I am starting to have WiFi networking problems. This has now stopped my networked HP printer from being accessed from my (only) laptop that runs 5GHz WiFi from Xubuntu 18.04 64 bit.

I cannot ping my printer over WiFi. There is no problem with a wired connection.

My old laptop, same OS, but 32 bit and 2.4GHz WiFi works normally (perfectly!).

The other issue that has appeared recently is the random stopping of data flow to and from internet streamed music sources. (Youtube and broadcast TV are not affected.)

I have forced 2.4GHz connection by editing my laptop's WiFi connection.

I can now print again. Time will tell if I can stream again.

This seems to be a very crude fix! Where is the real problem and is there a better way of resolving it?

Briefly the issues are:

• The 2.4 Ghz channels are more crowded, but the signal travels better in house environments.
• Not every wifi device has 5Ghz capability.

Check your local area with which should show you channel and signal strength. So good moves would be

1. Check if your printer is 5Ghz capable. It might not be.
2. Put your laptop beside your printer and see if the printer gets a decent signal on 2.4Ghz
3. Repeat this exercise for 5Ghz.
4. Modify the layout in your house if possible, and retest. As a guide, 2.4Ghz will reflect some off glass, but 5Ghz is inclined to go through.

Let us know what you come up with. BTW, my router isn't capable of 5Ghz. I can get a better one from my isp for €25. Received wisdom is to use channels 1, 6, or 11 on 2.4 Ghz. But people set routers to 'automatic', which automatically chooses the worst channel to be on . I found channel 9 was best for me. But I need to recheck often. The 5Ghz spectrum is a lot cleaner.

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I'd avoid the 2.4GHz band if at all possible. While it kind of travels better indoors, it is also subject to all kinds of interference. Anything from phone extensions, any kind of bluetooth devices, and microwave ovens can interfere to name just three sources of problems. In an urban environment or multi-tennant office building there will also be "fights" between the stations in the 2.4 GHz band or, worst of all, someone will set up an access point on an adjacent channel. So if someone sets up a network on channel 9, for example :P, then those on 6 and 11 will get interference especially the latter. The hardware really ought to be locked down to channels 1, 6, and 11 at the OEM because sharing a channel is not as slow, usually, as getting interference.

The 5GHz band has a lot less interference and has more unique channels, but tends to travel rather poorly through walls and other obstacles, such as vegetation. If you can reach to where you printer sits physically using 5GHz but the printer itself has only 2.4GHz access, you can throw CUPS or something onto a Raspberry Pi 3A+ (or similar) to work on 5GHz and then plug the printer into that using the USB port. That way 2.4 GHz can be avoided.

Electronic stuff breaks. Not enough information to tell if the router or your laptop 5 GHz adapter is failing. What about other 5GHz devices? Does your phone have problems?

If the adapter is failing it might require lots of retries which would cause high bandwidth streams to fail.

5 GHz has shorter range then 2.4 GHz. Does it make a difference if the laptop is closer to the router? Sometimes changing bandwidth wireless settings on the router helps but eventually you will either need to replace the router or purchase a replacement adapter for your laptop.

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I don't think that's how wireless printing works. The connection does not usually go directly to the printer.

Even if it the printer is not capable of connecting to the router at 5GHz, you should still be able to print to it from a laptop which is. The printer might be connected to the router by a cat5 cable or by a 2.4GHz wireless connection. It shouldn't matter.

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You're right - all wifi goes through the router. But he can measure the signal strength with his laptop. If he has no signal strength on 5Ghz, why should his printer print? It's me knowing what I was talking about, but nobody else having a clue - a regular problem.

You are also correct that cat5 would work. But isps put the modem where they want in a house/business, people set up where they want, and problems arise. Running about the house with cat 5 just gives a real industrial effect to your pad, and is accident prone.

Thank you all for your comments. Michaelk was spot-on.

My 'fix' did not last very long. The choice of band was a 'red herring'. I only knew the 5GHz band was in use from the info in my router settings. A USB dongle worked perfectly so I investigated the laptop's WiFi device.

Distance was not an issue but I have a large house to cover and 2.4GHz would be a better bet. Now that I have managed to fix the problem the laptop chooses 2.4Ghz. The HP printer is capable of standalone wireless operation but it is easier for me to manage it if it is part of my local network. I have an additional hard wired access point in addition to the one in the router.

The strange point about the issue was that although the network connection was good (or good enough!) for most purposes, including video streaming, the printer on my own network was usually inaccessible. And audio streaming was prone to stop and restart randomly. Signal strength was never an issue.

I was afraid that the wireless card was failing. In a way I think it was. Something had changed so that it needed to have its driver updated. I guess the trouble started after a security update.

The laptop is a 3 month old N1684 Novatech, with Intel WiFi. I bought it (new) without OS. It is faster than my smart phone and boots in 15 seconds!

Here is an account as far as I can remember, of how I got back communication with the printer.

I connected to my network by wire and following advice on the Ubuntu Wireless Network Troubleshooter, I checked 'Software and Updates' for additional drivers. The Intel WiFi device was reported as not working. I searched Synaptic for iwlwifi and installed backport-iwlwifi-dkms as this was mentioned in the report.

I can't remember precisely what my next steps were but the additional drivers were installed (it took several minutes) and my WiFi device is now reported as working with the alternative driver.

My connection is now trouble free and the printer responds to a ping within about 4ms.

I believe that my problems really are solved.

My system is still working but this morning in the BBC Tech News

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56949262

there is a report of on going issues of this problem with routers provided by BT. My service provider is BT!

Perhaps this is where my problems originated. I do not use any 'smart' devices. I could connect with my networked computers, but not my printer. The issue is similar to that raised in the report which is focused on lack of communication between devices using both bands to access the same network.

So, as a temporary move, why not transfer everything to 2.4Ghz, and switch off 5Ghz, or vice-versa? From what I read, it's just mucking up 2.4 & 5Ghz setups.

Thanks for your comment. I did think about it as a solution early on, but forcing 2.4GHz in the laptop didn't solve the connectivity problem, which was primarily associated with my printer.

I cannot see a way force 2.4GHz only in my BT router. The only device that I have seen using 5GHz is the new laptop which gave me the trouble.

I'm not actually convinced that the 5GHz router report was true. It may have been a false diagnosis as a result of the problem with the laptop WiFi device. I could not make it go away. (Perhaps this was due to latency.)

Now that I have got the laptop WiFi driver up to date all is working well with the default settings. The router reports a 2.4GHz connection for it (and all other WiFi connected devices).

I've already spent a too much of time on this issue. Its working now. I'm hoping the resolution is permanent. Forcing my self to break a lifetime's habit... I am not going to 'fix' a working system.

Amen to that - I've given that advice to many, many folks.

You've posted the solution, so mark this solved

Cheers! I already have, a few posts ago. I'm happy to put it to bed with a nice tidy ending.

It might be easier to schlepp around the house/apartment with your smartphone. I have a WiFi analyzer from vremsoftwaredevelopment.github.io that seems to do a good job of showing signal strength as I move about the place. The price was certainly right (US$0.00).

Cheers...