Hi,

I just moved into a new place here and they seem to have a wifi router straight from hell, it is the worse POS I have ever see in my life, the speed is supposed to be around 50 mbit, but it goes down to like 3 kb/s transfer rate, then the latency is through the roof, massive packet loss, when pinging, the latency goes up and down like an akordeon, sometimes reaching stupid 5000 ms.

64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=55 ttl=116 time=421 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=56 ttl=116 time=407 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=58 ttl=116 time=241 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=59 ttl=116 time=485 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=60 ttl=116 time=270 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=61 ttl=116 time=222 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=62 ttl=116 time=356 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=63 ttl=116 time=840 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=64 ttl=116 time=331 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=65 ttl=116 time=780 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=67 ttl=116 time=234 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=68 ttl=116 time=1365 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=76 ttl=116 time=2393 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=77 ttl=116 time=1370 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=78 ttl=116 time=348 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=79 ttl=116 time=338 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=83 ttl=116 time=427 ms
64 bytes from sfo07s16-in-f4.1e100.net (216.58.195.68): icmp_seq=84 ttl=116 time=666 ms
^C
--- www.google.com ping statistics ---
85 packets transmitted, 50 received, 41.1765% packet loss, time 568ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 125.441/574.320/2393.491/444.944 ms, pipe 3



What is going on here? This is on comcast and using their routers that has a cable modem built in.
I have so far always avoided them and knowing what a horrible company that is, I degraded it as a cable modem only and used my own devices which run OpenWRT, which is excellent.

It is pretty close to that router, I have a strong signal. They are not using a lot of bandwith, the people here are hardly tech savy, so oversaturation can be ruled out. There are also no strong EM fields around, everybody is sleeping right now.

On all my other networks, I usually have ZERO package loss, as this is an indicator of something really going wrong.

One google ping is not enough to establish anything here.
Foremost, try numerical IP's to rule out name resolution problems.

This is just an example, I did about 10 of them, with the same results.
I will try the direct IP method.

Questions:
1. Are you PAYING for this access? (In other words, have you any leverage or agreement with either Comcast or whoever is providing the Comcast access?)

2. Have you tested with other devices? (Is this a problem only with one device, or with everything attached via WIFI?)

3. Do you know what band (2.4 or 5) and what channel you are connecting on? (Most people do not, but if you know please tell us.) If you can, scan the channel load/signal strength information. If you cannot that is fine, it is not likely to be the issue.

4. Is there any pattern to the changes in either packet loss or latency that you can determine? (It goes to hell when the AC kicks in, gets worse when the lights are on, when a microwave runs, when it rains, anything at all like that.)

I'm paying for this indirectly through rent, but not that there is much choice here, thanks to the monopole that Comcast has in this region of the USA.

Not yet, but that is a good idea. This is a Linux Laptop that is super reliable (Debian Stable), I have used it for years on every hour of every day and never had any issues like this, so the hardware / software (which has not been modified in any way neither) can be expected not to be the problem. But I will try once I get the chance.

It is 2.4, not a surprise, the people here have no clue about technology, they would not know the difference between the bands if I hit them over the head with it. ;-)
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point:
Bit Rate=108 Mb/s Tx-Power=15 dBm

[/QUOTE]

Not that I can see. And again, there are no EM fields, no microwave that is on, no washers / dryers that are running, no A/C, no TV, nothing. I do know that it can make a huge difference with WIFI. This is California, so no rain or weather that could account for it. Not that it ever has been a problem before, I sit pretty close to that WIFI Hotspot, so the signal is very strong.
I rebooted the router and it felt it was better for a second and then went back to being posessed. But I know that companies like Comcast are technically inept due to being a monopoly, they could not find their arse with both hands and a flashlight, the routers that they use are all pretty much crap, I have had great success with degrading their devices to just a Cable to ethernet bridge / Modem and getting a proper/good WIFI router (running OpenWRT) to handle the real work.

Due to the people here having no clue about technology, I might be able to make that change.

Update: pinging the IP directly makes no difference, so it is not a DNS issue.
Interesting enough: The problem comes and goes, sometimes it vanishes completely, the latency then is consistently around time=12.7 ms and no packet loss.

My father has Comcast cable in Florida and about every few years it seems the Xfinity MODEM fails for some reason. One might suspect weather and power but it is always plugged into a UPS. They recently installed fiber so speed isn't much of a problem just reliability.

Many reasons and not necessarily due to wifi signal. Checking with a wired computer would confirm or eliminate wifi as a problem. How old is the MODEM and what is its docsis version? May just need to be replaced. COAX cable ages and could be bad, there could be a bad connections somewhere, downstream amplifiers could be iffy. With everyone online all the time these days the hardware may not be able to handle the load and so on. Comcast should be able to check the signal strength from their end and see if it is acceptable but their first level phone help is not much so it is worth having someone come out and check.

I sent back their device and installed my own cable modem, then picked a good WIFI router with latest and multiple bands. While I could reload it, the MFG has been good about firmware and OS updates so far and I have not needed to modify it. My throughput is not much better than I had with COMCAST/XFINITY equipment, but mine has always been good (just expensive).

Problem, if you are not the guy paying Comcast, I assume a property owner, you cannot arrange the equipment replacement without involving the owner.
Question: have you discussed the problem with the property owner, it being California is that even possible?

I agree with previous: it might be worth the call to get them to test signal throughput and wire to the device. It would also be of value to be able to report the behavior with at least two clients, so their support will not focus on your platform or OS as a possible cause.

There is the problem. This is quite common, I have experienced it myself.
If you have a compatible modem (DOCs3 last I checked) and a router, then switch immediately.
https://www.xfinity.com/support/arti...d-cable-modems

Easy to say, but if the account is not in his name then Comcast cannot make the changes required to make it work against the owners will.
Comcast may be able to provide a newer device so that he does not have to spring for hardware, but that also requires the permissionof the owner.
He needs to engage with the property and account owner.

Post #1 sounds awful. All going on 2.4Ghz, I presume? Often, switching channel improves things. Try this: and repeat for the other channels (Channel:2, etc). That tells you how many users are competing on the same space. Channels overlap, as you know, so try to find the clearest spot and place yourself in the middle of it. Next, try this line for your channels of interest That gives Channel, Quality and ESSID. If there are people interfering, you want them as far away as possible. 30/70 is poor reception. 60/70 is good. If nothing else, you might be able to get the router channel changed, which costs little.

Lastly, there are gimmicks with a usb and RJ45 connector. You get the feed from the RJ45, and it's powered by usb. Usb-2.0 is fine. These send a wifi signal which is all your own. You can set it up as a private AP of your own., and shake off wifi congestion if you can't get router changes.

I was just reading a similar thread on a different site, and it resolved when the user discovered the backups he thought completed long since were still running, and chewing up his bandwidth behind the scenes. For days at a time!
I see no reason to suspect anything like that here, but it did remind me that it pays to know what might be running in the background that could skew your results.

In this case you have a handicap of not being able to manage the network device, so something could be running in the background anywhere on the network and you may be unable to see it. If it IS something running on your device, that you should be able to check.

Just a thought, I hope it helps.