2.4 GHz wifi really poor

[markgoodl]

So ive just got the 1G broadband with a Hub 4 and ever since weve had it i cant get the 2.4GHz wifi to perform satisfactory or anywhere near my old broadband performance (it seems). I have had to disable optimised wifi on the router, split the networks to 5 and 2.4Ghz with seperate SSID's. the 5Ghz performs ok with 500 to 700MB (depending upon device). But the 2.4Ghz struggles to get anywhere above 20MB, which is rubbish.

I have had to switch of the VM Pod that used to use and with my old network (that ran fine) as that wont work with managed signals.

I have seen a few threads about something similar, but my feeling is the routers faulty or something.

I am aware of the limitations of the various tech connected to it, but i get a faster Wi-Fi signal off my phone. I know its not the signal to router as that reporting around 1100MB which is great. My hardwired PS5 reported similar as well. so its definitely the 2.4GHz connection.

Any advice ?

[BaldrickBravo]

2.4GHz on the Hub 4 should offer 450 Mb/s under the right operating conditions.

I would download a WiFi analyser app on your phone and have a look at your RF/WiFi environment. If you can see lots of other WiFi networks in the 2.4GHz band, chances are you have got contention. Those other networks are basically radio inteference which will reduce the data rates on your own network - especially where they are on the same channel.

If you aren't using the WiFi pods (they are match to the hub; if you receive a new hub then I think you have to call customer services and let VM know you wish to use them with the new hub) you can split the 2.4GHz sand 5GHz channels into separate SSIDs and turn of 'channel optimisation'. That might help improve things. You can also manually choose the least congested WiFi channel rather than leaving that set to 'auto'. Again, not possible if using the WiFi pods.

[markgoodl]

Hi

thanks for your reply.

Yes this is i exactly what ive done. split the frequencies (2.4 and 5GHz) and switched of optimisation. 

The 5GHZ works ok (500 to 700MBs) but as mentioned the 2.4 is lousy at anywhere between 4 to 29 MBs which is utter rubbish.

the thought of having to call customer service for anything isnt great, but i gather the pods are tied to the hub. So, why wasnt a new one sent with the new hub?

I may not have noticed this 2.4 issue when i was using the pod as it sorted everything out for us so i could of had this issue of congestion before i guess.

Ill try the wifi app you mention.

[Adduxi]

The Pods are paired to a Hub by VM. If you get a new Hub VM need to re-pair the old Pod to the new Hub. Just phone in to get that done. You don’t get a new Pod with a new Hub. 
However I believe the firmware in the Pods need a single SSID on the Hub to work. They are rebadged Plume units. 

[Tudor]

“should offer 450 Mb/s” that’s a theoretical figure, most people never get more than o0 Mb/s, mostly due the the target machine.

[gary_dexter]

Your 2.4Ghz speeds will be between 20-90Mbps in the real world - you'll never see speeds faster than that on that band.

[markgoodl]

So after an arduous hour on the phone with vm, I was told that they have enabled “something” and it should be ok now. Upon testing I now get 63 which is midrange to what your saying. That should be fine, my ps5 which is hard wired shows 990mb and my iPad Pro on 5g Wi-Fi is showing about 600. There sending me a new pod, so I’ll try it again once it’s all managed by the router / pod and see what happens.

[BaldrickBravo]

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@gary_dexter wrote:
Your 2.4Ghz speeds will be between 20-90Mbps in the real world - you'll never see speeds faster than that on that band.

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Not really just down to the band. It's the channel width, modulation and guard interval employed too.

2.4GHz tends to be conservative and stick to narrower channel widths, lower order modulation, lower code rate (more error correction) and larger guard intervals. That tends to be eschewed in the 5GHz band in favour of 'more speed'.

And thus in theory that makes the 2.4 GHz band more reliable. The cost of higher order modulation, higher code rate, shorter guard intervals is more susceptibility to interference.

I've easily seen 300 Mb/s on 2.4Ghz with 802.11ac and 3x3 rx/tx arrangements. Don't get that at home of course, too many nearby APs and devices.

What works best depends on the RF environment and what the connection is being used for, as much as it does the band and other factors. One is not necessarily better than the other.

[BaldrickBravo]

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@BaldrickBravo wrote:

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@gary_dexter wrote:
Your 2.4Ghz speeds will be between 20-90Mbps in the real world - you'll never see speeds faster than that on that band.

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2.4GHz tends to be conservative and stick to narrower channel widths, lower order modulation, lower code rate (more error correction) and larger guard intervals. That tends to be eschewed in the 5GHz band in favour of 'more speed'.

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Come back to correct myself.

This is true. But that's because 2.4GHz band is not included in the 802.11ac (WiFi 5) standard. So 2.4GHz is subject to the 802.11n (WiFi 4) standard.
802.11ax (WiFi 6) applies to 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz (WiFi 6E) bands, so we might see some routers/access points come to the market which offer faster 2.4GHz performance. That said, the new access points I bought late last year implement 802.11ax for 5 GHz only.

[markgoodl]

Thanks for the info.

since VM switched something on during my telephone call to them it’s much improved.

when I get the replacement pod, I’ll try that and see how it goes.

but thanks for your assistance