NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
No 5G range with this router?
I replaced the TW cable modem with this Netgear hardware yesterday, configuation was not unusual. I literally have it in a window sill, and am accessing the router wifi from 30 feet away. There is on...
Thanks for the reply. SHortly after my post, I discovered the nifty WiFi Analytics app, and used it to monitor signal strength as I went through all the channels. since nothing I could do improved the 5G signal reliably, I finally decided to move the cable modem into my living room by linking a few RG-6 drops I put in back when I built the house (6+ miles' of Cat-5, RG-6, and Cat-3 back in 1997, just before wireless became a "thing"). Also used a Cat-5 network drop to connect to my primary switching hub in the home automation closet for the rest of the house. With the cable modem hidden behind a plant only 10 feet away from my easy chair, I get 70% signal strength on 5G and 100% on the 2.4 , regardless of what channel I use. NOT impressed with the hardware but the problem is resolved. Not solved, but resolved. I had hoped it would give me better range outdoors for some PZI wireless cameras I have used in the past with the cable modem provided by TW. THAT's not going to happen unless I drop another run out and add another wifi router, I guess. One step forward, two steps back.
from less than 8 feet away:
and
Just for grins, I held my phone 1 foot from the modem router:
. Is this the expected reading on the meter for a channel NO other device/household is on, from one foot away?? Strength 100%, but no where near zero dBm ?
-20 dBm is an excellent signal strength and pretty close to the highest you'll ever see.
ummm, ok - so holding my phone 1 foot from the modem gets me -20 instead of the -29 at around 8 to 10 feet. Unfortunately I have already returned the cable modem I was renting from the cable company, which was several years old, so I can't use the utility app to check signal on it. Again, very nice app.
I can certainly agree that by moving the router to within 10 feet of my 3-month old gaming laptop, I am seeing better loading times.I would still love to know why 5G on this device can't make it the 30 feet or so of air, passing through one glass window and one glass sliding door, such that neither of my laptops nor my cell phone could detect it reliably. Occasional flickers, but nothing to hang your hat on. The app reflects this:
The cable company's modem router I returned was installed in my HA wiring panel/cabinet and therefore going through several interior walls AND a concrete stucco/wire mesh 6" thick exterior wall as well as one sliding glass door, and I could reliably link to it and maintain a connection on 5G from the same chair I am using to compare the new device from.
Oh well, at least once about 18 months' time has transpired, I'll be at break-even price-wise. And as long as I hide it behind a plant, my wife can tolerate more electronics in her living room. :)
Thanks for the reply and the information. There is obviously much I don't know/understand.
