ATS Does Not Like The 5ghz Band on My Router - But ATS Works Great On The 2.4ghz Band.

Monday, July 10, 2023

Two to 3 times per week, the 2.4ghz band on my Xfinity/Comcast Cable Router (ARRIS Router/Modem combo) goes dead for hours at a time, until I unplug and replug the router into the wall AC outlet.

My main desktop computer is set for the 2.4ghz band because AboveTopSecret.com is slow as molasses on 5ghz. Navigating...posting...refreshing the webpage...are all horrible on 5ghz. Sometimes, the connection "times out" because ATS takes so long to respond.

On speed tests, 5ghz is 4 times faster than 2.4ghz, but for AboveTopSecret.com (and only ATS) the navigation is slower on 5ghz.

Any idea why that could be?

Maybe some of you who are experiencing ultra-slow ATS navigation, are on the 5ghz band by default? Last year, I figured out that 5ghz was the culprit behind my slow ATS speeds and time-outs. So I set this computer to only use the 2.4ghz.

Since I have the time today, I'm asking if anyone else has found that ATS is not fast/smooth/responsive on 5ghz.

Thank-you in advance for sharing any constructive feedback.

-CareWeMust

a reply to: carewemust

Rumors are it is one of many hidden and secret ATS built in safeguards. This one helps you prevent using the mind control WLAN spectrum (5GHz).

a reply to: carewemust

on 5ghz - no issues encountered with any website.

2.4ghz travels further than 5ghz and has less issues with obstructions, such as walls. Also place your wifi router as high as possible if you are further away.

No thanks. Switched to Wi-Fi on my desktop when I read this .
5g router and the adapter is embedded on the board .
I prefer my 1.2gb wired to 5g any day .
326 mb/s vs . 1.1 gb/s .

And 5g is much slower on ATS than I would have expected .

ETA : Found out why , I think .
5g tries to emulate IPv6 and ATS doesn't like that .

originally posted by: Gothmog

And 5g is much slower on ATS than I would have expected .

ETA : Found out why , I think .
5g tries to emulate IPv6 and ATS doesn't like that .

Thankyou! ATS doesn't like IPV6? That's wild. Is that because AboveTopSecret.com is an "older" website?

originally posted by: carewemust

originally posted by: Gothmog

And 5g is much slower on ATS than I would have expected .

ETA : Found out why , I think .
5g tries to emulate IPv6 and ATS doesn't like that .

Thankyou! ATS doesn't like IPV6? That's wild. Is that because AboveTopSecret.com is an "older" website?

If you're getting an IPv6 lease, I couldn't think of too much that would cause issues other than DNS would be much slower (looking for abovetopsecret.com and 'finding' where to go), might be noticeable slower or the middleware (here, on ATS is misconfigured).

Either way, easy to check by disabling IPv6.

originally posted by: carewemust

originally posted by: Gothmog

And 5g is much slower on ATS than I would have expected .

ETA : Found out why , I think .
5g tries to emulate IPv6 and ATS doesn't like that .

Thankyou! ATS doesn't like IPV6? That's wild. Is that because AboveTopSecret.com is an "older" website?

It's not just ATS. A good portion of websites are like that .

Perhaps this will help
IPv6 translators

The link is Microsoft .
Geeks (like me) disable Teredo (Microsoft's version) for the reasons in the OP .
Or IPv6 for that reason .
Caution : this is only for folks in the know .

But , this is only a theory .

originally posted by: ASrubWhoDiedAgain

originally posted by: carewemust

originally posted by: Gothmog

And 5g is much slower on ATS than I would have expected .

ETA : Found out why , I think .
5g tries to emulate IPv6 and ATS doesn't like that .

Thankyou! ATS doesn't like IPV6? That's wild. Is that because AboveTopSecret.com is an "older" website?

If you're getting an IPv6 lease, I couldn't think of too much that would cause issues other than DNS would be much slower (looking for abovetopsecret.com and 'finding' where to go), might be noticeable slower or the middleware (here, on ATS is misconfigured).

Either way, easy to check by disabling IPv6.

While trying different things today, I've figured something out. AboveTopSecret.com runs just fine on my family's 2 laptops and my cellphone, using the 5ghz band. Those 3 items are all less than 3 years old.

My desktop computer is a HP Pavilion, manufactured in 2009. I don't think 5ghz was invented then. It connects to 5ghz, but the "link speed" is slower, and the 5ghz protocols are probably too advanced for the old Atheros 802.11 b/g/n network card.

I'm going to take the simplist route and take this ARRIS modem/router back to Xfinity/Comcast and trade it in for another one. It's only 3 years old, but there must be some defect causing the 2.4ghz band to go dead a few times a week.

a reply to: Gothmog

Fascinating. I remember when IPV6 and Toredo were cutting edge emerging technologies. Shows how fast things change in the I.T. world. It seems like yesterday I was writing Assembler and COBOL code routines. haha.

a reply to: deltaalphanovember

As high as possible, as on the second floor of your home?

a reply to: carewemust

but the "link speed" is slower, and the 5ghz protocols are probably too advanced for the old Atheros 802.11 b/g/n network card.

I have a rule of thumb .
Wired connection if at all possible .

I used to setup/ install many different brands of pc's and laptops, modems and routers wired and wireless devices. The standards boards would create and implement the different standards for the devices with the input from the different manufactures who would build and program their devices differently from the others but still meet the minimum specs for the technologies. So many times they just didn't play well together.

If you want to use 5g with the 2009 pc I would disable the onboard adapter and get an external usp 2.5/5 GHz adapter. Less than $20.00 and will easy the frustrations.

cheers

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

ha! don't have many 2 storey homes in my country unless you are "wealthy".

Single floor home, nearer the ceiling. 7-9 feet?

Before covid I was getting 30+ mbps on WiFi on all my devices bar a sharp aquos tablet SH-06F which was showing 150 mBps , I got talked into seeing 8t to a young gamer friend of mine which was a big mistake as they were banned at the time from leaving Japan because of the tech inside .

Since covid hit the speed is now a crawl at 10 mbps at my carrier had the cheek to tell me that was fast even after I got a new router with both settings , it is all a big con to get people to sign up for fiber broadband but if you are not a gamer and just surf the Web what is the point .

Kind of frustrating though when you click on a video and it takes ages to load just like 20 years ago .

But what ever genius designed their fiber system never saw the flaw in the way it was laid out , it could be trashed so easily and take months to replace with very little effort

originally posted by: Gothmog
a reply to: carewemust

but the "link speed" is slower, and the 5ghz protocols are probably too advanced for the old Atheros 802.11 b/g/n network card.

I have a rule of thumb .
Wired connection if at all possible .

I'm still "wired" with my Televisions (Comcast/Xfinity Cable), but more people are telling me they're now getting TV over their wireless internet. I didn't think it was fast enough for HD Big Screen Televisions. Hard to keep up when you get older.

But at least I'm not still "playing records".

originally posted by: montybd
I used to setup/ install many different brands of pc's and laptops, modems and routers wired and wireless devices.

If you want to use 5g with the 2009 pc I would disable the onboard adapter and get an external usp 2.5/5 GHz adapter. Less than $20.00 and will easy the frustrations.

cheers

I started this thread due to being "curious" as to why AboveTopSecret.com didn't work well with 5ghz. Posts in this thread from a couple of members got me thinking, which made me test AboveTopSecret.com with 3 other computers here in the house. ATS worked fine with them set to the 5ghz network. That's when I determined that it was this old HP 2009 P.C. that was the problem.

Since my Brother printer and my wife's HP Printer (both pre-2015) only have 2.4ghz capability, I'm going to focus on preventing the 2.4ghz band from blinking out, as its been doing periodically over the past 2 months. I think the FASTEST way to accomplish that is to take this ARRIS Router/Modem to the Xfinity store, and get a replacement, since unplugging and replugging this one into the wall (restarting the router), fixes the problem for 2 or 3 days.

But, if it turns out Comcast/Xfinity is phasing out 2.4ghz, I'll follow your advice with the External Card, and replace our 2 WiFi-connected printers with newer models.

Thank-you.