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Vodafone Router - WiFi issues? Change Settings?

Resali
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

Hi all

 

I am aware of the various discussion around the Vodafone supplied router and its poor WiFi performance for some users.

 

My fibre broadband went live on 2/12/17, so I am still within the 10 days of "finding the best speed". Router says it gets 54Mb (which is great!), MacBook Pro via WiFi gets 50Mb (again, great!), but the FireSTick gets around half of 50Mb and my iPhone only gets 10Mb (not so great). All devices are within 5 metres of the router and connected to the 2.4GHz WiFi as the speeds on the 5GHz WiFi are somewhat slower.

 

Are there any settings on the router (or the iPhone, or the Fire Stick) I can try to get better speeds across all devices? Or would a new router modem fix this? My previous BT Smart Hub managed to feed all devices at roughly the same speed.

 

Many thanks.

 

Resali

19 REPLIES 19

Resali
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

Okay, ignore my earlier post, I got this wrong.

 

It appears that I can get full speed (in my case 50Mb) on all devices if they connect to the router via 5GHz. However, connected to 2.4GHz all the devices only get around 10Mb (on least crowded channel). All devices are within 5 metres of the router.

Does this mean the router's 2.4GHz signal is rubbish or is there anyhting else that could be wrong? Previously my BT Smart Hub was able to deliver full speed on both ferquencies, which makes me think it's Vodafone's router being the problem.

 

Thanks.

 

Resali

TJ
Community Manager (Retired)
Community Manager (Retired)

@Resali Glad to hear you're getting good speeds on all of your devices now 👍

The primary differences between the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz wireless frequencies are range and bandwidth. 5GHz provides faster data rates at a shorter distance, 2.4GHz offers coverage for farther distances, but may perform at slower speeds.

If all of your devices are within a good distance, you shouldn't have any more issues.

Please don't hesitate to get back to us with any further questions, we'll be more than happy to help.

 

@TJ

 

What about devices that can only connect on 2.4GHz? Should they not get similar speeds to the 5GHz devices given that all devices are within 5 metres of the router with no thick walls etc in the way?

Tash
Moderator (Retired)
Moderator (Retired)

@Resali The 5GHz could be seen as a more consistent channel, as with more devices connecting 2GHz this could potentially cause interference.

If you have the option to change your WiFi channels, this would help to see which helps better with your speeds - you'd then be able to pick the best one at the time.

You can do this by logging into your router menu, then follow the below steps:

- Go to vodafone.connect or 192.168.1.1

- Enter the password - vodafone

- In the top right, change this mode to expert mode

- Go to the Wi-Fi tab

- Scroll down and click on split SSID

- You’ll then see the two options, one for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz, in each section, you’ll see the SSID name – we’d recommend changing the name to have a 2 and a 5 at the start, as you’ll then be able to identify which is which on your device.

- Hit apply

 

To then change your WiFi channel, you'd complete the following:

- In the Wi-Fi tab, go to settings from the left menu

- Here you can change the channel of the 2.4Ghz/5Ghz channels from Auto.

- We’d recommend either 1,6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz
- Run a speedtest before you change the channel and then another afterwards, as you’ll then be able to see any difference it has made.

I have been experiencing this exact issue and im yet to see someone actually say, "okay, lets do something to fix this". All I had was live chat members telling me that someone will get working on it and "further investigate" the issue and will get back to me.  Heard that same line like 5 times now and having spoken to customer service a few times on the phone, they literally said the same thing and never got back. Now, im experiencing the same issue from helpdesk employees on here :Smiling:

 

https://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Broadband-Home-Phone/Whats-up-with-your-customer-service-vodafone-Is...

 

I have managed to do couple of tests. My findings are that for the 2.4ghz channel, when its set on auto, it never finds the most appropriate channel with the best stable speed. It selects channels that give me like 10mb download while im getting like minimum 50mb download from auto on 5ghz channel. I was getting 8mb download the other day on auto at 2.4ghz.  I thought I might aswell check all the channels so I tested them all on this frequency. Channels 4 was giving me a speed of 65mb download so i selected this channel. Today on this channel I am getting 19mb download. 

 

So what am I supposed to do now. Go through channels on a daily basis and test and select the best one each time ? Auto should be doing this for us. 5ghz is a new technology and not many devices apart from new mobile phones support it. My main devices at home.. laptop, pc, tv is all using 2.4ghz and I cant be having a fibre connection to drop to 8mb download speed and split it between all these devices. I have not had this issue on my previous internet providers and I was always receiving 70mb minimum on all my devices on both 2.4ghz and 5ghz frequency. This I can say is either a bad router or a bad firmware. So I suggest someone to take a look at this and sort this problem. If its not sorted soon, I am not paying a penny and terminating the contract.

I'm experiencing the same problems.

 

My speeds are all over the place fine during the morning then slowly get worse as the day goes on.

 

My router is showing my download speed to be bang on 38mbps but im getting 3/4mbps on both 2.4ghz & 5ghz.

 

The problem is definitely the router as I never had any trouble with bt & I don't have a spare router to test 

We have the same issue, but the 2.4 ghz network doesn't just slow down, we lose it regularly, and because this is the only frequency our Vodafone V8 phones will connect to, we keep losing our data connections... Very frustrating and after 4 calls to help desk, I'm ready to cancel the broadband  contract. Why don't Vodafone have compatible phones and routers?? And it's not a distance issue, this happens if the phone is right next to the router.

Best thing we did was leave Vodafone! We've gone back to BT and since have had zero problems.

 

Just waiting on Vodafone to pay up regarding compensation

This WiFi is not fit for purpose. I have never had a problem with Sky or BT. How can Vodafone think it’s acceptable for customers to change frequencies in the vague hope mobile devices work? How do I cancel the contract without having to pay for the whole term? Thanks