Moved to larger house and Ignite wifi connection poor

[Kev82]

Hello,
I've been a long time customer with a Rogers and recently extended my Rogers ignite package for 2 years. I also recently moved homes and now that I have a larger home I am finding that my wifi signal gets slow and poor connection when I'm in the backyard and or detached garage. My modem is located in a central location of my home near my office so I would prefer not to move it. I did some research and saw the there are ignite wifi pods available for this issue but would prefer not to pay a monthly fee for a pod. Anyway around this?
Also will be purchasing a Smart opener for the garage and concerned about the poor connection I already receive out there.
Thanks

[57]

@Kev82 : Perhaps the following link will provide some tips?

https://www.rogers.com/support/internet/optimize-your-home-wifi

Also, search the web for "poor WiFi" or similar terms.

You may need the pods or similar or a wired Ethernet connection for a large home, even if the Gateway is centrally located.

I had success with Powerline Adaptors, but that may not work for every home.

[Datalink]

@Kev82, log into your modem and check the wifi settings for the 5 Ghz network.  I'm assuming that you're referring to the 5 Ghz network.  Check the channel to see what the modem is using.  

The modem uses Band Steering, if its still enabled.  That means that the modem will bounce a device back and forth from the 2.4 Ghz network to the 5 Ghz network and return, when the modem sees fit.  So, as you progress to the far reaches of the house, I would expect the modem to shift a device to the 2.4 Ghz network.  I don't remember what the modem uses for the 2.4 Ghz bandwidth, most likely 20 Mhz wide channels.  So, if the modem is using an 80 Mhz wide 5 Ghz channel, that shift to a 20 Mhz wide 2.4 Ghz channel would result in a much slower data transfer rate.  You can disable Band Steering, separate the networks into two distinct networks and assign devices as you see fit to each network.  You might want to keep devices on the 5 Ghz network, but, you'd have to experiment to see if that's a better choice, instead of allowing Band Steering to make its own decisions. 

There are a few things to keep in mind at this point:

1.  5 Ghz channels in Canada are limited in their power outputs in the following manner:

       a.  channels 36 to 48 are limited to 200 milli-watts conducted power:

       b. channels 52 to 144 (Dynamic Frequency Selection) channels are limited to 225 mw conducted power;

       c.  channels 149 to 165 are allowed to run 1 watt conducted power.  

Here's a link to a chart that lays this out:

https://semfionetworks.com/blog/5ghz-band-channel-availability-in-canada/

Running a high 5 Ghz channel instead of a low channel can result in a much higher receive power level for mobile devices and a higher throughput to those devices. 

2.  2.4 Ghz channels are usually very oversubscribed (read extremely crowded).  Don't know about your neighbourhood, but the last time that I checked my neighbourhood, at my house, there were over 150 2.4 Ghz networks that are visible.  Not all of them are of concern due to their low received power level, but, there are a sufficient amount of networks running that provide continuous competition for transmit / receive time slots, and, wifi is a competitive system that works, or attempts to provide an equal opportunity for transmit / receive time slots. 

So, regarding the 5 Ghz power levels, if your modem is running a low channel (36 to 48) and Rogers has locked you out of using the higher channels, then you're hooped.  Your operating range from the modem will be reduced compared to running a high channel and you can expect devices to shift to the slower 2.4 Ghz network sooner rather than later.  So, you need to check the modem's wifi settings for the 5 Ghz network, find out what's its set for in terms of channel and bandwidth and if possible, set it for a high channel network, I'd select channel 161 and set an 80 Mhz wide channel.  Give that a go, if the modem allows it, and run an experiment to see what happens to the operating range from the modem.  

If the modem is locked to a low channel and you cant' change it, then the solution is:

1.  Rogers pods, at an additional cost. 

2.  Buy your own router, which enables full control over the router settings and run the modem in Bridge mode

3.  Buy a router / mesh network which incorporates two or more remote units to cover the far reaches of the house.  That might automatically limit the channel selection to the lower channels, but, with a mesh network, you're looking for better wifi performance due to the closer proximity of the transmitting unit to the devices in question.  

Since you're in a newer house, have you explored the communication cables?  That includes ethernet, telephone and coax cabling that is in the house, unfinished and finished with connectors and wallplates installed at all drop locations.  Fwiw, our house is completely wired, with ethernet, telephone and coax cabling to just about every room.  That makes it very easy to run fixed devices on ethernet, leaving a smaller amount of laptops, cell phones to use wifi.  If you find that a mesh network is required, as a single modem or router just won't cut it, you can use the house ethernet to run an ethernet connected mesh network.  That will give you much better performance compared to a wifi connected mesh network.  With a mesh network, I would expect you to roam around the house, using a 5 Ghz network, never shifting to a 2.4 Ghz network.  That would result in a much higher data rate to the mobile devices, no matter where they are. 

If you only have Cat-5e telephone wiring plus coax cabling, and, you don't use a home phone, and never intend to do so, you can repurpose that cabling to use in a house ethernet network.  That involves cutting the current telephone cable connectors off, at the connector and replacing them with RJ-45 connectors or Cat-5e keystones upstairs and keystone wallplates upstairs.  Thats not hard to do, just takes a little time.  If you look at the Structured Wiring Cabinet in the basement, look for blue Cat-5e cabling.  The manufacturers data is printed on the cable jacket and you should see Cat-5e, or possibly Cat-6 on the cable jacket.  Cat-6 would be the better choice if available.  

If you happen to have a wifi analyzer on a laptop, take a look at where your networks sit in the 2.4 and 5 Ghz spectrum and who else around you provides any competition.  Stack the channels by RSSI, which is the receive power levels.  Your network should be at the top of the list.  Then after RSSI, look at the channels that are in use, specifically those which are on the same channel.  Those networks provide competition for your network.  The more users that are on the channel, the worse your wifi throughput will be.  That's just the nature of the system.  What you should see is that there are fewer 5 Ghz networks that are running nearby, compared to the 2.4 Ghz network.  Take a walk around the house with a wifi connected laptop, running a wifi analyzer, just to see how that picture changes in other areas of the house.  That might give you an idea of what channels you might want to be using, compared to what the modem is currently using.  

So, a little homework to do:

1.  check the modem's settings and change them if possible, and if necessary;

2.  check the house cabling to see if you have ethernet cabling installed but possibly not in use, or telephone

     cabling that you can convert to ethernet use;

3.  check the local wifi channels to see who is competing for the same channels, and where you might have less competition (fewer users on the channel).