Requesting 802.11AC troubleshooting help from owners of Lumia 950

Bri D

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The 950 Bugs thread seems to be getting a bit off-topic, so I'm creating a new thread. I would like very specific help from 950 owners to test a possible WiFi radio bug. If we confirm the issue here, I will post to the 950 Bugs thread again.

Here's the problem I am having:
My 5Ghz 802.11AC connection will fail after a period of time. The quick action button will eventually display: "Not Available" , and the WiFi settings displays: "No networks found." Let me clarify that I am broadcasting 3 SSIDs (one is dedicated 2.4Ghz), and have plenty of other SSIDs from neighbors that are within healthy range. This means the 5Ghz issue I am running into disables all WiFi radio capability... 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. Once I reboot, the problem disappears and I can see all WiFi networks normally. I have run 2.4Ghz yesterday and through the evening with no problems, but 5Ghz will repeatedly cause an issue.


Here's the help I am requesting:

Verify that the SSID you are connecting to is only 5Ghz. Remove all other wireless networks that you may have learned so that your phone only has access to a 5Ghz connection. Your device has to be conencted to 5Ghz and only 5Ghz, so make sure your router is not switching to 2.4Ghz.

Now that you are on 5Ghz WiFi, please test that your WiFi stays connected. I haven't determined a specific length of time required to see the failure, but 2-3 hours of 5Ghz should be safe enough.

Please post your results and fill out the poll.

Thank you!

Update: If you are having issues, please share your model, and settings. Things like Wireless mode (A,G, N, AC, Mixed), Beamforming, and whether or not you use Qos.
 
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Bri D

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Re: Requesting troubleshooting help from owners of Lumia 950

The 950 Bugs thread seems to be getting a bit off-topic, so I'm creating a new thread. I would like very specific help from 950 owners to test a possible WiFi radio bug. If we confirm the issue here, I will post to the 950 Bugs thread again.

Here's the problem I am having:
My 5Ghz connection will fail after a period of time. The quick action button will eventually display: "Not Available" , and the WiFi settings displays: "No networks found." Let me clarify that I am broadcasting 3 SSIDs (one is dedicated 2.4Ghz), and have plenty of other SSIDs from neighbors that are within healthy range. This means the 5Ghz issue I am running into disables all WiFi radio capability... 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. Once I reboot, the problem disappears and I can see all WiFi networks normally. I have run 2.4Ghz yesterday and through the evening with now problems, but 5Ghz will repeatedly cause an issue.


Here's the help I am requesting:

Verify that the SSID you are connecting to is only 5Ghz. Remove all other wireless networks that you may have learned so that your phone only has access to a 5Ghz connection. Your device has to be conencted to 5Ghz and only 5Ghz, so make sure your router is not switching to 2.4Ghz.

Now that you are on 5Ghz WiFi, please test that your WiFi stays connected. I haven't determined a specific length of time required to see the failure, but 2-3 hours of 5Ghz should be safe enough.

Please post your results and fill out the poll.

Thank you!

I did some more testing...the problem occurs with 802.11AC, 5Ghz N is fine.
 

landcameras

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I'm watching it.... no disconnects yet. You might want to look into your wireless AP's settings? 5g AC is known to be... finicky.
950-5Gac.jpg
 

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Bri D

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I'm watching it.... no disconnects yet. You might want to look into your wireless AP's settings? 5g AC is known to be... finicky.
View attachment 116992

Thank you for replying! Looking forward to hearing your results. I looked through the router's web utility, but the characteristics of the issue make it seem like a WM10 OS or phone hardware problem. Why else would I need to restart the phone to see other WiFi networks again? If it was a router only issue, you'd think the connection would drop and I could just select another connection in the phone's settings. Just thinking out loud here, but anyways, thanks for helping out let me know how it goes. Keeping my fingers crossed you don't have the same problem.
 

landcameras

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There are several networking services that could be at fault. the case you state doesn't rule out the router bouncing the phone multiple times causing a crash in the phone's wireless stack.

In my network I have a server handling quite a bit of the network services load for clients. My router really just provides the connection. Failure of any one of these on a router will cause a dis/reconnect that introduces the possibility of a race condition like I proposed above.

Remember router mfg and quality varies WIDELY. There are a stupid amount of AC standards and chips with the accompanying bugs and flaws. Most of the many AC hardware chips are really just running on some form of *nix, which is anything but solid state and static in these small devices
 

MirthRock

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I don't mean to hijack this thread, but my girlfriend has a Buffalo router at her house. Every other device under the sun can connect to it. The 950 cannot. Also, the 950 has no issues connecting to every other wireless network I've tried to reach so far. Restarted the router, no luck. And yes, I am typing the key in properly because I tried on my test 640 phone with the same 10586 build. :p My hunch is that this thing has some weird wireless issues which will hopefully be addressed in an update.
 

landcameras

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I don't mean to hijack this thread, but my girlfriend has a Buffalo router at her house. Every other device under the sun can connect to it. The 950 cannot. Also, the 950 has no issues connecting to every other wireless network I've tried to reach so far. Restarted the router, no luck. And yes, I am typing the key in properly because I tried on my test 640 phone with the same 10586 build. :p My hunch is that this thing has some weird wireless issues which will hopefully be addressed in an update.

entirely possible... but again that is still 1+1=3. There may be an issue, but only certain radios or brands. I'm having no issues here on B/G/N/A/AC. none buffalo branded though. There just isn't enough info yet I think.
 

Bri D

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entirely possible... but again that is still 1+1=3. There may be an issue, but only certain radios or brands. I'm having no issues here on B/G/N/A/AC. none buffalo branded though. There just isn't enough info yet I think.

Do you mind sharing the specific model with version, and firmware you are running? I'm ready to buy your router and test it! Let's eliminate these variables.
 

Bri D

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I don't mean to hijack this thread, but my girlfriend has a Buffalo router at her house. Every other device under the sun can connect to it. The 950 cannot. Also, the 950 has no issues connecting to every other wireless network I've tried to reach so far. Restarted the router, no luck. And yes, I am typing the key in properly because I tried on my test 640 phone with the same 10586 build. :p My hunch is that this thing has some weird wireless issues which will hopefully be addressed in an update.

Just thinking out loud again...this could be the 950, the 1+1=3 thing, or it's possible her router has a maximum client limit. I'd try turning off some of the devices that are normally connected to her router, leave the router unplugged for a bit, and then try again. Basically just limit any possible variables. Highly doubt she's exceeding a max WiFi client limit, but it's worth a try!
 

landcameras

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Do you mind sharing the specific model with version, and firmware you are running? I'm ready to buy your router and test it! Let's eliminate these variables.
I'm using an Asus RT-AC68u with Merlin firmware. DNS + DHCP is handled by a Windows Server in a domain. The domain is rooted at my house and accessible via a VPN. Locally at work, there is a second win server that handles local requests.

The router is a few years old, but uses well grounded AC tech that the newer stuff can't match. Let alone clients, there are no wireless cards for the latest wiz bang marketing speak (AC 3200+?!). The dual core processor in this router can handle high speed net connections as well as VPN De/Encryption without issue. And I'm actually running Debian on it for some specific uses like motion detected web cams that function as security cameras.
 

MirthRock

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Just thinking out loud again...this could be the 950, the 1+1=3 thing, or it's possible her router has a maximum client limit. I'd try turning off some of the devices that are normally connected to her router, leave the router unplugged for a bit, and then try again. Basically just limit any possible variables. Highly doubt she's exceeding a max WiFi client limit, but it's worth a try!

Good thought, but I doubt that's the case. We've only got her iPhone, two laptops, and Roku connected to it. Also, if for some reason I was hitting the max WiFi client limit, then my 640 wouldn't have connected either.

Edit: Her router is handling everything - DHCP, DNS, Wireless, etc. I receive the generic "Cannot connect to this wireless network" message on the phone when I try to connect. I verified that the DHCP scope in the router is large enough and that the lease time wasn't some astronomical value which would cause the DHCP pool to not release addresses and run out of available IPs.
 
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Bri D

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I'm using an Asus RT-AC68u with Merlin firmware. DNS + DHCP is handled by a Windows Server in a domain. The domain is rooted at my house and accessible via a VPN. Locally at work, there is a second win server that handles local requests.

The router is a few years old, but uses well grounded AC tech that the newer stuff can't match. Let alone clients, there are no wireless cards for the latest wiz bang marketing speak (AC 3200+?!). The dual core processor in this router can handle high speed net connections as well as VPN De/Encryption without issue. And I'm actually running Debian on it for some specific uses like motion detected web cams that function as security cameras.

Thanks, and yes 3200 is overkill unless you have a ton of users. I did chuckle when I saw the custom firmware tho...no wonder your network is stable. My 87U is dual band tho so it should be pretty similar minus the extra customization you have going on.
 

landcameras

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oh the 87? doesn't that have that stupid network optimization feature that hands off clients to less busy channels? there has been nothing but issues with that. I bet that's the issue there with yours. (one of the main reasons I didn't upgrade to the that one)

You can use the same firmware as mine though, the 87u is supported by Merlin. Its not just that the firmware is custom, but there are a TON of fixes he puts in to address baseline Asus firmware issues. Take a look at the changelog
 
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Noob1ee

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I am experiencing WiFi issues as well but with my 950XL. Not the exact same problem as OP but sometimes I cannot see the 5ghz network at all but most of the time, the 950XL just kills off my whole network and I would have to restart the router in order to get my WiFi back. Using a TP-Link C7 Archer router.
 

ashram

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I have had my 950 since day 2(at&t online, arrived the day before launch) and my work network hasn't had an issue, but then again, it's not the average consumer setup (ubiquity ac access points, wpa2 enterprise, authenticating via a radius server) but the 4 work days I have had since getting the 950, I haven't noticed any wireless issues. Granted, not all routers (and WiFi drivers) are made the same... And I have read of Android devices resetting routers upon connecting (some time last year) so it could be the phone/router combination not working. Easiest way to find out is if you have a spare router, or know someone that can lend you one to test with.
 

landcameras

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I am experiencing WiFi issues as well but with my 950XL. Not the exact same problem as OP but sometimes I cannot see the 5ghz network at all but most of the time, the 950XL just kills off my whole network and I would have to restart the router in order to get my WiFi back. Using a TP-Link C7 Archer router.

Archer C7 5Ghz Problem - REQUIRES FIXING ASAP <-- it doesn't have a good reputation. That C7 router couldn't be more different than Bri's

And on that note,
Bri, your router was a mistake that shouldn't have happened. All the manufacturers were woo'd into using Quantenna for a generation of devices. All of them had to issue replacement products from Broadcom within months because the QTA devices couldn't be fixed. They never got the drivers right and most likely problems with the silicon itself. The issues you're having are exactly what people experience with these routers. Definitely turn off that hand-off feature which switches clients to the fastest/strongest radio/channel. I believe that is the source of the issue.
quick background info there: The 5G radio signal turn off sometimes | SmallNetBuilder Forums
 

MirthRock

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Good thought, but I doubt that's the case. We've only got her iPhone, two laptops, and Roku connected to it. Also, if for some reason I was hitting the max WiFi client limit, then my 640 wouldn't have connected either.

Edit: Her router is handling everything - DHCP, DNS, Wireless, etc. I receive the generic "Cannot connect to this wireless network" message on the phone when I try to connect. I verified that the DHCP scope in the router is large enough and that the lease time wasn't some astronomical value which would cause the DHCP pool to not release addresses and run out of available IPs.

So just as a follow up (better late than never) I was able to resolve my issue by changing the mode of the router from N-Only to GN-Mixed. As soon as I did, the 950 connected without an issue. Its a Buffalo WZR-300HP running Firmware: DD-WRT v24SP2-MULTI (07/09/12) std.
 

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