Wifi gurus: some questions

[ka jowct]

A recent thread about vanishing WiFi got me thinking about mine. I have an older Asus RT-AC56U wireless router. It’s always been in a less than desirable location, on the other side of the wall from where the microwave sits in the kitchen. I downloaded WiFi Signal from the App Store and it is showing poor performance at the other end of the apartment, where there is at this point no ethernet. This "poor" performance is NOT really noticeable in use, but I am thinking it might be a good idea to reposition the router to see if that helps. If it doesn’t help, I have a newer Asus that I could replace it with.

Despite the signal being poor quality, my iDevices annoyingly hang onto it outside my building until I cross the street.

Thoughts?

[mattkime]

Its possible that you have more walls between you and the router when you're in the far end of the apartment compared to outside.

[btfc]

Use the wireless sniffer software to map the signal dropoff.

Play around with alternate placement locations.

Also use the wireless sniffer software to check for other signals that might interfere.

Are you using 2.4 or 5GHz?

5GHz Is less crowded, is theoretically faster, but the signal won’t travel quite as far.

Some routers will allow you to set signal strength.

[ka jowct]

btfc wrote:
Use the wireless sniffer software to map the signal dropoff.

Play around with alternate placement locations.

Also use the wireless sniffer software to check for other signals that might interfere.

Are you using 2.4 or 5GHz?

5GHz Is less crowded, is theoretically faster, but the signal won’t travel quite as far.

Some routers will allow you to set signal strength.

We use both 2.4 and 5 Ghz. I will try to find another location for it, but it may not be easy.

Which sniffer software?

[ka jowct]

mattkime wrote:
Its possible that you have more walls between you and the router when you're in the far end of the apartment compared to outside.

Nope, one less wall. The signal outside the building isn't usable: It’s just annoying, because my MTA apps don’t work out in front of our building. I have to get farther away for the weak wifi signal to drop, and then cellular takes over.

[btfc]

WiFi Signal should work, but recently I’ve been just using Airport Utility on iOS.

[Fritz]

just a thought, within Android OS there are developer settings that can be toggled.
One allows for the faster hand off between WiFi and cell.
Another, WiFi throttling that appears to help as well.
Kind of counterintuitive.

Also, I found that using Private dns - dns.adguard.com made MTA apps slower to wake or work at all.
When I'm in the subway (seldom. I'm a foot-dragger, except Manhattan to Brooklyn) and can't remember how to get where, I will toggle pDNS off.

Dunno if these things exist in iOS.

[ka jowct]

Fritz: Not sure about iOS settings, either, but I see nothing n the app. I use MyMTA almost exclusively for bus travel, which is 99% of my MTA use. The app and its somewhat preferable predecessor MTABus Time have made the bus service infinitely easier to use. For routes with less frequent service, it’s a must.

If the phone won’t let go of the wifi signal, and I need it to switch immediately, I just toggle Airplane Mode on and off.

[Fritz]

ka jowct wrote:
If the phone won’t let go of the wifi signal, and I need it to switch immediately, I just toggle Airplane Mode on and off.

if that does it, then pDNS isn't the issue.

When my right leg wasn't co-operating in '21 I used the MTA subway app, pointless though it was, if I didn't feel like chancing the lack of cabs.

I don't use the buses. People are too polite and considerate.
I like the subways, people shoving lol's, not giving up a seat for a 9 month pregnant woman, 7 piece bands setting up in a car and playing on 11 expecting to get a ¢ from a crowded car of NYers off to their slice of life, visiting foreigners speaking their native tongue trying to figure out where the f they are from those exquisite "maps", afraid to ask any of them crushed around them.
And of course, I love to see the dog sized rats playing trash ball or chicken on the tracks.

NY is back and 9th ave is jammed. I walk up 10th now.
So freezing fkn cold, I'm an octave higher at 57th Street.

[ka jowct]

The buses get me a lot closer to my various clients. Adding GPS to the buses so that riders can track them in real time was maybe the biggest improvement in service since I’ve lived here. I have a client on 9th Ave near 25th, and I often want to catch the M11 down to 14th St. Guessing when the M11 might show up used to be an exercise in futility and made me swear a lot. Now I just check the app, and time my departure for minimal wait time at the stop.