FIOS speed caveat

[markem]

I have FIOS through Frontier (formerly Verizon in my area). I've been having all sorts of speed issues. I am supposed to get 25 Mbps up and down but frequently only get 1-2Mbps down and maybe 8Mbps up. After lots of troubleshooting, including having a tech on site today for 2 hours, we thought we solved the problem by reprogramming some of the cross connects in the local CO. However, after the tech left (after me pronouncing it all "fixed" :mad:), the speeds went back to bad for the wireless link.

Turns out that setting the channel to "automatic" can lead to intermittent speed issues. By working through the channels one-by-one, I was able to get a reasonable approximation of full speed (23 Mbps) by setting the channel to "6".

This is apparently a known issue and my solution is the solution that they hand out for people with wireless game console speed problems. Anyway, if anyone is having similar issues, it may be worth tweaking your channel setting on your router.

[Zeuceone]

thats the same issue i have with my wireless console speed but i ended up using a cable.

[Superbad]

I would suggest using a program that will scan the local area and report the wireless connections it sees. Then use a channel that nobody else is. 1, 6, and 11 are the most commonly used channels.

[bvilchez]

Thanks for the heads up Mark :tu

[markem]

I would suggest using a program that will scan the local area and report the wireless connections it sees. Then use a channel that nobody else is. 1, 6, and 11 are the most commonly used channels.

Indeed. The exception is when devices in the area are using automatic (like most wireless routers) that will randomly grab a suitable (for some definition thereof) channel upon boot.

Channels 1, 5, 8 and 11 are the most common in my neighborhood ... right now.

[CigarNut]

How do you find out what channel(s) you are using? I logged in to my router and could not find that info.

[poker]

How do you find out what channel(s) you are using? I logged in to my router and could not find that info.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r18906459-how-to-change-wifi-channel-on-the-fios-actiontec-router

[swh127]

I would suggest using a program that will scan the local area and report the wireless connections it sees. Then use a channel that nobody else is. 1, 6, and 11 are the most commonly used channels.

That is because wireless channels 1,6 and 11 are the only channels that do not interfere with each other. So if you have 3 other signals in your area and they are on channels 5,6 &7, even though they are on separate channels they will still interfere with each other.

See the article here (quick google search, might be better articles out there): http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/21132/change-your-wi-fi-router-channel-to-optimize-your-wireless-signal/

[CigarNut]

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r18906459-how-to-change-wifi-channel-on-the-fios-actiontec-routerMy mistake -- I did not read Mark's original message close enough and I thought he was talking about something related to the fiber connection rather than the wireless... Thanks for the quick response!

[poker]

My mistake -- I did not read Mark's original message close enough and I thought he was talking about something related to the fiber connection rather than the wireless... Thanks for the quick response!

:D

[markem]

How do you find out what channel(s) you are using? I logged in to my router and could not find that info.

Depending on your router, it could be in the wireless configuration section (for mine, it is in wireless / basic security settings). All wireless access points that I've played with set to a default of "automatic" (without specifying what they mean by this term).

An easy to use tool that will also show the adjacencies is http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/

The channel that you are using is the channel upon which you are centered. One of the critical things to note is the RSSI (received signal strength indication) which is most likely reflected in the 2.4GHz graph for the 802.11 systems. In general, you would like the graph of your access point to be the strongest signal in your channel group.

[Brutus2600]

Just as an FYI, the exact same thing plagued my household for the first two months when we switched from AT&T dsl to AT&T UVerse. Randomly, any wireless device would just drop for 15-20 seconds and then rejoin. Never any issue with the desktops. Not sure why considering it was a very similar modem with pretty much the same settings. Anyway, once I switched it from "automatic" to a specific channel, we were good to go and haven't had any problems since.

[jledou]

I had the same issue with Uverse as Brain but my initial solution was to get a linksys access point so that I also had better signal coverage. It ended up being a $20 fix but the improved coverage was very nice.

[looking for know]

Um, I'm switching from Comcast cable to FIOS fibre optics next week. Am I asking for trouble?

[TBone]

Thanks for the info Mark, I too had to go cable

[RGD.]

. . . I am supposed to get 25 Mbps up and down . . .


Up and down? Damn. My Fios info says that I'm only suppose to get between 3 and 5 up.

Currently I'm getting 25.66 down and 5.84 up.


Ron

[lostark374]

Up and down? Damn. My Fios info says that I'm only suppose to get between 3 and 5 up.

Currently I'm getting 25.66 down and 5.84 up.


Ron



FIOS comes in many speed packages the highest in my area is FiOS Internet Up to 150 Mbps/35 Mbps

Speeds up to 150 Mbps/35 Mbps - Download & upload photos, songs and videos in seconds. Wi-Fi access included.


for the lowlow price of $199 a month

[markem]

Here is my current speed.

http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp268/vstrommark/speed.jpg

Mind you, someone in the house is playing world of warcraft right now, so max speed isn't really possible.

[Bill86]

WoW will KILL your speed, goes both ways though. If you're doing anything else it will kill WoW's speed. I'm glad I don't play online games anymore.

Right now speakeasy says (5mb Comcast cable)

Last Result:
Download Speed: 21173 kbps (2646.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 3383 kbps (422.9 KB/sec transfer rate)

I really wish I could get fiber optics here. :td

[dunng]

35/35 from Verizon FiOS...

[CigarNut]

25/25 on Frontier FIOS.

Note that I am not using the wireless component of the FIOS router -- I disabled it and have been using a Netgear wireless N router which seems to work very well. (I was never a big fan of Actiontec...)