Intermittent connection errors

[mlh13]

Hi, for some months now I have had intermittent connection errors with some apps on my Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ mobile phone, my HisenseTV and my Sonos music system.

My router is a TP-Link AC1200 from TPG and provides both the normal and 5G connections, but I don't use the 5G connection.

I thought I had solved the issue with my phone by regularly clearing the system and affected application caches (including Firefox) but the issue has come back again.

On my TV sometimes I cannot connect to Netflix, YouTube or ABC Iview.  My TV is connected to the routher by cable, not wifi.

My Sonos speakers connect by wifi.

When the problems occur I disconnect my router and reconnect the power after 10 minutes or so, but this does not solve the problem.

Any suggestions about what might be going on?

[david64]

Hi @mlh13 . Are you on FTTP? Do you have the TP-Link Archer C1200 (rated at AC1200)?

What speed is your NBN connection?

Regarding your phone and Sonos, what signal strength and wifi connection speed do they indicate?

There could be wifi interference from neighbouring networks. You could try changing the channel of the 2.4G band (use 1 or 6 or 11). Or try the 5G band; 5G might have less interference from other networks.

Regarding the TV, is there an error message when it can't connect?

Any change to the lights on the router or NBN box?

Can you check the router's system log next time. 

Go to Advanced > System Tools > System Log.
Click Save Log to save the system logs to a file on your device.

[mlh13]

Dear David

Thank you for reaching out to me, it's very much appreciated.

I've collected the information you asked for:

FTTP - Yes - NBN was connected to my apartment building and I had it connected to my apartment during construction.   My NBN Box has a status light for "Optical"

Router - Yes, it's the TP-LInk AC1200 supplied by TPG.

NBN Speed - A speed test shows 12.1 Mbps download and 0.9 Mbps upload

Phone - Max signal strength (all bars illuminated) and Network Speed is 114 Mbps

Sonos - I can't find the signal strength and connection speed on the app.  Currently getting the message "unable to browse music" when trying to access Sonos Radio

Interference - Phone and laptop show only three other available networks.  This might not be relevant, but mobile phone network reception in my apartment is very weak

2.4G band channel - Its set to Auto (Current channel 1) but I don't know how to change it

5G band channel - Its set to Auto (Current channel 36) will I have to separately connect all my devices to the 5G channel?

TV - I get an "unable to connect message"

Lights - the router lights are all green, but the UNI-D1 light on the NBN box is flashing orange

System log - I've attached screenshots of the Router system log  - the messages "Failed to read LAN_ON" and "Config importing failed" seem to come up a lot.

Hope this is helpful and thanks again.

Murray

[david64]

@mlh13 . Have you had these connection problems since FTTP started, or have they appeared after having proper operation?

FTTP: Optical flashing green is normal. Any red flashes could be fibre network problem. UNI-D1 flashing orange is normal.

NBN speed: Are you on NBN12 plan? You might be hitting the limit on download capability. You could look at traffic statistics. Go to Advanced > System Tools > Traffic Statistics. Check traffic during normal activity and when connection problems occur. Leave monitor off when you aren't checking it. See article on speeds below.

Interference: Regarding the other networks, what is their relative signal strength next to Sonos? If they have "5G" in their names, they won't be interfering with your 2.4G network. A laptop would show you their strengths and channel being used.

To change wifi channel, Go to Advanced > Wireless > Wireless Settings.

Sonos: How far from router is it? Any other activity on TV or phone?

TV: Is the wifi disabled?

System log: Can you get the log when the connection errors occur? You can save the log to a file on your phone or computer and copy and paste the text into here.

SO WHAT SPEED DO I NEED? 

It very much depends on what you use the internet for... 

• NBN 12 (Basic I Speed Tier) will prove to be beneficial for infrequent internet users. Rest assured that 12Mbps will already be enough for you to watch Netflix in high definition using a single device. But your plan may struggle to keep up if you intend to browse the internet while binge-watching your favourite show.
• NBN 25 (Basic II Speed Tier) is sufficient for single-person households. However, with a 25Mbps download speed, you may still encounter buffering when streaming 4K content.
• NBN 50 (Standard Speed Tier) is the best NBN speed for most because 50 Mbps should be enough to watch one 4K stream and a couple of other HD streams using different devices at the same time.
• NBN 100 (Fast Speed Tier) is the best NBN speed for large households because 100Mbps download speeds should be sufficient for each member of the household to get their work done. This is also a popular choice for most online gamers, streamers, and content creators.

[mlh13 · Accepted solution]

Hi David

Thank you for the help, its been very much appreciated.

I upgraded my plan from NBN 12 to NBN 50, which seems to have solved the problem.

Best wishes and thanks again