Interference from neighbor's network???

I've had my E1505 for about 3 months now. Worked flawlessly from day one with a Dell 1390 mini card. That is, until about 2 weeks ago. Then, one night out of the blue, it slows to a crawl and intermittently disconnects. I thought I had completely solved the problem by updating the driver from the Dell website and rebooting. After tonight, I realize that was not the problem probably.

Lo and behold, tonight I had been surfing, emailing etc for about an hour, when BAM! The internet connection completely died - little green bars icon in lower right tray became blue bars and the dreaded red "x" over the wireless icon. I right clicked on the wireless icon with red "x" and chose "view available networks" and to my utter dismay, my Versalink Westel router from BellSouth was not even a choice - my Dell 1390 card no longer even recognized my network, let alone connected to it. I clicked "refresh network list" and the only thing that came up was a choice called "linksys" and it said it was an unsecure network - I was desparate and tried but wouldn't connect anyway. If I repeatedly (every 3 minutes) clicked "refresh network list" once in a while, my Westel Versalink would appear and I would click "connect" and type in my WEP key. However, the signal strength would erode from 54 to 24 to 11 to complete disconnect with 60 - 120 seconds.

I did remember reading somewhere about neighbors setting up networks on the same channel that would compete with your wireless router. I had already tried reloading the Dell driver from 2 weeks ago and rebooting. Didn't work. So I figured it wouldn't hurt to go upstairs to the wired desktop and at least change the channel from 6 to channel 1 and see what happened. Everything is all better now.

My question is regarding how many networks are allowed on one channel and how can I possibly get exclusive rights to a channel in my immediate area to prevent one of my neighbors from "taking over." I seem to recall on thread reading that only channels 1, 6 or 11 are viable channel selections even though channels 2-5 an 7-10, 12 are also available choices. I assume the Linksys router must be stronger than my Westel router and is overpowering its signal strength, right? I would guess the conflict would have to arise from an immediate next door neighbor correct? Or could a house clear across the street also be the culprit? I live in a house in suburban Atlanta with only 2 direct neighbors - one on each side. No house in immediate proximity in our backyard and there are only 2 houses clear accross the street. I have only seen this "linksys" choice on my Dell E1505 - never appeared as a choice on my Dell Axim X51. However, on my Axim a "linksys_400" secure router choice has always been there as a choice I've not turned on my Axim recently so maybe this new "linksys" choice will show up. In any case, I've NEVER seen any other choice at all on my Dell E1505 except my own Westel until tonight - it worked flawlessly until about 2 weeks ago, but even 2 weeks ago, no other choice besides my Westel appeared and it would connect 2 weeks ago, albeit pathetically slow. I think that after about midnight 2 weeks ago it suddenly worked GREAT. I realize now that could only have been simply because my neighbors turned off their competing router, right? But why then, all of a sudden tonight, all the problems again and a new wireless networked viewed and most disturbing, why was my network not even viewed at all until I switched to channel 1? What if my other neighbor decides to set up shop on Channel 1 and another neighbor has claimed "channel 11?" I guess y'all can tell I'm rather clueless, but I can follow anyone's instructions well and I'm somewhat compute literate.

I'd sure appreciate your input and I would always be glad to make a $ contribution to this website - does it take donations? If so, it's completely worth it. This sight has saved my "arse' more than once.

 

You are right, only 1, 6, and 11 are viable. There's no legal way to get exclusive domain over a channel, they are publicly available.

The likelihood is that it is your next door neighbour but it could be someone across the street.

Most routers come configured for channel 6, though, so you are probably good. Another alternative would be to use 802.11a which is a different frequency set altogether.

 

You can certainly use any channel number 1-11 that is available on your router. you are not restricted to those channels. I mentioned in another thread (which may be the one you're thinking of) that channels 6, 9, and 4 tend to give better signals. but nothing is preventing you from using any of the other ones.

Multiple networks can be on the same channel. It won't automatically cause a problem, but it's safer not to be, because of exactly what you experienced. Whatever wireless utility you are using should be able to tell you what channel the linksys is using. Set your router to a different one.

Yamla is right, there is no way to restrict someone else from using a channel. It's public spectrum.

But if you can figure out what neighbor it is, you might actually be able to gain some favor from him by offering to "fix" his generic and unsecured network so he doesn't get hacked. Good way to make friends (and garauntee you know what channel he's on and that it won't interfere with yours ). And then he'll owe you.

 

Thanks Yamla and Elimist! I still want to know why the unsecure "linksys" router that I believe is brand new to one of my neighbors (at least I've never seen it before) "won" or overpowered my WEP-secure Westel Versalink router from BellSouth that has been there for over a year. Why was "linksys" allowed to "take over" channel 6 and boot off my own router - "westel_1089"?? Who decided who gets control of the channel? I had been surfing and emailing on channel 6 for well over an hour when BAMMMM - in the middle of typing a website address, it completely went from 54 bps to 0 and disconnect in a fraction of a second.

I've never seen any other wireless networks in my Dell E1505 but I have seen others in my neighborhood on my Dell Axim X51. Why don't the others that my Axim sees show up on E1505? And more important, why don't those other wireless networks "win" or boot me off of the channel I am on? There are no commercial entities within at least of mile of my home. Just field and other houses. What is the range of the typical network? Is my cheap Bellsouth Westel router the most limited range so it "loses" in the war for control of a channel?

I am running Eset internet security and NOD32 antivirus. I have been for about a month with no trouble whatsover and switching to channel 1 has definitely seemd to help - that is, until another neighbor sets up shop on channel 1, right? Please forgive me for being clueless to the ways of wireless networking. I've lived for years without it, but now that I have a shiny, superfast Dell E1505 laptop, I can't see how I lived without wireless!

 

Nobody "decides" who has control over the channel.
If the linksys has more power pumping out the signal, it's going to drown out the signal from your router. If your Westel is "cheap" as you claim (and in my experience they aren't the greatest routers), then it very likely doesn't have as much signal power or range as the (presumably) newer linksys.

Your Axim very likely has a better wireless adapter built into it, since it is a handheld, and its whole point is to be wireless. Different adapters are better at picking up signals at varying ranges. Those other networks could be on other channels. Or if they are on the same channel, you're presumably farther away from them already, your laptop can't pick them up because the linksys signal is drowing them out.

Bottom line; strongest signal "wins" on any particular channel. this is also why 2.4Ghz cordless phones will knock you off a wireless connection. Put the phone base too close to the router or use the handset too close to your computer and your network signal gets drowned out by the phone signal (when on the same channel). Even some microwaves work in the 2.4Ghz range and can cause interference.

As to your distance/range question-
Taken from- http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/wirelessproducts/f/wifirange.htm

Housing materials/construction and appliances will reduce the range of your network.

 

Interesting article over at Tom's Hardware. It's a review about Draft-N wireless routers and how some can override G/B routers. George Ou blogged about it over at ZDnet. Wonder if your neighbors new router is a draft-n wireless?

 

If you know your neighbor talk to him. You may be able to get him to move to a different channel or move the whole system. If not there are thing you can do to make his system work baddly too. You may be able to turn him in to the fcc, but I dought that will do any good, since it's a public bandwidth. Have him do a firmware upgrade, that may also help you out.

 

I got this in a PM, but I figured others might be wondering the same thing.

The honest answer is; I don't know.
I've never found hard evidence to support why they work better, they just do. This comes from years of troubleshooting wireless connections for hundreds, maybe thousands of customers/clients. Most wireless routers are defaulted to channel 1. Many of these run into interference problems, either from phones, appliances, or just plain house construction. the first thing my fellow techs and I try is switching the channel. Probably better than 90% of the time, putting it to channel 6 or 4 gives a stronger signal, and more importantly, a consistent one. A consistent 40% signal is better than a flaky 80%.

It is possible that the majority of cordless phones made today tend to stick to particular channels other than 4, 6 or 9. Or maybe it's just the nature of common types of interference found in your average U.S. city. I don't really know.
But, while my evidence is anecdotal, I can't argue with the sheer volume of success over the years.