I have been using the Netgear RAX10 AX1800 model Wi-Fi 6 Router for over an year. It was working fine until recently it has been showing high signal interference / noise probably from nearby Wi-Fi devices. I reside in a large high-rise apartment complex so I assume there would be other wi-fi routers/devices around my house (same floor or higher/lower floors) which may be causing this signal noise. I spoke with the Netgear CC who advised me to change the channel for 2.4 Ghz and also 5 Ghz bands in Wi-Fi Setup in Router, but despite using various permutations and combinations the noise has only reduced marginally. This noise is causing my smart TV to pause content while streaming Netflix / Amazon Prime etc. as the Wi-Fi connection into the Smart TV gets connected / disconnected every few seconds / minutes. On using the Amazon Fire TV Stick in the Settings ->Network -> Advanced option I notice that the Wi-Fi signal drops from 2.4 Ghz to 5 Ghz and back and forth and also the noise shows as 'High'.
Would appreciate any help in resolving this issue as the Netgear CC only gives generic info (maybe referring to some standard template, not specific to the model customer is asking about). I have a 100 Mbps wired broadband internet connection which should suffice for most normal tasks, including streaming over my Smart TV on Full HD (TV isn't 4K capable).
Thanks for reading. Hope for a solution from experts in this community.
I have been using the Netgear RAX10 AX1800 model Wi-Fi 6 Router for over an year. It was working fine until recently it has been showing high signal interference / noise probably from nearby Wi-Fi devices. I reside in a large high-rise apartment complex so I assume there would be other wi-fi routers/devices around my house (same floor or higher/lower floors) which may be causing this signal noise. I spoke with the Netgear CC who advised me to change the channel for 2.4 Ghz and also 5 Ghz bands in Wi-Fi Setup in Router, but despite using various permutations and combinations the noise has only reduced marginally. This noise is causing my smart TV to pause content while streaming Netflix / Amazon Prime etc. as the Wi-Fi connection into the Smart TV gets connected / disconnected every few seconds / minutes. On using the Amazon Fire TV Stick in the Settings ->Network -> Advanced option I notice that the Wi-Fi signal drops from 2.4 Ghz to 5 Ghz and back and forth and also the noise shows as 'High'.
Would appreciate any help in resolving this issue as the Netgear CC only gives generic info (maybe referring to some standard template, not specific to the model customer is asking about). I have a 100 Mbps wired broadband internet connection which should suffice for most normal tasks, including streaming over my Smart TV on Full HD (TV isn't 4K capable).
Thanks for reading. Hope for a solution from experts in this community.
Cheers
Ramesh
Go to the Downloads section at the top of this page. Put in your specific model number and download the manual for your model router. It is a PDF file. Go to page 64 and review the Wi-Fi setting options. Look for an option to enable/disable the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. If none of your devices, or the 5 GHz channel you are using are in the AX Wi-Fi band, disable the AX Wi-Fi.
Some good background on Wi-Fi can be found on this web site. Do not try to absorb it all at once. The first two or three sections is a good start. https://www.wiisfi.com/
Many devices will bandsteer between 2.4ghz and 5ghz. If its that "noisy" disable smart connect and separate out your 2.4ghz band and the 5ghz band. Make sure streaming devices are on the 5ghz as its higher bandwidth and less sensitive to interference with other broadcasters because it doesn't broadcast as far.
Thanks for your response. Yes, I did try to isolate 2.4 Ghz & 5 Ghz by disabling Smart Connect, but the interference from nearby Wi-Fi devices remains. The thing is due to the layout of my house I need to keep both bands active / enabled and can't operate only on 5Ghz though most devices at home are dual-band. Besides, I have a 100 Mbps wired broadband so it isn't blazing fast for me to really benefit from higher speeds of 5 Ghz band.
On suggestion from someone in another web forum I downloaded and checked for nearby Wi-Fi devices which may be operating on the same channel as my RAX10 router, thru WiFi Analyser App, but though it scans and gives info on which cnannels are relatively less congested, this list varies from time to time (maybe other WiFi devices nearby are set to 'Auto' instead of manually set to any particular channel). Seems changing channel no manually in my router's settings is the only option, though it's inconvenient. Spoke to the Netgear CC and told them that their Nighthawk App has very limited features, and it should give this info on which cnannel (for both 2.4 & 5Ghz bands) is most suitable based on congestion noticed at that moment. Alas, got no assurance that it will be noted and shared with their development team.
@Kitsap - Thank you for your suggestion. I had set the channel for 5 Ghz band to 36 as per some other forum and it seems to be fine, with lesser issues. Didn't want to tinker too much with settings I don't understand, which may have unseen effects elsewhere in router performance.
BTW, do you (or anyone) know how to turn off 2.4 Ghz band usage completely on the RAX10 router ? All my devices connecting to this router are dual-band capable and connect to it over the 5 Ghz band usually. I have noticed on Wi-Fi Analyser App that some of the nearby devices around my house (floors above / below mine) operate on 2.4 Ghz so I assume if I turn off broadcast over this band, it might prevent / reduce interference from those devices. Perhaps it might even prevent detection of my router by those devices, which is even better for me.
I have been using the Netgear RAX10 AX1800 model Wi-Fi 6 Router for over an year. It was working fine until recently it has been showing high signal interference / noise probably from nearby Wi-Fi devices. I reside in a large high-rise apartment complex so I assume there would be other wi-fi routers/devices around my house (same floor or higher/lower floors) which may be causing this signal noise. I spoke with the Netgear CC who advised me to change the channel for 2.4 Ghz and also 5 Ghz bands in Wi-Fi Setup in Router, but despite using various permutations and combinations the noise has only reduced marginally. This noise is causing my smart TV to pause content while streaming Netflix / Amazon Prime etc. as the Wi-Fi connection into the Smart TV gets connected / disconnected every few seconds / minutes. On using the Amazon Fire TV Stick in the Settings ->Network -> Advanced option I notice that the Wi-Fi signal drops from 2.4 Ghz to 5 Ghz and back and forth and also the noise shows as 'High'.
Would appreciate any help in resolving this issue as the Netgear CC only gives generic info (maybe referring to some standard template, not specific to the model customer is asking about). I have a 100 Mbps wired broadband internet connection which should suffice for most normal tasks, including streaming over my Smart TV on Full HD (TV isn't 4K capable).
Thanks for reading. Hope for a solution from experts in this community.
Cheers
Ramesh
Go to the Downloads section at the top of this page. Put in your specific model number and download the manual for your model router. It is a PDF file. Go to page 64 and review the Wi-Fi setting options. Look for an option to enable/disable the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. If none of your devices, or the 5 GHz channel you are using are in the AX Wi-Fi band, disable the AX Wi-Fi.
Some good background on Wi-Fi can be found on this web site. Do not try to absorb it all at once. The first two or three sections is a good start. https://www.wiisfi.com/
Noticed after a recent update to the Nighthawk App by Netgear, the info I sought earlier is now available in this updated App. i.e. under the Wi-Fi Analysis section -> Network Status tab it shows which nearby devices are available and are on which channel no. Next tab Channel Interference now shows how many devices are connected on which channel, so one can change one's channel manually to least congested channel no. This section also recommends channel nos based on congestion info. Very helpful info for folks like me who experience signal interference from nearby routers.
