Requesting 802.11AC troubleshooting help from owners of Lumia 950

[Bri D]

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.

TLDR That's great you got a reliable 802.11 G connection, however the phone still seems to have issues with 5Ghz connections (not just me and my ASUS, but many others across the forum have chimed in).

It would be hard to verify via the 950 OS, but most likely things are working because you are using 802.11 G (2.4Ghz WiFi). That means you are using a wireless standard adopted in 2003. This is fine for now because most people don't have internet much faster than 30Mbps (the max signal strength 802.11G connection will provide 54Mbps). The newer standards/drafts like N and AC have more channels that can be utilized to avoid interference with neighbors however. They also provide higher bandwidth (at shorter distances) so when your signal strength is lower, you don't dip below your internet speed @ 30Mbps for example.

 

[Billy Cantor]

I'm using my Lumia 950 on an 802.11ac network, at 5GHz. Locked to the 5GHz network. Technically the router also supports 802.11a/g on that frequency--but I have no had no problems with the Lumia 950. Consumer brand router.

 

[Bri D]

I'm using my Lumia 950 on an 802.11ac network, at 5GHz. Locked to the 5GHz network. Technically the router also supports 802.11a/g on that frequency--but I have no had no problems with the Lumia 950. Consumer brand router.

Can you provide more details on your router? Maybe we can find some similarities here if people would share their setup.

 

[Bri D]

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

I'll take a look at the custom firmware, however I refuse to believe it's normal for the phone to disable the WiFi radio if it can't keep a connection to a 5Ghz network. If my router is truly a problem then, at the very least the phone should drop the connection, and let you connect to another SSID without requiring a phone restart. I have a Lenovo laptop, Lumia Icon, Samsung TV, and a Linksys WiFi to Ethernet bridge...all using the same 5Ghz that is crashing the Lumia 950. Must be the ASUS router!

 

[majortom1981]

I have an asus 802.11ac router at home and wifi is fine BUT At work we have brocade and dlink enterprise wifi AP's and when it connects to one of them it disables my 950's wifi. Both are 802.11n I think the drivers of the 950's have a bug with certain AP features put can't pinpoint it yet.

 

[MirthRock]

TLDR That's great you got a reliable 802.11 G connection, however the phone still seems to have issues with 5Ghz connections (not just me and my ASUS, but many others across the forum have chimed in).

It would be hard to verify via the 950 OS, but most likely things are working because you are using 802.11 G (2.4Ghz WiFi). That means you are using a wireless standard adopted in 2003. This is fine for now because most people don't have internet much faster than 30Mbps (the max signal strength 802.11G connection will provide 54Mbps). The newer standards/drafts like N and AC have more channels that can be utilized to avoid interference with neighbors however. They also provide higher bandwidth (at shorter distances) so when your signal strength is lower, you don't dip below your internet speed @ 30Mbps for example.

Actually, not entirely true. My girlfriend's Buffalo router doesn't even support the 5GHz bandwidth. Its Wireless-N on 2.4GHz. The Wireless-N Standard doesn't define the spectrum so it could just be the Wireless-N standard on the 2.4GHz spectrum where it is having issues. Also, the mixed GN-Mixed simply allows the Wireless-G and Wireless-N standard on the same SSID so switching to that mode, doesn't necessarily mean that the 950 connected at Wireless-G...it could still be Wireless-N. I'm just not sure where to find that information within the 950. Finally with all that being said, I have a Netgear router at home that is a Wireless-N 5GHz router and my 950 connects to it with zero issues.

Not sure what the common link is between all of these goofy wireless issues we're seeing...

Edit: I'm 99% sure my router at home is a Netgear N600 WNDR3700 but I'll double check tomorrow when I get home.

 

[Comatose11]

My new Netgear Nighthawk with 5G is definitely having the same issues with my new 950. Fairly annoying.

 

[Blashkyrk]

I'm using a Netgear R7000 ac-router. My phone is connected to the 5Ghz band. No problems. I'm also broadcasting a 2,4 Ghz channel with same SID but the phone seems to prefer the 5Ghz band. Stock software in the router.

 

[Bri D]

Actually, not entirely true. My girlfriend's Buffalo router doesn't even support the 5GHz bandwidth. Its Wireless-N on 2.4GHz. The Wireless-N Standard doesn't define the spectrum so it could just be the Wireless-N standard on the 2.4GHz spectrum where it is having issues. Also, the mixed GN-Mixed simply allows the Wireless-G and Wireless-N standard on the same SSID so switching to that mode, doesn't necessarily mean that the 950 connected at Wireless-G...it could still be Wireless-N. I'm just not sure where to find that information within the 950. Finally with all that being said, I have a Netgear router at home that is a Wireless-N 5GHz router and my 950 connects to it with zero issues.

Not sure what the common link is between all of these goofy wireless issues we're seeing...

Edit: I'm 99% sure my router at home is a Netgear N600 WNDR3700 but I'll double check tomorrow when I get home.

Thanks for sharing all of this. You are right the 5ghz is optional for 802.11 N, which is very interesting, because maybe 5Ghz isn't the issue. I'm glad you posted this because recently I adjusted a few settings on my router and I've been able to hold the 5Ghz connection. One of the things I changed was moving the 5Ghz from "N Only" to "Mixed" (so N and AC). I changed some other things as well so I'm not ready to pinpoint the solution, but at this point I have a working connection which I will try to break by changing one setting at a time. I'll make a log of my efforts and report back.

 

[Bri D]

My new Netgear Nighthawk with 5G is definitely having the same issues with my new 950. Fairly annoying.

There are at least 4 Nighthawk routers listed on the Netgear website...can you narrow it down for us? Also what are your settings for mixed mode, beamforming, or any QoS? I'll update the initial post to request more configuaration parameters. At this point it will be necessary if we want to pinpoint the problem.

Thanks

 

[Blashkyrk]

My Netgear Nighthawk r7000 have the following settings and I have no problems what so ever.

2,4Ghz b/g/n
Channel: Auto (2)
Region: Europe
Fragmentation Length: 2346
CTS/RTS Threshold: 2347
Preamble mode: Long
Broadcast Name: On

5Ghz a/n/ac
Channel: 36 + 40 + 44(P) + 48
Region: Europe
Fragmentation Length: 2346
CTS/RTS Threshold: 2347
Preamble mode: Long
Broadcast Name: On

Global
Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING
Enable AIRTIME FAIRNESS
UPNP On
Smart Connect Disabled (Let the router intelligently select the best WiFi band 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz for your WiFi connections. Smart Connect requires the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks to use the same WiFi network name (SSID), security options and password)
FW Version: V1.0.5.48_1.1.79

 

[Som3one]

I have a similar issue with my 950 but not quite the same. Basically it connects as expected but after a while it just stops working, the phone still says its connected and will not be able to do anything online until wifi is turned off or airplane mode is cycled. It is an incredibly annoying issue as it blocks all internet access randomly.

I have this issue with my own Asus RT-N66U router and the TP-Link access point used at work, the issue is the same on both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. Running on wireless N at home and AC at work.

 

[Bri D]

Guys, I gave up and got an iPhone. Really was holding off doing this, but after using WM10 for a long time on my 1020 (also being a windows phone user since 2011) and switching the the 950 and still having performance issues/bugs, i raised the white flag. I'm really liking what MSFT is doing with the new OS and one OS on all devices vision, but shame on MSFT for releasing a flagship, IMO, too soon. They chose to do this while the OS isn't ready and chose to use the Snapdragon 810 (arguably worst SoC in Snapdragon history) on the 950XL. IMO they should've waited for the 820 series and given time for WM10 OS to get back to that Windows Phone 8 performance we all loved.

Now any customers new to the OS that buy these phones, are going to have a bad taste in their mouth when they experience the issues we all chalk up to be "work in progress" and "new OS." True, most people using the phone are already fans...but we need MSFT to make decisions for people who AREN'T fans. Releasing the 950 and 950XL, and not labeling the OS beta or preview, is lying to less informed customers.

Not the most appropriate place to post this, but I wanted to let everyone in here know not to expect updates or responses from me on the WiFi issues.

 

[MirthRock]

Guys, I gave up and got an iPhone. Really was holding off doing this, but after using WM10 for a long time on my 1020 (also being a windows phone user since 2011) and switching the the 950 and still having performance issues/bugs, i raised the white flag. I'm really liking what MSFT is doing with the new OS and one OS on all devices vision, but shame on MSFT for releasing a flagship, IMO, too soon. They chose to do this while the OS isn't ready and chose to use the Snapdragon 810 (arguably worst SoC in Snapdragon history) on the 950XL. IMO they should've waited for the 820 series and given time for WM10 OS to get back to that Windows Phone 8 performance we all loved.

Now any customers new to the OS that buy these phones, are going to have a bad taste in their mouth when they experience the issues we all chalk up to be "work in progress" and "new OS." True, most people using the phone are already fans...but we need MSFT to make decisions for people who AREN'T fans. Releasing the 950 and 950XL, and not labeling the OS beta or preview, is lying to less informed customers.

Not the most appropriate place to post this, but I wanted to let everyone in here know not to expect updates or responses from me on the WiFi issues.

Traitor! :winktongue: Just kidding. I hear ya, dude. All your points are valid. I came *this* close to doing the same thing. But I think Microsoft's vision for having the mobile device be your hub for everything is going to be the wave of the future. I'm investing in their vision, not this particular iteration of their phone, per se. Hopefully, we'll see you come back to the fold one day. Thanks for all the help up to this point. It was much appreciated.

 

[pablom0412]

Who else is having issues with the 5Ghz band on their lumia 950 (or XL)?

I am sure a lot of forums have been created about it, but my issue does not happen when using the bluetooth, my 5ghz band drops when I use the fast charger. if I want to fix it (temporarily) I have to do a soft reset......

 

[pablom0412]

I have done what you have suggested. The only device on my 5Ghz network is my Lumia 950, under the same modem there is a 2.4 Ghz in which my laptop and other devices are connected. On my case, I have notice that my lumia 950 drops the signal when the heat from the quick charge is present. even the small amount of heat that appears when using a regular USB brick will somehow disable the 5Ghz antenna. I found out last night after charging my phone that if I let it cool down the 5Ghz band will be visible again. It might sound weird but that's my case. Anyone else?

 

[MirthRock]

I have done what you have suggested. The only device on my 5Ghz network is my Lumia 950, under the same modem there is a 2.4 Ghz in which my laptop and other devices are connected. On my case, I have notice that my lumia 950 drops the signal when the heat from the quick charge is present. even the small amount of heat that appears when using a regular USB brick will somehow disable the 5Ghz antenna. I found out last night after charging my phone that if I let it cool down the 5Ghz band will be visible again. It might sound weird but that's my case. Anyone else?

Interesting. I'll test this week and let you know what I find. Do you have a case on the phone that could be trapping heat by any chance?

 

[pablom0412]

Interesting. I'll test this week and let you know what I find. Do you have a case on the phone that could be trapping heat by any chance?

No case on phone. original as it came in the box

 

[Bri D]

Just streamed 2 hours of a Youtube Jazz video while charging from 0% using the fixed charger that came with the Lumia 950. Never disconnected from the 5Ghz.

Also, I still have my Lumia 950, so I'll try to finish testing things before I sell it.

 

[Quezacot]

Just streamed 2 hours of a Youtube Jazz video while charging from 0% using the fixed charger that came with the Lumia 950. Never disconnected from the 5Ghz.

Also, I still have my Lumia 950, so I'll try to finish testing things before I sell it.

I have 950xl and 5ghz keeps dropping after 10 seconds!!! After 10 seconds it won't see any wifi network he only work around is to restart my damn phone We have the same router but I'm using the official firmware of ASUS-AC87u. I've got other devices that can connect to my 5ghz without any problem so I think my 950xl has a defect..