Billion UK Forum

I have a 7800N, and love it in every way, except that the range of the WiFi is very poor. I have experimented with all the settings, tried different antennae, and done everything else I could think of, but to no avail. Is there anything that can be done?

Not sure if I can help on this one, but have you tried to move the router to another location, there might be two much electrical interference in the room where the router is located.

It would also be worth setting the router to a different channel- it's possible that as you move away from your own you're moving into the range of a neighbour on the same channel.

Especially if the router channel is currently set to Auto- no disrespect to Billion, but I've never had a router yet that made a decent job of auto-channel selection.

There are programs around that will tell you what channels are in use locally- I use iStumbler on my Macs, I'm not sure about Windows.

For Windows try: http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/
For Android and iphone: Look for an app called " Wifi Analyzer"

Never had coverage problem with my 7800N but when I set it up initially, I did the scan around my house and set it to a unused channel. Channel 1 is always fully packed becasue a lot of router has it as the default channel. You can also see how much your signal strength in dB with the tools, in close range you should get -30 to -40dB if you don't have a lot of interference and also I think I get slight better signal if I set my antennas at an angle like a "W" instead of straight. One think really did affect the signal was my Panasonic DECT phone as I think they uses 2.4Ghz as well, I can see improvments with my DECT phone turned off but since I need them I have left them on and live with it. Don't really want to spend some extra money on buying DECT 6.0 phone that runs on different frequency.

I had the same issue when I first set up my 7800N. I was expecting really good coverage but was only getting the same 3 bars as my old Netgear.
I changed the channel from Channel 1 (which it had set up by default) and bingo - 5 bars everywhere.
You should also make sure you have the latest firmware - it is updated fairly regularly.

Thank you all for your replies, however, I have already tried all these things, but to no avail.

Jeremy - one last thing to try. I found Billion support to be quite good (and UK based I think). If you've tried everything (baring in mind that even a slight change in router/computer position and/or antenna orientation can have surprising effects on reception), then a call to Billion tech support may be worth a punt.
The first thing they will check is that you have the latest firmware, so be sure that you've done that before you call. (Don't forget to make the final step of factory defaults to ensure the firmware is installed correctly).
If you look at saynoto0870 you might even find a low cost phone number instead of a premium rate one.

jeremy wrote:Thank you all for your replies, however, I have already tried all these things, but to no avail.

I have to say wireless being "wireless" is hard to fault find when you do get a problem as there are so many variable factors. When you said you have tried them all, can you share any netstumbler screenshots that shows the signal strength in dB as well as the background /floor noise level? That will give some indicator of the wireless signal around your house.

All I can say is that the 7800N is superb in my experience for coverage. I can even get a signal 1/2 way down the road! I live in a fairly large 1900's house and we are surrounded by many other networks, typically 15-20 and I can still get a good signal all over the house. Much better than all of the previous WiFi routers I've used and only matched by a dedicated Edimax WiFi repeater/extender.

Have you checked the "Tx Power Level" on the WiFi settings page? Mine is set to 100% with the channel set to "Auto" since many of the surrounding networks seem to change channels regularly - I guess they are also on auto - and so cause interference problems. I'm currently on channel 1 & I'm seeing 17 networks including my own (it is worse in term time due to university students nearby).

Just a note for contacting Billion tech support, on the last page of the 7800N handbook, there is the phone no. 0203 372 0120 also http://www.billion.uk.com/esupport where you can register and raise a ticket, the techs will then either contact you by phone or e-mail to discuss and help to resolve any problems.