Big packet loss on E1200 v2 in bridge repeater mode [SOLVED]

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pdinc
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Joined: 03 Dec 2015
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 17:40    Post subject: Big packet loss on E1200 v2 in bridge repeater mode [SOLVED] Reply with quote
Hi,

First post - I've read all the announcements so I hope I'm doing the right thing here, but please let me know if I missed anything.

I installed dd-wrt successfully on a Cisco E1200 v2 to act as a repeater off a TP-Link Archer C7 that set up in dual band mode, with each band on a different SSID. I'm only trying to repeat the 2.4GHz signal. The repeated SSID shows up, and I can connect via my laptop, but trying to ping any public IP (I tried the Google DNS server 8.8.8.8\) results in 25-50% packet loss with timeouts, and loading pages is abysmally slow.

I've taken a screenshot of my router config page below. Based on the wiki instructions, I've flashed DD-WRT v24-sp2 (05/27/13) mini. I see no problems when I physically connect a device to the repeater through ethernet, so clearly the issue is in the way I've configured the wireless. I've also taken a screenshot of my immediate wifi surroundings (used InSSIDer 3).

DD-WRT Summary Page:

Wifi analyzer screenshot (SSIDs masked in blue are mine):

Even if someone can point me in the right direction, that would be wonderful. Thanks for taking the time to read this!


Last edited by pdinc on Thu Dec 03, 2015 19:54; edited 1 time in total
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Murrkf
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 18:35    Post subject: Reply with quote
if noise is being reported accurately, it is way too high. Too much interference.

This is also sometimes caused by improper encryption settings.

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pdinc
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Joined: 03 Dec 2015
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 18:39    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks. What sort of noise level should I expect? Should I change channels, or do something else? I'll also try rolling down to WEP and see if that helps.
redhawk0
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 19:00    Post subject: Reply with quote
pdinc wrote:
Thanks. What sort of noise level should I expect? Should I change channels, or do something else? I'll also try rolling down to WEP and see if that helps.


Everyone is different...but for me -95 isn't unusual.

I'd try a different channel first...try 11. It doesn't interfere with 2.4GHz phones or microwave ovens as much as channel 6 for me.

Changing encryption won't help...this is signal strength/noise related.

redhawk

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Murrkf
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 19:22    Post subject: Reply with quote
pdinc wrote:
Thanks. What sort of noise level should I expect? Should I change channels, or do something else? I'll also try rolling down to WEP and see if that helps.


WPA2-AES should work fine. TKIP or mixed can cause this type of problem with dd-wrt (packet loss....won't fix the noise)

-90 to -95 is normal in most of my units, but anything in the -50s is way too much noise. Note that these are negative numbers, so -90 is much less than -50.

However, dd-wrt sometimes doesn't report noise properly. So try a different channel. Try moving it. Don't live near a nuclear reactor.

Also note that the packet loss isn't really THAT high....it is only about 2%. Higher than normal, but not as high as some situations we have seen.

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mrjcd
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Joined: 31 Jan 2015
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Location: Texas

PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 19:36    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sugesstions from my experience with that box --
Cut your tx power down to at least half what your are showing.
25 ~ 30 works good on that box...unless you just have to have more..then I wouldn't ever run it over 53.

Signal quality between 35 ~ 48 will usually give you the best speed / noise / performance.

Most of the newer K3.x builds will give a better wireless experience on the E1200v2 in bridge mode.... Do some 'research' if you want to go there.

note: most all K2.6 builds of this year don't work on it for repeater bridge.
pdinc
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Joined: 03 Dec 2015
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 19:42    Post subject: Reply with quote
redhawk, Murrkf - I'm honored to have both of you helping me as a noobie. I tried changing channels to 13 first (I live in a country where that channel's legal) and my noise levels dropped to ~-85 with considerably better SNR (30-35). I'm still seeing ping spikes >500ms but I assume that might have to do with other 2.4GHz interference than anything else. I didn't mess around with security settings - I was already on WPA2-AES so I'll just stick to that.

Net - I'm 99% set. If you have any ideas on how to minimize the ping spikes, I'd be grateful but you've helped immensely already!

mrjcd - I'll experiment with reducing Tx power (why would that affect anything, btw?). Also, can you link me to those builds? I'm still really new to flashing my router and am terrified of bricking it Smile
pdinc
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Joined: 03 Dec 2015
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 19:53    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ok - mrjcd's tip on reducing Tx power on the Cisco E1200 v2 fixed the ping issue. Now seeing pings <8ms max 100ms. Thanks a ton, everyone!
cdmarshall
DD-WRT User


Joined: 09 Jul 2014
Posts: 308

PostPosted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 20:14    Post subject: Reply with quote
If you transmit too loud it comes into the receiver as garbage its like taking to someone and yelling. when they talk i can hear just fine and the conversation moves forward when you yell things gets garbled and i have to ask you to say it again maybe several times.

There is a lot more involved than that but for the purposes of our discussion that's a good analogy

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mrjcd
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 04, 2015 0:14    Post subject: Reply with quote
pdinc wrote:
Also, can you link me to those builds? I'm still really new to flashing my router and am terrified of bricking it Smile

If you haven't found it yet this link ¬
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=918755#918755
is about your router. Link goes to page 13 --- good info all thru but probably
safe to start there since from page 13 is info from within this year.
The E1200v2 is not the best router to play with K3.x builds but it runs them
ok once it's installed. From your pic looks like you are running build 21676 ...
...most likely you will not find much better than that for what you are doing.
If you want to experiment -- just 'do the reading first'.

good luck
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