@Afrafard80, what is it they say? I have your good news, and ..... I have your bad news. The good news, you have an operating wifi adapter. The bad news, its not a very good one. Here's the sheet for the adapter:
https://wikidevi.com/files/Ralink/RT3290%20product%20brief.pdf
In that sheet you will see the following line: 1T1R 802.11n Wi-Fi with antenna diversity
So, translation, it will only receive from one antenna at a time, up to a maximum of 150 Mb/s, and that is an overall rate which includes wifi overhead. Fwiw, wifi adapters with two or three antenna connected and running Multiple Input Multiple Output (data streams) will see rates in the 300 to 450 Mb/s range.
If you look at the following chart, go down to the Spatial Streams column to the bottom of the "1" section.
http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/media/gallerypage/user-id/829158/image-id/1128i1B0D5B8474F8D75B
Go right from there and you can see the gross rate of 150 Mb/s with 40 Mhz wide channels (2 x 2.4 Ghz channels). I have no doubt that the 2.4 Ghz band is probably pretty crowded where you live and as a result you would only be running a 20 Mhz wide channel. Go left on that chart to the next columns for 20 Mhz wide channels. The max rate is 72.2 Mb/s. Multiply by 5/6 gives you a maximum of 60 Mb/s without wifi overhead. So, thats the maximum that I would expect you to see on a speedtest, if in fact the the wifi adapter was running at max rates, which is unlikely due to the local interference from other wifi modems and routers.
Sorry for the bad news.
Solution: replace the wifi card with a dual band adapter which would give you much faster data rates.
If you can specify the exact model of the laptop, perhaps @VivienM can tell you if its possible to replace the adapter.
To see the exact connection rate that the modem is currently running (as specified in the chart) right click on the internet icon in the task bar on the lower right side of the laptop screen. Select "Open Network and Sharing Center". Then select the wifi adapter link on the center ride side of the page to bring up the wifi status popup. The speed that is listed is the connection rate between the modem and the wifi adapter in the laptop. Multiply that by associated coding rate from the chart to calculate the maximum data rate that you would see at that moment on a speedtest.
One other item, that adapter is wifi and bluetooth capable. If you aren't using bluetooth on the laptop, disable it as it runs in the same frequency range as the wifi channels. That will get rid of any interference between the bluetooth and wifi broadcasts.
Hope this helps 😞
A wifi extender would help to some extent in areas of the home that are further away from the modem, but, the main problem is the single antenna receive / transmit from the adapter and the interference from other modems and routers in the neighborhood. If you load inSSIDer, looking at the 2.4 Ghz display may help to determine if there are any channels that offer the least amount of interference. That is where you should be operating your network, and that can be set in the modem, instead of using Auto. Sometimes "Auto" isn't the best choice to make. Fwiw, single antenna systems do not perform as well as dual antenna systems. Although the adapter specs indicate antenna diversity, this is not the same as running two or three antenna simultaneously with continuous antenna diversity between the antenna.
The right side of the inSSIDer display will be empty as that is the 5 Ghz channel area, which the adapter does not support.
In case you didn't see my last note that I added above:
"One other item, that adapter is wifi and bluetooth capable. If you aren't using bluetooth on the laptop, disable it as it runs in the same frequency range as the wifi channels. That will get rid of any interference between the bluetooth and wifi broadcasts."
Edit: how old is the laptop? If you don't want to replace the adapter (my vote if possible) then possibly a USB wifi adapter such as the following is worth considering. The tall antenna part can be removed. This provides 2.4 and 5 Ghz wifi, where the 5 Ghz would be much faster as it runs 802.11ac.
https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Networking/USBAC56/
There are a couple of others as well, the last being the slowest of the three, but definitely more compact:
https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Networking/USBAC55/
https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Networking/USBAC51/
Are you able to do a wired speed test? (desktop, laptop connected wired). Thats just one confirmation, just to make sure that the CONNECTION itself is fine and capable.
Outside of that.. yes possibly there could be issues with the wireless.
My guess, yes, is interference. But not necessarily from your part.
With the rogers security, they installed the separate Netgear(?) wireless router to communicate with the system?
My guess, is that there is competing on the same wireless range between the two possibly.
Try downloading this.
https://www.techspot.com/downloads/5936-inssider.html
and do a scan with it... and post the results if you could.
It will show any wireless in the area, and what channels they are on.
I am wondering if the two are set the same and competing.
Regardless of what these advertise.. the built in on them, is not much better than any mid range wireless router.
Which in the same way, advertise how 'good' they are.
Really in the end, beyond any interference, any internal antenna modem (regardless of the # of antennas) will be worse than external.
EG: I went from an N based internal 3rd party wireless.. was slightly better than the older hitron. But when I went to an antenna based N router.. i was getting full bars in places where I was only getting 2 before in the house.
Really with these units.. they are included in the price of the modem rental. Use them for what they are, if the range and features work for you. But if you need better, your really better off bridging it, and using a 3rd party router.
Hello @estevito,
Congratulations on your first post and welcome to the Rogers Community Forums!
With so many of our devices relying on Wi-Fi to connect online, it's important that you have a strong and consistent signal so I really feel your pain now that yours has become degraded.
While it is very true that Interference and Attenuation can wreak havoc on a wireless signal, it is rather strange that it was working totally fine up until recently. We have a few questions we'd like to ask before troubleshooting.
- Can you describe what specific issues you are facing, are you experiencing slow speeds while connected via Wi-Fi or does the connection keep dropping on your devices?
- Do you notice fewer signal bars on your devices? If yes, is it only happening in certain areas of the home or throughout?
- When do you first recall noticing issues, were there any changes to your setup around this time or the addition of any new wireless devices (cordless phone sets, wireless printers or wireless sound systems, etc)?
We look forward to your response!
RogersTony
Any of the all in one routers, are about on par with your <100$ routers.. they are not very good.
While interference, etc can be a big part.. the quality of the wireless to begin with makes a big part. And the Hitron and the others similar just cant push on decent size houses.
Going to teksavvy.. really wont help much though.
Their main devices they are providing right now, are both Hitron units, and are MODEMS only. No wireless, etc at all.
You would need to acquire your own 3rd party router to go with it.
In the end, you could do the same thing with the rogers service.
Bridge the modem to 3rd party router.
A good option now a days as well, would be to bridge to a MESH network type system.
Hello @brianq103,
Welcome to the Rogers Community Forums!
I can imagine how annoying it must be to only start experiencing issues with your Wi-Fi after switching to the Hitron Modem. =(
There are numerous factors that can affect Wi-Fi performance in your home. Ensuring the modem is placed in a central location in the home is one of the most important factors when it comes to Wi-Fi signal penetration in your home.
Is the modem installed in the same place where your Bell modem was installed?
Can you confirm if you are connecting mainly to the 2.4G or 5G wireless network?
Have you tried doing a Wireless site survey using a Wi-Fi Analyzer to see if there is congestion from competing networks on the Wi-Fi channel you are using?
We look forward to your response!
RogersTony
Hey @brianq103,
We work with Hitron to ensure that the our Gateways provide sufficient wireless performance for as many of our customer's as possible. That said, there will be situations where a provided gateway on it's own isn't capable of providing sufficient home coverage. If the Hitron gateway on it's own isn't providing sufficient range for your home and all troubleshooting has been completed we'd be happy to recommend an optimal addition to your home WiFi network. Be it with the Rogers Whole Home WiFi solution, or if you prefer investing in your own router. There are high quality AC routers available that can exceed the range and performance of a gateway. If you're interested in the Rogers Whole Home WiFi solution feel free to reach out to technical support via live chat, phone or through us here @CommunityHelps. For more information on our private messaging system you can check out our Blog!
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