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R8000 New issue with weak signal in two of three Bands - 2.4g and 5g-1

MeanGreen
Aspirant

R8000 New issue with weak signal in two of three Bands - 2.4g and 5g-1

I'm experiencing a strange issue starting last night - Both 2.4 gHz and 5 gHz-1 Bands have terrible range/signal strength. 5g-2 is normal and fast. Sitting next to the router about 1 foot away using the signal strength feature on the Nighthawk app, I'm seeing in between -82 and -70 dBM with Signal strength about 35-45%. If I walk out of the room with my phone, it will drop the connection in the next room at about 20 feet. This is all new without changing or updating anything. Yesterday, all bands were fast and strong. When connected to these weak bands, I can still get internet traffic. The lights for all three bands are lit on top.

 

My router was sitting on the floor next to the couch, which is stupid I know. However, I don't recall anything dropping on it. Regardless, I opened it up expecting to see some loose connection or clear short since this router can run hot. It was dirtier than expected (sitting on the floor can do that) so I meticulously cleaned it all up and made sure all 6 antenna connections were good. It turned back on normally without a change. I'm stumped. This router has been working great for me and I want to keep using it. The windows 10 PC doesn't have a 5ghz capability, so I definitely need to fix this. Moreover, I'm frustrated by not being about to figure what could cause such a behavior. Is there a theoretical physical reason this could happen? Thanks

 

Things I have done with no change noted:

-Checked that firmware is up to date (it was)

-Turned affected channels 2.4g off/on

-Factory Reset

-Changed channels of affected bands

-Cleaned up inside and checked connections

-Rolled firmware back 2 releases

-Replicated problem on Windows 11, Windows 10 and Android 12

-Searched forums for similar issue.

 

Hardware: R8000 AC3200

Firmware: 1.0.4.76 (replicated after roll back to 1.0.4.68)

Model: R8000|Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Smart WIFI Router
Message 1 of 6
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: R8000 New issue with weak signal in two of three Bands - 2.4g and 5g-1

How long have you had the router? 

 

What channels are you using? 
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

Message 2 of 6
MeanGreen
Aspirant

Re: R8000 New issue with weak signal in two of three Bands - 2.4g and 5g-1

Thanks for your response.
I've had the router for about a year and all three bands worked normally for that year.
Previously, the channel settings for 2.4, 5-1, and 5-2 were "Automatic", 44, and 153.
To rule out interference I changed them to 03, 48 and 153. There are no other neighbors on 48. There is one on 03, but it is the most open available and the Nighthawk lists it as "Best" clarity.
Since the signal is so terrible at a one foot distance for those two bands, I didn't think channel interference would be a major factor but I still tested multiple channels with no change.
Model: R8000|Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Smart WIFI Router
Message 3 of 6
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: R8000 New issue with weak signal in two of three Bands - 2.4g and 5g-1

Well primary channels to use on 2.4Ghz is 1, 6 or 11. As the other channels are sub channels used be the wifi system. 


Possible that the hardware is going bad if you have reset and reverted back FW version to what had been working. If this is the case, it's something that can't be fixed. The router would need to be replaced. 

Message 4 of 6
MeanGreen
Aspirant

Re: R8000 New issue with weak signal in two of three Bands - 2.4g and 5g-1

Thanks. Any idea what part of the hardware would allow such a weird failure? If one of the bands works perfectly most primary components must be be intact
Message 5 of 6
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: R8000 New issue with weak signal in two of three Bands - 2.4g and 5g-1

Well from what I know, there are sepearate radio chips for each band. Could be the actual radio itself that maybe failing. Possible use of bad HW in manufacturing and testing is possible. 

Message 6 of 6
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