Sporadic WiFi Connectivity Issues

[digitalterry]

I have Rogers Ignite Internet service and it generally works very well.  I have two of the "pods" in the house.  One of the top floor (where my home office space is) and on the main floor.  The Internet gateway is in the basement.

My wife and daughter never mention that they have any real issues with the Internet, but I use it the most and on different devices.

On my iPad I often find that the Internet just seems to stop.  For example, streaming a video and it will pause.  If I bring up a Ping utility and try to ping, I get "unable to resolve host" when this occurs.  If I wait a minute or two the problem goes away.  If I disable and enable WiFi it also disappears.  I have switched to Google's DNS servers instead of the Rogers ones and noticed no difference.  There's no indication that the WiFi signal is weak or lost (full bars when this occurs).

On my Windows 10 work laptop I am often in video calls and there will be periods of time when people can't hear me properly or I cannot here then.   Occasionally I'll get disconnected and reconnected.  Some days it is really bad and most days it is excellent.  If I monitor the WiFi network bandwidth I notice that, on the bad days, the bandwidth drops to 0 here and there, aligning with when I experience issues.

Anyone I've mentioned this problem to says the problem is the WiFi and that the signal is not strong enough.  I don't believe that is the case.  I could believe that something interferes with the WiFi but the fact that some days are good and some are bad seems a little odd unless a neighbour has some device they sometimes turn on that interferes.

I installed a WiFi Analyzer and didn't notice any major overlap in channels being used, at least not with my direct neighbours.

I contacted Apple about the iPad and they said it's a local WiFi issue and not a problem with the iPad.

Anyone have any ideas of what the real issue might be?  I don't know that both issues are connected.  I half think my iPad is going wonky since my wife never complains that her iPad has issues (hers is newer and mine is 4 years old).

*Added Labels*

[-G-]

@digitalterry  Do you have your upstairs/top floor Pod installed in a location that does not have good WiFi connectivity?

[mosampatel]

If you're using VPN services for your work computer then it may give you some delays as it depends on the VPN servers. More info at www.rogers.com/vpn 

and for the iPad it seems like it's a device specific issue so I will recommend to check the other devices when the Wi-Fi disconnects from your iPad at the same time. If all other devices are disconnecting too then that I would say Wi-Fi issue but if it's just your iPad then might be something with the iPad.

Hope this may help!

Thanks!

[digitalterry]

I am not using any VPN.  I do think it's an iPad issue but Apple support thinks it's a wifi issue.

[digitalterry]

The pod seems to be in a good place.  No issues on my phone or daughters laptop.

[mosampatel]

Considering your iOS is up to date.

Forget the Wi-Fi network on iPad and then restart the iPad and reconnect with Wi-Fi again. see if that works. 

If not then, reboot your modem and once modem rebooted; reboot the Wi-Fi pods.  It may help.
In Ignite Wi-Fi hub app check the parental controls or Profile settings if that's preventing iPad to have continuous connection. 

If have any profile/s created then delete them and create it again and assign the devices again. see if that works.

After all of these if still doing the same thing then, test your iPad on a public network (Ex : Tim Hortons store Wi-Fi ) see if it's doing the same thing with public networks.

hope this may help!

Thanks!

[-G-]

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@digitalterry wrote:

The pod seems to be in a good place.  No issues on my phone or daughters laptop.

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I'm not sure if my concern was clear so I'll try asking another way.  If you were to unplug the top-floor Pod, do you get good Wi-Fi service from that location?  If you do not, then you need to relocate that Pod.  If the Pod does not have a good connection to the gateway, then the devices that connect to it will not get good network performance either.

Ideally, the best way to install Pods is in a hub-and-spoke topology, with your Ignite gateway positioned centrally within your home and your Pods positioned in a location where they still get a good Wi-Fi signal from the gateway, where the RSSI is approximately 68 dBm on the 5GHz band.

The basement is also not an ideal location to place your gateway if you plan to install Pods.  If you must place it there, avoid placing the gateway in areas with overhead ducts and plumbing, and don't place it underneath a ceramic tile floor where the mesh underlayment can attenuate the Wi-Fi signal.

It's also best to avoid topologies where you have one Pod connecting to the network through another Pod.

It's really hard for people to tell whether their Wi-Fi is actually working well because the Rogers Ignite hardware provides very little information about the quality of the connection.  If the Wi-Fi signal is marginal, your devices will not be able to transfer information at high speed, and you may not notice that there is a problem until your applications start failing or you have insufficient bandwidth to stream video.

[Chicklet1]

Mississauga area. wfh. Changed to ignite. What are possible reasons for internet to briefly drop intermittently. I am on teams calls and lose wifi. Have pod in same room. Drops for others in the house too.

Stayed on hold for 2 hours with Paula service rep. I think she forgot about me!

[RogersMoin]

Hello, @Chicklet1.

Thank you for your post, and welcome to Rogers Community Forums!

There are many reasons why WiFi connectivity can drop; let's identify the root cause. To better understand your home network, please answer the following:

• What's the model of the modem?
• Where is the modem physically located? Like the living room, etc.
• Is the modem above the floor at least one meter and in a standing/vertical position with enough room around it?   
•  How many pods have you installed?

We look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

RogersMoin