Tech Can anyone help me with a wireless network issue?

[Sargon]

I have been dealing with a wireless network issue in my house for the past year and I just can't get to the bottom of it. I have posted on other computing forums and haven't found any solutions, so I figured I would try here to see if anyone is able to help.

Here are my symptoms:
- My download/upload speeds are extremely inconsistent and can vary wildly from one minute to the next. I may get 90 Mbps download (which is what I should get) one minute and then suddenly it drops down to < 1 Mbps the next and everything is extremely slow to load if it loads at all
- This isn't an ISP issue, as my wired connections are all fine and don't suffer from any slowdown
- I have measured the traffic on my network at the times when slowdown occurs and verified that there is no other activity that is using my bandwidth
- It doesn't appear to be a signal strength issue either, as I show strong signal readings at all times and it can happen even 5 feet from the router with full signal strength.
- I have tried 3 routers and have had the same behavior on all of them. I started with the ASUS RT-AC87U, then I returned it for the same router and had the same problem . Then I decided to try a completely different router and bought a Netgear Nighthawk X8. I have worked with support from both ASUS and Netgear and none of their suggestions have made any difference.
- I have used wifi analyzers, changed my channels, etc, and that doesn't seem to help
- I live in a residential neighborhood with a few houses nearby, but nothing like an apartment complex with dozens of competing routers
- I have moved my router from one end of the room to the other and it didn't solve the problem
- Speeds are typically fine immediately after a router reboot, but anywhere from a few hours to a few days later I start seeing problems again.

I have no idea what else to try at this point. What could I possibly be missing? If anyone could help me out I would be greatly appreciative!

 

[DJAd]

Have you tired another wireless adapter in the computer? Maybe try one of those USB ones.

 

[Sargon]

Have you tired another wireless adapter in the computer? Maybe try one of those USB ones.

The problem isn't unique to a single computer. It is any device that connects to my network wirelessly, including a Windows laptop, an Android phone, and my wife's IPad. Wired devices have no issues whatsoever.

 

[Angel of Sonoma]

I occasionally lose wifi too ... because someone in my house runs the microwave. The router and microwave run on the same frequency therefore the microwave disrupts the wifi signal. But my connection recovers itself immediately after the microwave stops (no need to reboot the router).

Also if you have a land line and use a cordless phone, it has the potential of disrupting your wifi signal too. Keep the base of your cordless phone away from the router.

 

[Kolka]

As I understand it, some smart-home systems can also interfere with wifi, including some of the wireless security systems.

 

[Angel of Sonoma]

Here's a new one ... a go-pro camera will bring your wireless connectivity to it's knees. My son recently got one for his birthday. One night during an EM event I was super laggy. After the event was over, I noticed everything (uo & web surfing) was still crawling. I checked my wi-fi connection to the router and it would be normal speed one minute then drop down to 12mbps the next. I noticed his go-pro was listed as a router in my network connections. He swore that he wasn't transferring videos and the camera was simply powered on. An hour later he went to bed and powered off all his electronics. As soon as the go-pro was powered off, my wi-fi returned to normal. From what I gather, the go-pro acts like a hotspot. I guess it eats up bandwidth. Mayber your smart phones have the wifi hotspot enabled?

Let us know if you find the root cause.