Galaxy S5 Active and Xfinity WiFi issues!

[Rich Veeck]

Hi all! I am so frustrated.

I bought a new Galaxy S5 Active (not refurbished) about 5 weeks ago. Ever since then, I have had issues with my home Xfinity/Comcast WiFi network. When I bought the phone, I did a transfer of data from my old phone and had issues with upgrading to the new software version. I used the ATT&T Transfer app and it hung for hours and I had to manually stop it. Weird. So, I took the phone to a Samsung Tech at Best Buy, and they were able to force the upgrade. I wonder if I should have done a Factory Reset from day one??? So it had initial problems, transferring data and upgrading.
I use an Xfinity Arris TG862G.

Anyway, we have a home Xfinity WiFi network. I guess the router is at least 2 years old, maybe older. Not always, but most of the time, my phone shows up as a very weak connection. In fact, when this all started, I noticed having my old phone on the network, I assumed was taking up too much bandwidth because when I shut it down, my new phone suddenly connected great! Then after that software upgrade, it continued great for a few weeks. Now, it is always strong and solid with WiFi out of our home, and works well on all WiFi networks except our home Xfinity network. We have about 5 other Apple devices that all connect well, at about 50-60 db (RSSI level), but my phone maintains about a 20 - 35 db connection strength. All other phones on the network are fine. Once in a while it connects great and jumps up to 50+, but most of the time, it has issues connecting, horrible performance and continues to drop the connection. I installed some WiFi tools, signal boosters that help a little. In addition to the weak connection and internet hanging all the time, I am not getting Authentication Error like every 20 minutes or so, and I have to reconnect. It keeps happening, and only on the home network.

Why only my phone and my home WiFi router? Its an Arris unit. I have tried checking the Ghz setting but I think the modem/router is 2.4Ghz only. I have done Wireless router resets, unplugged it, restarted it, rest my Galaxy by removing batter and cards, manually connecting to the WiFi network, cleared cache, etc. I have NOT done a Factory Reset yet, and may do that tonight. Maybe I should have done that from day one?! But still, why only my home network?

Another weird thing is that when I use Samsung Smart Switch on my laptop to backup my phone, the Smart Switch app is unable to recognize my phone! So, I can't back it up! Ugh!

I bought the phone from Gadget Wizards online, new, and they have great customer service. They said I can return it, but it seems weird why this is isolated to my phone and Xifinity WiFi.

Thoughts? Do a reset? Any setting I should check? WiFi hotspot setting? Funy when I read troubleshooting tips online, they point to menu settings that I do not have on my phone. Weird?!

Thanks! I appreciate it!

 

[B. Diddy]

See if the wi-fi channel your router is using is congested. If so, change the channel. See this guide for more details: http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...roubleshooting-wi-fi-connection-problems.html

 

[Rich Veeck]

I forgot to mention that I read of people changing their Xfinity router/modem from 10.0.0.1 to a 198 number?

Thanks regarding the signal congestion. That is interesting because that is how I fixed it when I got the phone. I removed my old phone from the line and then I connected fine. AND, this is hit or miss, last night was pretty good. I notice when I am the only one in the house on wifi, I don't seem to have the problem, but not always, it can still happen!

But, why would this only always effect my Galaxy and never effect any of our other devices?!

Can I analyze to see the least congested channel?

It is frustrating that many of the items on that troubleshooting list, do not seem to apply to my phone. For example, many of the Advanced options.

Question about Date and Time? On number 9.
9. Make sure your date and time are correct. Check the Settings>Date & Time menu, and make sure "Automatic Date & Time" and "Automatic Time Zone" (if available) are checked. If there is a discrepancy between your device's date and time and that of the router, the connection may not work.

I noticed my Galaxy did not have Automatic date and time, nor Automatic time zone checked! Could that really cause a connection issue? I mean, the time is correct either way. But wouldn't this cause issues with all wifi networks and not just my Xfinity network at home?

In Advanced I also unchecked Hotspot 2.0 and Auto connect to AT&T WiFi Hotspots.

Thanks!

 

[B. Diddy]

You can use an app like Wi-fi Analyzer to see what the local wi-fi channel usage is like.

Did you also see if your DHCP range is wide enough? If you limited it at some point, it's possible that your network might be reaching the maximum number of allowable connected devices.