I haven’t read all the comments in this thread and I don’t know all the technical ins and outs of internet connection but I own all of the major consoles (switch, 3ds, xb1, ps4) along with my smartphone and the switch consistently has the most trouble initially getting connected to the WiFi and then staying connected. And this problem isn’t only exclusive to my house. Just recently went on a trip and I was able to get WiFi to my phone and laptop no problem but couldn’t get the switch to connect to save my life. It was in a slightly rural part of Iowa, I guess, but when other devices can connect but I cannot even open the eshop on the switch it seems like a problem with the console and not the connection. I love my switch and it is my favorite console to date, but it’s conection issues can be real frustrating.
Nintendo Switch Friend Code: SW-0626-8454-8990
My Nintendo: AgentQ723 | Nintendo Network ID: AgentQ723
@shadow-wolf I do agree actually that something is wrong with the 2.4GHz support on Switch...it definitely has signal issues on that frequency that it shouldn't have and that other devices in the same area don't have, and I haven't ruled out that it's actually a lack of shielding of some internal component (or battery) generating its own interference in that band. That may well be a design issue, you're right. The part that I'm uncertain of is how much that actually matters since the device properly supports current 5GHz N/AC standards which is going to be superior for the intended use and is an expected norm in WiFi in 2018 by any device. 2.4 is just that, legacy. You can't even buy a router outside a few niche industrial ones that don't support 5GHz anymore. The newer standards are also less latent, which is important for the main use of WiFi on Switch: gaming, so even if it had the best darn 2.4GHz antenna in the world, it wouldn't be advisable to use it unless you had to.
@skywake Yeah, bars mean jack on any device. Can't tell you how often I've seen devices with 3-4 bars get constant dropouts. If anything Switch is honest where Samsung and Intel are not.
Though to be fair Switch is an nVidia chipset and nVidia networking products are infamous.
No, I wasn't referring to Zero Handoff....darned if I can't remember what I am actually referring to though. It's a much more cryptic sounding term than that. My router supposedly supported it until digging through with OpenWRT's forums and their work trying to sift through the garbage Marvell put out only to find it wasn't supported "yet"....then the feature disappeared entirely from the spec sheet. But the function is for basically prioritizing devices based on signal strength and utilization and so forth to the correct band to give it what it's using and keep higher bands free for other traffic that needs it, and transitioning cleanly as it switches back and forth. It's going to bug me I can't remember.
I do think Switch has a very bad/flawed 2.4GHz implementation. It definitely doesn't work reliably under conditions other devices don't struggle with. Either it's generating its own interference or it's very susceptible to outside interference (low sensitivity, high gain amplifying the noise?) Or it may just be that the upstream falls apart at 2.4 because by definition the TX amp is going to be putting out very little power on Switch, and 2.4 behaves best with high power to push those long waves. But I think most of the people complaining of issues with it are either using 2.4GHz or don't realize they're using 2.4GHz because their router is handing them off to 2.4 because they aren't keeping the bands separate.
@HobbitGamer I have at different times had enough radios running to fun a SETI outpost I've simplified to 4. The ISP one for administration, the real one behind it that actually runs the network (for administration), a separate one running a VPN for business purposes, and the main AP for actual WiFi use. In the past I had a 2.4-only commercial router and Switch really didn't behave well with that. Then I tried a little USB powered repeater to work in conjunction with it that supported 5GHz to Switch but 2.4 to the router. That worked a lot, lot better (but was not perfect.) Then I added a 5GHz repeater indoors and things got a whole lot better. (Since then I've gutted all that and have a the AC AP centralized and all is well.)
@PuppyToucher If you're out and about the 2.4GHz radio is going to rear its ugly head as a lot of public WiFi is still running 2.4 (in part because commercial wifi equipment (Cisco etc) is very pricy and if it works, most places won't replace it on a whim.) But at home, definitely focus on that 5GHz band and isolating it from the 2.4. That said connection drops from the eShop/patch downloads are non-stop even wired. But it's never a problem in games.
If OP hasn't already done so, get one of the AC LAN adapter sets mentioned earlier. That's probably going to be your best solution that keeps the rest of your house set up intact an undisturbed.
@skywake@NEStalgia I think there's no point in explaining how communications tech works at this point. Feelings and facts don't mix. But I definitely agree that the Switch excels at showing people how malnourished their WiFi is (and has been). When you can purchase a wireless router for $30 or $200+, folks should suspect there's alot of differences in those magic boxes.
As for me, i've got a dual band 802.11b/g/n/ac. I've got both the 2.4 and 5GHz radios set to not broadcast their (different) SSIDs. I've got the Switch in a DMZ. I've got the MTU set properly. I've got the channels set properly. My only device on the 5GHz is the Switch. I've never experienced any issue, be it in the main room, garage, or in the yard.
@FaeKnight said "So if I understand it, the situation of the OP is as follows:
1.Parents have a home office on the 2nd floor that needs internet connection
2. OP wants to use the switch in the basement, located on the opposite side of the house both vertically and horizontally from where the router is physically located.
Have you considered moving the modem to the FIRST floor in an area that's midway between where the home office is and where your switch is located?"
I'm sorry but I live in an apartment of 150 square meters on one floor...
So what you're saying is you don't live in the same home as the router you want to use? That's a different situation then "I live in the same house as my parents and we want to use different areas of the house for different things". It's a matter of "I am wanting to use someone else's wireless connection so I don't have to pay for one where I live."
So which is it, do you live in a private residence with multiple floors and only one household living there, or in an apartment building where different households live on each floor? If it' the former the solution likely is "position the router in a centralized location where everyone in the household gets the access they need/want for the locations they want to connect from"
If it's the latter then the issue may be answered by getting your own internet connection. Especially if the one you're using right now is paid for by a separate household.
Before you ask, I myself live in an apartment. And I have since 2001. I also have zero sympathy for people wanting to leach internet off other households in the apartment building because they refuse to pay for their own internet. I regularly change my wifi password to new randomly generated strings of numbers and letters (using an offline text file to create and track them) because of neighbors who would rather leach internet off me then pay for it them self. I also turn off my wireless network if I'm not actively using it. The curses of said neighbors when they lose internet connection is music to my ears.
In fact, my next door neighbor was just whining to me last night about the two week long internet outage he experienced. I got back home yesterday from a 2 week trip, and had turned off the wifi while out of town. After his rant today, I turned the wireless back off. Cue much cussing.
I don't know if you're talking to me or to FaeKnight but if you're talking to me, I live in an apartment of 150 square meters on one floor... ^^ It's my own apartment with my own router.
It's FaeKnight who said I lived at my parents house blablabla... just for info, I'm 42 so living at my parents place it's like impossible ! LOL
I don't know if you're talking to me or to FaeKnight but if you're talking to me, I live in an apartment of 150 square meters on one floor... ^^ It's my own apartment with my own router.
It's FaeKnight who said I lived at my parents house blablabla... just for info, I'm 42 so living at my parents place it's like impossible ! LOL
My bad, but to be fair your "I live in an apartment" comment was directly made to my summarizing the OP's situation, and suggesting that no the router the OP was talking about is not in a centralized location, and one of the first things to consider should be moving it so it is in a centralized location. Which in their case is not "2nd floor in the home office" but "on the first floor midway between the home office and where the OP sets up in the basement".
Your replying to my direct comment to the OP got me confused. But then again, your reply was implying that my comment to the OP was directed at you. I did comment on your words, but that's not what you responded to.
EDIT: @Cobalt, also consider that the shape of a room can induce dead zones in your wifi setup. My bedroom has a better connection to my wifi then the dining room area, which is closer to where the router is located. That's caused by the shape of the rooms and a few other things. The differences usually don't matter much, but for downloading a game I do need to ensure the system is in the living room area where the router is.
Also, why would you ask if I'm talking to FaeKnight? I am FaeKnight.
@Therad Because I’m south of the Mason Dixon line, of course!
It’s just habit, really.
DMZ in most home routers isn't really a DMZ, it is just an easy way to setup port forwarding. If Nintendo have failed with security and your switch gets taken over, an intruder will now have easy access to the rest of your machines.
Well reading the NoA page about network settings for the switch, you can as well have it in DMZ. Their recommended settings are apparently to port forward all traffic to the switch.
And yes, most home routers are not setting up a true DMZ. They just expose a device to the internet. A real dmz would make sure the comps in dmz can't connect to anything on the home network. So don't use it.
@skywake You are absolutely right about the Switch's WiFi. I don't know what Cobalt was talking about when I made a thread about improving the Switch's WiFi. I think I found the reason for my Switch's bad wifi.
It wasn't the Switch itself, but many people in my parents' three floor office building using a wireless network that eats up the bandwidth, hence why my Switch may have trouble connecting to the internet, so I have to wait until either the office closes or the weekend so my Switch can have better WiFi.
Like you said, the Switch's wifi isn't the problem, it has to be other wifi problems or people using the same wifi like in a office.
I fully understand you. I'm having the exact same issues. Literally ALL devices that I have interact completely fine with the Wi-Fi signal. Perfect connection. Except my Switch. Router is only two rooms away (5/6 meters). If I want to play online, I'm forced to use my Switch in the living room, since the router is in that room. If I want to play online in my bedroom, I simply just can't. Even though all my other devices are fine. On the Switch I can barely even load my friend list.
Such a pity, since the Switch is near perfect imo. But this is just beyond pathetic.
@Cobalt Proof or is that just guessing? Like sky said, it's not the Switch's WiFi, but things interfering with the Switch's Wifi like people using the same wireless network at the same time, eating up the bandwidth.
Forums
Topic: Am I really going to have to get a signal booster JUST for my Switch?
Posts 41 to 60 of 72
This topic has been archived, no further posts can be added.