[SOLVED] Double router setup

[billyomfg]

I had an issue with ping spikes on an ethernet connection while wifi was active during mainly the later afternoon and night hours(Disabling wifi fixes the spikes).I made a thread regarding this issue and i decided to buy another router to see if it fixes the problem which it didnt .So, i decided to use one router as a main router and wifi provider and another one only for my ethernet connection.I know mostly how to set it up but id like to hear opinions for anyone who has something useful to say.I have contacted my ISP multiple times about this and they dont seem to know how to fix it and they definetely believe its not something on their end of which im really doubtful.So out of desperation im doing this.Im going to use a new tp link modem-router for the main one and an older zte provided by my isp for the ethernet connection.Only the main one will have the wifi enable while the other one won't and hopefully i wont have any issues.

 

[hackster]

I find it difficult to understand how wifi could slow down your ethernet, unless someone else is using it for massive amounts of data.

Is anyone else using your wifi when this happens?

You might also want to try Wifi Analyzer or similar on your phone or a PC, to check for channel clashes. I don't see how this could cause ethernet issues, but it would be a reasonable thing to check as you're getting such weird issues. E.g. if a neighbour's wifi is swamping yours then it may be getting very busy trying to work out what's going on.

I've never found Auto channel selection to be much use on any router I've tried. Best to choose 1, 6 or 11 and keep an eye on what your neighbours are using if you get issues. Also - don't switch off wifi once you've got a decent channel, as any neighbour's routers that do use auto selection might grab your preferred channel while you're not broadcasting on it.

 

[billyomfg]

I find it difficult to understand how wifi could slow down your ethernet, unless someone else is using it for massive amounts of data.

Is anyone else using your wifi when this happens?

You might also want to try Wifi Analyzer or similar on your phone or a PC, to check for channel clashes. I don't see how this could cause ethernet issues, but it would be a reasonable thing to check as you're getting such weird issues. E.g. if a neighbour's wifi is swamping yours then it may be getting very busy trying to work out what's going on.

I've never found Auto channel selection to be much use on any router I've tried. Best to choose 1, 6 or 11 and keep an eye on what your neighbours are using if you get issues. Also - don't switch off wifi once you've got a decent channel, as any neighbour's routers that do use auto selection might grab your preferred channel while you're not broadcasting on it.

I live with 3 other people 2 of them use the wifi mostly but they use it for messaging or youtube purposes nothing really heavy for a 50mbps network im sure about this.I will keep in mind the channel things especially when im about to join a game .I would like to emphasize on the fact that i get high pings and since they reach so high i get disconnections from all the devices in my house

 

[hackster]

It's impossible to know what's going on if you have others on the same connection doing things that are beyond your control.

I would expect pings to increase due to workload on your router, even if you are well under the maximum speed.

Still worth checking for clashing channels though, just in case that's making things more difficult than necessary.

 

[billyomfg]

I checked the channels on wifi analyzer on my phone the 14th channel is the sweet spot but my router cant reach that as it seems so i have it at 6 and i regularly check it but 6 seems to be the second best most of the times.Though i remember half a year i go i had a regular 24 mbps network that could manage 12 mbps at most but usually under 10 and at that time I had no issues with ping.After upgrading to 50 mbps every issue i have faced is from then to now ( i changed a malfunctioning router and then to the replacement to the one i have now).Its like this issue came out of thin air and no one seems to have an explanation that can help me fix it.Im deeply worried that my ISP is at fault cause maybe they let more clients in my area than they can handle and due to my contract ending in 2 years i cant pay the price to end it.The funny thing is that everytime i contact them they say everything is fine on their end and they cant help me more.I only hope that someone can actually find a way through this without me having to wait two years for an ISP change(if they are actually at fault)Im pinging my router when i get those crazy ping spikes and everything seems ok ,then i tracert google which showcases pings on my ISP's IPs( I also have a programm called pingplotter that confirms that when i get those pings those IPs ping of the charts only along with google of course since its the ending ip.

 

[hackster]

You've got so much going on at once that it's going to be hard to work out what is causing what.

Even if two things happen at the same time, one may not be the cause of the other - i.e. correlation does not prove causation. So it would be very easy to think that something may be causing something that's actually completely random and actually the ISP's issue.

Is channel 14 a valid channel where you are? It's 1-13 here, but most use 1-11.

 

[bill001g]

The reason you can't use channel 14 is it is not allowed in many countries. Even in countries it is allowed not all equipment will use it. Too much trouble for manufactures to make different models and then ensure they are not sold in the wrong countries.

In general trying to set the channel numbers is a waste of time. First the channels in the router represent only 5mhz of bandwidth but wifi uses 20mhz. This is why you see the 1,6,11 recommendations since that fit 3 20mhz blocks into the total of 60mhz best. BUT that is all old information really. Modern wifi uses 40mhz of bandwidth on 2.4g and it is impossible to fit 2 40mhz signals into 60 mhz of bandwidth. You are guarenteed to overlap your neighbor no matter what you try.

If you can you want to go to 5g because there is more bandwidth. I would still leave the setting on auto. The channels numbers here represent 20mhz of bandwidth BUT 802.11ac uses 80mhz and the newest form of wifi uses 160mhz and there is only 180mhz in most countries.

Pretty much just leave it on auto and hope for the best. There just is not enough bandwidth anymore.



You really need to first get this working with ethernet. I would disable the wifi radios so you know the devices that are using the connection. You can then turn on the wifi and maybe use the MAC filter so you can enable them one at a time to see which device is creating the offending traffic.

Adding a second router just makes this more complex so I would test with the direct ethernet first. Really the only reason to use a second router is to increase wifi coverage. This really is using the router as a AP.

 

[hackster]

If you can you want to go to 5g because there is more bandwidth. I would still leave the setting on auto. The channels numbers here represent 20mhz of bandwidth BUT 802.11ac uses 80mhz and the newest form of wifi uses 160mhz and there is only 180mhz in most countries.

Pretty much just leave it on auto and hope for the best. There just is not enough bandwidth anymore.

5G may be a good idea if it's a congested neighbourhood.

Round here, all my neighbours on 2.4GHz use 20MHz channels, and thankfully all stick to 1, 6 or 11 so it all works pretty well.

Obviously it depends on the router, but I've found Auto mode to be much worse than doing nothing in the past - my router seemed to pick the one worst possible channel.

There's also the chance of a continuous merry-go-round if everyone uses Auto, where one moving makes the others move, which makes the first move and so on, indefinitely. Sometimes just one of the parties staying put can make everyone else stop jumping about.

Just don't switch off - I got all eco once, decided to put a timer switch on my router to switch off overnight. By the morning, a neighbour had very happily jumped onto my channel.

You can also play games against Auto mode if your neighbours are using it - if you deliberately invade their channel there's a chance that they'll move to another!

But in this case I'd agree that the place to start would be to switch off wifi altogether and do lots of testing. Always be aware that the problem may happen to appear when you do something but isn't caused by it. If you wear red socks and it works well then you wouldn't conclude that it only works if you wear red socks. The same may apply to using wifi or any other variable.