[Coda]

The wifi extenders that operate on two separate channels won't cause that problem. But even if you cut the speed in half, a router rated for 300Mbps is going to have plenty of headroom for an uplink of only 30Mbps.

[Yokuutsu]

We only get internet speeds of a max of 60mbps (what we're now paying for) and we're not getting a router. A router would be useless. It would be upstairs right next to the modem. It wouldn't improve anything.

So a wifi extender is the only choice, but how is it going to be able to connect when my laptop can't?

And even if it does....if the internet is only giving us our normal 30mbps or less, the extenders available here will give our laptops only like 15mbps at best....and most of the time at half speed would be 4-10mbps

So I got a wifi checker that kind of sucks.

Channel 11 is used by 3 others in 'range' and one is using channel 6. No channel but 3 seems to work for me though. Wtf. I mean, most of the time the internet works, but sometimes >> <<

Also on the modem 20mhz vs 20/40mhz mode, what's the difference?

[Coda]

There's a router built into your modem. It still counts for the purposes of that discussion.

A wifi extender wouldn't work where your laptop doesn't. You put the extender somewhere that it DOES work so that your laptop can then be twice as far away.

The 20/40 mode means that it can try to use two side-by-side channels as one big faster channel.

[Yokuutsu]

I would be closer than the wifi extender could ever be due to the limitations of plug ins. I'm withing 20 feet of the modem. The extender cannot be any closer without being upstairs with the modem which would defeat the purpose a bit XD Which we did get an extender once and it was connecting even less than my laptop XD

Which it worked with the old arris....and the provider wants to pretend like the distance in the problem which has a few problems. As long as we're on certain channels, mom is fine and is further from the modem...and I've always been this distance away and have not always had this problem.

I've found out the provider is a bunch of idiots though. They replaced our phone modem....and activated the wifi in it that I cannot turn off...even going to the IP address, logged into that wifi only. So that probably explains why I was kicked fully off the internet earlier.

I just really hate Time Warner/Charter/Spectrum right now.

[Coda]

Have you tried escalating? If you've called them that many times and you haven't gotten things fixed, you shouldn't be dealing with first-tier support anymore. You should specifically ask for an escalation.

[Yokuutsu]

No matter who we get, if it deals with the internet, all they'll say is GET A WIFI EXTENDER!

Which pisses me off because it used to work and we tell them that and they're like that wouldn't change anything...get a wifi extender....when that is the ONLY thing that has changed.

[Coda]

If that's the only thing that changed, then buying a better router and disabling the modem's built-in one is going to be your best bet. They should be telling you that instead of telling you to get a wifi extender, which very well might make the problem worse by increasing the congestion on the channel.

[Yokuutsu]

Well, they say the problem is the distance so in their minds a router wouldn't help. Only a wifi extender would.

The problem is, to get a router that would put out over 15mbps...mom won't buy it and I don't have the money (she probably wouldn't buy a wifi extender either, but she'll fall for stuff like that due to the company saying we need it)

[Coda]

The problem isn't distance; it's SNR (signal-to-noise ratio). Distance (including barriers) is one of the most common CAUSES of bad SNR, but a weak transmitter will also cause the same problem. And while a wifi extender will improve signal attenuation due to distance or barriers, it doesn't help when the signal is weak because it was never powerful enough to begin with.

Now, it's possible that a repeater might be able to do the job for you anyway, if its transmitter is more powerful than the one in the router. At that point you could just plug it in RIGHT BESIDE the router and get an improvement.

You might be able to convince your mom to buy this one by pointing to the fact that it calls itself a "range extender": https://www.amazon.com/Securifi-Almo...n%3A4676750011

Or this one, because it labels itself a "wifi booster": https://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DAP-15...n%3A4676750011

Or this one, which is specifically labeled a "repeater and range extender": https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-Wire...676750011&th=1

[Yokuutsu]

That was my point as well, if my laptop is having problems....how would the wifi extender help when it would either have to be right be the modem or just as far if not further away from it than my laptop. They don't seem to understand that....or maybe they don't care.

Which one of those would you suggest the most? Which ones would be better upstairs by the modem? versus being put downstairs (of course, if it doesn't plug in directly into the wall and has a cord, I can put it closer to the modem even down stairs than I could the wifi extender we had)

[Coda]

All three of those can be connected to your modem via an Ethernet cable and may present a better signal than the built-in router. You might consider configuring the two routers differently at that point so that you can configure one to work better with your mom's computer and the other to work better with your own.

I mean, you should try to see how long of a cable you can route to get the second router closer to where you want to use it. Even a few feet can make a difference.

As for which one I'd choose... the first one has GREAT reviews, but it also looks the most like a router so it might be a harder sell to your mom. The other two look roughly equivalent, but the D-Link looks slightly more reliable if you compare off-site reviews.

[Coda]

One problem I have with all three of those is that they don't have exterior antennas, which means you can't swap them out. If you could land a high-gain antenna (6dBi) then that would be a big help for you, since your situation is noise and not range. It might even work on your stock router if it has a replaceable antenna.

[Yokuutsu]

Well, with cables, I can't get it any closer if upstairs due to how the upstairs is laid out and heavy stuff I can't/won't move everywhere since I'm the only one who would set it up and all.

I don't think you can add antennas to their modem/router thing .-.

I'll see what can happen XD

Channel 3 worked for me somehow. Idek how considering what people say. Or maybe it just didn't have time to go out on me before it went out on my mom XD

[Coda]

The channels that people recommend are the best in the absence of competing signals because they're on the edges of chunks of spectrum -- they've got more room for frequency variation. However, the key phrase there is "in the absence of competing signals." When everyone takes that advice, those channels get overcrowded, and every wifi signal in the area that ISN'T the signal between you and the router is just noise to your computer. So it's not unusual that using channels that people recommend against will actually give you BETTER service.

[Yokuutsu]

The problem with choosing channels is that everyone is set to auto around here.

Luckily, it seems, most people that are on channel 6 with us, move quickly due to that...and/or have like 1 bar of signal for me to pick up....

But this time, I got a different error when I ran the troubleshooter. The default gateway is not available.

Hour later: Kicked me again before fulling kicking me off the modem altogether. Wifi analyzer currently only shows two other networks able to be read, both on channel 11.

Also I think this is becoming more of a journal for my internet problems...on top of a warning for anyone who has Time Warner/Charter/Spectrum for a potential cable/phone/internet provider.

[Coda]

Charter is way better than Time Warner in my experience so far, and they're still mostly running independent services.

Don't read too much into the specific error messages you're getting. They all mean the same thing: "can't talk to the router/internet".