Is it my phone, or the router?

[JDgreen227]

My Android phone keeps dropping the Wi Fi connection to my DSL router, sometimes as many as 6 times a day, even when I am only no more than 30 feet from the router. And the phone can pick up a faint signal from a neighbors router which is over 400 feet away!!!

Last night I was trying to reconnect the phone once again, and the screen on the device said I had an excellent signal strength and a link speed of 72 Mbps, but the status read "Temporarily avoiding poor connection" and I have never seen that status before. We have two laptops and an Ipad that work flawlessly with the same router, and although the maximum link speed is only 54 Mbps, they almost never drop the connection. My ISP (Frontier) tells me the phone is the problem, and Verizon say's it's the DSL router. It may not be of any significance, but I always have to manually reconnect my phone to the Wi Fi although it should be automatic.

Any advice? Thanks.

 

[tow653]

Check in wi fi settings and uncheck "avoid poor connections",might help,my phone does same thing

 

[EddieWalker]

What router are you using? I have the MiFi from Verizon and this week it's started dropping my computer. I hate calling customer service, but it looks like I will have to because it's happing more and more. I know it's the router because the only way I can fix it is to turn it off and then on again. Once I do that, it works until the next time, where I have to do it again.

Eddie

 

[aczlan]

My Android phone keeps dropping the Wi Fi connection to my DSL router, sometimes as many as 6 times a day, even when I am only no more than 30 feet from the router. And the phone can pick up a faint signal from a neighbors router which is over 400 feet away!!!

Last night I was trying to reconnect the phone once again, and the screen on the device said I had an excellent signal strength and a link speed of 72 Mbps, but the status read "Temporarily avoiding poor connection" and I have never seen that status before. We have two laptops and an Ipad that work flawlessly with the same router, and although the maximum link speed is only 54 Mbps, they almost never drop the connection. My ISP (Frontier) tells me the phone is the problem, and Verizon say's it's the DSL router. It may not be of any significance, but I always have to manually reconnect my phone to the Wi Fi although it should be automatic.

Any advice? Thanks.

Install a program to check for wireless signals on the same channel (I have used InSSIDer and WiFiFoFum) and see what channel each network is on.
If there are networks within 3-5 channels of yours, change the channel on your modem. Here is a graphic showing which channels overlap:

Source: List of WLAN channels - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You want non-overlapping channels whenever possible.

Aaron Z

 

[JDgreen227]

What router are you using? I have the MiFi from Verizon and this week it's started dropping my computer. I hate calling customer service, but it looks like I will have to because it's happing more and more. I know it's the router because the only way I can fix it is to turn it off and then on again. Once I do that, it works until the next time, where I have to do it again.

Eddie

My router is a Netgear model 7550, about a year and a half old. Maybe two or three times a year I have to reset the router.

 

[LD1]

30ft away dont sound like alot, but what obstructions are between you and the router??

My polebarn, metal sided and metal roof and insulated, is good about blocking all signals. Both cell and wifi. 2 steps outside the door and I have full service and 60Mbps wifi. 2 steps inside I have nothing unless one of the doors is open. I have to leave my phone on the shelf by the widow to hear if anyone tries to call.

 

[LD1]

It also just may be the phone and router dont jive??
When I first got a wifi modem it was a motorola that TWC uses. I have a galaxy nexus phone. Never could get connected either phone. My wifes laptop and my brothers S3 connected fine. So I was positive it was a phone issue.

Went to my brothers and the phones connected just fine there, and connected just fine at work on their wifi.

So the phones worked, and the modem worked, just not with each other. TWC came out and replaced the motorola with a ubee modem and had no issues since.

 

[B7510HSD]

My Android phone keeps dropping the Wi Fi connection to my DSL router, sometimes as many as 6 times a day, even when I am only no more than 30 feet from the router. And the phone can pick up a faint signal from a neighbors router which is over 400 feet away!!!

Last night I was trying to reconnect the phone once again, and the screen on the device said I had an excellent signal strength and a link speed of 72 Mbps, but the status read "Temporarily avoiding poor connection" and I have never seen that status before. We have two laptops and an Ipad that work flawlessly with the same router, and although the maximum link speed is only 54 Mbps, they almost never drop the connection. My ISP (Frontier) tells me the phone is the problem, and Verizon say's it's the DSL router. It may not be of any significance, but I always have to manually reconnect my phone to the Wi Fi although it should be automatic.

Any advice? Thanks.

If the Maximum link speed is 54Mbps and your device shows a link speed of 72Mbps that may very well be the problem.

 

[aczlan]

It also just may be the phone and router dont jive??
When I first got a wifi modem it was a motorola that TWC uses. I have a galaxy nexus phone. Never could get connected either phone. My wifes laptop and my brothers S3 connected fine. So I was positive it was a phone issue.
Went to my brothers and the phones connected just fine there, and connected just fine at work on their wifi.
So the phones worked, and the modem worked, just not with each other. TWC came out and replaced the motorola with a ubee modem and had no issues since.

I had a similar issue with a Dlink router. I replaced it with a Netgear WNR2000 ($5 at the thrift store) that I installed OpenWRT on and its been very solid since.


Aaron Z

 

[JDgreen227]

If the Maximum link speed is 54Mbps and your device shows a link speed of 72Mbps that may very well be the problem.

I'm sorry that I didn't make myself clear...I was saying that the link speed I saw on my phone last night registered 72 mbps, and the laptops and tablet only register 54 mbps...the laptops are older ones that use Vista...from what I have read, link speeds vary greatly between hardware. I borrowed a nearly new laptop from a neighbor for testing this morning that uses Windows 8.1 and that one shows a link speed of 72 mbps also.