If your wireless network is suffering from interference there's a chance there are both visible and invisible forces at work. Here is an explaination of both.
Obvious Causes
Obviously any solid object is going to cause some difficulty for radio signal. Typically objects such as plaster, drywall and wood have little effect on wireless radio signals. On the other hand objects such as metal, concrete and glass can have a huge effect on your wireless signal. The human body which is made mostly of water can interfere greatly with a wireless signal. The absolute worst place to install a wireless router is an area that's full of metal objects such as a kitchen or laundry room. Strangely enough some wireless routers that are installed as part of the house during construction are surrounded by metal objects and are usually rendered useless.
Not So Obvious Causes
There are other types of wireless network interference that are not so obvious. If you live in an apartment building and are surrounded by neighbors who also have wireless devices in their apartments there's a good chance their wireless signals can be interfering with yours. An easy fix for this is to adjust the channel your wireless router is on. Wireless-G routers typically have 11 channels you can choose from. Most of these channels overlap with adjacent channels so if your neighbor is using channel 6 it's best to go with channel 1 or channel 11 on your wireless router. A lot of new wireless N routers and some G routers have an auto-switching feature which automatically detects the channel that's most open and switches to that.
A Wireless-G router basically lives on the 2.4 GHZ frequency band. Unfortunately a lot of your other wireless devices also occupy that frequency band. Microwave ovens, baby monitors, garage door openers and cordless phones also operate on the 2.4 GHZ frequency band and are capable of causing a lot of interference issues with your wireless router. It's best to keep your access point and your wireless devices at least 6 to 10 feet away from these devices.
As wireless technology becomes more mature interference is becoming less and less of a problem. We now have Wireless-N routers which enable us to use the 5 GHZ frequency band and avoid most of these interference issues altogether. Most Wireless-N routers and some Wireless-G routers use something called MIMO which sends and receives multiple signals at once and virtually floods the entire area with a wireless signal. This provides multiple paths for the wireless signal to follow which makes it less susceptible to interference.
If your wireless signal seems to work fine in some areas of the home and not in others you are probably experiencing interference issues. Make sure to check not only the most obvious and visible causes of interference but the not so obvious an invisible causes as well.
Hopefully this article has provided you with some insight into wireless interference, how to avoid it and what to do about it.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Understanding Wireless Home Networking Lingo
"Hi, My name is Dave your friendly yet somewhat annoying electronics store associate. So you're looking for a wireless router? What sort of wireless router are you looking for today sir? Wireless G? Wireless N? Dual band or single? Are you looking for MIMO or wireless A for your games? Have you seen our new WPS models? Need some time to think? OK, I'll be over here by the printers if you need anything. My name is Dave."
Before finding yourself in the middle of a conversation like this and ending up paying for a wireless router with features you don't need its best to walk into a store knowing what you already want and what all those acronyms mean.
Five minutes from now you will.
A, B, G or N?
Wireless-A, B, G and N are all variations of the same 802.11X wireless protocol. Wireless-B was the earliest and is now considered outdated with the speed of only 11 megabits per second. Way too slow by todays standards. Having Wireless-B gear on a wireless-G network can actually slow other devices on that network to wireless-B speeds.
Next came Wireless-G and the rise in popularity of wireless networking. Wireless-G comes with far better security and a maximum speed of 54 megabits per second. Proprietary standards created by manufacturer's have doubled this to 108 megabits per second. Still even with this major increase in speed consumer interest in games and streaming multimedia created a need for an even faster wireless networking standard. Today we have a wireless-N routers which can reach speeds of up to 320 megabits per second.
The old Wireless-A standard had one redeeming feature. That was the fact that instead of running on the 2.4 gigahertz frequency band along with other wireless routers and popular wireless products such as cordless phones and baby monitors it ran relatively free of interference on the 5 gigahertz frequency band. Today wireless-N will run on both the 2.4 and 5 gigahertz frequency bands. The option to use the 5 gigahertz frequency band allows us much more flexibility when trying to avoid interference from other wireless devices.
What is MIMO?
The government only allows a home networks wireless signal to reach a certain strength to prevent it from interfering with other broadcast frequencies. This makes the wireless protocol susceptible to different types of interference. A way of overcoming this interference is with the use of multiple input and output antennas called MIMO. MIMO actually uses the surfaces of a room to reflect off of and in effect increase a wireless routers signal strength.
Encryption - Good, Better and Best
The types of security available on a wireless router usually come in three flavors. WEP, WPA and WPA2. WEP was first introduced with 802.11 B. with the increase of computer processing speeds encryption in WEP has become easier and easier to crack. WPA uses encryption keys that are constantly changing which makes it very difficult to crack. WPA two uses a different type of encryption method called AES which makes it even more difficult to crack and WPA.
WPS - So Easy A 10 Year Old Can Do It?
In order to make setting up wireless security easier for consumers a new feature called WPS or "Wireless Protected Setup" has been developed. WPS makes setting up wireless encryption easy and has even been incorporated into the new Windows 7 operating system. WPS involves simply typing in a pin number or pressing a button. If both the wireless router and a device you're connecting to support WPS your encryption type and security key is randomly generated automatically for you on both devices. In theory this makes setting up a wireless network so simple even a 10-year-old can do it. (Whether that's a good idea are not still remains to be seen).
Hopefully this brief article has given you a better understanding as to what all those confusing letters and acronyms associated with wireless networking mean. When Dave approaches you and asks if you need any help you should be able to say "No thanks." and walk out with exactly what you came in for.
Before finding yourself in the middle of a conversation like this and ending up paying for a wireless router with features you don't need its best to walk into a store knowing what you already want and what all those acronyms mean.
Five minutes from now you will.
A, B, G or N?
Wireless-A, B, G and N are all variations of the same 802.11X wireless protocol. Wireless-B was the earliest and is now considered outdated with the speed of only 11 megabits per second. Way too slow by todays standards. Having Wireless-B gear on a wireless-G network can actually slow other devices on that network to wireless-B speeds.
Next came Wireless-G and the rise in popularity of wireless networking. Wireless-G comes with far better security and a maximum speed of 54 megabits per second. Proprietary standards created by manufacturer's have doubled this to 108 megabits per second. Still even with this major increase in speed consumer interest in games and streaming multimedia created a need for an even faster wireless networking standard. Today we have a wireless-N routers which can reach speeds of up to 320 megabits per second.
The old Wireless-A standard had one redeeming feature. That was the fact that instead of running on the 2.4 gigahertz frequency band along with other wireless routers and popular wireless products such as cordless phones and baby monitors it ran relatively free of interference on the 5 gigahertz frequency band. Today wireless-N will run on both the 2.4 and 5 gigahertz frequency bands. The option to use the 5 gigahertz frequency band allows us much more flexibility when trying to avoid interference from other wireless devices.
What is MIMO?
The government only allows a home networks wireless signal to reach a certain strength to prevent it from interfering with other broadcast frequencies. This makes the wireless protocol susceptible to different types of interference. A way of overcoming this interference is with the use of multiple input and output antennas called MIMO. MIMO actually uses the surfaces of a room to reflect off of and in effect increase a wireless routers signal strength.
Encryption - Good, Better and Best
The types of security available on a wireless router usually come in three flavors. WEP, WPA and WPA2. WEP was first introduced with 802.11 B. with the increase of computer processing speeds encryption in WEP has become easier and easier to crack. WPA uses encryption keys that are constantly changing which makes it very difficult to crack. WPA two uses a different type of encryption method called AES which makes it even more difficult to crack and WPA.
WPS - So Easy A 10 Year Old Can Do It?
In order to make setting up wireless security easier for consumers a new feature called WPS or "Wireless Protected Setup" has been developed. WPS makes setting up wireless encryption easy and has even been incorporated into the new Windows 7 operating system. WPS involves simply typing in a pin number or pressing a button. If both the wireless router and a device you're connecting to support WPS your encryption type and security key is randomly generated automatically for you on both devices. In theory this makes setting up a wireless network so simple even a 10-year-old can do it. (Whether that's a good idea are not still remains to be seen).
Hopefully this brief article has given you a better understanding as to what all those confusing letters and acronyms associated with wireless networking mean. When Dave approaches you and asks if you need any help you should be able to say "No thanks." and walk out with exactly what you came in for.
Drama Free Wireless Network Troubleshooting
If you're like most people can you make it through running the set up CD flawlessly. You don't really run into any problems until later when you need to add new PCs, a wireless printer, game console etc to your wireless network. All of a sudden nothing you try seems to work. It's easy to get upset at this point. I've been there many times. What's important is to resist the temptation to throw your router and all your network gear out the window. Instead approach the problem with a cool head and follow a methodical series of troubleshooting steps.
SSID
Did you type in the correct SSID? On all your network devices? This is a very common and easy mistake to make because the SSID field is case-sensitive. As far as your wireless devices are concerned "MyWifi" and "MyWiFi" are two totally different networks.
Security Key
Make sure the security key you entered into your WEP, WPA or WPA2 setting is correct. This is especially true when you're using WEP and Windows XP. When using WEP you need to understand the difference between your pass phrase and WEP key. They are two different things. Normally you enter your pass phrase into your router and it's automatically converted into a hexadecimal WEP key. Many people make the mistake of typing that same pass phrase into your Windows XP wireless adapter properties. XP will not automatically convert a pass phrase to a WEP key like your router does. You need to type in the actual hexadecimal WEP key into your Windows XP wireless adapter properties otherwise it won't work even though you're certain you entered it correctly.
Hidden SSID
Check to make sure you are broadcasting your SSID. Many people like to hide their SSID as a security measure but this can make connecting new devices to a wireless network difficult.
MAC Address Filtering
If you're using Mac address filtering check your MAC address settings. Many times we'll go through the trouble of setting up MAC address filtering and then forget all about it. Later when associating a new device or wireless adapter to the network we go through the steps of setting everything up correctly and nothing seems to work. I've done this myself several times. Usually some random thought will cause me to remember I had MAC address filtering set up. Once I turn it off my new device suddenly works like magic. It's then just a simple matter of adding that new devices MAC address to our MAC filter and turning it back on again.
Drivers and Updates
Personally I hate this but I've found it's a necessary evil. It's a good practice to occasionally wander out to your wireless device manufacturers website and see if there are any new firmware or device driver updates available. Manufacturers will often add new features and functionality as well as fix many problems with updates.Of course the question that always comes to mind is: "It worked fine before so why not now?" One reason for this is there may have been changes or upgrades made to your Operating System or service pack level. Now all of a sudden things no longer work because the new Service Pack on your system requires features your device doesn't have without a firmware or device driver upgrade.
If all the previously mentioned troubleshooting steps don't work it's time to go to your manufactures website and make sure you have the latest device drivers and firmware upgrades for your equipment.
Faulty Equipment
There comes a time when it's a good idea to stop beating your head against a wall and blaming yourself. The sad truth about wireless networking gear is in order to make such sophisticated equipment affordable to consumers certain quality control steps can be skipped or eliminated in order to streamline and economize their production. Thats why it's always a good idea to purchase wireless gear from reputable merchant with a good return policy and keep your receipts.
Testing "Known Good" Devices
The question is how do you determine when something is bad or not? Now is a good time to save your routers configuration settings to a file and reset it to its original factory configuration. This is typically done by inserting a pin or paper clip into a small hole on one side of the device, holding it for a few seconds and then power cycling (Turning it off and back on again.) the router. Many routers make this easy with a reset button you can click on in the web interface. If the issue is resolved after you reset it you know the router is good. There may have been a conflict with some of the settings you added or the configuration file may have simply become corrupt. If the issue is not resolved you either have a bad router or one of the devices you're connecting to may be bad or mis-configured. Swap out other devices on your network with "known good" devices. If a device you know is good is still not working you may have a problem with your router.
See now don't you feel better? Resisting the instant gratification of smashing an evil piece of hardware that seems intent on making your life miserable can result in long term financial and emotional peace of mind.
JJ
SSID
Did you type in the correct SSID? On all your network devices? This is a very common and easy mistake to make because the SSID field is case-sensitive. As far as your wireless devices are concerned "MyWifi" and "MyWiFi" are two totally different networks.
Security Key
Make sure the security key you entered into your WEP, WPA or WPA2 setting is correct. This is especially true when you're using WEP and Windows XP. When using WEP you need to understand the difference between your pass phrase and WEP key. They are two different things. Normally you enter your pass phrase into your router and it's automatically converted into a hexadecimal WEP key. Many people make the mistake of typing that same pass phrase into your Windows XP wireless adapter properties. XP will not automatically convert a pass phrase to a WEP key like your router does. You need to type in the actual hexadecimal WEP key into your Windows XP wireless adapter properties otherwise it won't work even though you're certain you entered it correctly.
Hidden SSID
Check to make sure you are broadcasting your SSID. Many people like to hide their SSID as a security measure but this can make connecting new devices to a wireless network difficult.
MAC Address Filtering
If you're using Mac address filtering check your MAC address settings. Many times we'll go through the trouble of setting up MAC address filtering and then forget all about it. Later when associating a new device or wireless adapter to the network we go through the steps of setting everything up correctly and nothing seems to work. I've done this myself several times. Usually some random thought will cause me to remember I had MAC address filtering set up. Once I turn it off my new device suddenly works like magic. It's then just a simple matter of adding that new devices MAC address to our MAC filter and turning it back on again.
Drivers and Updates
Personally I hate this but I've found it's a necessary evil. It's a good practice to occasionally wander out to your wireless device manufacturers website and see if there are any new firmware or device driver updates available. Manufacturers will often add new features and functionality as well as fix many problems with updates.Of course the question that always comes to mind is: "It worked fine before so why not now?" One reason for this is there may have been changes or upgrades made to your Operating System or service pack level. Now all of a sudden things no longer work because the new Service Pack on your system requires features your device doesn't have without a firmware or device driver upgrade.
If all the previously mentioned troubleshooting steps don't work it's time to go to your manufactures website and make sure you have the latest device drivers and firmware upgrades for your equipment.
Faulty Equipment
There comes a time when it's a good idea to stop beating your head against a wall and blaming yourself. The sad truth about wireless networking gear is in order to make such sophisticated equipment affordable to consumers certain quality control steps can be skipped or eliminated in order to streamline and economize their production. Thats why it's always a good idea to purchase wireless gear from reputable merchant with a good return policy and keep your receipts.
Testing "Known Good" Devices
The question is how do you determine when something is bad or not? Now is a good time to save your routers configuration settings to a file and reset it to its original factory configuration. This is typically done by inserting a pin or paper clip into a small hole on one side of the device, holding it for a few seconds and then power cycling (Turning it off and back on again.) the router. Many routers make this easy with a reset button you can click on in the web interface. If the issue is resolved after you reset it you know the router is good. There may have been a conflict with some of the settings you added or the configuration file may have simply become corrupt. If the issue is not resolved you either have a bad router or one of the devices you're connecting to may be bad or mis-configured. Swap out other devices on your network with "known good" devices. If a device you know is good is still not working you may have a problem with your router.
See now don't you feel better? Resisting the instant gratification of smashing an evil piece of hardware that seems intent on making your life miserable can result in long term financial and emotional peace of mind.
JJ
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