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Forum Discussion
EX6100v2 Signal dropping constantly
I have a Netgear wifi range extender model EX6100v2 and the signal drops all the time. The problem doesnt seem to be with my router, distance, or anything of that sort because I have a Linksys wifi a...
Normally a single band or dual band extender needs to use the same channels as your router. That's because it only has one radio per band - which can't be tuned to two channels at the same time. The only way to avoid this is to use fastlane.
In AP mode the channels can be independent. I agree it's reasonable idea to manually assign them, especially in the 2.4 ghz band where the channels overlap.
Generally speaking it seems very odd that changing one of the EX6100s to extender mode would reduce the signal drops - I can't think of any mechanism that would do that, especially when the channels are manually assigned. Even when there is interference, you can almost always still connect - you might see somewhat lower performance, but you normally won't see a drop.
Well, I suppose then the difficulty then might be a neighbor's wifi signal interferring with mine (there are quite a few detectable transmitters outside my home within range) or possibly interference from non-network appliances inside my house. I originally installed the second EX6100 to deal with a dead zone due to interference from what I believe was caused by the internal duct work associated with a clothes dryer. Perhaps when the dryer operates the radio environment changes enough to confound the system.
Certainly metal ductwork can block the signal. Technically that's not interference, since it doesn't create a competing signal.
Your neighbor's wifi can cause a reduction in throughput but generally it won't actually result in a connection drop. Appliances and other radio technologies running in the 2.4 ghz could do that though.
I have No argument w any of your points, but where does that leave us?
Ijn wrote:
where does that leave us?
Well, you are saying your issue is resolved for now, so if your WiFi performance is ok with your current AP + Extender configuration, then I'd just leave well enough alone.
If the WiFi performance is inadequate, then more troubleshooting is needed. It could possibly be a marginal cat-5 cable going to the extender (or an issue with the router or extender switch port). If that's the case, you'd still have a wifi connection to the extender, but you'd be unable to reach the internet. One way to test this is to reverse the AP and extender configurations, and see if the problem returns.
You could also try turning off the extender that is acting as the AP (configuring the other one as an AP) - that would be one way to test out your interference theory.