Poor wifi coverage

Mellage
Mellage Posts: 6 Observer

Does anyone else get poor wifi coverage with their Sense device?  In my small living room I get a "good" signal at best, and the access point of my older router in the other room is stronger.

 

I've used several wifi signal analyzers to test both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz ranges and the results are consistent: average signal strength.  The upstairs bedrooms are getting really poor signals.

 

I've factory reset it 4 times, already (only got it yesterday!) and tried both the wired and wireless setups with the same results.

 

Also, I use Virginmedia's Superhub 3 and the Sense refuses to connect to it so I'm having to use my old router to get Internet access.

 

Really disappointed - I wish I didn't buy this now.

Comments

  • Qilly
    Qilly Posts: 12 Observer

    I must say that I'm quite pleased with the WIFI coverage.

     

    Before Sense I have had a Netgear Nighthawk AC 1900 which is better if you look at the hardware specs.

     

    The WIFI coverage of Sense in our house is quite good. Upstairs we have a better coverage then before. I did move my router from the meter cabinet (where the power and utilities are coming into our house) to the living room.

     

    Perhaps you need to change the location of your router more to the center of the house?

  • Mellage
    Mellage Posts: 6 Observer

    I spent the night moving it about the house but with the same result.  In the end I just dug out an old range extender.

     

    I have a couple of powerline adapters connected via ethernet to the back of the Sense, and I find it likes to disconnect them quite a lot.  Also, my 2 IP cameras that have been working without a glitch for the past year suddenly keep disconnecting.  To top it all, I have several devices that are connected, which I've renamed in the Sense app, but it keeps renaming them back to their MAC address (it thinks my android tv is a Fire TV!).

     

    Not having much luck with this device, but I hope others are not experiencing the same woes!

  • Qilly
    Qilly Posts: 12 Observer

    Doesn't sound great!

     

    Sounds like a monday morning device. You can try to switch it for a new one.

     

    Otherwise you have a 30-days money back garantee by F-Secure. 

  • Mellage
    Mellage Posts: 6 Observer

    Had a chat with F-Secure agent, who is "appreciative" that I am sharing my issues to that they can make improvements, and that my case will be sent to the product specialists so they can do more testing.  Hmm...  I think I'll be asking for my money back after all.

     

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Former F-Secure Employee

    Hi,

     

    Sorry for the delay in reply. Apologies for your poor experience with our product and disappointment of your expectations.

     

    It is difficult to say what exactly could be the reason for your poor coverage, we would appreciate more information to help us understand if the SENSE device you received is malfunctioning or if your environment is somehow problematic for SENSE.

     

    Can you please be kind and elaborate a bit on the specifics of your environment (describe your house and how long are the distances where the coverage drops). Also it would help if you would provide us with the brand / model of the routers you are using for connectivity that provides better coverage.

     

    Also the issue you have with Virgin Superhub 3 is not known to us. How does the connectivity problem manifest? Are you connecting to the internet via WIFI or Cable? If you are using a cable, do the connectivity issues continue using the latest firmware (if you switch the cable from your old router to the superhub?)

     

    What phone / model / OS are you using for the setup procedure?

     

    If you have returned your device already, we thank you for giving us a try. We would still appreciate if you can help us with information to understand your issue further and see if there is some way we can improve the product as a consequence.

     

    Best Regards:

    Simo Punnonen / SENSE QA Lead

  • Stargazer
    Stargazer Posts: 4 Observer

    I put SENSE in the DMZ on my old router and turned off wifi on the old router. Works fine for me. Although would be handy to be able to pick the wifi channel to avoid interference.

  • Mellage
    Mellage Posts: 6 Observer

    My living room is roughly 100 sq ft, with an adjacent doorless hallway (8ft long bt 5 ft wide) leading up to the stairs to the bedrooms.  Previously we could watch youtube or amazon videos to the upstairs rooms without problems.  Since acquiring Sense, there's been intermittent lags and sometimes just long pauses to the streams - I've placed the device both in the lounge and the hallway (the latter gave marginally better results, but still with noticeable lags that ruin the experience).

     

    I've resorted to using a network extender which improved things a little but not my first choice.

     

    My Virgin Superhub 3 is set to "modem mode" to allow me to connect 3rd party routers.  Connecting my Netgear and Draytek routers works without problems, but plugging in the Sense just doesn't work, even after a couple of resets on all devices.  So I ended up just connecting the Netgear to the Superhub, then the Sense to the Netgear.  You can see how this is becoming a bit cumbersome!

     

    I'm using both a Pixel XL and a Nexus 6P, which produce the same results.  Apparently, according to the app, I now have 42 devices (I have about 20 devices max!).  I can't delete these other entries, many of which are duplicates.  According to the app, my Sony TV is a Fire TV! - I've renamed and renamed and renamed and gave up!

     

    I have an IP camera that the Sense keeps disconnecting, along with my smart alarm!

     

    Yes, I've boxed the device and awaiting a returns form from F-secure.  

     

    In case you're wondering, I've been an IT professional for almost 20 years, so I might have a little clue as to what I'm doing.  The product was a great concept, but beneath what was advertised, I'm utterly disappointed.... and bitter because of the anticipation I built up in waiting for this product (when you unbox it, the first thing you see is a card that says "hello smart person" - seriously, the smartest thing for me to do is return it!).

     

    Sorry for the rant, folks, but F-Secure, come on!  

     

     

This discussion has been closed.