Irritating Windows 8 Wifi - New problem - Urgent help need

[chev65]

Actually I've seen very good results from firmware updates and they will typically bring an old router right back up to modern networking standards, especially if you go with the DD/WRT or Tomato firmware's. I've seen good results with firmware updates dating back over 5 years working in the networking forum though I doubt that has anything to do with the Op's problem.

Guessing which channel to use won't get you far in a crowded area with a bunch of 2.4ghz users, you can make logical choices based on which channels are being used but sometimes just experimenting with different channels can have a dramatic effect on wireless connection reliability.

It's important to remember that wireless channels extend 2 channels in either direction in order to gain bandwidth, because of this fact, simply choosing a channel that isn't in use won't always give you the best results.

Rather than guessing at which channel to use try using one of the WiFi inspector software's like Xirrus. It will show you all the connections in your area so you can make an educated guess at which channel to use.
Wi-Fi Inspector | Xirrus

As for the Op's actual problem, this is most likely caused by the wireless connection software which may have been installed with the driver or even separately, which in most cases can be removed from the system so that Windows is handling the connection.

Conversely, there may be some settings in the wireless connection software that allows you to authenticate the connection at boot up.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
I think the OP's situation was easier than that -- in his type of area there are only about 4 channels (max) that he really needs to test -- not a difficult scenario -- also a lot of the newer routers are moving away from the 2,4 Ghz band-- in Europe the 5 GHZ band has also been opened up -- allowing in some cases far superior connections -- also the old analog TV frequencies (800 Mhz) have been made available for the new 4G services.

The 5GHZ routers will have significantly less intereference -- especially from things like domestic microwaves etc.

5 Pros and Cons to 5 GHz Wi-Fi Routers

Cheers
jimbo

 

[znod]

I use dual band with 5 Ghz, and, of course, what you say is true. I doubt the OP has a 5 GHz radio. Regardless, while the channel change is doing the job now, it may or may not continue to do the job, but I know you know that.

 

[fafhrd]

With loads of auto-channel hopping routers all around in the urban streets near me, there can be a game of chase going on where you only get to stay on the least populated channel for a few seconds. I select a fixed channel firmly in the middle (channel 5) with my BT Home Hub 3, and have the BTwifi and the BTwifi-with-FON services opted in. That way, my neighbours wireless routers see my 3 SSIDs and 3 MAC addresses on Channel 5, and thus tend to auto select channels 1, 9, or 13, leaving channel 5 alone.



I also find that WPA personal, rather than WPA2 + WPA personal encryption gives a better signal range with Windows 8. Windows 8 on the same hardware seems less sensitive, but more stable than Windows 7.

 

[topgundcp]

Well I don't understand the channels thing - so some more explanation is needed (I am not tech savvy to the extent I know about minute firmware details or whatever) I tried the SFC /SCANNOW thing, twice and both times it didn't have anything to fix yet my wifi still says automatically connect​ on everybody elses wifi)

In 2.4GHZ wireless settings, There's an offset of .005 in frequency range between channels so you need to set your router channel that is different from other devices in your home, for example: you might have a 2.4GHZ cordless phone or your neighbor might have set their router to the same channel, therefore interference will occur between devices. Here's a picture showing each channel and their associated frequencies.


To determine what channel to set for, download inSSIDer – Discover The Wi-Fi Around You | MetaGeek to find out all the channels being used by other devices then set your router channel accordingly.

 

[chev65]

Hi there
I think the OP's situation was easier than that -- in his type of area there are only about 4 channels (max) that he really needs to test -- not a difficult scenario -- also a lot of the newer routers are moving away from the 2,4 Ghz band-- in Europe the 5 GHZ band has also been opened up -- allowing in some cases far superior connections -- also the old analog TV frequencies (800 Mhz) have been made available for the new 4G services.

The 5GHZ routers will have significantly less intereference -- especially from things like domestic microwaves etc.

5 Pros and Cons to 5 GHz Wi-Fi Routers

Cheers
jimbo

The problem with the 5ghz frequency is that it doesn't go through walls nearly as well as the 2.4ghz frequency does and in typical home wireless situations this becomes a big problem.

You should see the reviews on 5ghz routers, not so good and I mean people are mad about it, but it has huge potential when it's set up with access points that don't have big walls in front of them. The new 802.11ac spans up to 8 wireless channels at once in order to gain bandwidth resulting in wireless speeds up too 1.4GB.

I'm not sure what you mean by testing 4 channels, I'm sure your talking about the 1, 6, 11 rule but that rule doesn't play out so well in crowded areas, the more crowded it gets the more important the channel selection becomes, sometimes you have a just try different channels but 1 ,6 and 11 aren't always the best choices.

Although I think in the Op's case his wireless connection software may be overriding the Windows connection settings.

 

[znod]

5 Ghz "has been very good to me;" always use it at home. I use two latest gen AirPort Extreme Base Stations with the second connected via Ethernet to the first--so it "extends" the network on the first as set up. So, in effect, I have two very low SNR 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks in the house (each is applicable in separate sections of the house)--i.e., the two base stations are positioned so that their signals don't interfere with each other.