 5ghz spectrum.
If you’re shopping for new stuff look for gear that supports DFS channels in the future.
…and two AmpliFi mesh access points to provide the wifi.
Mesh networks can perform poorly for applications that are sensitive to latency and jitter. (Such as steam’s remote play)
a whole bunch of hidden networks come with it. I think this must be related to the mesh network, it’s a lot of networks though! 8 or 9 of them
It’s possible that some of those are related. My assumption is that there’s interference from your own devices and the neighbours. But a mesh network isn’t an ideal environment.
In the app, what does the width of the bar represent? It says something like Wifi_Network 157 (155) and has a big flat top that seems to cover a range.
This is indicative of the channel width. It’s a common occurrence to have a network use overlapping channels to increase performance.
The take away is that not all channels are isolated from one another and it’s possible for a network to have many of them bonded together.
With Wifi_Network 157 (155). It’s indicating that the network’s real channel 155 with a 80mhz channel width. But it’s configured to channel 157 for its beacon as not all devices will connect in 80mhz mode. 157 represents the 20mhz channel it’s configured to camp on.
Is that indicating that nearby channels can interfere with each other?
Are you able to connect everything involved via ethernet?
Wi-Fi can be unreliable for many reasons so being near it isn’t going to change the thought much.
A quick google suggests to me that it’s Vulkan if you are running it that way but I can’t confirm.
What may be happening is that when the connection is unstable it may not be well designed enough to handle the dropped connection gracefully to let you reconnect.
I’m running a Framework laptop and don’t have the LAN expansion card as it wasn’t release at the time I got my laptop. I can order one, but they also don’t sell Frameworks in my country so it’s a long freight forwarding process 🙁.
I’ve been considering a new gateway (rather than the ISP router) to see if that helps stabilise the network. Maybe that will be helpful until I can get a proper LAN connection.
If I recall correctly the framework laptops have a bunch of USBC ports?
If so you could just get a USBC dongle for it.
In the meantime we can evaluate the quality of your WiFi. If you have an android phone, I find this app works fairly well for visualizing the network.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vrem.wifianalyzer
Additionally, If you have a dual band router I would suggest disabling the 2.4Ghz band unless you have any legacy devices that use it.
Check that your network isn’t overlapping with any other networks.
Yes framework expansion card slots are just a bunch of USBC ports, but seems a waste not to get the proper expansion card that slots nicely into the laptop looking like it was built in instead of a boring regular dongle.
I checked out the app you suggested, not entirely sure what I’m doing but the app seems happy with my wifi. My network is strong, others from neighbours are all pretty weak.
Unfortunately I need 2.4Ghz wifi for a bunch of home automation things.
Do you see any overlap on yours in the graph view?
Some, at much lower strengths. Most of the graph is covered though, and the access point is using the recommended channel. It has band steering so automatically changes the channel to optimise.
So there’s a few issues at play.
That automatic channel changing feature is more harmful than helpful in this context.
If you’re able to lock it onto an entirely empty channel it’ll help. Try for channel 106
I have the ISP router and two AmpliFi mesh access points to provide the wifi. The ISP router also has a wifi network, this is the 2.4Ghz one for the IoT devices.
When I try to change the channel for the access points, I don’t get the option for channel 106. I only get the option for 36, 40, 44, 48, 149, 153, 157, 161.
I also noticed that I had missed that there’s a little button in the wifi scanning app to toggle between 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. I noticed if I change the channel, a whole bunch of hidden networks come with it. I think this must be related to the mesh network, it’s a lot of networks though! 8 or 9 of them, two separate ones with the same network name (I presume the two access points), and the rest all marked as hidden.
In the app, what does the width of the bar represent? It says something like Wifi_Network 157 (155) and has a big flat top that seems to cover a range. Is that indicating that nearby channels can interfere with each other?
Another thought of mine is that wireless devices can perform poorly if they are too close to the AP. (Like less than a meter)
Assuming you’re not in a country that blocks the use of those channels. There is a bunch of corner cutting gear out there that won’t let you use a big chunk of the 5ghz spectrum.
If you’re shopping for new stuff look for gear that supports DFS channels in the future.
Mesh networks can perform poorly for applications that are sensitive to latency and jitter. (Such as steam’s remote play)
It’s possible that some of those are related. My assumption is that there’s interference from your own devices and the neighbours. But a mesh network isn’t an ideal environment.
This is indicative of the channel width. It’s a common occurrence to have a network use overlapping channels to increase performance.
The take away is that not all channels are isolated from one another and it’s possible for a network to have many of them bonded together.
With Wifi_Network 157 (155). It’s indicating that the network’s real channel 155 with a 80mhz channel width. But it’s configured to channel 157 for its beacon as not all devices will connect in 80mhz mode. 157 represents the 20mhz channel it’s configured to camp on.
Yes.
Channel chart source: https://readus247.com/best-5ghz-channel/