Question Slow Zyxel wifi due to mismatched country codes?

[KarlGustav]

Hello all!

I have a self-assembled mesh system here, consisting of a Zyxel NBG6604 (as access point and router), a Zyxel NBG6503 (as access point) and two Zyxel WAP3205 v2 (access points). All devices are connected with Ethernet cables as backbone, have the same SSID, and use channels 1, 5, 9 and 13 (on 2.4 GHz).

This configuration has worked without problems for several years. The individual end device has always connected perfectly to the geographically closest access point. The internet speed has always been excellent.

Recently, however, there are problems with the internet connection: the wifi connections sometimes drop, websites load very slowly, WhatsApp messages cannot be sent, ... HOWEVER: when I run a broadband test (website or iPhone app), I always get the maximum possible transfer rate!

I wonder what could be the cause of these problems. I have not made any change to the network.

But: I noticed after a wifi scan that the wifi devices have different country codes: All Zyxel devices were bought in Germany, but are now operated in Sweden. The two NBG devices show the country code "CH", while as both WAP devices show the country code "FR". Surely, none of this can be right!

My questions:

1. Can these problems be due to the different country codes?
2. If so, how can I change the country codes?
3. If it is not because of the country codes, what else could it be?

Thanks for all the help in advance!

KarlGustav

 

[kanewolf]

Hello all!

I have a self-assembled mesh system here, consisting of a Zyxel NBG6604 (as access point and router), a Zyxel NBG6503 (as access point) and two Zyxel WAP3205 v2 (access points). All devices are connected with Ethernet cables as backbone, have the same SSID, and use channels 1, 5, 9 and 13 (on 2.4 GHz).

This configuration has worked without problems for several years. The individual end device has always connected perfectly to the geographically closest access point. The internet speed has always been excellent.

Recently, however, there are problems with the internet connection: the wifi connections sometimes drop, websites load very slowly, WhatsApp messages cannot be sent, ... HOWEVER: when I run a broadband test (website or iPhone app), I always get the maximum possible transfer rate!

I wonder what could be the cause of these problems. I have not made any change to the network.

But: I noticed after a wifi scan that the wifi devices have different country codes: All Zyxel devices were bought in Germany, but are now operated in Sweden. The two NBG devices show the country code "CH", while as both WAP devices show the country code "FR". Surely, none of this can be right!

My questions:

1. Can these problems be due to the different country codes?
2. If so, how can I change the country codes?
3. If it is not because of the country codes, what else could it be?

Thanks for all the help in advance!

KarlGustav

It could be a DNS problem. It could be an IPv6 problem. Country code is only a potential issue with channel 13.
Your choice of channels means that you DO overlap. Only 1, 6, 11 don't overlap. You have 4 WIFI sources but there are only 3 clear channels. You have to repeat one channel. Pick the two APs that are most geographically dispersed and put them on the same channel. Put the other two one one of the other two unique channels. You can have three non-overlapping units plus one unit that will only overlap with the furthest unit.

 

[KarlGustav]

Hi!

Thanks for your quick reply. – I understand.

I had set the channel width to 20 MHz in the settings of all devices. Therefore, I was assuming that the channel distribution 1–5–9–13 is OK … whereas the channel distribution 1–6–11 is applied primarily when the channel width is 25 MHz. Or have I understood this wrong?

However, I will test the change of the channels later and see how it behaves then.

Still, I wonder why this configuration was fine for several years, but now suddenly causes problems without me changing anything.

I appreciate your support.

Kind regards,
KarlGustav

 

[bill001g]

13 is not allowed in many countries so the 1,6,11 is the most optimum settings at 20mhz. The channels are not that precise they actually transmit outside the range but at much lower power but still enough to interfere.

Generally the symptoms when you use channel 13 where you are not allowed is some devices work and others pretend that there is nothing to connect to. Of course the government might be waiting outside to kick down your door for using channel 13

What might have happened is you now have device that are only seeing a weaker signal because they can not use channel 13. The much more likely thing is you have a new neighbor using lots of wifi that is interfering with your wifi. It is much more common to use 40mhz channels now days so it is impossible to run 2 people in the 2.4g band. Not that 5g is much better. With everyone seeming to put multiple wifi repeater/ap in their house every single person is attempting to use every possible radio band.

The only temporary solution is to use wifi6e on the 6ghz radio band. That though is sure to get overcrowded and we have wifi7 coming that will attempt to use every possible radio channel in 2.4,5 and 6 for a single user by combining them.

 

[Nigel Spike]

FYI, channels 1-13 are allowed in Sweden, with channel 13 being at 2472 MHz.

 

[KarlGustav]

Hi!

Thanks for your kind assistance.
FYI: No neighbours here, no other networks. It’s a rural area.

Now I did two things: In order to determine whether it’s caused by a clash of Wifi channels, I temporarily used one access point only on channel 1 … and everything went perfectly! Now I added another access point on channel 6 … and it’s still OK. I'll continue to monitor the situation. Hopefully, that's the solution.

Kind regards
KarlGustav