calman014

The reason I mention this is because there are many other factors that can influence WiFi reception. The first step is to monitor the 'wired' speed. After that you can use some handy apps to measure around the property at the places where you often use your devices, but also to see if neighbours' routers, devices, phones etc. are causing interference or overlapping data channels. Even with a slow connection you can stream effectively as long as there is minimal interference.

Jon-Bxl

Thats great thanks, good feedback, just wanted to explain a bit of the history. What apps do you recommend to do this please?

My e.g Slingbox needs a minimum of 600kb/s to stream SD.....

Thanks
Jon

MikeJ

I use "inSSIDer4" for checking WIFI signals - it will tell you what wifi signals are in range, signal strength and channel. You could then select a channel on your wifi router which avoids the busiest. Most routers default to channel 3 and few people know/bother how to change them so you can often get congestion and clashes. You can get a part featured free version or pay a bit extra for the fully featured version if you think it's worth it and have the technical ability to use all the info provided. I have the free version

MikeJ

Sorry, bit of misinformation inSSIDer version 3 is the most recent free version, version 4 is a payfor version.

Jon-Bxl

Hi

I thought I'd give an update on Priinet... as I've been so involved with them as you may have seen on the forum

• When it works its great. For our usage it is the best option, in the area - if it works 24/7
• The 'guys' are professional and its clear that the really want to offer a good service. A breath of fresh air!
• We aren't bothered with speeds as long as we have streaming (HD) TV. As mentioned before , if it can handle that (the most rigorous use for us) it will do anything else we personally need. We aren't techno users at all (no facebook, tweets, downloads etc etc)
• The company is owned by Antonio and Juanlu (those that have had it installed previously - will know them)
• Sadly Juanlu had an accident and fell off the roof in ME badly injuring his back. He is out of action now and will be for quite a while.
• Jorge is now installing and problem solving. He is a great guy as well and fluent in English.. and originally was in a commercial role, now he does both. He is an employee of the company... not an owner.
• They are working 7 days a week to handle the overall workload... but its possible that the service level MAY drop for a while.

We have had problems with it from the start. But I cant criticise the customer service even though it gets pretty frustrating - when we have unusable service..

Note: It turns out that the receiver can be hacked... yes one can hack the wifi router if within range, but the receiver can be too. They tell me this is why we have had horrible reception at times (especially evenings/nights when somebody is sucking up our bandwidth ). Its happened to us and somebody else in Las Colinas. I don't know much about the technology, but somebody has to be pretty smart to nick the signal before it gets to the router (IMO)!

To cut a long story short we have a new secure receiver and will test over the next few days. Today was a long time in the changing - Jorge was late for the next appointment..... And my BH was pretty mad at me as I was required to go onto the roof to hold the ladder. Jorge was on his own. Health and safety in Spain (especially after one fall already) is not the same as in the UK!

Priinet works perfectly some of the time (for us)... For us this is not enough, we want it 24/7. We pay for the 10MB service to make sure we have 'left-over' internet, so that in peak periods we have enough. If we can get this streaming HDTV - we are happy to pay and make no complaints or speedtests, even if we aren't getting the 10MB paid for. So I really hope this fix does it... Right now after this morning's fix, its great... lets hope it lasts.

However we will have to reconsider if this problem continues. Its has been good normally during the day (like now) - so I need to test over the next few evenings/nights. As an insomniac, I need TV at night too. I really hope I can fully recommend Priinet in a few days time.....

Jon

calman014

Now that your receiver is "secure", what WiFi router are you using in the house?..
Brand/Type..?

Jon-Bxl

Hmmmmmmmm..... Well lets see if it really is secure - only time will tell. These 'hackers' seem pretty keyed up!! Some testing is needed over at least a week IMO.

They use a TP Link TL-WR841N as their std router (which I bought) .. which gives a good signal around our 3 bed duplex.. and onto the terraces. I reckon neighbouring apartments can also see the signal.....

I also changed the router password to a 'strong' password...(requiring Priinet technicians to come in and to it - cant be done by us). BTW I have another router I used before with 3G... and it works fine also 'straight out of the box' when I plug it in to the priinet ethernet cable for their router.. so Priinet have installed proprietary software on theirs... I bought theirs as it was not expensive 29Eur and mine is there as a back up

Jon

olivia

You could try Who Is On My WiFi | Wiress Network Security Software it will show all devices using your signal.

calman014

The only additional recommendation I can make is to change the settings to make it a "hidden network". TP-Link are a good brand.

You should also be using WPA 2 Personal as encryption standard for your wireless access.

Luz liver

To make it a hidden network what would I need to do? I have windows 7.

I have looked in "Network and Sharing Centre", "Advanced sharing settings" and think the option "Turn off network discovery" is the option I need but I'm worried that I might be wrong.

Advice anyone?

calman014

That's something you do on the router itself via the admin screen.

Typically you would use an IP number in the address bar of your browser like 192.168.1.1 and the login screen of your router would appear.

Might be an idea to ask your helpdesk/support to do it for you.

MikeJ

You will need to change the "advanced settings" in your router. Male sure you have recorded the existing settings before you change anything. Most routers have an IP address (192.168.0.1 or similar) so you use a web service to access it. Have a look at your manual for details including the username and password to use. (Most default to admin and admin and you should reset them to something more secure while you're at it)
You may have to connect your router to the PC with an ethernet cable to get access although some allow you to use the WIFI connection.

Turning off network discovery in Windows will not do it but just mean that you wont be able to share devices etc locally.

Jon-Bxl

Good discussion thanks.

I like the 'who is on my wifi' and will try it thanks Olivia.

But the problem I've had is BEFORE the router... It's at the receiver... So ' Playing' with the router config won't fix the problem. Some clever barSteward is stealing the bandwidth. The router (in this case) is not the issue.

I also mentioned that I couldn't change the WiFi password... So its not possible to get into the admin function due to the proprietary software they have loaded. So the config changes to security etc can't be done without them - and I suspect that they haven't the time to do it for everybody... Or even for a lot of people...or even a few, they are maxed and only helped me as I was in trouble... so please don't call them if your internet is fine... It will delay everything

I LIKE the fact that you can't get in via the 192.xxxx to mess with the config... Because anyone can do it and I suspect well over 90% of routers have ' admin ' as the password and user. In fact I did it once with a friends router when it crashed, and was surprised how easy I got in.

So in conclusion: For my primary problem of ' receiver network theft' there's nothing we can do. Call Priinet. Note for the vast majority of people this in NOT a problem I was/am unlucky... And only a very few people have the skills to do it. If your internet is working fine - don't worry. Mine was down every day. I suspect the person has to be skilled AND living close by too. Its only happened to one other person on CE.

For the secondary problem of ' router wifi network theft ' which I haven't got - I suggest you buy another router... They are not expensive for the peace-of-mind factor. Then Definitely change the password, from admin in the config... And make a strong WiFi password.. and anything else like WPA2 in the config, if you feel comfortable doing it. However it won't be supported by Priinet. My other router (which I bought for the excellent TMN 3G dongle, thanks to MikeJ previously) it just works fine... Plug it in in place of the other and it works ' out of the box' no messing about.

I've considered using it and switching to their router if a problem is there, if it persists call them in.

Jon

algarveandroid

I dont have the priinet , but are clued up on routers.

In the admin screen look for DHCP clients list , everything that connects to the router will have one tied to a MAC id ,they are given an IP address by the router , usually 192.168.100.1 upwards or similar.

Every device that uses wifi will have one of these alphanumeric identifications , which is difficult to change , but not impossible for the determined.

MAc id is nothing to do with apple mac hardware , but is like a telephone number for the data to be sent from one mac id to tother.

So lets say you have a Smart Tv , go into the TV settings and its id will be listed , usually in the form d3adb33f0000 , o is zeros no letter , and so on.Take a note of it.

Go to tother items you connect to tinterweb with and search their settings for MAc ids in their settings.Note them down.

Turn on all items and connect to tinternet say a google page.Including smart phones , tablets , laptops , game consoles , make sure wifi is ON within their own settings.

Once you have a list of them all on paper , check out the Routers admin page for DHCP clients , they should all match up , if they dont and you have an unknown one....theres your dick turpin.

Now heres the good part , go into admin page again and set it to block the ****** , or dependent on firmare in the router , to only allow those on your list.Usually FOUND in DHCP advanced security settings.This is the best and most efficient way to block them.

You might find its not a bandwidth bandit at all , just bad installers blaming them for your bad connection.You might also benefit from hardwiring the devices rather than wifi , it makes a big difference for iptv and nas.

algarveandroid

Anyone got a pic of the Priinet box , but cover the mac id when you post it.