TP Link W8968 - Wifi Issues

[amardeep.sidhu]

Hello Everyone,

Almost an year back I got a TP Link W8968 router to use with Airtel broadband. Not able to recall it was there in the beginning itself but since some time (probably 7-8) months I have been facing a problem where the Wifi stops working. Laptop and mobile that are connected to Wifi get disconnected. Attempt to connect again fails and after some time in most of the cases the Wifi network stops showing in the list. There is one PC that is connected to this router using LAN. Internet on that PC always works fine (even when this issue is there with Wifi). Rebooting the router generally fixes the problem. And the pattern is completely random. Sometimes it happens 3-4 times in a day. Sometimes once in 3-4 days. The version information is

Firmware Version: 1.0.5 Build 150504 Rel.57027
Hardware Version: TD-W8968 V4 0x00000001

Any hints what could be wrong here ? Is there some problem with the configuration or it is an issue with the device itself ?

Thank you.

Amardeep

 

[patkim]

Since all wireless devices show loss in WiFi connectivity at the same time, the issue appears to be with the router.
Try the following
1. Experiment with channel frequency, if it is set to 'Auto', manually set a channel. Use inSSIDer Windows app to view the nearby WiFi network and their channel frequencies.
2. Hard Reset the router and manually reconfigure. Hard Reset using the reset pin and not from within the admin panel.
3. Downgrade or upgrade the firmware. Try both ways and check if there's any other FW version where it is more stable.

 

[amardeep.sidhu]

Thank you patkim.

1) Tried selecting different channels as suggested in inSSIDer. Channel 6 gives the highest link score (80+) and that is already selected.

2) Ok. Will give that a try.

3) TP Link India has only the above firmware listed on product page. There are no updates listed.

*www.tp-link.in/download/TD-W8968_V4.html#Firmware

But TP Link Australia has some more firmwares listed for this model. Would it be ok to install it from there ? Otherwise there is nothing available to experiment.

Download for TD-W896

Thanks again.

Amardeep

- - - Updated - - -

One question:

Channel with more overlapping and high link score is better or less overlapping and low link score is a better option to choose ?

Thanks.

 

[patkim]

As far as what I understand Link Score calculated by inSSIDer is based on multiple factors including signal strength and generally your WiFi adapter being close to your AP the signal strength is high and higher could be the link score. It may be lower for a network that is further away from you. Look for less used channel (co-channel) and try experimenting with that. as an example if no one in vicinity has selected say channel 9 try opting for that and check if you get any benefit.

Usually it is recommended that region specific firmware be installed on your device. This is generally mentioned on download page too.

Sometimes Hard Reset may help too.