Forum Discussion

cigoss's avatar
cigoss
New Contributor II
3 years ago

is it possible to change the wifi channel on my panoramic wifi to one that is less crowded?

Hello, I'm reaching out to ask how I can change the wifi channel used by my panoramic gateway/router.

I have been having a lot of internet stuttering and lag recently. I thought the problem might resolve itself after the scheduled outage for system work on 3/15/2022. it didn't, so i changed my plan to a higher tier thinking there were more neighbors paying more, and i was getting slower speeds to keep bandwidth available. that didn't change anything either.

After doing more homework I was led to look at the channel my hardware uses for wifi. This seems like a likely cause for the problem. I am on a channel with 15 other users that show a strong connection. there are 5ghz that are unused and available.

i found that i can get to an older java interface through a browser by pointing it to the gateway, but that app says channels are automatically controlled.

any advice would be appreciated.

regards,
chris

cable modemrouter
cox internet
internet
modem
poor speed
router
    • cigoss's avatar
      cigoss
      New Contributor II
      3 years ago

      Allan, thanks for the reply. the panoramic wifi app doesn't have an option to set the channel that the wifi will use.

      i can set the ssid, security protocol - password in the edit wifi settings page

      i can set the lan ip scheme, the dhcp range and lease time in more/advanced/lan &wan page

      this is the same for the web app and the android mobile app. am i not looking in the right place?

      • Bruce's avatar
        Bruce
        Honored Contributor III
        3 years ago

        I don't have a Pano so I can't explore.

        Can you separate your bands (2.4 & 5) as 2 different networks?  Looks like you only have 1 network with the 2 bands.  Try to separate and then check if option to select a channel appears.

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III
    3 years ago

    Good homework!

    Your plan wouldn't affect your wireless.

    I'm assuming you're seeing these 15 other routers on the Available Networks app in your OS.  If so, 15 other routers would be crowded.

    5 GHz is fine but this freq is practically limited to lines-of-sight to the router.

    There are free tools to analyze your "air" for less congested channels.

    If you discover a less congested channel and Panoramic was set to Auto, Panoramic had failed you.

    If you configure your WiFi to a less congested channel and your WiFi is still stuttery & laggy, purchase your own router.

    If you don't need the extra bandwidth, rollback your plan.  No sense paying more for something if you don't need it.

    Analyzers:  www.howtogeek.com/.../

    • cigoss's avatar
      cigoss
      New Contributor II
      3 years ago

      Bruce, thanks for the reply. the solution of getting my own router is the only solution i can find so far. but i will dig around some more before spending the money. 

      thanks for the link. i had used a suggestion from tom's guides for the android app wifianalyzer to scan. all the other networks using channel 157 (where i am) are the same model router and a bunch are the cox wifi. (i opted out of that before it went live.), so im sure cox locks these routers to a specific channel - maybe to help support?

      i found an article about seperate network names on 2.4 and 5ghz here https://www.cox.com/residential/support/using-a-single-wifi-network-name-and-password.html the part that got my attention is here 

      Historically, it was recommended that dual band routers broadcast different WiFi network names (SSIDs) and passwords for each band. This meant that you had to choose which network to connect to, and knowing which would provide the best connection and performance was guesswork. That’s now changed with the band steering feature on your gateway.

      • To provide the best WiFi experience, band steering automatically optimizes which WiFi band a device connects to.
      • To enable band steering, the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands must have the same network name and password.

      So after work i'll split the networks and see if it opens the option for channel band selection. will post results later

      • Bruce's avatar
        Bruce
        Honored Contributor III
        3 years ago

        Band-steering in this case would depend on your connectivity "habits."  Band-steering would be optimum if you habitually roam about the house with a mobile device.  Sure 1 network or only 2.4..

        If a device is basically immobile and has a line-of-sight with the router, config for 5 GHz.  If a device is immobile in an upstairs, across the house bedroom, config on 2.4.  Even if mobile with anything, go 2.4.

  • cigoss's avatar
    cigoss
    New Contributor II
    3 years ago

    update after using everyone's advice.  First...Thanks for your help, glad people like you are around. It's kind of a shame that the company that we pay leaves it to the customers to work things out.

    separating the 2.4 and 5ghz networks on the router doesn't open the option for the channel selection. can not find a way to manage that setting. 

    If you discover a less congested channel and Panoramic was set to Auto, Panoramic had failed you.

    Bruce you are correct!

    The CGM4140 should use both, a local user interface at 192.168.0.1 and a extension of that at wifi.cox.com.

    I did find that i can turn the panoramic into just a modem and use my own wireless router by going to the admin page (192.168.0.1) and enabling bridge mode. YAY. so instead of a $300 piece of hardware i can get a $100 one and do what is needed. i used a  tplink nano that i have to play around and check it out. seems to work ok. results are limited to 2.4 band that the nano gives me, but the functionality is there. Also, i found a scanning tool in the admin app troubleshoot section. i saved a copy of the scan. wont post it because its so long, but you should see how crowded these cox channels are, and there is a channel right next to it with one ATT customer on it.

    Thanks again. I'll update if/when i get a different router.