Stereo equipment interfering with wifi?

[Gentle Ben]

Are there any pieces of home stereo equipment that interfere big-time with wifi signals.

 

Since upgrading my system my wifi signal in my den has just about come to a halt. All other rooms within range in the house seem to be fine. But the den and nearby kitchen are cutoff. I can rule out a known problem with wireless speakers, all of my equipment is hardwired, even my two subs.

 

Could my newly installed ceiling speakers be a problem? They are the newest addition.

 

I have tried two brand new routers -- Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 and a Linksys 1900AC. Both with same poor results. I do get an LTE cellular signal when wifi is not up and running. I have to have some major interference in that portion of the house. I have added two extenders and even used one as a LAN wired Access Point and it won't hold either. I even moved the routers into the den and sit just a few feet away and signal is none to intermittent and very weak to enable getting on the Internet.

 

I am checking into an older microwave oven (do they interfere when not running?) and my cordless phones are older 1.9GHz Panasonics.

 

OK, so I am checking here to learn whether the sound system might be my culprit.

 

(The room is a standard 18 x 21 feet with 8 foot ceilings; leather couch and two recliners. Sheetrock walls and hardwood floors.)

 

Equipment all purchased in the past year unless noted, items requiring Internet access are all supplied via wired LAN, nothing wireless, not even Bluetooth. This is set up for 7.2.4 Atmos:

 

-- Yamaha Adventage RX-A3050 A/V receiver

-- Emotiva XPA-7 external amp

-- Panasonic 65VT50 plasma TV (3 years old)

-- Panasonic BDP-500 blu-ray

-- Onkyo CD player (7 years old)

-- Denon turntable

-- Cox Cable Contour box

 

-- Klipsch RF-7ii fronts x2

-- Klipsch RC-64ii center

-- Klipsch R-115SW subs x2

-- Klipsch RS-52ii side surround x2

-- Klipsch RB-41ii rear x2

-- Klipsch CDT-5800-C ii celing x4

 

Only the four ceiling speakers are driven by the Yamaha receiver. All other seven speakers are powered by the XPA-7.

 

I sure hope those new ceiling speakers are not the culprit. Did putting those four big magnets in the attic to drive those 8-inch woofers form an enveloping magnetic cocoon in my den? Add in the 95-pound XPA-7 amp and two 15-inch subs to boot. No, my router is not on top or right beside the stereo equipment -- it gave the same problem when router was 30-feet away in my office. My den just seems to be a dead/weak spot.

 

I have not read anywhere yet that wired speakers cause wi-fi interference. But I figure someone here may have a clue.

 

Please advise or direct me to someone for help. Driving me nuts.

 

 

 

 

[Gentle Ben]

Want to add that both routers tested have sent great signals via the LAN ports. No loss of Internet signals to anything hard-wired, like my receiver, TV, Blu-ray, Apple Box, etc.

 

Just can't get or keep a wi-fi signal to iPhone 6s, iPad2s or newer Toshiba laptop ... even with extenders. They all hook up, then drop almost immediately.

 

Any chance my Cisco DPQ3212 (Docsys. 3.0) modem could be dropping signal or producing weak signal. Cable company says its fine. And, of course, the router companies told me it was "environmental." So I'm leaning on you guys to help with the possibility of stereo equipment being involved.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Gentle Ben

[Ceptorman]

I think the interference is from all that copper in your room. You should probably get rid of all of it. I can help you with cleaning it out so your iPhone will work

(sorry, I'm no help, thought maybe some humor might help a little)

Someone with more knowledge will be along shortly….good luck.

[JJkizak]

I would just try the basic things--turning systems fully on and off to see what happens. How close are your neighbors?

JJK

[Chris A]

OK, so I am checking here to learn whether the sound system might be my culprit.

I don't know of anything that would interfere with gHz frequencies with regard to stereo systems, unless you're talking about wireless loudspeakers.

 

I'd check your Bluetooth (keyboards, wireless mice, cellphones, and their peripherals) and cordless phones.by completely disconnecting them temporarily. 

 

How close do you live from neighbors?

 

Chris

Edited February 15, 2016 by Chris A

[Paducah Home Theater]

Have you tried both bands on those routers? Also try physically moving the router around as well as playing with the antennas. I had this same issue on a router before, I moved it 5 feet and positioned it vertically instead of horizontally and it worked fine. How many walls are you having to blast through? That can make a bit difference. I don't think that traditional stereo equipment like ceiling speakers would be an issue at all.

Edited February 15, 2016 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[CindyJarvis]

2.4gHz will travel through materials like walls better than 5gHz.

-Cindy

Edited February 15, 2016 by CindyJarvis

[WMcD]

You might try using netstumbler.com to see what networks are around and what channels they are on.

WMcD

[Gentle Ben]

Thanks for all the tips. Unfortunately they only produced modest improvement. Still a lot of dropouts.

 

So I replaced both new AC1900 routers with a Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000 with one 2.4GHz channel and two 5GHz channels (six antennae) and it seems to have done the trick. The router is in my den and I am now getting full strength wi-fi throughout the house on both 5G channels -- without the two extenders.

 

Wonder if this more expensive model produces a stronger signal that overpowers whatever interference that was present. Of course, will it stand the test of time and during peak usage hours in the neighborhood? All this set up was done at 1 p.m. and now it is 3 p.m. And I have not changed any SSIDs or passwords yet. Didn't want to add in more variables or conflicts. Just used the defaults.

 

But now I have about 75 feet of loose wire I am going to have to disconnect and run up to the attic and down the wall into the den. I don't so much dread the labor as much as f#ckin up the signal!

 

Also will keep an eye on performance of his router and report back if things change at all.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Gentle Ben