Frequent disconnection with Rogers

[Mjmallik]

Hi
I recently switched to Rogers Internet. My internet speed is 1gbps. I have deco installed for last few years and it was working fine when i was with other service provider
However after switching to Rogers the internet drop off has been headache with not major support from the technical team in rogers

After reading this forum I changed the setting as following to resolve the issue

Made Rogers mode in Bridge mode
Converted Deco to wifi router mode
Main deco is connected to rogers modem via ethernet cable

Speed never comes beyond 400mbps, which is also ok but every now and then frequent drop off of internet is an issue

I have three deco (x60) all around house and i am using main deco as router.

What shall I do to fix this internet drop off. I know rogers doesnt support third party device but i am looking for a specific setting in the rogers or deco to fix this problem
I had same issue when i changed my deco as AP and switched on the wifi in the Rogers modem and disable the bridge mode as well

Thanks

**Added Labels**

[-G-]

@Mjmallik  Okay, first things first.  Start by disabling Bridge Mode and disconnecting all third-party equipment from your network.  Perform a speed test using a computer that is connected directly to the Ignite Gateway with an Ethernet cable.  Confirm that you are able to attain speeds in the 930 - 940 Mbps range.  Also try performing a speed test through the Ignite HomeConnect app.  You should see results well in excess if 1 Gbps.

If your Internet connection is not stable, see the following help article: https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/Internet/Troubleshooting-a-Slow-or-Intermittent-Connection-Wir...

Log into your Ignite Gateway with a web browser and go to "Gateway > Connection > Rogers Network"

Make sure that your signal levels are within acceptable norms.  Also, scroll down to the bottom of the page and check your error stats.  The Uncorrectable Codewords Errors should be zero (or close to Zero) across all channels.  If you are seeing a ton of errors, that's a problem that will need to be investigated.

If all of the above checks out okay, there's a problem with the installation of your equipment.  When installing a mesh network, you need to be very mindful of where you place each node.  More is not better.  Install only enough to provide adequate coverage in your home.  Also, do not place mesh nodes too close to one another.  The secondary/child nodes should be placed in a area where clients get an RSSI on their connection at around -60 to -65 dBm, at a point where the signal to the primary node is still pretty good... but also close enough to -70 dBm where the network client will consider looking for a better connection, and (if you are not using a wired backhaul) also in a location where the secondary node can still get a good connection back to the primary node.  If the secondary node is placed in a location where the primary node's signal is too strong, the network client will not hand off to a more optimal node; too weak, and your Wi-Fi mesh network will not perform well.

[Mjmallik]

Thank you.
I did all steps what you proposed and speed is perfect and there is zero errors under Uncorrectable Codewords

So now issue is the settings within rogers modem or deco equipment
Main deco is connected to the modem directly through cable and sitting together

Two other deco are placed on at second floor and one in basement. Seems the location of equipment are ok.
Even because of this there is frequent drops off. Any one has any idea what setting these equipment will be set in
Should it be wifi router mode or AP mode and how can i avoid these drop off

[Datalink]

@Mjmallik separate the modem and main deco router as there's a good chance that the wifi output from the deco router is having a detrimental EMI effect on the modem.  I'd recommend at least 5 to 10 feet apart.  The further apart they are, the better.  Give that a go and see what happens.  

You should be able to run the modem in its default Gateway mode or Bridge mode without any drop-offs.

Are you in a house, townhouse, apartment, etc, etc??

If you're in a house or townhouse, did a tech install the modem and did he or she install new external cabling? 

If not, would you happen to know how old that external cable is?  

If you do have an external cable, does it run overhead to a nearby utility pole, or underground to a local pedestal?

[Mjmallik]

Yes i did tried with 10ft distance as well. No change
Modem was installed by technician at ground floor. The external cable was also recently installed by Rogers (under ground) and i live in Single family house in Mississauga

Fairly new cable i assume and speed comes perfectly what it supposed to be as per speed test

Something is going with AP or wifi router mode in deco or rogers internal settings

[-G-]

@Mjmallik Also, I probably should have asked but what do you mean by "frequent disconnection"?

Has Rogers tech support confirmed that your modem has (or had) an unstable link to the Rogers network?  They CAN tell how often your modem loses registration and needs to reconnect to the network.

If your Wi-Fi connectivity is just plain slow, keep in mind that a basement is pretty much THE WORST location to place an access point, especially the primary node of a Wi-Fi mesh or an access point that serves the entire home.  There are so many things that can attenuate your Wi-Fi signal.  Plumbing, electrical, duct work...  even the mesh underlayment under ceramic tile floors.  If you are getting full speed when you have a computer connected directly to the Ignite Gateway via Ethernet, you are done with anything that you can ask or do from a Rogers perspective.  If your TP-Link Deco equipment is performing poorly, your next step is contacting TP-Link tech support for their input.

What is your Wi-Fi connectivity like if you go down to your basement, disconnect your computer from Wi-Fi, then reconnect to Wi-Fi while in the the basement so that you test while connected to the primary node?  Does your connectivity improve if you also disconnect the secondary satellite Wi-Fi nodes?

[-G-]

@Mjmallik Do you have the QoS feature enabled on your Deco?  It looks like some form of SQM and if you do have it enabled, it could have a severe impact network throughput.

[Mjmallik]

Thanks. No I haven't enabled QoS and I am trying to reach TP link for support as well. So far no response from them.

I am surprised why it is happening when it is with Rogers. I was with other service provider with same set of settings in Deco and never had issue. 

I know Rogers modem is perfectly working with speed required, it is just a third party equipment where I am lost what needs to be done. 

Frequent disconnection means - every now and then internet drops and no internet for say 1-2 mins and come backs. It happens almost every hour or so.. Even while watching TV, youtube, amazon freezes and message comes on TV as " loading".. and after 2-3 mins it starts. Watching TV in the evening is like headache now due to this. Long office calls - i have to rejoin every time because of this drop

It means there is drop somewhere among the deco and resetting deco didn't helped me. 

[-G-]

I don't know what to say about your Internet service dropping out like that.  When it happens, does the status LED on your Ignite Gateway remain solid white OR do you see it flash green and then flash amber, indicating that the gateway actually dropped off the Rogers network and had to reconnect?

As for your slow throughput, I did a Google search for "deco x60 slow" and saw a shocking number of results.

Looking at the specs for the Deco x60, it looks like each deco node only has two radios; one for the 2.4 GHz band and one for 5 GHz.  What that means is that the 5 GHz radio will be used both for client connectivity and for a wireless uplink.  As a result, you will only be able to make use of (at most) half of the available bandwidth of that Wi-Fi link because a satellite node will spend its entire life alternately receiving and then relaying that same traffic.

If you have three deco nodes and the most distant node cannot connect directly to the primary node, that intermediate satellite node will be even more overloaded and throughput will suffer.

What is even worse is that the deco nodes will also need to share a common Wi-Fi channel, so every AP and client device will need to wait for quiet airspace before it can transmit.

The only way to improve this with dual-radio Wi-Fi mesh nodes is to use a wired Ethernet backhaul.  More expensive Wi-Fi mesh nodes have three radios, with one radio dedicated to the uplink.

[Mjmallik]

Thanks a lot for some positive suggestions. 

what does used wired ethernet backhaul mean ? Or what if I try upgrading wifi mesh where there are three radios. Do you think if I buy pods from Rogers for this to cover most of my house will help ? and removing deco all together ?

Thank you

[-G-]

@Mjmallik See this for more information about setting up a wired Ethernet backhaul: https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/1794/

With this option, you interconnect the Wi-Fi mesh nodes with a wired Ethernet network rather than over Wi-Fi.  It will improve performance SIGNIFICANTLY.  However, it also requires that your home is wired to allow this connectivity.

Your Wi-Fi mesh will also perform better if satellite nodes have an extra radio for a dedicated Wi-Fi connection to the primary node.

Ignite Pods are also a great option.

What will help the most is if you can move the primary Wi-Fi access point out of your basement, whether that is the Ignite Gateway or the primary node in a Wi-Fi mesh.