Q: All (only) Apple devices dropping home wifi. What do I do?

Thanks for straining your eyes & providing the modem model number! (I'm approaching 70 years old, so I know exactly what you mean.)

You may want to check out the info for that (& the other) ARRIS cable modems at http://www.arrisi.com/consumer/modems/ but from the SBG 6580 data sheet, you will see it has switched (not simultaneous) 5 GHz & 2.4 GHz band capabilities & a 2 X 2 MIMO antenna array (two antennas for each band).

In comparison, the Airport Extreme has simultaneous 5 GHz & 2.4 GHz band capabilities & a 3 X 3 antenna array (three antennas for each band). That would give you better performance, but only you can decide if the performance gain is justified by its cost & possibly a lower rental fee for a non-WiFi capable modem from Eastlink (or buying one outright). You are correct that the Extreme is backwards compatible with older devices using any of the a,b, or g WiFi standards, so no worries there.

I browsed through the SBG 6580 User Guide, but since I only use Apple WiFi products I can't comment on the exact steps you should take to make sure your Surfboard's WiFi setup is correct & optimized for all the devices in your home. I did notice (page 15) that it supports a guest network. If you have not already done so, you might want to configure that & require your house guests to use it.

the "Princess" network (from previous capture) is ~ as the crow flies ~ within 25' from my modem. Another is about 50' the others range from 60' to 150' (give or take).  The reason for channel 5 is that, according to my ISP phone tech, it offered the least interference.

I do not really have a lot of issues with using channel 5 as long as your neighbors are on 1 and 11, except for the HP printer, which I'm assuming is a printer attached to your router acting as a print server.  If this is someone else's print server, then you have direct competition from that print server.

Looking into its settings, I found that this modem does support 5GHz however my older laptop is limited to the 11 channels.  It does not detect the modem when I switch out of 2.4GHz channels.

This sounds like your WiFi base station will not support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz at the same time.  You get to choose either 2.4GHz -OR- 5GHz.  If that is true, you want to get a new WiFi base station (either from your ISP or your own).

I used to use a router and the reason for my switching to the wifi modem was because my ISP kept blaming all their issues on my equipment.  It became a battle.  Once we started renting this WiFi Modem, they quickly found the source of the problem, which had nothing to do with my house, and resolve the issue.  Now, however, they claim all is working to peak efficiency minus line interference coming from their end.  Yet here I am getting kicked off my own home network several times per day.

Finger pointing is a pain in the ...

I understand your situation.  You could see about connecting your own WiFi router to the ISP's WiFi device, ONLY a) put your router into "Bridge Mode" which may be an actual option, or it may entail disabling the DHCP server and/or NAT sever on the WiFi router you buy (that is to say you are really buying a router to get the WiFi radios, and turning off the router features).  That way connection issues from the router to the internet you can point to the ISP's equipment and says "Fix It, as this happens with your equipment".  But you can get WiFi with your own equipment, which will include dual radios (because you will buy good equipment .

And if you can configure the ISP's WiFi router to turn off its radios, you will not have radio interferences, and only turn them back on when you need to prove something to the ISP.

Personally I would just get a broadband modem, and do my own router (which is actually what I do;  I did this previously with Verizon FiOS, and currently with Comcast after we moved into a new home; they provided modems only, and I used my Airport Extreme routers for routing and WiFi access).  But finger pointing from the ISP, is a pain.  Personally if there are ISP issues, I would eliminate my router from the mix, and connect a computer directly to the modem to prove that it was the ISP equipment.  And if you have a Windows box, even better as few ISP really understand Macs.  So you eliminate all the things they want to blame on your by eliminating anything they can point the finger at.

When speaking of dual radios, does this imply the type I have, which is "either/or" or does it support both simultaneously? Does 5GHz offer better stability for multiple devices? (I do apologize for my ignorance but my memory is failing me these days.) Would it stop kicking me off the network?

I suspect you have Either/Or today.  Most current WiFi routers that are not dirt cheap, have 2 radios.  One that transmits on the 2.4GHz frequences, and one that transmits on the 5GHz frequencies.  So any devices that support 5GHz can use that radio, and any devices that use 2.4GHz can use those frequencies.

The advantage of having some devices on 2.4GHz and some on 5GHz (those that have 5GHz capabilities) is that you have less conflict between your devices for bandwidth when doing transfers between devices.

Also if your ISP gives you more than 25 megabits/second capabilities, your 2.4GHz devices will saturate the WiFi before they saturate the broadband connection.  Of course if some of your devices are Ethernet connected, they will have lots of bandwidth to drive your broadband connection.

Also routers that have either/or radios, then to also have much less powerful processors inside, and it may be that they are not able to switch traffic between the Ethernet LAN ports as well as between the WiFi connections.  That is to say, it is possible that an either/or WiFi router may not be up to supporting lots of between device high speed data transfers, nor fully supporting a broadband connection that is greater than 25megabits/second.

So, a) confirm what broadband speeds you ahve

b) that your ISP provided WiFi router is capable of handling all that traffic (this may require Google, as your ISP may not give you good info on their provided device).

You said you had your own WiFi router before.  Can you configure it in "Bridge Mode" (as described above) and see if your WiFi connections improve?  that might be a cheap way to prove it is the ISP's WiFi router and not yours.

One other thing I should point out.

2.4GHz is sharing the frequencies with 2.4GHz cordless phones (could be your or your neighbors).  2.4GHz baby monitors (could be your or your neighbors), Microwave ovens (really, they use 2.4GHz microwaves to cook your food; this is one of the reasons the 2.4GHz bands were given to unlicensed transmitters), and finally Bluetooth also uses 2.4GHz, although Bluetooth is much friendlier to other 2.4GHz uses and less likely to be a cause, but you should know).

Is it possible that you have any of these devices (Cordless phones or especially baby monitors because they are always on).  You will not see any of these devices listed in a WiFi scan, so you have to actually check your cordless phones, your baby monitor, and the ones your neighbors are using.

That HP printer could be a problem. Though it's on channel 5 as well, so it really may not be.

I do receive an HP printer in my wifi list every now and then. I only have an Canon printer, which is already attached to my network via wifi. So that HP printer belongs to a neighbor of mine. I would assume the HP printer in his list is the same.

KOT

BobHarris wrote:

But finger pointing from the ISP, is a pain.  Personally if there are ISP issues, I would eliminate my router from the mix, and connect a computer directly to the modem to prove that it was the ISP equipment.  And if you have a Windows box, even better as few ISP really understand Macs.  So you eliminate all the things they want to blame on your by eliminating anything they can point the finger at.

FWIW, whenever I have had problems with my ISP (Time Warner Roadrunner) broadband connection the first thing the customer support agent insists that I do is to power down everything, unplug my Airport Extreme from their modem & connect my iMac directly to the modem's ethernet port that the Extreme was originally plugged into, then power up the modem, wait for it to stabilize, & then power up the iMac.

I know from experience that it isn't really necessary to power down & restart the Mac, but I do it anyway just to make sure I can honestly say I have followed their instructions exactly. They will insist on this procedure even when it is obvious the problem is with the modem or their distribution system because the modem's status lights are indicating it can't communicate with their system & resetting it has no effect.

Like you say, that eliminates most of the finger pointing issues.

Don't forget about plugging the modem directly into the cable outlet. Because there can not be any splitters between the modem and cable outlet...

That's just in the last few feet, of course the hundreds of splitters between my cable company and my house has no affect.  *rolls eyes*

KOT

h.my WI.FI keeps loes internet i do know why can any one help me plz

Please start you own new post.  It is very unlikely your situation is NOT the same as Basic.Works.

When you start your new post, provide details on what is happening.  Provide any error messages.  Lots and lots of details.  Just do NOT post them here, as that would be trying "Highjack" this tread, and that is not polite).

Kingoftypos wrote:

 

Don't forget about plugging the modem directly into the cable outlet. Because there can not be any splitters between the modem and cable outlet...

 

That's just in the last few feet, of course the hundreds of splitters between my cable company and my house has no affect.  *rolls eyes*

To rule out that last 'escape clause' for my ISP, I once took their modem outside, climbed a ladder to where the drop line from the service pole behind my house connected to the house's cable wiring distribution system (which included a single three way, cable rated splitter), connected it there (observing proper grounding procedures), & ran a known good 100' Ethernet cable from it to my iMac. Then I called the cable company, listened to the song & dance about how it could be a problem with my wiring or equipment, & then explained what I did.

I then connected to the web interface of the modem (an older model Motorola Surfboard without WiFi) via http://192.168.100.1/ & read off to the customer service guy the modem's status & log info that clearly indicated the modem was periodically unable to establish a stable connection to their broadband service. That finally convinced them that an intermittent loss of service I had been experiencing off & on for two years (!!) could not possibly be because of my equipment.

As a result they eventually discovered that the distribution system to my entire neighborhood, which had been installed many years ago by the original owner of the cable franchise for my city, had been done improperly & was using outdated equipment & distribution side wiring not even rated for digital service! To fix that problem, they had to rewire the entire neighborhood & install new line amps.

Hardware on the router is version 1 and the software's is SBG6580-6.5.0.0-GA-00-226-NOSH. If I'm understanding the tech that came to my house, the signal is coming in adequately but I don't know if and how he tests the wifi side of the modem.  I have demanded a new modem but even though the phone tech told me that eastlink does now have a new one, this tech is claiming ignorance saying he's never heard of one.  There is no doubt this wifi modem is old but up until a few months back, I never got kicked off.  My wife's windows 7 desktop and her windows 8 tablet have never been kicked off however, the win 7 laptop has lost connection on a few occasions.

The infrastructure in this town is old enough that the ISP is not adding onto it for the new developments.   For that matter, they are not laying any.  I'm guessing they'll be pulling out all together or they'll be switching to the repeater type of new wifi modems, similar to what comcast and shaw are doing. Though my gut leans towards the former.  They have already pulled out of a few towns and villages, so the tech told me.  We have about 700 residences in this town and a lot have Shaw or Telus dishes on their homes or apartments.

That being said, I don't know how to get one of the new modems.  I'm also assuming, based of everything discussed here, thus far, that my best bet is to find a means to acquire a good router.

Thank you all for the help.

basic.woodworks wrote:

I have demanded a new modem but even though the phone tech told me that eastlink does now have a new one, this tech is claiming ignorance saying he's never heard of one.  There is no doubt this wifi modem is old but up until a few months back, I never got kicked off.

As far as I know, the Surfboard SBG6580 wireless gateway is a current model used by several major ISP's. It is the lower end ARRIS DOCSIS 3.0 compliant model, lacking a few of the features of the higher end SBG6782-AC like simultaneous dual 2.4 & 5 GHZ band operation & with fewer (2X2 vs, 3X3) antennas. The 6782 should perform a bit better than your 6580 but I have no idea if it would solve your dropped connection issues.

I know that Eastlink Comm. still pushes the model I have.  I also know, first hand, that the techs have a tendency to place the devices they remove from a home back into the box the alleged new one came out of.  The one tech once tried to give me one that someone had circled the default password with something that scratches the sticker then redid it with a felt marker.  hmmm... I got to wondering whether this was indeed an honest mistake or if it was common practice until I learned from a man who said he was the neighbor of this tech and, while having a few beers together, admitted this was common practice if they felt there was nothing wrong with the device and that they exchanged it only to appease the customer.

Regardless, Motorola was bought out, I'm told, and any device sold under that brand are leftover stock.

Like I said, though.  Seeing as I can't seem to find the answer to my issue to resolve it I am left only with the choice to keep complaining or buy a router.  My ISP does not appear willing to concede I have a problem even though I keep getting knocked off my own network.

I've come across the following and will investigate IF this may help. I've not had the chance to review yet, too many other things to do in the real world,  I will advise as to whether or not I'll try it and the subsequent result.  I realise that this is for Lion.  My 2006 iMac is running Lion (it won't allow anything newer). Maybe it'll work for it at least.  Who knows!?!

http://osxdaily.com/2011/11/06/lion-wi-fi-problems-solution-mac/?utm_source=feed burner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+osxdaily+%28OS+X+Daily%29&utm_conten t=FaceBook

ANSWER: There is no solution! Until Apple realizes this is an across the board issue and fixes it!!!!  I have known of this issue for at least the last 3-4 years. I have many different apple devices that I manage personally and for my company (8 phones, 2 iPads, 2 iPod touches, Powerbook, and a Powermac) and they all have the same problem with losing internet connection over wifi after anywhere form 2-8 hours on any connection, modem, modem settings, network, location, it matters not! All you can do is turn off then back on your wifi on the device.

Apple! You should be embarrassed!!