Note 4 WiFi not backwards compatible with old tech?

[Jonny Kansas]

Tried that. Does it keep a stable WiFI signal? Yes. Does it alleviate any of the issues stated above? Nope.

Yeah. All that does is keep you connected to wifi instead of switching to mobile data when the connection is janky.

If your wifi isn't working properly, all turning it off will do is keep you from disconnecting from wifi completely and using mobile data. When it's off, if your wifi connection isn't working properly, it's still not going to work properly.

Sent from my Note 4

 

[Vito.a]

Long shot, but turn off any cordless phones or other devices operating in the same frequency range.

 

[KaosMaster]

Ok. I figured I would explain why I said what I suggested!

I own an S4. I have a linksys ea2700 router connected to FIoS. I have 50/25 Mbs. When I connect to it at 2.4Ghz it works fine, but on 5Ghz it constantly switches, saying my connection is unstable. I know for a fact that it is fine, cause if I turn off the switching I get better speeds and stays connected.

 

[FoxKat]

Been noticing some odd behavior with my Note 4 since I got it on Saturday (I love it by the way). I cannot get it to get a stable connection with in-home WiFi, and when it does connect, data-heavy apps like the Play Store, Facebook, and Google Drive are rendered worthless and I stop receiving emails. Turn off WiFi, and everything is back to normal, running quick. Turn it on and the issues immediately start.

Took the phone back to Best Buy thinking I had a bad WiFi antenna in the phone, and it immediately connected to their system and acted normal. OK, so its not the phone. Brought it back to the house, and, just for kicks to see if it was the router itself causing issues, flipped it out with a 3 year old Netgear router I had. This time, the Note wouldn't even connect. (mind you, my wife's Galaxy S5, my old Razr Maxx HD, my Nexus 7, and my work laptop are all functioning just fine with the router I have this entire time). So now I know it wasn't an issue with the routers I have.

The guys in Best Buy told me that the new devices are using new WiFi technology and its very likely my Note 4 isn't compatible with the routers I have. Told me to perform an internal reset of the Router settings, and that didn't help at all. Any suggestions? I recently bought a Belkin AC1200 router, which Best Buy is still selling, which claims to be next generation wifi. Something just isn't adding up here.

I would suggest you go onto the router's manufacturer's website and see if the router has a firmware update and if so, flash the update. Often the changes to newer devices are to more accurately conform to the specific WIFI protocol standards (as well as others), and suddenly they "seem" to no longer be compatible with older hardware. In many cases simply flashing the most recent firmware in the router fixes all these problems as the router manufacturer also tries to keep up with the compatibility issues and more closely conform to WIFI protocols.

 

[mountainbikermark]

As a general rule, I'm not a fan of belkin. I also had 2 linksys routers in a row that kept having to be completely reset. Switched to netgear & never had an issue since.

Sent from my Note 4

I'm thinking this might be why newer Linksys and Belkin suffer the same problems
Belkin acquires Linksys plans to continue marketing products under both brands

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[Ollie]

I'm not really digging that Samsung integrated a speed check of wifi vs cellular data. It has irked me from day one with my Note 3.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I'm not really digging that Samsung integrated a speed check of wifi vs cellular data. It has irked me from day one with my Note 3.

Is it based on speed or stability?

Sent from my Note 4

 

[Ollie]

I'm thinking speed since it always does a check either which way you go data wifi or wifi data. It could be one and the same though if it interprets a slower speed as a less stable one.

 

[Beardface]

Long shot, but turn off any cordless phones or other devices operating in the same frequency range.

Don't have any in the house

I would suggest you go onto the router's manufacturer's website and see if the router has a firmware update and if so, flash the update. Often the changes to newer devices are to more accurately conform to the specific WIFI protocol standards (as well as others), and suddenly they "seem" to no longer be compatible with older hardware. In many cases simply flashing the most recent firmware in the router fixes all these problems as the router manufacturer also tries to keep up with the compatibility issues and more closely conform to WIFI protocols.

The firmware is up to date. There is nothing to update to. I'm guessing I just have a bad router (I'm believing the issue is that the router is constantly dropping signals from all devices, just for microseconds, but enough to cause connection issues when trying to load data-heavy sites. I guess thats just what you get when you buy a Belkin router. My only hope is that Best Buy accepts the return about 2 months after purchase.

I'm thinking speed since it always does a check either which way you go data wifi or wifi data. It could be one and the same though if it interprets a slower speed as a less stable one.

That's certainly not the case here. WiFi speeds are 20mbps+ and my LTE speeds are... well, I'll just say nowhere near that good (anywhere between 5-10 mbps, when I'm lucky enough to have a signal in my house)

 

[Ollie]

Sorry, my comment was not directed towards your issue.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

That's certainly not the case here. WiFi speeds are 20mbps+ and my LTE speeds are... well, I'll just say nowhere near that good (anywhere between 5-10 mbps, when I'm lucky enough to have a signal in my house)

Now I just feel sorry for you. I get around 20mbps down on LTE and around 50mbps on wifi (cable company actually did something good for a change).

As for the router, all you can do is ask Best Buy. If they'll let you exchange it, or you buy another, I definitely recommend NetGear.

As I said earlier, I've had issues with Linksys as well, which I find completely ridiculous because they were (at least before I read the post that said Belkin bought them) a division of Cisco, which is practically the standard for enterprise level devices. We use lots of Cisco at work and have very few, if any problems.

Anyway, best of luck and please let us know what you figure out!

 

[Beardface]

Now I just feel sorry for you. I get around 20mbps down on LTE and around 50mbps on wifi (cable company actually did something good for a change).

As for the router, all you can do is ask Best Buy. If they'll let you exchange it, or you buy another, I definitely recommend NetGear.

As I said earlier, I've had issues with Linksys as well, which I find completely ridiculous because they were (at least before I read the post that said Belkin bought them) a division of Cisco, which is practically the standard for enterprise level devices. We use lots of Cisco at work and have very few, if any problems.

Anyway, best of luck and please let us know what you figure out!

Yeah I just live in a dead spot in a city. No real excuse for Verizon to not have my area covered, but for about the 2 mile block around us, the signal is spotty at best. They are fully aware of the situation, and have no plans to help us out going forwards. Its not bad when I can get a WiFi signal, but even that now is crapped out, hence why the situation I'm in is so bad. Granted, the Note 4 has a radio better than the Razr Maxx HD I switched from, but I have noticed it still flipping back to 3G every time I put the phone in my pocket because the LTE signal is so incredibly weak. I'm just not willing to spend $250 for one of Verizon's network extenders to resolve the issue.

The good news is, we're on the short list for Google Fiber, and apparently have done everything we needed to get it here over the next couple years. I simply cannot wait for the second I get to dump Time Warner Cable and sign up for Fiber. Outside of my wedding, it'll be one of the happiest moments to date. (I loathe TWC)

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Yeah I just live in a dead spot in a city. No real excuse for Verizon to not have my area covered, but for about the 2 mile block around us, the signal is spotty at best. They are fully aware of the situation, and have no plans to help us out going forwards. Its not bad when I can get a WiFi signal, but even that now is crapped out, hence why the situation I'm in is so bad. Granted, the Note 4 has a radio better than the Razr Maxx HD I switched from, but I have noticed it still flipping back to 3G every time I put the phone in my pocket because the LTE signal is so incredibly weak. I'm just not willing to spend $250 for one of Verizon's network extenders to resolve the issue.

The good news is, we're on the short list for Google Fiber, and apparently have done everything we needed to get it here over the next couple years. I simply cannot wait for the second I get to dump Time Warner Cable and sign up for Fiber. Outside of my wedding, it'll be one of the happiest moments to date. (I loathe TWC)

You'd think they'd want to send you a network extender for free. One that's beefed up and can extend the network for some of the folks around you. It'll fry your family jewels, but at least you'll have LTE.

 

[Beardface]

You'd think they'd want to send you a network extender for free. One that's beefed up and can extend the network for some of the folks around you. It'll fry your family jewels, but at least you'll have LTE.

Yeah, but the last thing I want to do is further splice up my internet speeds at home. The extender plugs into your WiFi, which I already have spliced up between my phone, my wife's phone, 2 Chromecasts, my work laptop, my home laptop, a tablet, a PS4, and a PS3. Adding a network extender to that would just decimate the speeds I would get throughout.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Yeah, but the last thing I want to do is further splice up my internet speeds at home. The extender plugs into your WiFi, which I already have spliced up between my phone, my wife's phone, 2 Chromecasts, my work laptop, my home laptop, a tablet, a PS4, and a PS3. Adding a network extender to that would just decimate the speeds I would get throughout.

#FirstWorldProblems

Haha!