E4200 2.4G 40mhz bandwidth issues [ Edited ]

[Casablanca]

I just purchased an E4200 4 days ago and did a manual install and all went well, no problems connecting.  I have WAP2 and  AES set.  The bandwidth is set to auto.  My laptop bandwidth is also set to auto.

My only issue is I can only get 40 mhz if I select channel 6 or auto which gives me channel 6.  If I select any other channel I only get 20 mhz.  BTW, all other detectable wifi routers in the area are on channel 6.  The problem is after about 5 minutes the router drops to 20 mhz.  When the 2.4G is operating at 40 mhz the channels are 6 and 2.  When the frequency drops to 20 mhz the channels change to 6 and 0.  This occurs regardless of selecting auto or channel 6.  Signal strength is about -55db and windows 7 64 bit is reporting between 240 and 300 mbps when this happens. The 5G band does not do this.

The E4200 replaced a D-Link DIR-628 that did not exhibit this behavior even when the mbps would drop from 300 to 108 mbps.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[binky]

Try to setup the Wireless Network Mode to "N Only" and then check if you face the same problem or not.

[Casablanca]

Thanks! - tried n only same results.  I have been expirementing tonight.  The router drops from 40 mhz channels 6,2 to 20 mhz channels 6,0 exactly 5 minutes after resetting the router every time.  If I  put the pc in standby, and monitor with a wired pc, the router returns to 40 mhz and chanels 6,2 after 5 minutes.

When I bond any channel, other than channel 6, the bonded channel is 0, i.e. 9,0;  11,0  etc,

[gv]

How many other access points can you receive in your place?
What channels do they use?
Do they use 802.11n?
Does your network scanner show non-SSID beacons?

[Casablanca]

I see 6 other access points

5 are 802.11g unbonded channel 6

1 is 802.11n bonded channels 11,7

No non-SSID beacons

I powered up my D-Link DIR-628 and my scanner detected it as 802.11n channels 9,5 - which is what I had it set to prior to the E4200.  The 628 would bond and stay bonded on any of the 2.4G channels.

[Ricewind]

Try to re-flash/upgrade the firmware on your router. After upgrading the firmware on your router, reset the router and reconfigure it. See if that works.

[Casablanca]

Thanks - I'll try a reflash however, there is no updated firmware available, it is still at initial release 1.0.0.  I realize that the initial release of softare is buggy.  My concern is if this is a hardware issue I only have a week left to exchange it at Best Buy.

[gandalf]

First you can try to reflate the firmware on your Router and then reset your router and re-configure all the settings on your router from scratch..If  that still does not solves the problem then i think its the problem with your Router itself.You should replace this router.

[Casablanca]

I did pick up a new E4200 tonight.  I still have the same issue.  The 2.4G band will only bond on channel 6 and after 5 minutes of connection to a PC it drops back to 20 mhz.

I set up the new router via the web interface, as before.  This time the router was only connected  via a LAN line to a desktop PC during setup.  The only settings I changed from factory default in the new router were the following:

• 20 mhz to auto
• security to WPA2 personal
• entered passphrase

Same results - would only channel bond on channel 6.

I was convinced it was the router.  Unless Linksys had a bad production run I don't think I got 2 bad routers with the exact problem.  I am now leaning to firmware.

(Mod note: Edited for guideline compliance.)

[gv]

Well, as you have so many other access points already on channel 6 it may well be possible that it's the best for the throughput only to use 20 MHz bands. With all those access points on channel 6 you will have increased interference on any 2.4 GHz band channel because basically any 40MHz choice will interfere with the channel 6 access points.

Thus, I guess even if you had 40 MHz set fixed you would see lower transfer rates on any channel as compared to 20 MHz.

I would suggest you select a fixed channel 1 or 11 (or higher if allowed in your area) and leave the width setting on Auto. That's probably as good as it gets.

Did you make transfer rate tests with the D-Link router and compare the results with the Linksys? I find many people are only concerned about the signal strength and transfer rate indicated but never really make tests. It may well be possible that you will get less data through the D-Link with 40 MHz band then with a 20 MHz because of the increased interference. Thus, make speed tests and you'll see how good it gets...