Power Hub Channel selection

[Kangaroo41]

I look after my disabled friends tech issues and she has just moved over from BT broadband to Vodafone broadband and has a new Power Hub. She has a desktop PC in another room and it is impossible to use a wired LAN connection so uses a TP Link WN823N Wi-Fi dongle which with the BT hub worked perfectly.

Now with the Vodafone Power Hub the dongle cannot see the hub, i.e. it doesn't appear on the available networks list. I can see that the installation engineer has added the Power Hub to the 'Manage Known Networks' list on her PC so he obviously knew that there was a problem but didn't say!

I need to find a dongle that will work with the Power Hub but also note that the channels are locked so this is a poor decision by Vodafone. Apparently the dongle only works with channels 1-11 so I have a compatibility issue.

Can any of you clever people offer a solution to this dilemma? Currently she is without the internet.

[Cynric]

@Kangaroo41 That adapter is 2.4GHz only. TP-Link do a dual band USB WiFi dongle that should work, I have one.

If for some odd reason it doesn't have a think about using a PowerLine adapter, also available from TP-Link.

[Kangaroo41]

Thanks for the prompt reply Cynric. I had doped that the Power Hub being dual frequency would work but obviously not. I have a spare EDUP EP-1689GS dual band USB adaptor but the software appears incompatible with Windows 11 Pro so I have emailed the manufacturer for comment however I will look at the TP dual band as you suggest.

Her PC and hub are on extension leads (old house) which powerlines don't like.

[Cynric]

@Kangaroo41 Another thought is that the dongle you have has gone through 4 hardware versions. On the support site there are drivers etc for download. But it might be worth checking if they are ok for W11.

[Kangaroo41]

The TP dongle was working fine with W11 and the BT hub, it's the EDUP dongle which has W11 issues. Looking on Amazon, lots of people are complaining that it doesn't work with W11 although the listing states it does

[Jayach]

If it is because of the channel being used, it may have worked when the engineer was there, as the channel can change randomly, otherwise I don't see how he could have added it to the PC.

Although you can't change the channel used, you can see what it is in the router under Status & Support and scroll down .

I use an AC adapter the same as this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204552465004 as my laptop is 2.4Ghz only and it works fine with the Power Hub.

However if the problem is that channel 12 or 13 is being used, it's likely the PC setup, rather than the actual adapter being used.

Check the PC is set for the U.K. and perhaps see if you can update the driver being used.

[Kangaroo41]

He could have added it without checking the connection. After much frustration I deleted it and re-added it to the PC without any problem. Just because it is in the 'Manage Known Networks' (and you can add anything) it doesn't follow that it can connect to the hub. As I understand the TP dongle works on channel 1-11 but as I recall the Power Hub was locked on higher channels. Not a great design especially if you have conflicting channel interference with a neighbour. 

Thanks for the link, I think that is the route I'll have to follow. The PC is setup for UK.

[Jayach]

Did you check to see what channel the router is using?

If it is using 12 or 13, I don't think it's because the dongle is unable to access them.

From https://static.tp-link.com/res/down/doc/TL-WN823N_V2_UG.pdf

"This device is intended for home and office use in all EU countries (and other countries following the EU directive 1999/5/EC) without any limitation"

It's possible it may be due to using WPA2, so try compatibility mode on the router. 

[Cynric]

@Kangaroo41 Well done. The UK has channels 1-13, but not all other countries have 12 and 13.