Hi guys I recently lost my cable service and I've been relying on my inspire for wifi around the house lately. I thought I'd share a few tidbits with you that I've gleaned from the experience.
My inspire is running cyanogen mod 7 nightlies and I found that it only broadcasts wifi on channel 6 - very annoying because most routers ship with channel 6 as the default (at least here in the US)
This means that if there are wifi networks near you your range is going to be unpleasant. If you have a wireless router in your house make sure you change it to channel 11 - that tends to significantly decrease interference issues between the two devices. Pick up a free wifi analyzer program in the market it will let you scan all the networks in the area and show you the free channels - very helpful if you're setting up a network in an apartment complex! Just keep in mind channel 6 needs to be free near your phone if you're tethering otherwise you'll suffer from some drastically reduced range and speed.
My wireless router is running dd-wrt and can broadcast on channels 12-14 as well - European and Japanese standards. The FCC probably wouldn't like it but it can seriously push my wifi out of the way of other networks. The inspire can NOT SEE THOSE CHANNELS. Not even with cm7 - I believe a kernel or radio fix could be implemented which would be nice.
I've tried bridging and sharing my wifi tethered desktop with the rest of my network but I've run across a few serious issues with the windows 7 network stack. It hates the fact that I have and use so many networks and network adapters. I'm going to push my luck some more but at the moment I'm content having finally gotten them to work together at the same time so I can stream some movies to the other systems in the house while tethered with my phone.
The most annoying issue I've found lately is that at&t seems to be monitoring my use of unusual ports. Every few days I find that many applications I depend on stop having access to the internet over the tethered connection - the ports get blocked - all but port 80 which only allows basic browsing. The best way that I've found to fix this is to shut the phone down properly, pull the battery, and turn it back on. It seems to lose it's specific network address and gain full port access again.
Just some food for thought guys, I thought I'd share this stuff with you because of the issues I've had making it work. Maybe it will help others to be less frustrated.
Here is a list of wishes:
The ability to change the broadcast channel while tethering
The ability to view, use, and broadcast on channels 12-14
The ability to increase transmit power by a few mw through a userland interface
Thanks for the info and I'm really sorry you lost your cable service
Me too - this economy sucks
Interesting info. What app are you using?
Related
Okay folks got a bit of a strage development that I could use some help with.
As we all know, Android does not currently support Wifi proxy servers, at least it has no way to access the settings. I live on campus and the wifi is piped through a proxy server to the internet and I found the lack of wireless to be quite annoying (especially the hole it was burning in my pocket!)
Anyway, I had bought a wireless router to have internet all around my apartment. The network is hidden and my HTC Desire wasn't connecting to it. I eventually found out that this was because the network was braodcasting in mixed b/g/n mode. I changed it to b/g only and the phone connected.
I hadn't really expected it to connect to the internet because there was still no proxy set up but to my surprise it did! I checked my data counters and only the Wifi one was going up. The network my router is connected to uses the same proxy as the campus wireless so there is definately a proxy.
An even stranger development is the fact that since then, when I connect directly to the campus wireless network (not to my router) the internet still works. I keep checking the data counters and its not using up any 3G data. I checked my IP address online and it corresponds to the campus IP address. I also switched off the wifi and checked again and the IP changed to my cell provider.
I haven't tried connecting to a different wireless network since then and I didn't change any settings. I'm using an unrooted HTC Desire with stock ROMs. I had downloaded WifiAce but I since removed that and the proxy still works.
So what I'm wondering is, can anybody confirm this or give any thoughts on how this is working? Does anyone also know if the data counters available on the market acurately track data usage or do they simply assume that if the wifi is connected that the phone is downloading via wireless and not cell.
If anyone has any thoughts on this or could go out of their way to try and confirm it I'd be grateful.
(update) I found that it doesn't work on one of the networks, the oldest one on campus. Not sure why this is yet
You are correct. I found out this a long time ago. It also happens with some wireless MAC Laptops. You have to define the broadcasting channel.
Stupid Question, I'm Sure...
Omnichron said:
You are correct. I found out this a long time ago. It also happens with some wireless MAC Laptops. You have to define the broadcasting channel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if you could explain what "defining the broadcasting channel" means...in case I occasion similar difficulties joining a public wifi network?
It's a dumb question, I'm sure...but I've never actually owned a router.
Between my dearly-departed, slightly hacked XV6800, followed by Tetherberry on my 9530...Wireless Tether on my CM7 Droid (only in a pinch) and the Clear Wireless dongle on my laptop (shared via Connectify), I think I'm missing several years of typical AP experience.
FINALLY GOT WIFI WORKING CHECK THIS TRICK OUT.
No need to use airplane mode trick.
Stock phone not rooted.
Download WIFI ANALYZER from market.
1)Once downloaded, open app.
2)hit menu button on phone and select AP list.
3)Do you see your router, press it and should take you to the market to download a program to connect to your router.
After it downloads that follow steps 1 and 2
After step 2 second time around.
4)If Yes press and hold until it says connect to FAKE AP , Or whatever your routers name is.
Enter your password.
5)hit connect and you should be connected now.
Turns your android phone into a Wi-Fi analyzer!!
Shows the Wi-Fi channels around you. Helps you to find a less crowded channel for your.
User Reviews
Excellent app for pinpointing the best channel to set up your WiFi router!!
by Daniel– May 5, 2011
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Brilliantly useful tool for reducing / eliminating wireless interference.
by Dane– May 5, 2011
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Wonderful tool for checking local WiFi. Managed to boost my signal by selecting a ...
by Robert– May 5, 2011
Wonderful tool for checking local WiFi. Managed to boost my signal by selecting a different channel from all the other local ones.
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I have also did the same things as the people that reviewed the app.
my favorite WiFi Analyzer is WiFiFoFum for Android. For PC I use InSSIDer (Inside Her, lol)
I've used it back in Windows Mobile days. The cool feature I like is the WiFi Radar, which is cool for finding wifi networks in relation to your position.
It has the same thing like showing various WiFi networks and their dedicated broadcast channels.
Channels isn't something people regularly consider when setting up WiFi networks but it is a huge issue. Having 2 wifi networks with overlapping frequencies will result in serious lag, timeouts, and connectivity issues.
To get technical there are 11 channels (plus some more for 5Ghz bands) but typically you'd have 11. Only Channels 1, 6, and 11 won't overlap each other.
Selecting 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, or 10 will be overlapping a channel somewhere (if you are in a rural area with lots of networks). In my router, I did a wifi analyzer around my house and everyone is using 1, 6, or 11... but the key is finding the less crowded channels with the least amount of signal.
Don't select a channel that has another signal with full bars or you will degrade both of them. When I first bought a house I moved in and had HORRIBLE wifi. I looked and my neighbors are both using Channel 6... and so was I. So I moved to 11 because it was less crowded and everything is great now.
This is standard WiFi 101 but most people just use the defaulted settings which usually is set to 6.
[EDIT]
We are talking about your WiFi Routers... not your Phones. The process above simply states that you should download a WiFi analyzer for testing purposes SO THAT you can program your router properly.
The stock wifi settings connects and disconnects, And never connects.
Thanks for that info +1.
It was a problem with phone not connecting to router. After I did the trick I found out it worked.
Instant wifi connection.
The stock wifi settings connects and disconnects, And never connects.
Yesterday was my first day with wifi working , After this method.
I made this post to help someone out, Suffering from the same problems I was having.
WIFI SETTING MENU
Inside there is a setting to connect to the router. That is the only my phone can connect.
i'm dealing with this weird issue,
i have set up a wifi network in my home consisting of a router and a repeater,and they have now eliminated the dead spots in my home.
I tested whether mobile devices can switch to the nearest access point when they are moved,while they are connected to the wifi network
laptops switched to the nearest access points as they were moved
unfortunately my arc was not able to...it depended on the same access point as it moved away, even if i keep it next to the repeater it would not pick it's signal.
this would happen the other way around as well if i connect via repeater and bring the phone near the router it would not pick router's signal
any work-a-rounds
HELP!!
Also running doom kernel i had to flash the wifi modules could this have affected in anyway
Sent from my LT15i using XDA
I know this post is a bit old...but a good solution for this issue is Best Wifi:
Description
Do you have a WiFi extender in your home or office, or even a second WiFi Access Point Name (APN)? You do? Then ‘Best WiFi’ is for you!
‘Best WiFi’ is a lightweight application that automatically switches between saved APNs based on their signal strengths. So if while you are pacing in the office or walking around at home, and the signal strength drops below the pre-set level, ‘Best WiFi’ will go through your saved APNs and automatically connect to the one with the best signal at the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This app works well to switch between different saved SSIDs that are listed in Android and has eliminated the issue of losing connectivity on my home network due to my phone staying connected to a weak signal and losing its ip address/not surfing.
Thank you
Same problem here, but this app does not do make any difference
Useful app, you deserve a "thank you"
Hi guys,
at work there is a WLAN build with several hotspots at different locations.
When my phone just lays on my desk it constntly loses the connection.
This is because i'm sitting almost in the middle between two hotspots.
The WLANs have the same SSID but every hotspot has a different BSSID
So i guess the nexus thinks "oh nice, same SSID but 5% stronger so lets switch to that network".
The issue here is, i have to login again after every network switch.
So i would like to know how to tell my nexus it shall not switch networks automatically.
Thanks a lot for your advice.
This might be an issue on the corporate side—they might need to tell their controllers to be less aggressive when telling wireless clients to switch APs.
Unfotunately this is not an Option. Huge company with it-security department etc. Nothing get's changed without special permission. So i've to solve this issue on client side
tapatalked from hammerhead
I have four handheld Android devices and, currently, 3 standalone WAPs plus Verizon's FIOS router.
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None of the four devices can maintain a connection to any of the standalone WAPs or the router for more than a half-second or so: they solicit the PW, Authenticate, connect briefly, and then drop the connection.
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I normally have only one WAP, but added the two just to make sure the problem was not in the WAP. Ditto Verizon's router, whose WiFi is normally turned off, but turned on now for troubleshooting.
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For the life of me, I cannot think of any changes I have made in the week leading up to the onset of this problem.
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One of the standalone WAPs is an Orbi Mesh system, but currently with no satellites - the satellites having started to act weird with onset of the problem and therefore having been turned off.
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I also have two instances of AndroidTV running: one on a Sony Bravia TV and the other on an NVIDIA SHIELD box. And, weirdly, both of them are able to hold a WiFi connection - but UNABLE to hold a Ethernet cable connection. Same appearance as the handhelds over WiFi: connection gets dropped, only almost instantly so the screen just kind of vibrates with the connected.
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If I turn off all standalone WAPs, leaving only the WAP in the Verizon router, the problem persists - with the Verizon router's WAP on channel three and, according to the WiFi Manager Android app, no competing signal sources on channel 3.
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The problem persists even with the handhelds within 10 feet of the various WAPs.
This started about a week ago. Before that, no problems. And I don't *think* I have changed anything.
Right now, the only thing between me and hiring somebody to troubleshoot the problem is the weirdness of the problem - and the fear that their billing by the hour could cost me too much.
Can anybody point me in some direction?