Mediocre Wi-Fi performance

[Lightshield]

re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

For what it's worth, when I switched to ART on my Verizon Note 4 my wifi speed was TERRIBLE. Like between 1-5 mbps download. When I switched back to Dalvik, from the exact same spot on my couch I began getting 50+ mbps down.

If you've switched to ART, try switching back and see if your wifi behaves like it should.

 

[Gator352]

re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

This is an interesting and informative post. I'm on the market for a new router. Do you have any recommendations of what is best? I would prefer to have AC capability as well as 2.4 & 5.

Posted via the Android Central App

I'm using a Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 and it can handle anything I throw at it. It's a bit pricey but worth it!

 

[wase4711]

re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

Asus ac 87 will blow your socks off..expensive but #1 right now. without a doubt

 

[Gator352]

re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

And now that you mention it, here's where I'll chime in on the details of my Wi-Fi connection. This is straight from the Service Mode (*#0011#) and going to WiFi.

State: Connected
SSID: [name of network]
AP MAC: [string of alphanumeric characters]
BSS CH: 1 [Frequency: 2412 MHz]* (see notes at the bottom)
WSEC: [WPA2-CAP-CCMP][ESS]
Hi/Op: Open
RSSI: -74**
Modulation: BPSK (sometimes this is 16 or 64 QAM, whatever that means)
CR: 2/3
PER: %
TX: 12 dbm
Link speed: 52Mbps*** (but speed tests disprove this)
NETWORK: 802.11n****
IP: [address]
MAC: [address]
WiFi Power Save Mode [ON]

*When I am directly under the router, my Note 4 can connect to either this or the 5745 MHz frequency.

**Obviously this is the signal I get when I'm in my dorm room. When I'm under the router, it jumps to the mid-30s. I do have to appreciate that the Note 4 does get a better signal than the Note 2.

***When under the router, the link speed is ~130 Mbps, but again the speed tests show only about 10-25% of that even when directly under the router.

****When the network is first connected, it briefly says 802.11ac before switching over to 802.11n.

My Note 2 displays similar information.

This post helped alot. Your note 4 is attempting to connect to AC first as default but the router is limited to N on the 2.4GHz band. On your note 4, make sure your set to 2.4GHz as default. QAM combines modulation into one....well it tries anyways. This should be separated by your admin as it eats bandwidth on both channels when it doesn't need to.

Since the router is a/b/g/n only, all those are competing for bandwidth with other users. Your not taking advantage of the AC capabilities. Do this, goto a coffee shop or somewhere where you know that they are using a hotspot with AC capabilities...I think starbucks does....and do a side by side with both....make sure your N4 is using AC. Then both using only N. Report back and let us know. Just trying to help ya man!

 

[dlee1001]

re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

I got so concerned about this that I went back to the AT&T store to get the phone exchanged. How do I set the phone to use only a specific frequency? Also, is the fact that the phone isn't taking advantage of its default 802.11ac connection what is causing this slowdown vs. the Note 2, which default connection was 802.11n?

 

[xxx420]

re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

I'm using a Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 and it can handle anything I throw at it. It's a bit pricey but worth it!

Cool thanks man, I'll check it out.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Zergslayer69]

re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

At first I was going to chime in that my wifi is really terrible. I switched over to another router and now it's solid. Originally was connected to default ATT router that was dropping out and hanging out in 1-2 bars. Plugged in an older linksys and boom full bars. So yea before writing off that the wifi is bad, check the other hardware first.

 

[dlee1001]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

Something really weird happened last night on my phone's Wi-Fi. When I tried to stream a video, YouTube would say that the connection to the server was lost or that an error occurred. And then when I tried to load a website, Chrome said I was offline. These all happened while the phone was clearly still on the university Wi-Fi network.

So I turned Wi-Fi off and on again, and the connection was restored, but only for about 10-15 minutes. After that time, the same thing happened. I decided to leave it like that and go to bed. When I woke up this morning, I saw that I had an unread e-mail, telling me that at some point in time, the Wi-Fi connection decided to behave again.

And as of this morning, the Wi-Fi is working just fine. But I couldn't tell whether that little problem could have been a network problem or a phone (software/hardware) problem, as turning Wi-Fi off and on again seemed to solve the problem, if only temporarily at first. Please note that my Note 2 held the Wi-Fi and Internet connection during that time while my Note 4 was saying I was offline even with Wi-Fi connected.

Does anyone want to chime in on this?

 

[raf66]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

My wireless connectivity had degraded to the point of uselessness within the first week of ownership. I tried it on both my home and office networks and while it always said I was connected, no data was being downloaded. It had worked flawlessly before that.

I did some research and found a tip for Note 3 users (apparently it had issues as well) and it worked like a charm for me. The verbiage used in the Note 3 was a little different than the 4, but it apparently relates to the same particular setting.

Go into SETTINGS, then under WI-FI click the 3-dot advanced portion in the upper right section of the screen and make sure ALWAYS ALLOW SCANNING is unchecked. Mine was checked by default.

It seems to have solved my problem, though I'm not exactly sure why/how.

 

[dlee1001]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

My wireless connectivity had degraded to the point of uselessness within the first week of ownership. I tried it on both my home and office networks and while it always said I was connected, no data was being downloaded. It had worked flawlessly before that.

I did some research and found a tip for Note 3 users (apparently it had issues as well) and it worked like a charm for me. The verbiage used in the Note 3 was a little different than the 4, but it apparently relates to the same particular setting.

Go into SETTINGS, then under WI-FI click the 3-dot advanced portion in the upper right section of the screen and make sure ALWAYS ALLOW SCANNING is unchecked. Mine was checked by default.

It seems to have solved my problem, though I'm not exactly sure why/how.

Now that you mention it, I also wonder as well why and how turning off the "Always allow scanning" solves the problem we mentioned. I'm not sure, but I think turning it off solved it for me too. I now have reliable (but still quite slow) Wi-Fi that doesn't drop the Internet connection.

It also makes me feel better how that tells me there is nothing wrong with my phone in terms of hardware problems. At least, I hope so.

 

[dlee1001]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

Guys, I made an important discovery! (I'm not sure if this is common knowledge or not, but I'm just throwing it out there for the uninformed.)

The Wi-Fi antenna is located near the top of the phone near the camera! I found this out when trying to watch a YouTube video lying down. Holding the top of the phone with my left hand, I noticed the video kept buffering. When I let go of that part of the phone (laying it down or just holding the bottom of the phone), the buffering resumes like normal without the video stopping.

Want more proof? Look at the two photos. One is with my hand on the bottom of the phone, and one is with my hand on the top. You can clearly see the Wi-Fi signal degradation when I'm holding the top of the phone. This is what contributes to slow Wi-Fi speeds.

Remember antennagate from 2010? Looks like a repeat of that here! But even my Note 2's Wi-Fi suffered from the exact same hand position, which goes to show that all smartphones suffer from antennagate, as Steve Jobs said.

In case you can't make out the text in the photos, I'll clarify some of them.

The one on the top (stronger signal):

Percent: 46%
WiFi speed: 26 Mbps (it also jumps up to 39 Mbps at times when the signal is around here)
WiFi strength: -75 dBm, 19 ASU

The one on the bottom (weaker signal):

Percent: 31%
WiFi speed: 6 Mbps
WiFi strength: -86 dBm, 13 ASU

 

[lostsoul2]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

NETGEAR Universal WiFi Range Extender with Ethernet port WN3000RP - Best Buy

 

[Nitro211K]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

I have lousy WiFi speeds also.

-How do you switch between ART and Dalvik?
-How do you switch between 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz?

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

Guys, I made an important discovery! (I'm not sure if this is common knowledge or not, but I'm just throwing it out there for the uninformed.)

The Wi-Fi antenna is located near the top of the phone near the camera! I found this out when trying to watch a YouTube video lying down. Holding the top of the phone with my left hand, I noticed the video kept buffering. When I let go of that part of the phone (laying it down or just holding the bottom of the phone), the buffering resumes like normal without the video stopping.

Want more proof? Look at the two photos. One is with my hand on the bottom of the phone, and one is with my hand on the top. You can clearly see the Wi-Fi signal degradation when I'm holding the top of the phone. This is what contributes to slow Wi-Fi speeds.

Remember antennagate from 2010? Looks like a repeat of that here! But even my Note 2's Wi-Fi suffered from the exact same hand position, which goes to show that all smartphones suffer from antennagate, as Steve Jobs said.

In case you can't make out the text in the photos, I'll clarify some of them.

The one on the top (stronger signal):

Percent: 46%
WiFi speed: 26 Mbps (it also jumps up to 39 Mbps at times when the signal is around here)
WiFi strength: -75 dBm, 19 ASU

The one on the bottom (weaker signal):

Percent: 31%
WiFi speed: 6 Mbps
WiFi strength: -86 dBm, 13 ASU

Yep. The antenna's for the phone are located on the top and bottom (those white marks you see on the top and bottom are the indicators) so holding your hand around them will cause signal loss.

 

[dlee1001]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

Oh, I was wondering what those white marks were for! Now we know! How did you know about that?

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

Oh, I was wondering what those white marks were for! Now we know! How did you know about that?

I learned them when on of our mods (dpham) posted the filings for the Note 4 as they went through their normal approval process (they show the internals on a diagram) -- So I figured it out then .

 

[dbpaddler]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but have ANY of you read the original post in detail? I appreciate your time to post on here, but posting about what speeds you get don't help me at all.

Maybe you just don't get that your Note my have a particular issue no one else is seeing? So instead of sticking to your blanket statement, think it just might be your particular device.

 

[Alexander Burnside]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

Oh, I was wondering what those white marks were for! Now we know! How did you know about that?

Err...that's pretty bad news, isn't it? What does that mean for cases? Surely, cases cover the top of the phone.

 

[dlee1001]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

I learned them when on of our mods (dpham) posted the filings for the Note 4 as they went through their normal approval process (they show the internals on a diagram) -- So I figured it out then .

Can you please provide me the link for that? I'm kind of interested in it now.

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Wi-Fi performance sucks!

Err...that's pretty bad news, isn't it? What does that mean for cases? Surely, cases cover the top of the phone.

No it is fine. Humans can mess with signals -- Cases do not. An example of this is remember the bunny ears on TVs? Remember if you were getting a fuzzy picture and you went to adjust it you could grab the antenna and it would get a little better? Same with Cell Phones except the opposite since you're covering the whole thing with your hand -- so you block the signal. Cases do not cause this to happen.