PUBLIC DEFENDER Surf the Web — even when your ISP is down By Brian Livingston It’s a well-known subset of Murphy’s Law: Your Internet service provider
[See the full post at: Surf the Web — even when your ISP is down]
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Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
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Surf the Web — even when your ISP is down
- This topic has 85 replies, 25 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 11 months ago.
AuthorViewing 23 reply threadsAuthorMy ISP (VDSL) has been exceptionally unreliable for the time I’ve had it. Unfortunately, in my neck of the woods, there are no better options. No cable out here. Some of the outages have lasted several days, and when they finally get fixed, it doesn’t stay fixed for long.
I looked through my emails (I save them all) for the “we’re coming out to fix your service” messages, and they’ve been out here dozens of times (maybe forty) in the less than ten years I have had their service. I’ve had them out three times in a week on three separate repair tickets (and that’s happened several times).
I think (hope!) that the last time they fixed it, they actually fixed it for good. In between repair visits before, there were always the odd retrains listed in the modem stats, and sometimes the signal to noise ratio would dip down to half of what it normally would be while I was watching on at least one of the two bonded lines. When it was “good,” I never noticed the retrains in my own use… if I did, that’s when it became “bad,” and generally it would quickly devolve to retraining constantly (several times per hour or more), and it was time for another repair visit.
Ever since the last time they were out, though, it’s been really good (knock on the woodgrained panel on the right!). The SNR is always where it should be on both lines, and NO retrains since the date of the last repair (by now a couple of months). It’s never been like that before.
I do, though, have a backup plan (now). That smartphone I just got not long ago came about as a result of that plan, which initially was to have a modern flip phone that had wifi hotspot tethering. The problem was that the carrier disabled that feature on the phone, and it doesn’t have bluetooth tethering either, so the only option left is USB, which means having to carry the cord around. I am often out with my Swift laptop, and the phone is there as a given, so it seemed a great fit to simply be able to turn on the mobile hotspot and have full internet.
That didn’t work, and it was after that when I began to consider a degoogled smartphone instead (the only way I would accept one).
The plan that I have is inexpensive and has a pretty nice data allowance per month, all if it available for tethering. If I dial back on my video streaming, it’s enough to get by for an entire month if need be, though even my unreliable telco has not been bad enough for that to happen.
Come to think of it, my home internet did see this big improvement at about the same time that I finally had a plan B. Just like how washing the car guarantees rain!
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we do have concerns re privacy. Should we buy a different router?
Privacy is not something your router generally has control over. There are some hacks that could potentially send you to a “man in the middle” attack, but that is why we use 2FA and take care connecting to important web sites.
cheers, Paul
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The router sees the MAC address of all your devices, so it can learn something about the devices in your home from this. Also, any ISP in the US is allowed to spy on your activities regardless of the router being used. The solution to that is a VPN either run on individual devices or run on a router not supplied by the ISP.
Then too, some routers phone home with all sorts of network activity information. If the router supplied by your ISP did this, they could learn quite a bit about you.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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ShieldsUP!, while the best of its kind, is extremely limited.
For one thing, it only tests TCP, not UDP. Then too, there are over 65,000 ports and it tests very few of them. Finally, the ports it does test are from another generation. As the threats have changed, the ports being tested have not. Then too, the mass testing of ports can return a false positive when the router being tested raises its own shields in response. Its better than nothing, but realize the limitations.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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Hi!
I’ve switched to Ubiquiti gear years ago and I am not looking back. I got an EDGErouter Lite with a UniFi AP (AC), and since I converted friends, family and small businesses to Ubiquiti. The gear is inexpensive, the community of users is large and varied, updates are frequent and the remote management software works well!
The EDGErouter line is aimed at technical-minded people like IT staff and ISPs so the initial setup can be scary for some users (a wizard is available for initial setup). However, the flexibility is maximum and you have access to the “guts” of the router with command-line access and an equivalent UI if desired. You can remote-manage the EDGE fleet with UNMS software, self-hosted or Cloud.
The UniFi line is aimed at consumers or businesses and as such is easier to configure I hear. I can’t comment on this as I only use UniFi APs and those are configured from an app or command-line to connect to a UniFi management server where the configuration is done. Configuration from the management server is easy, has lots of features for business use (stadium deployment anyone?). For simple setups, the server isn’t needed after the APs have been provisioned. Note that Ubiquiti sells “Cloud keys” micro servers for those that don’t want to dedicate hardware or a virtual machine to the UniFi management server.
I use a VM for both UNMS and UniFi management servers on a spare low-end low power business machine. One of the pluses is having notifications when there are disconnections or Wi-Fi interference at a site. I also get performance and activity data to troubleshoot issues among other benefits. I also could kick/block Wi-Fi devices or disable internet service to someone who doesn’t pay my bills 😉
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Yes, you can. Ubiquiti has asked permission to ENABLE telemetry for a while after customer back-pressure for default-ON hard to disable telemetry.
Previously, a command had to be used in console mode to disable it. Now, a popup appears in EDGErouter UI asking you for the permission to enable telemetry (default OFF).
Similarly, a toggle is present in the UniFi controller software. Ubiquiti learned!
UniFi FAQ: https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042384093)
Edge FAQ: https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051176734-EdgeRouter-Privacy
Note that the UniFi live demo is version 5.11.39 and the current version is 6.0.45
I, for my context, enabled the telemetry as I don’t see value in the information transmitted. Again, this is in the context of my personal network usage. I value bug fixes and improvements over the content of the logs sent.
Martin
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thanks for the response. What scares me about telemetry is we never know exactly what it consists of.
The Analytics Data Collection FAQ says “You can enable the feature in the Device Settings of your UniFi Portal (https://unifi.ui.com/) or . . . ” Is this a Ubiquiti website, or is it an auto-forwarded URL that points to your UniFi router? Looks to me like it is a Ubiquiti website. One way to test is to try it while off-line.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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The UniFi system is based on a controller to which your devices are associated, either online (Cloud) from Ubiquiti (the website you mentioned) or a local install. If you use a local install (I do, in an Ubuntu VM) you have to connect to it and not the Cloud link (it is a separate thing).
The cloud controller has some benefits like automatic “safe” software updates and maintenance on the underlying servers, so it can be useful to some. The self-hosted version gives you control of the updates at the price of using your own hardware and maintaining it.
There’s a Port FAQ on their website, maybe they list the port used for telemetry? I know my controller talks to them as I get software and firmware update notices. I did accept to send the telemetry, maybe it’s a benefit from that.
The settings are not configured on the devices but on the controller and the controller then provisions the devices. I am only using the access points, so I can only describe my experience with them and no other UniFi device. The devices can be connected to with SSH for initial connection to the controller and troubleshooting purposes if needed.
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Hello.
Do you allow automatic channel switching for your Ubiquity?
I abbandonned Ubiquity after few months, because for me they were simply unreliable.The only think I liked was the controller, which I used to manage devices and backup configs. But automatich channel switching in default is just wrong. Also firmware update killed few of them. The price is OK, but.. I recommend them for home use.
With this topology, I left ubiquity and went to eXtreme APs.
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Hi Doriel,
I do use automatic channel switching, but the setups I have are very simple with only one or two APs, usually wired. They are nothing like the image you attached.
For such a complex setup, I would manage the channels manually! I know the controller has gotten new smarts a few updates ago, but my setup is too small to really know how much improved it is.
As far as bricking an AP, it never happened to me. I usually reboot them before updating them as this way, they return to a known internal state. Computers sometimes have memory leaks, temporary files and bugs that have an impact with longer uptimes and rebooting gets them in a “fresh” state. Maybe it’s just computer tech superstition 😉
Ubiquiti will sometimes obsolete a device with a somewhat limited time warning, this is annoying sometimes. There is no way to know when you will have to replace your deployment. It would be easier if they published a statement about EOL not being before a certain year! Instead, they publish in the controller release notes that models will stop being supported in a year. This hasn’t affected me yet, but I buy new series instead of older ones because of that :-/
Martin
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Hi. Re: the Peplink SoHo router and connectivity, backups etc…
I’m in the UK now but have been living in rural France for 6 years. Power cuts and slow internet….! I used to have an old Netgear router with fallover backup back around 2001 but in France there was no need of any such thing as the mobile phones didn’t work as we lived in a dip. I considered satellite internet – the download speeds were excellent, but there were data capping levels which increased costs plus, there’s the issue of the time lag for 2-way live chats, so I never took it on. The ISP supplied the router-gateway but doesn’t allow you to choose your own DNS so I daisy chain from it and then star out like a dandelion clock.
Two years ago I got the Pepwave Soho based on the recommendations of Horowitz. It was a fine piece of kit and had a boost for the signal strength which was good to punch through the thick stone walls in the 200 years old house we were living in. Firewall etc was great (we ran a small guest house) for splitting guests from us.
I thought I had everything sorted. I had a hardwire across the house to an old router plus some ethernet over the mains electricity (Netgear) to another old router or two which covered all the spots of the house (It was a very solid house….!) I had two APC UPSs for power outages and mains smoothing. It all worked fine until we were hit by lightning….
WE had nice twinkling LED lights along the guttering – these blew. A fridge blew up. The phone blew up as well as its transmitter (it was Sagem). The Orange box (the ISP connection to the web) – that blew, as well as the Pepwave router, one old router, three surge protected distribution boards, both UPSs, a lighting relay for the hall (the French use these a lot for 2 or 3-way switching), it blew a DVI input on one of my twin Iilama monitors as well as the graphics card in my main (home-made) big box PC and a network card in a PCI-e slot.
Weirdly, the Gigabyte black edition mainboard survived along with the Devil’s Canyon CPU and Ballistix memory. All the PCI-e slots still worked. Two USB sockets became a bit iffy. Fortunately, my home backup using 2x4Tb mirrored discs in a QNAP 251+ NAS also survived. All of this still works, about 18 months on. The NAS is essential as internet speed and cost precluded using cloud backups…
I got two new UPSs. This time I reverted to Eaton which I consider better than APC.
For my connectivity, a new network card worked in the slot (relief there I can tell you!) and co-incidentally, the week before the strike, I had bought a travel router, a GL-inet AR750. I’d just bought it to play with and take on journeys. I still had some old routers which I then cascaded off it getting the home network up and running again as I usually do. I now use it as my main router, and it does DHCP work and pushes the signals to some old routers yet again.
I am pretty impressed with the little thing, it’s about as big as a cook’s box of matches. Despite being Chinese I was a bit wary but read the reviews) …….It runs Luci OpenWrt so can be updated just like any open source router. For such a little thing it has much to commend it and can do lots of things. It is currently set up at my daughter’s where I am living for a while, as a kind-of wifi repeater. I piggy-back onto her Google Nest system and keep it as a router with my old passwords and routing (I use 10.10.10.10 as it’s easy to type and remember c.f. the usual 192.168…). I like to use OpenDNS and set it up on the router – all the fanned out routers I mentioned are used purely for connecting a printer, wifi repeating, the TV and everyone’s mobile devices and laptops. They don’t route or update so are kept well behind the firewall. They just repeat. The AR750 comes with three slide in plug things into the power brick so it can be used in the EU, UK and USA (I think). Obviously it can’t push lots of traffic through it. But there again, the Pepwave only recommends 20 or so concurrent device connections. It does 2 & 5 wifi bands as well as guests on each band which can be set up totally independently or to use the same pwd.
The reviews of the AR750 are still a mixed bunch. I think a lot of MTBF is at the new end of the scale……essentially, it either works very well or not at all. Mine has worked flawlessly. I left the original in France and now have another in the UK. It too works flawlessly.
CONCLUSION
The AR750 was and is a lifesaver. I have not replaced the Pepwave but may do so at a later date. It was an amazing bit of kit. I had it when it went from firmware 6 to 7. It’s on 8 now. It was updated every few months.
The AR750 after one auto update needs updating manually from the OpenWrt site. But it’s open source with lots of eyes checking the code. For me, as everyone on Woody, this is good.
My other conclusion, Gigabyte Black Edition mainboards are worth the money. I got mine in 2014, it still works and has had the lightning close shave. Even the onboard graphics, networking and sound survived the strike, though I like to use a dedicated card for the first two. I’ve considered getting newer gear and don’t have a need for a big box any longer with zillions of hard drive slots. I just use a couple of SSDs now, held in place with zip ties! The CPU hardly ever goes over 5%. The only time I maxxed it out was last year doing some work to help the fight against Covid-19 with the Folding @Home project (a bit like SETI @Home if you know what that is).
I hope this helps somebody. I’ve been a subscriber in one way or another for several decades now to Woody but this is my first input. To give an idea how long – well, back in M$ Office 95-97, Woody made a MS-Word addin that showed what the font looked like on the font drop-down. Before that, there were just names, Garamond, Times New Roman etc. so you had to click it, see if you liked the font and if you didn’t, rinse and repeat. It was a pain.
I bought that addin!!! I recall (I think) that M$ incorporated into Word maybe at Woody’s suggestion or because it was so popular.
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As far as I can tell the AR750 just sits there doing it’s thing, Michael. I used Wireshark as I have it chained wirelessly off my daughter’s Google Nest. Plugged into one of the ethernet ports I see repetitive pings out from my wifi Epson printer so the traffic log is small. So far I have not seen anything else of note.
The software updates are set for automatic, the last one was in Dec 2020. These only do the front-end GUI from GL.iNet. The core hasn’t been updated and is open source. I should manually update it to v19 but I’m a bit scared in case I brick it – although their website comes with un-bricking instructions!! (yes really..). The software version on mine is OpenWrt 18.06.1 r7258-5eb055306f / LuCI openwrt-18.06 branch (git-18.228.31946-f64b152)
This is the latest software on their website, however openwrt have a custom download for the AR750 that is v19. This is why I’m scared – openwrt say it will work but the AR750 website just has the latest v18, as seen above.The AR750 router actually works fine. In wired mode it has a bit more flexibility. As it is, once tethered, the IP settings are pretty much set so I’ve found I can set ip up in reverse order for my custom settings to take.
I don’t use the VPN, though it works. The reason is that my NordVPN has a multitude of servers to connect to, which allows immense flexibility, so just use the appropriate app on mobile or windows machine.. The AR750 just allows one configuration. It can be a server or a client, so with two you can easily set up a home-office or home-holiday setup.
In use, it’s warm to the touch. The Pepwave was hotter and the old Orange ISP router in France was hotter still.
In “advanced” mode, in the screenshot, you can see the AR750 current status.
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If monitoring the WAN port of a router, I would expect to see relatively frequent calls for the time of day. NTP using UDP making outbound requests to port 123. If you don’t see that, I wonder which Ethernet port you are monitoring.
Can the AR750 block the Pings from the printer? More specifically, does it have outbound firewall rules? After all, the printer does not really need to know if its connected to the Internet. But, that’s just one example.
I completely agree with your being scared to install firmware updates. I feel the same way and this is a great thing about Peplink/Pepwave, that they have two internal copies of the firmware. I have updated many Peplink routers to new firmware over the years and twice the new firmware failed to install. Rather than a disaster, the router simply booted into the previous working firmware.
I am surprised your Peplink router feels warm, that has not been my experience. But, I keep mine in a place that allows air circulation underneath the thing.
Playing with one of the GL.Inet routers is on my short list of things to do.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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Martin: I have only monitored routers from two different companies, but in each case, they were pretty darn chatty in terms of outgoing NTP requests. Same for a Synology NAS. And they were only NTP clients. FYI: Peplink *just* added the ability for the router to be an NTP server for the devices on the LAN.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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You can serf the web when your ISP is down using you smartphone in tethering mode.
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I used to travel on Amtrak extensively pre-Covid, and found a solution that works well on the western trains where Wifi is not provided account long, no cell phone signal periods while out in the middle of nowhere. I’m sure I could do the same at home when my ISP decides to drop out. As Alex5723 indicated, using my cell phone to connect to my laptop works wonders along reasonably densely populated corridors and near cities.
I experimented with a couple of Android-compatible products and settled on Fox-fi that allows me to connect via blue tooth, USB, or private Wifi. Although I never tried it, I suspect I could set up the phone as a Wifi hotspot to make it available to others with tablet or laptop computers that don’t have cell phone access. However, I’d expect band width to become noticeably problematic with each added device.
As an alternative, I know that some vendors like Verizon used to sell prepaid cell phone USB devices to be connected into older laptop computers that have no cell phone access. Maybe they’re still available.
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something went wrong and someone else ended up losing valuable data or with a device infected with some nasty bug, wouldn’t the someone who offered the hot spot be risking some law suits, at best?
No.
But, if that someone else will download some pedophile videos/pictures..or hack a site, then the someone who offered the hot spot will be in a very hot spot as his IP will be registered as the offender.
Many “free” wi-fi hot spots in train, air terminals are being used to hack into laptops and smartphones.
Excellent article from Brian Livingston. “Router firmware patches are not completely automated but are free and easily available on Peplink’s downloads page. ”
I bought Soho Surfer router based on a prior Ask Woody article and also Michael Horowitz’ superb (but out of date) advice on that router. One big problem with all the Peplink routers is how to update the firmware. Brian quotes Keith Chau of Peplink: ” Chau says users of the company’s InControl management software (for the Surf SOHO) can install the latest firmware with a couple of clicks.” Problem is most individuals don’t use the complicated and very insecure InControl software. So it is unclear how to update firmware version. 1) How to check current firmware? 2) How to use downloaded firmware to update? Process is opaque and risky.
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There are screen shots of updating a Peplink router here
https://routersecurity.org/firmware.updates.phpThe procedure on a Surf SOHO as of firmware version 8 is: System tab -> Firmware -> Check for Firmware button. If there is new firmware it will be downloaded to the router, installed and the router will reboot into it.
The manual firmware Upgrade is on the same System tab -> Firmware -> page. This requires first downloading the firmware to your computer. Then, click the Browse button to find and upload the firmware from your computer to the router.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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I tried the manual procedure but got error “not .img file” since it was a .bin file.
That is not what should have happened. The file type is indeed dot bin. The router does a sanity check on the uploaded firmware file and my guess is that, in your case, the sanity check failed. Perhaps a transmission error either on the upload or download. Or maybe the file was for a different hardware version of the router. Just guessing.
I believe that you have warned against quickly updating firmware but so far, I’m not having an issue with Soho Surfer firmware 8.1.1
I would avoid the first version of a major software update, yes. That applies to all software. However, the minor point releases are different as they are mostly bug fixes so should be installed fairly soon. Not immediately, never immediately, but soon. In this case, firmware 8.1 had a fair number of new features. Same for firmware 8.1.1. All that said, firmware 8.1.1 is the way to go at the moment.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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” list of devices currently connected to the router, it shows the signal strength of each wireless device.” I think you are referring to Status/Client list? If so, I see three wireless devices connected with Signal strength of -54, -59, -64 though it’s not clear which is best.
Also, how does one know what the router is currently using–2.4 GHz or 5 GHz? and how change to the other? I assume you mean go to AP/Settings and manually try channels 1, 6, and 11 for both 2.4 Ghz and 5 GHz or even do it by some automated method (“it can be set to automatically adjust the channel but only pick between 1, 6 and 11”)??
I went to download Inssider but my firewall blocked site as “known malware.”
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Yes, I was referring to the Client List on the Status tab.
The best signal strength is in the minus 40s. the minus 50s is also excellent. The minus 60s is middle and the minus 70s is borderline usable. Devices in the same room as my Surf SOHO all show in the minus 40s and minus 50s.
AP tab -> Settings shows which radio frequency band(s) is/are assigned to each SSID.
In AP tab -> settings if the channel is set to “auto” the edit button can be used to limit the available channel choices. Another nice feature of the Surf SOHO. Channels 1, 6 and 11 are only on the 2.4GHz band. The 5GHz band has different channels.
inSSIDer is available at metageek.com. If your firewall blocks it, turn off your firewall.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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Michael:
I am guessing what some of your terms mean. By “SSID”, I assume you mean the one wifi LAN I created when setting up Soho Surfer?
“Radio frequency bands”–I don’t see that term on the Settings page. And what is the reason to run a program like Inssider?
My Channel is set to Auto. I clicked Edit and checked 1, 6, 11. Is that what you mean? Before that, it was scanning only 11, which seems equivalent to being set to 11.
Since you are getting an excellent wifi signal, would you share with us your Settings for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz?
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SSID is the name of a Wi-Fi network. A Peplink router can create 16 different SSIDs (I think, maybe 8? not sure).
2.4GHz and 5GHz are the radio frequency bands used by WiFi.
You understood the instructions for limiting the available channels on the 2.4GHz frequency band correctly.
The settings for 2.4GHz and 5GHz are just on/off. There are some advanced settings, I have never changed them. Devices in the same room as the router should have a signal strength in the minus 40s or minus 50s. Once you leave the room, all bets are off.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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Open ports are not a security risk in themselves, but it does advertise your presence to the script kiddies and flaws in the router may allow access through the open ports.
That said, even apparently closed ports may allow access via a flaw in the router.Connect the Verizon router and if you want more security / separate networks, add a second router to the Verizon.
Note: you can set up a DMZ on the Verizon and have your router as the DMZ device, effectively isolating the networks completely while still using the Verizon connection.
cheers, Paul
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As I said, Verizon, then your own.
cheers, Paul
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How would one check one’s current speed
You can only do this with two internal devices, e.g. a PC and laptop.
This site has a number of free utilities: https://www.geckoandfly.com/33225/lan-network-benchmark-test-speed/I went to download Inssider but my firewall blocked site as “known malware.”
It is clear for me on Chrome at this site: https://www.metageek.com/products/inssider/
cheers, Paul
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Yes, I was referring to the Client List on the Status tab.
The best signal strength is in the minus 40s. the minus 50s is also excellent. The minus 60s is middle and the minus 70s is borderline usable. Devices in the same room as my Surf SOHO all show in the minus 40s and minus 50s.
AP tab -> Settings shows which radio frequency band(s) is/are assigned to each SSID.
In AP tab -> settings if the channel is set to “auto” the edit button can be used to limit the available channel choices. Another nice feature of the Surf SOHO. Channels 1, 6 and 11 are only on the 2.4GHz band. The 5GHz band has different channels.
inSSIDer is available at metageek.com. If your firewall blocks it, turn off your firewall.
There are also decent apps for Android phones, like the screen clip from WiFi Analyzer.
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There are at least two Android apps called WiFi Analyzer, from different sources. I really hate Google for allowing that. The two that I have seen simply show the number of SSIDs on a channel and their signal strength, which is what we see in your screen shot. They do not show actual usage; the actual number of bits traveling on a channel. Thats what inSSIDer can do.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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You are correct, there are at least two apps with the same name. I have tried several similar apps and prefer this one.
I have been using inSSIDer for a few years, and it does present a strong range of options, but for a quick site survey the Android apps work just as well.
inSSIDer does not show “the actual number of bits traveling on a channel,” it is telling us what the connection rate is (limited by the protocol used). It is common that the actual maximum transfer rate is about half of that, and of course the actual rate may be zero at any given time if no data has been requested.
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I have a similar image. This is after only ~15 seconds, at my home (a single family house, not an apartment or something like that). If I let it scan for several minutes, the AP/SSID gets into the seventies.
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Granted: “percent busy” is only valid at the time it is measured. Sure would be nice to have a system that showed percent busy for wifi channels over time. Peplink just rolled out something like this in their routers, but I have yet to kick the tires on it.
Misery seems to love company as they say. WiFiInfoView from Nirsoft.net shows 160 SSIDs in my apartment after a few minutes of scanning. Does that mean I win? Or, that I lose 🙂
I would not have expected over 70 SSIDs in a single family home. Ugh.
Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com
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Michael432 said:
“InSSIDer, technically, does not show the number of bits transmitted on each channel, but that is the concept. More accurately stated, it shows how busy each channel is, in real time. See attached screen shot.”
Nirsoft’s “WiFiInfoView” also does a good job of that same reporting. It can be mesmerizing to watch the usage rates of 170 radios in real time. Easy to sort on the “Channel Utilization” column to put the busiest ones at the top. As luck would have it, the busiest signals here are weak, -75dB or less.
The bad news is that traffic in my neighborhood is up. We have 56 houses on a 1700-foot single-family residential street, and yesterday WiFiInfoView showed me over 170 signals.
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Granted: “percent busy” is only valid at the time it is measured. Sure would be nice to have a system that showed percent busy for wifi channels over time. Peplink just rolled out something like this in their routers, but I have yet to kick the tires on it.
Misery seems to love company as they say. WiFiInfoView from Nirsoft.net shows 160 SSIDs in my apartment after a few minutes of scanning. Does that mean I win? Or, that I lose 🙂
I would not have expected over 70 SSIDs in a single family home. Ugh.
The winners in this game will be those who make the best use of the hardware available, configured via tested principles, to get the most stable communications; as opposed to those who rely on hearsay, advertising, and sometimes illegal hardware, and must bear the resulting frustration.
I have just survived 5 days of no internet, intermittent power and minimal cell service during the winter weather that hit Texas last week. Suddenlink is the only broadband provider to Sun City Texas (a community approaching 10,000 homes). Cell service in my house without Wifi is limited to voice and text and sending text is iffy.
I was amazed by the amount of “emergency communication” that was by email (could not get it) and/or included links to websites!!! For details, go to our website!
We need to wake up everyone from Emergency Coordination people to TV stations that the people who need emergency information the most probably do not have access to the internet!
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That’s why ham radio operators are part of emergency scenarios. Backup to the backup.
At least that was how it was done a decade or two ago! I don’t know if this is the case down there today though. Maybe they responded?
Martin
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