Broadband/Wi-Fi connection dropping numerous times per day

[Gill34n]

Hi 

There are several other posts like this but don't seem to find an answer. 

My broadband keeps dropping out several times a day and then reconnects after 20/30 seconds sometimes several minutes. 

Everytime I run tests via the MySky app or browser it shows everything is fine. 

I am currently WFH, I use MS Teams daily & during times when the connection drops I freeze out or disconnected from the call entirely if it drops for several minutes. During the drop outs I get kicked out of the various databases & systems I use for work meaning I have to log back into them all again. This is happening on average 15 times per day. 

I called sky this afternoon, after nearly an hour & trying various things they suggested a Wi-Fi connection issue & changing the channel. However this has not worked & the problem persists as it has happened several times since speaking to them. 

I have checked the router stats & not sure if I am reading them right but it looks like there has been no interruption in my connection since resetting the router just over 5 hours ago when I was on phone to sky. So I'm really at a loss but I need to find a solution as i need a stable connection to be able to work. 

does anyone have any ideas? 

 

[LukeC1]

Hi @Gill34n 

Thanks for your post, your router stats look quite healthy and it is likely to be a WiFi/interference issue with your connection. To put this to the test, have you tired connecting your device directly to the hub with a Ethernet cable? 

[Gill34n]

Hi @LukeC1 

Thanks I will try this in the tomorrow. I switched off the router & all things connected to it tonight. I will switch it back on in the morning & reconnect things 1 at a time. Will try the Ethernet cable if it's still dropping connection. 

if it is a Wi-Fi interference issue is there any remedy as using Wi-Fi connection is preferable as the router is at other side of room to where my home work station (aka dining table) is. 

this has only become an issue in the last 2 weeks, (with the last week being the worst) & I have been working from home since March 2020. I have not added any new devices, & probably have 1 or 2 less than I've had connected previously. 

thanks 

[LukeC1]

You can look at changing the WiFi channel on the router. You might be slowed down if your hub is using a wireless channel that's too busy - like if your neighbours’ hub or other wireless devices are using the same one.

Do you you have Sky Q?
Your Sky Q box and any Sky Q Mini boxes work like a WiFi booster to extend your WiFi signal across your home. But if they’re not connected, these might cause issue with your WiFi coverage. If you have two Sky Q devices in the same room, if you can hardwire these with an Ethernet cable and disable WiFi on one of them such as your Sky Q box, this will reduce the crosstalk. 

Where you put your hub can really affect your WiFi signal. For the clearest signal:

• Keep it out in the open - not in a cabinet, on the floor or stuck behind the tv. 30cm of space around it's best.
• Keep away from wireless devices like your cordless phone.
• Try put it where you use the internet most - the signal is stronger near your hub.
• Got Sky Q? Don’t put your hub right next to your Sky Q box or on top of it.

 Let me know how you get on, and if you experience any further issues today. 

[matty1968]

I'll be honest - you're not on your own here. I have the exact same issue, wired connections are fine, it's just a wifi drop out. I mainlyuse 5Ghz on my devices so there should be plenty of channels with little to no interference, but this box give you the option of Auto or just 2 channels. It's also set at 80Mhz which frankly is overkill for household use and more prone to interference (probably why the channel choice is limited).

I'm mainly here trying to find out how to set up a third party router and bin this off. I'l try the channel change and probably lower the frequency as well just to try, but I have other issues besides this that is prompting me to change it out.

[jamesn123]

@Gill34n 

Certainly looks to be a WiFi issue. Even if you havent personally changed anything its possible your neighbours have which is now causing interference issues. Ideally you should use an ethernet cable or at the very least powerline adapters when working from home. WiFi isnt ideal for Teams calls at all.

[LEtter94]

Thank you everyone so to give a little bit more detail...

Everything last dropped around 5pm but clearly my line isn't actually dropping as seen on my router stats. I've only just started using the internet again so no further drop outs yet.
We have a sky q hub, it's in the hallway around three metres away from the living room so I don't think it's a range issue for the devices. In the living room we have a sky q mini tv box, PS4 and our phones. It's normally on the PS4 when we get the issues when playing online or watching something like Netflix on the tv when it's streaming. The actual sky tv mini box does not say disconnected when it happens. We also lose the internet on our phones (they still say they are connected to the WiFi but no internet). 
The main TV box is about four meters away from the router in the other direction and we have another mini box upstairs.
We have the quickest internet available on our line 40gbs (we are in the countryside)

Its not a constant problem, it just cuts out for a few minutes a few times in the evening. I'm not sure if it is just the evening, it may be all day but we're at work so I'm obviously not using anything.

We tried a power line adaptor for the PS4 but it still cut out even when this was plugged in. 
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated 🙂 I'm really confused as doesn't seem to be the router and I can't see how it's the range? 

[LEtter94]

Sorry wrong thread - please ignore! 

[Gill34n]

Hi 

well after having the hub off overnight, yesterday morning I switched devices on 1 at a time from 8am over the course of the morning/afternoon starting with my works laptop. I kept my laptop on & all databases on it open until 11pm last night & never had 1 single drop out the whole day or night. No issues with my phone or other devices.

Switched laptop on at 8am this morning, by 8.45 I had my first dropped connection then several more till lunchtime at 15-45 min intervals. I tried changing the Wi-Fi channel a few times during this but it made no difference. What I also noticed is that i received a couple of imessages & messenger messages around the time of a drop out& was getting double messages.  I also noticed my Alexa show flags up the no connection symbol during the drop out

I tried the Ethernet connection to my laptop this afternoon, albeit it wasn't ideal where I had to sit to do this due to location of the hub, but I never had a dropped connection so it is definitely a Wi-Fi issue. Could there be a problem with the hub box given that trying other channels hasn't made any difference. 

[matty1968]

Judging by the fact that I and others seem to have the exact same issue I'd say it's the hub. It's set up identically to the previous 3 routers that never had this issue. Appreciate there could be external factors, but I don't believe it to be that.

Just to confirm - when you lose internet access does the wifi still show as connected? Personally I think I may disable wifi on the hub and just connect a standalone AP to prove the point. It's really not that big an issue for me as most of the house is hardwired - only really phones and tablets that are affected. Please do keep updating and if I get chance to try anything here I'll let you know.

[jamesn123]

@Gill34n 

No nothing wrong with the hub because you've proved WiFi works in an ideal scenario yesterday morning by having just the laptop connected and not dropping once.

You need to look at using ethernet via powerline perhaps while WFH on your laptop

[matty1968]

Quick update - cant really be bothered so just ordered a new router. I will however for the sake of furthering this leave my laptop on wifi tonight with a couple of simultaneous pings running to an external and internal IP just to see if, as I suspect, the wifi stays up but the internet connection is lost.

I'll update the thread in the morning.

[matty1968]

Typically no problems last night! I have separated 5Ghz and 2.4 and only tested 5Ghz last night.

[Dipskaur]

Hi I had sky install a new q box as it is supposed to be faster and more efficient? Since the installation all I have had is a loss of connection everyday. I have spoke to numerous sky technicians, had several sky and open reach out to me but still have Wi-Fi that keeps dropping in and out. I haven't managed to watch a simple you tube video 

without it saying loading - no Wi-Fi connection. Can someone help? 

[Highlinder]

@DipskaurWhat kind of time is this happening to you?