Fairphone 2 Wi-Fi reception drops using 5 GHz channel 120

[Patrick1]

Have you also recognized how much damping occurs when holding your mobile while measuring and how the result is when just being placed untouched on a table?

At least the damping actually is different here between both channels.

[DeepSea]

@simpleShark

Just bought a second Wifi-Access Point (UnifyAP) which caused the original AP (working fine until then on channel 42) to switch to channel 120.

Please verify if your router has the latest firmware update. I have read that some issues in regard to 5 GHz were solved: UniFi - Rethinking IT - Ubiquiti

[Alex.A]

I had wifi issues with 5GHz since I got my phone. On FPOOS, on Lineage, with two different core modules, on three different routers and perhaps more. Most of the time, it didn’t connect. I didn’t check the channels though.

[DeepSea]

Do you still own the FP2 to be able to perform some tests?

[Alex.A]

I’m currently answering you on it, so yes. Though I suspect my second core module to have a defect, in which case I will have it changed. I am also going to get another FP2 soon, and my brother owns one, so I will be able to do many tests.

[DeepSea]

Great, you could check on your router which channels work, respectively channel 120, if that is OK for you.

[Alex.A]

When I have time, sure I will. For the moment I’m not home though. And I’ll ask my brother for help, he is more techie than me.
Edit: My brother also has a customizable OpenWRT router with which tests will be easy. I’ll keep you updated.

[Alex.A]

I recategorized the topic in #discuss:fairphone2 as it was originally instead of #help:fp2, because we are more discussing an issue and doing tests than someone asking others for help. I also took the #lineageos tag away, as it is not limited to one OS.
Please tell me if you want to reverse it.

[DeepSea]

I do not really understand your motivation to recategorize this thread, because …

@Alex.A

someone asking others for help

And the fact that the Samsung phone works fine on channel 120, but the FP2 does not, is a technical issue which should be investigated. However, you are the moderator, I do not care…

[Alex.A]

Well, I suppose both points of vue are valuable. I’ll reverse then.

@DeepSea

However, you are the moderator, I do not care…

I’m actually not a moderator, just a @trust_level_3, a regular.

[simpleShark]

@DeepSea

Please verify if your router has the latest firmware update. I have read that some issues in regard to 5 GHz were solved: UniFi - Rethinking IT - Ubiquiti

I can confirm, that both APs running on the latest firmware (4.3.20.11298). As also the FP2 is the only of all our devices having any issues, I do not think the APs are the problem

[simpleShark]

@Patrick1

Have you also recognized how much damping occurs when holding your mobile while measuring

Just tested it again, comparing receiption with the phone in my hand vs. phone lying on hard ground. While I cannot see a big differents between both situations, I recognized that even slightly turning/moving the phone seems to make quite a big difference:
By tilting/ moving the phone within few centimeters, I could reach levels from 5% up to 35% (again ~1,5m distance to the router / channel 120)

[DeepSea]

I suspect corrosion at the end(s) of the WiFi antennae or a detached connector inside the FP2:

How can I reconnect loose antenna cable

Hi guys, some days ago, my Fairphone 2 fell to the floor. This damaged the RF cable connecting the antenna to the motherboard. The cable is now detached from the connector (probably MHF3). I tried to stick the cable back into the connector manually, but it did not work. I read here that @PorCus managed to re-attach it. Was this referring to re-attaching the connector to the antenna board or the cable to the connector? If attaching the cable to the connector manually is possible, could someone p…

[Singulus]

There have been some Wifi related pulls for LOS, which I can’t assign the 5GHz channel issues, but I’m hoping for improvements everyday ;).

https://download.lineageos.org/FP2/changes
https://review.lineageos.org/282360
https://review.lineageos.org/282359
https://review.lineageos.org/284065
https://review.lineageos.org/284066

[Singulus]

@Patrick1

Android 6

AFAIK Android 6 was not suffering from any Wifi issues, that is one of the main points in the discussion that got lost over time.

[DeepSea]

Well, this one here is rather hardware related:

@simpleShark

By tilting/ moving the phone within few centimeters, I could reach levels from 5% up to 35%

[Patrick1]

Yes it was, but it couldn’t be fixed by FP.

Wifi drains battery after Marshmallow Upgrade - See first post

This is a #wiki post, please help improve it if you have any further information. Issue description: After upgrading to Android 6 some users experience an increased battery drain. For some this goes away after a few days. If it stays and either Wifi or Google Maps show as the main culprit in the battery stats then you suffer the issue described in this topic. Solutions/Workarounds/Tips: Fairphone Bug Status: Rejected This issue was reported as Issue #16 in the official bug tracker, but was r…

Actually the effect has a smaller impact on my battery life than I expected.

[simpleShark]

Checked both ends, but they are looking good to me. Neither corrosion, nor do they seem to be loosened. But wouldn’t it also be strange, that a HW-issue like detached antenna only leads to problems on specific Wifi channels?
While I agree, that the strong effect of tilting the phone sounds more like a HW-problem, the fact that only specific channels are affected does sound more like Firmware/Software/general HW-Design issue to me.

[thomastc]

For what it’s worth, I’m having similar problems with higher 5 GHz channels on my FP2, in particular: anything from 116 through 128 doesn’t work. See my thread here for more details. After finally discovering the cause of these connectivity issues, I simply configured the router to use channel 56, and now all is well.