This article provides steps to help you troubleshoot your home Wi-Fi connection between your device and your modem/router.
1. Check that your main connection is working.
Wi-Fi works between your modem and individual devices. First you want to be sure that your modem is working and able to send data.
Even if you use WiFi boosters or SuperWifi for your signal, they still connect from your modem.
- First, check the lights on your modem.
Showing solid green, means the modem is powered on.
Flashing or solid red, your modem might be faulty. Contact us.
No light, check that your power cable is plugged in to the modem, and the wall power point. Check the power point is switched ON and it works. Try another power point to test. - Internet light:
Solid green, the internet is working.
Flashing or off, contact us.
2. Ensure Wi-Fi is enabled on your modem.
Check that your modem has a Wi-Fi/WLAN solid green light.
- Solid Green = Wi-Fi connection available.
- Green Blinking Slow = Wi-Fi disabled by schedule.
- Green Blinking Fast = synchronisation WPS.
How to enable Wi-Fi on Ultra Hub/Plus modem, HG659 modem. Check your modem's device guide for further help.
3. Turn all your hardware and devices off and on again.
- Power off all your hardware and devices at the wall, such as modems, routers, Fibre ONT, HFC cable ONT, switches, hubs and computers.
- Restart them after a minute, starting with the ONT (if you have Fibre or HFC broadband), then followed by your modem, router, then other network devices and then the computer(s).
- Check you have a green power and internet light on your modem or router.
4. Try getting closer to your modem or router.
- Holding your device, move closer to your modem or router or mesh as there may be Wi-Fi interference, or your device may be too far away.
Wi-Fi Interference.
Many things can interfere or weaken your Wi-Fi signal quality and it may impact your connection and speed experience.
Keep your modem/router or Wi-Fi devices out of cupboards, patch panels, away from electrical and kitchen appliances such as fridges and microwaves, away from mirrors, baby monitors, cordless phones, hot water cylinders and blue tooth speakers to reduce interference.
Look out for internal building materials made from metal, concrete, marble, tiles or brick, as Wi-Fi signals cannot penetrate these materials.
Connect devices to Ethernet if you can. The fewer devices you have that compete for a Wi-Fi signal, the better.
If you always use a fixed position for devices, like your TV, Apple TV, laptop at your desk, and even security cameras, then think about connecting these with ethernet.
5. Optimising your Wi-Fi.
Positioning and placement You can optimise your Wi-Fi performance by re-positioning your modem/router or mesh following our simple principles of Out, Up and Open.
Out | Up | Open |
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Check you are on the right Wi-Fi band - 2.4GHz or 5GHz?
Check you're on the best Wi-Fi band for your home environment.
The 2.4GHz has a greater reach, while the 5GHz has a stronger signal. Wi-Fi band steering - some modems/routers/mesh have the ability to automatically steer devices to the best available frequency band when connected to the Wi-Fi network.
By turning on band steering, you can get the best performance.
2.4GHz | 5GHz |
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6. Check your individual devices.
- Eliminate sources of interference. Cordless phones should sit away from modems and routers as they will interfere with your Wi-Fi signal.
- Make sure that you are connected to your Wi-Fi network.
- If you have a modem or router as well as a Wi-Fi mesh, extender, or booster, check that your device is connecting to the right one. You may need to turn off the Wi-Fi from your modem or router if this is conflicting with your Wi-Fi mesh, extender or booster.
- Ensure you have the latest Wi-Fi drivers on your computers, etc.
7. Try some Advanced checks.
- Check your router or access point for MAC address filtering. The person configuring the router or access point may have set it up in such a way that only certain device MAC Addresses (Media Access Control numbers) can connect to the Internet. Some companies use this strategy to prevent unauthorised access to their network. Some parents use this feature as a form of parental control.
- Try using a different DNS server. You may need to set your DNS server settings manually. There are too many devices and operating systems out there for me to go into detail on how to do this here but Google is your friend.