WiFi issues revisited

[Jon Davis]

Like others I have encountered GN3 WiFi connection problems. Slow internet connection disabled etc.
I have Hughes Net. And not the most expensive WiFi.
I have found a cause of my problems.
When I have more than one device using WiFi the GN3 won't work. When I have only the GN3 connected it works fine and quick.

UPDATE
I spoke too soon. Apologies.
Both my GN 10.1 and my old droid Razr connect and communicate without a problem. My GN3 always disables because internet is too slow.
I lost my unlimited data on Verizon.
WiFi is a must.
Any thoughts about whether this Is a hardware or a software problem?
How many out there are having this problem?

 

[MrClean]

Luckily I get LTE service in 90% of the places I go so I have yet to test it on a WiFi connection. With the GN2, I had good luck using the WiFi.

 

[bd177]

Like others I have encountered GN3 WiFi connection problems. Slow internet connection disabled etc.
I have Hughes Net. And not the most expensive WiFi.
I have found a cause of my problems.
When I have more than one device using WiFi the GN3 won't work. When I have only the GN3 connected it works fine and quick.

UPDATE
I spoke too soon. Apologies.
Both my GN 10.1 and my old droid Razr connect and communicate without a problem. My GN3 always disables because internet is too slow.
I lost my unlimited data on Verizon.
WiFi is a must.
Any thoughts about whether this Is a hardware or a software problem?
How many out there are having this problem?

I just started having the problem you describe yesterday. What I did was go into WiFi -> Advanced and uncheck 'Auto network switch'. This forces it to stay connected to the WiFi network. Even though it keeps sending out notifications that the 'internet connection is unstable', everything works fine. Using the Speedtest app I get 44.66mbits down and 25mbits up.

 

[Jocelyn84]

What router are you all using? Most of the people having problems, myself included, seem to be using AC routers, specifically Asus' AC66U.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

My WiFi signal dropping problems ended shortly after I posted about it in the N3 Problems Thread. I think Comcast/Xfinity was having some kind of problem not my t-mobile Note 3. It hasn't happened again since.

 

[big_z]

What router are you all using? Most of the people having problems, myself included, seem to be using AC routers, specifically Asus' AC66U.

I'm using an AC66U router too and my connection is also spotty. I have a D-Link AC wireless adapter on my desktop and it doesn't handle so well either.

Something you can try, and it helped, though didn't 100% solve the issue for me:

Dialpad, *#0011# . When you hit the last # a service mode screen automatically appears.

Hit the menu button, then pick Wifi.

On the next screen you'll see a bunch of settings printed, and one big button under "WIFI Power Save Mode". Tap that button to make it say "OFF". Back button your way out. Reboot the phone, then go back into *#0011# -> Wifi to verify that Wifi power save is still off (a bug in earlier Samsung versions defaults this to "on").

 

[Jon Davis]

My WiFi signal dropping problems ended shortly after I posted about it in the N3 Problems Thread. I think Comcast/Xfinity was having some kind of problem not my t-mobile Note 3. It hasn't happened again since.

I did the change you suggested after I posted. It solved the problem but The 'Unstable' message irks. Thanks.

 

[Jon Davis]

I'm using an AC66U router too and my connection is also spotty. I have a D-Link AC wireless adapter on my desktop and it doesn't handle so well either.

Something you can try, and it helped, though didn't 100% solve the issue for me:

Dialpad, *#0011# . When you hit the last # a service mode screen automatically appears.

Hit the menu button, then pick Wifi.

On the next screen you'll see a bunch of settings printed, and one big button under "WIFI Power Save Mode". Tap that button to make it say "OFF". Back button your way out. Reboot the phone, then go back into *#0011# -> Wifi to verify that Wifi power save is still off (a bug in earlier Samsung versions defaults this to "on&quot.

Probably doing this wrong but I only get a message from Verizon saying 'bad number'. How can I get the keypad without going into phone? Thanks again for the reply.

 

[Jocelyn84]

I'm using an AC66U router too and my connection is also spotty. I have a D-Link AC wireless adapter on my desktop and it doesn't handle so well either.

Something you can try, and it helped, though didn't 100% solve the issue for me:

Dialpad, *#0011# . When you hit the last # a service mode screen automatically appears.

Hit the menu button, then pick Wifi.

On the next screen you'll see a bunch of settings printed, and one big button under "WIFI Power Save Mode". Tap that button to make it say "OFF". Back button your way out. Reboot the phone, then go back into *#0011# -> Wifi to verify that Wifi power save is still off (a bug in earlier Samsung versions defaults this to "on").

Yes, I did that as soon as I received the phone, but thanks. I did tons of searching in the S4 sections of forums and over at smallnetbuilder and found changing the following to help quite a bit. First, for 5Ghz change the channel to 36 or 44 (I'm using 44). The S4 has some software bug with channels and I believe this also applies to our Note 3. Next, under professional, disable Explicit beamforming. From what I've read, this isn't even supposed to be implemented at this time, and turning it off has definitely helped a bit.

Oh and also update to the newest firmware (3.0.0.4.374.979)

PS - If your Note 3 isn't rooted and your Note 2 is (W/ an ad blocker), keep in mind that your Note 3 has to load all of those ads. This was definitely messing up my throughput and it took me a few days to realize I was comparing apples to oranges. I used ad block plus, which doesn't require root, to do an apples to apples comparison and the phone is as fast if note faster than my Note 2 over WiFi with ad blocker plus running.
All of the above helped my WiFi feel a bit more snappy, but I'm sending back my device tomorrow and waiting until the voice problems are solved.

Probably doing this wrong but I only get a message from Verizon saying 'bad number'. How can I get the keypad without going into phone? Thanks again for the reply.

It should work from the phone apps keypad.

 

[Lateck]

I too have problems with WiFi connections.
At home I have an AC router and my Note 2 works flawlessly but my N3 (at times), drops out due to "Poor Signal"....
At my work it is worse and that's a N based router.
I had called Sprint and they want me to take the phone in so they can "check" the WiFi antenna.

Lateck,

 

[gbsa]

I'm using an AC66U router too and my connection is also spotty. I have a D-Link AC wireless adapter on my desktop and it doesn't handle so well either.

Something you can try, and it helped, though didn't 100% solve the issue for me:

Dialpad, *#0011# . When you hit the last # a service mode screen automatically appears.

Hit the menu button, then pick Wifi.

On the next screen you'll see a bunch of settings printed, and one big button under "WIFI Power Save Mode". Tap that button to make it say "OFF". Back button your way out. Reboot the phone, then go back into *#0011# -> Wifi to verify that Wifi power save is still off (a bug in earlier Samsung versions defaults this to "on").

I tried this but it didn't work Verizon has the hidden menu disabled but found instructions to enable it here
http://gs3.wonderhowto.com/how-to/pick-up-better-wi-fi-signal-your-samsung-galaxy-s3-0144988/

 

[sezaro21]

I tried this but it didn't work Verizon has the hidden menu disabled but found instructions to enable it here
How to Pick Up a Better Wi-Fi Signal on Your Samsung Galaxy S3

 

[gbsa]

That link didnt work for the Note 3. That is for the S3. I tried all the different scenerios and niether worked.

Sorry to hear that it worked for my note 2.

 

[Jakb]

I have 2 smartphones, the Galaxy Note 3 (carrier A) and BlackBerry Z10 (carrier B). I have both for voice and* Internet connection redundancy.

I experienced a similar problem ever since I got the earliest release of the Note 3 in the Philippines last Sept. 21. I get to experience the wifi connection /disconnection issue whenever I try to connect to my other phone's (BlackBerry Z10) wifi hotspot. I also experienced this whenever my home wifi router (Apple Airport Extreme) is experiencing a slow connection with our ISP.

Whenever I connect my Note 3 to my Z10's personal hotspot, the first status message would be:

- Checking quality of your Internet connection (msg #1)

After a while, the* message would be:

- Network disabled because Internet connection is slow (msg #2)

Some other times my Note 3 would connect but would later on disconnect and revert to my carrier's data plan.

I do not notice this with all our other devices (Galaxy Note 2, iPad 1st and 4th Gen, MacBook Pro and Air, iPhone 4S,* Kindle Fire HD, etc.) that connects to my Z10's personal hotspot. They get stable Internet connection from it.

My Note 3's wifi advance settings are:
- Network notification = ON
- Passpoint = OFF
- Keep wifi on during sleep = ON
- Always allow scanning = ON
- Auto network switch = ON
- wifi timer = OFF

I tried to disable Auto network switch and turned off my home wifi and just connected to my Z10's personal hotspot to prevent my Note 3 from switching to my home wifi but it just results to msg #2 and reverts back to my carrier's data plan for Internet connection.

When I checked my Note 2's (Android 4.1.2) advanced wifi settings, there's an option there to toggle "Check wifi AP's Internet connection". In the Note 3, the closest setting is perhaps the Auto network switch which Android 4.3 automatically turns on (even if you deliberately turn it off) whenever it doesn't get good Internet connection from your preferred AP.

The only workaround to this would be to turn off all my other known APs (or forget them in my wifi list of connections) and turn off my mobile data in my Note 3 then connect with my Z10's hotspot. This would however mean that I would have to re-enable my mobile data and turn on my auto network switch every time I'm done connecting with my Z10's hotspot. This is crude and I would wish Samsung would come out with a good fix for this very soon!

Regards,
Jak
Manila, Philippines

 

[bd177]

What router are you all using? Most of the people having problems, myself included, seem to be using AC routers, specifically Asus' AC66U.

The same as you - Asus' AC66U

 

[Crosley123]

The same as you - Asus' AC66U

What router are you all using? Most of the people having problems, myself included, seem to be using AC routers, specifically Asus' AC66U.

Same problem, same router for me.

 

[big_z]

Yes, I did that as soon as I received the phone, but thanks. I did tons of searching in the S4 sections of forums and over at smallnetbuilder and found changing the following to help quite a bit. First, for 5Ghz change the channel to 36 or 44 (I'm using 44). The S4 has some software bug with channels and I believe this also applies to our Note 3. Next, under professional, disable Explicit beamforming. From what I've read, this isn't even supposed to be implemented at this time, and turning it off has definitely helped a bit.

Thank you. This improved my phone-wireless router connection considerably. I think it's stable enough to use Wifi Calling now, which was one of the reasons I switched to TMobile.

The desktop seems a little flaky still though.

 

[jwither]

To fix the wifi issue, this is from Samsung via XDA:

-Power the device off (remove and re-insert the battery).
-Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
-When the device vibrates; release only the Power key while still holding the other two keys.
-When the Android system recovery menu displays; release the Volume Up and the Home key.
-Navigate with the Volume keys to the "wipe cache partition" option and press the Power key to select.
-Wait for the cache is cleared. While reboot system now is highlighted, press the Power key and reboot the device.

 

[0157h7]

To fix the wifi issue, this is from Samsung via XDA:

-Power the device off (remove and re-insert the battery).
-Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
-When the device vibrates; release only the Power key while still holding the other two keys.
-When the Android system recovery menu displays; release the Volume Up and the Home key.
-Navigate with the Volume keys to the "wipe cache partition" option and press the Power key to select.
-Wait for the cache is cleared. While reboot system now is highlighted, press the Power key and reboot the device.

No help for me and I have seen others say the same.

I too have an AC66u. Turned off force beaming. Tried both channel 25 and 44. Updated firmware. Tried 5 ghz and 2.4 ghz. Still unstable.

 

[jwither]

No help for me and I have seen others say the same.

I too have an AC66u. Turned off force beaming. Tried both channel 25 and 44. Updated firmware. Tried 5 ghz and 2.4 ghz. Still unstable.

These threads of any help to you?

Asus RT-AC66U - Android devices not auto connecting to 5Ghz N. - SmallNetBuilder Forums

AC66u and Android Problems - SmallNetBuilder Forums

 

[0157h7]

These threads of any help to you?

Asus RT-AC66U - Android devices not auto connecting to 5Ghz N. - SmallNetBuilder Forums

AC66u and Android Problems - SmallNetBuilder Forums

I've done those things. Now that I have spent more time with it, it seems to be better but I still get the error message at times. I also bumped up the power (which may actually do nothing since it says it follows regional guidelines) to 200 and turned off WPS. I doubt those did anything.

 

[jwither]

I've done those things. Now that I have spent more time with it, it seems to be better but I still get the error message at times. I also bumped up the power (which may actually do nothing since it says it follows regional guidelines) to 200 and turned off WPS. I doubt those did anything.

I'd be curious to know if you give the phone a static IP, subnet mask, and gateway - does it stabilize? If the phone is connecting ok, but not getting an IP address from the built-in DHCP server, that might indicate to me that it is an issue with the router, and not the phone.

Of course leaving it with a static IP is impractical, unless you're home-bound, and never use any other APs.

 

[0157h7]

I'd be curious to know if you give the phone a static IP, subnet mask, and gateway - does it stabilize? If the phone is connecting ok, but not getting an IP address from the built-in DHCP server, that might indicate to me that it is an issue with the router, and not the phone.

Of course leaving it with a static IP is impractical, unless you're home-bound, and never use any other APs.

The only place I am having persistent issues is at home. If I have time I will look into it.

 

[jwither]

The only place I am having persistent issues is at home. If I have time I will look into it.

That should be a clue.

Looking at the Asus web site, there have been 4 firmware updates for your router in the past 4 months, the last on 10/9/13, with current version number 3.0.0.4.374.979

RT-AC66U - Networking - ASUS

The list of fixes from those updates is longer than my arm.