artto Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I've observed what I consider rather strange/odd behavior with WiFi/internet radio on a new receiver I'm evaluating. The receiver has built-in WiFi. The antenna is internal, no "rabbit ears" externally. When the volume is turned up loud enough, the WiFi connection stays connected. However if I have the volume at a lower level (the threshold not determined yet) internet radio will play for a couple hours then disconnect. I have to turn off the receiver & reboot it, the receiver re-initializes and the internet radio goes into buffering and the radio station is back on. What I find even more interesting is when I turned the volume down to a lower level (after everything was playing for for many hours at a higher level) the AVR WiFi disconnected almost immediately. It reminds me of when you have a very small break in a physical connection, say a fuse holder that has a slight unnoticeable crack in it so that it doesn't quite hold the fuse tight enough causing the signal to become intermittent or go out entirely at low levels but at higher levels there's enough current/voltage to "jump" the break and make the connection. I would think that wouldn't be an issue with wireless. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschsonian Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 What type of receiver? What is your ISP speed level DL MBPS & UL MBPS? This problem sounds a bit strange, I would hard wire it if you have alot of things going wireless. Check for wireless interference (appliances. (download wifi analyzer app if you have an android) this will show all the wireless the area and what channel they use. If the receiver is far away from your router, maybe use an extender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 What type of receiver? What is your ISP speed level DL MBPS & UL MBPS? This problem sounds a bit strange, I would hard wire it if you have alot of things going wireless. Check for wireless interference (appliances. (download wifi analyzer app if you have an android) this will show all the wireless the area and what channel they use. If the receiver is far away from your router, maybe use an extender It's one of the Onkyo I've been testing, a TX-NR636. I agree with everything you mention ~ done all that already. I wanted to keep that out of the equation for now. I know I have some WiFi issues which are slowly getting resolved. I already use a repeater for the main 2Ch system downstairs. And I know there's a lot of steel things between the main router and the rest of the house (steel shelves in closets, vertical cold air return/air ducts, kitchen appliances, steel beams & posts). I didn't experience this with a Denon AVR-X1100W I'm also evaluating. The Denon has external rabbit ears. I have an Onkyo TX-NR838 on the way. Should be here Tuesday. It also has rabbit ears. Should be interesting to see what happens. I just thought it was strange that the sound gain level would affect WiFi connectivity - as if it weren't drawing enough current to jump the break "so to speak" in a physical connection (as an analogy). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschsonian Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 What type of receiver? What is your ISP speed level DL MBPS & UL MBPS? This problem sounds a bit strange, I would hard wire it if you have alot of things going wireless. Check for wireless interference (appliances. (download wifi analyzer app if you have an android) this will show all the wireless the area and what channel they use. If the receiver is far away from your router, maybe use an extender It's one of the Onkyo I've been testing, a TX-NR636. I agree with everything you mention ~ done all that already. I wanted to keep that out of the equation for now. I know I have some WiFi issues which are slowly getting resolved. I already use a repeater for the main 2Ch system downstairs. And I know there's a lot of steel things between the main router and the rest of the house (steel shelves in closets, vertical cold air return/air ducts, kitchen appliances, steel beams & posts). I didn't experience this with a Denon AVR-X1100W I'm also evaluating. The Denon has external rabbit ears. I have an Onkyo TX-NR838 on the way. Should be here Tuesday. It also has rabbit ears. Should be interesting to see what happens. I just thought it was strange that the sound gain level would affect WiFi connectivity - as if it weren't drawing enough current to jump the break "so to speak" in a physical connection (as an analogy). I am using the exact same receiver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschsonian Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 What type of receiver? What is your ISP speed level DL MBPS & UL MBPS? This problem sounds a bit strange, I would hard wire it if you have alot of things going wireless. Check for wireless interference (appliances. (download wifi analyzer app if you have an android) this will show all the wireless the area and what channel they use. If the receiver is far away from your router, maybe use an extender It's one of the Onkyo I've been testing, a TX-NR636. I agree with everything you mention ~ done all that already. I wanted to keep that out of the equation for now. I know I have some WiFi issues which are slowly getting resolved. I already use a repeater for the main 2Ch system downstairs. And I know there's a lot of steel things between the main router and the rest of the house (steel shelves in closets, vertical cold air return/air ducts, kitchen appliances, steel beams & posts). I didn't experience this with a Denon AVR-X1100W I'm also evaluating. The Denon has external rabbit ears. I have an Onkyo TX-NR838 on the way. Should be here Tuesday. It also has rabbit ears. Should be interesting to see what happens. I just thought it was strange that the sound gain level would affect WiFi connectivity - as if it weren't drawing enough current to jump the break "so to speak" in a physical connection (as an analogy). I am using the exact same receiver TX-NR626 I mean one step below the 636 has the Atmos feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschsonian Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 What type of receiver? What is your ISP speed level DL MBPS & UL MBPS? This problem sounds a bit strange, I would hard wire it if you have alot of things going wireless. Check for wireless interference (appliances. (download wifi analyzer app if you have an android) this will show all the wireless the area and what channel they use. If the receiver is far away from your router, maybe use an extender It's one of the Onkyo I've been testing, a TX-NR636. I agree with everything you mention ~ done all that already. I wanted to keep that out of the equation for now. I know I have some WiFi issues which are slowly getting resolved. I already use a repeater for the main 2Ch system downstairs. And I know there's a lot of steel things between the main router and the rest of the house (steel shelves in closets, vertical cold air return/air ducts, kitchen appliances, steel beams & posts). I didn't experience this with a Denon AVR-X1100W I'm also evaluating. The Denon has external rabbit ears. I have an Onkyo TX-NR838 on the way. Should be here Tuesday. It also has rabbit ears. Should be interesting to see what happens. I just thought it was strange that the sound gain level would affect WiFi connectivity - as if it weren't drawing enough current to jump the break "so to speak" in a physical connection (as an analogy). I am using the exact same receiver TX-NR626 I mean one step below the 636 has the Atmos feature. Onkyo may some strange problem with their design where the volume affects the signal strength of the wireless could be a engineering flaw or shorcut they took. I will try mine on wireless and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 That is bizarre. I think those wireless wifi adapters share 5vdc in a usb in a laptop. If voltage falls, so does signal. Klipsonian may be on to something. Somehow the voltage is being regulated by the volume pot. Wierd... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I just put the router where the HT is and hardwire to router to the avr/BDP. I put a plug in extender module of the other levels of the home. This seem to work without dropouts or any buffering delays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschsonian Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I just put the router where the HT is and hardwire to router to the avr/BDP. I put a plug in extender module of the other levels of the home. This seem to work without dropouts or any buffering delays. Maybe the receiver is a wireless bandwidth hog lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 (edited) I just put the router where the HT is and hardwire to router to the avr/BDP. I put a plug in extender module of the other levels of the home. This seem to work without dropouts or any buffering delays. That's great but I can't/don't want to do that (ethernet). After all, that's why I want a receiver with built-in wireless Actually, I have an extender/repeater already installed at that end of the house but it's downstairs with the main system in the listening room. When I run network setup on the receiver it sees the main router, and a number of other nearby networks, but not the repeater. The repeater is setup with the same ID as the main router but with the extension _RE. Maybe I should run setup again and this time select OTHER and see if the repeater shows up. The Playstation which is a few feet away connects with the main router OK and it too has an internal antenna. Both the Playstation and AVR are above the room with the repeater, although the repeater is at the opposite side of the room below. Edited February 7, 2015 by artto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 The AVR stayed WiFi connected for a few hours this morning. Before I went out to run some errands I lowered the volume on the AVR. Came back 2 hours later and sure enough, it disconnected. And once it disconnects, simply selecting "NET" will not reconnect it. The AVR has to be turned off/on and it immediately starts re-buffering the station after the AVR has initialized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschsonian Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Run the setup on the onkyo and check for firmware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschsonian Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Run the setup on the onkyo and check for firmware. I did notice that the ethernet connection on mine comes up with an amber light instead of blue or green. I believe their technology may be a little out of date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) What type of receiver? What is your ISP speed level DL MBPS & UL MBPS? This problem sounds a bit strange, I would hard wire it if you have alot of things going wireless. Check for wireless interference (appliances. (download wifi analyzer app if you have an android) this will show all the wireless the area and what channel they use. If the receiver is far away from your router, maybe use an extender It's one of the Onkyo I've been testing, a TX-NR636. I agree with everything you mention ~ done all that already. I wanted to keep that out of the equation for now. I know I have some WiFi issues which are slowly getting resolved. I already use a repeater for the main 2Ch system downstairs. And I know there's a lot of steel things between the main router and the rest of the house (steel shelves in closets, vertical cold air return/air ducts, kitchen appliances, steel beams & posts). I didn't experience this with a Denon AVR-X1100W I'm also evaluating. The Denon has external rabbit ears. I have an Onkyo TX-NR838 on the way. Should be here Tuesday. It also has rabbit ears. Should be interesting to see what happens. I just thought it was strange that the sound gain level would affect WiFi connectivity - as if it weren't drawing enough current to jump the break "so to speak" in a physical connection (as an analogy). Artto, I cannot imagine how volume level would interact with wifi and cause shutdown. If shutdown is only occurring during internet access at low volumes I would conclude some sort of software issue is ordering shutdown and not the wifi per se. it could also be some sort of internal RF leakage issue at lower volumes, is the volume transformer based? wierd. T Edited February 8, 2015 by sunnysal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pite Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 sounds like when you increase the sound level, the wifi is running at maximum power/range level, while reducing the power/gain when it's running at low volume. It doesn't make sense, but seems like Onkyo engineers have created a bug in their algorithm. If you like the sonic signature of the Onkyo with your set up then find out if they've a fix released through firmware update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 The signal is dropping for some odd reason. Firmware update may be the answer. Their tech support may be able to help you set it up maybe in a different way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) Had long talk with Onkyo tech support. They too thought it was unique issue & suggested a firmware update. I updated the firmware and thought that fixed the issue. The WiFi internet radio stayed connected from 1am until 7am this morning at minimum volume. But alas, today it stayed connected for about 3 hours then disconnected again. The signal strength is adequate at 74%. This last disconnection I had a different radio station on. I put it back on the station that stayed connected all night to see what happens. I have an Onkyo TX-NR838 on the way which should be here tomorrow. It has external WiFi antenna/rabbit ears. OTOH, maybe there's just something wrong with this particular unit. In the meantime I'm going to plug-in the Denon AVR-X1100W right next to the Onkyo and see what happens with these two side by side. Edited February 10, 2015 by artto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) I just setup the Denon AVR-X1100W (WiFi rabbit ears) and interestingly the network setup shows signal at 100% (as opposed to 73% to 76% on the Onkyo). The Denon also recognizes my repeater/extender which is closer to the receivers than the main router. The Onkyo doesn't even see the repeater. Should be interesting to see if the Denon stays connected and the Onkyo fails again. If the Denon were HDCP 2.2 compliant, or HDCP 2.2 were up-gradable (which it isn't, it's hardware, not firmware) I'd just keep the Denon. Let the games begin!!!! Edited February 9, 2015 by artto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 After several hours the Onkyo disconnected from the network again. The Denon continued to stay connected all day & evening until I turned it off 10 hours later. Just for kicks I'm going to bring the Onkyo 636 in my office where the router is & see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Sounds like the Denon has the scoop on network connectivity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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