Introduction

To help you get the most out of your Wi-Fi, this article will explain Wi-Fi related troubleshooting steps for addressing issues such as difficulty connecting, slow speeds, and dropouts. Under Further Reading you will also find background information such as a comparison of Wired versus Wireless connections, What to Expect from Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Generations, and some of the most common factors that can affect its performance. By understanding these factors, you can help mitigate some of these issues, fine-tune your setup, and optimize your wireless coverage and performance.

This article is dense. Take your time and please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Technical Support department if you have any questions.
 

Troubleshooting

Initial Troubleshooting & Diagnostic Questions

The following questions serve as a starting point for identifying the potential cause of your issue and determining which troubleshooting category it falls under, such as "cannot connect" or "performance issues", as outlined below. If you are unable to resolve your issue using this article and need to contact support, our representatives may ask similar questions to help diagnose the problem. Preparing these details in advance can assist our support team and speed up the resolution process. 

1. What are the symptoms?
2. Are you connected to your Wi-Fi network?
3. How far away is your closest access point to the device, and how far is that access point from the gateway?
4. How many devices are having the issue?
5. What does the path between the device having the issue and the access point look like?
    

Cannot Connect

Common issues include not seeing your Wi-Fi network, trouble connecting, no internet access, or web pages failing to load.

• Check if a singular device is impacted or many. 
  • Confirm you are not impacted by a known outage or scheduled maintenance. For more details on Service Outages.
• Check if other apps or websites are similarly affected.
  • Try another web browser, like Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge. 
  • If you can access other apps or websites, your Internet connection should be working. 
• Check the device settings and ensure Wi-Fi is enabled, and you're connected to the correct Wi-Fi network.
  • For many devices, Wi-Fi can be toggled On/Off in the device's Connection Settings/Wi-Fi List.
    • Similarly, having Airplane Mode toggled on will disable the Wi-Fi functionality on your device.
    • In some rare situations, Wi-Fi can be turned off on your Residential Gateway/RG (i.e. Router). Check the RG manual for more information on toggling that.
  • Sometimes devices will remember their previous connections and are configured to automatically join such networks. This is especially common if your previous ISP RG is still powered on or you've connected to nearby public networks in the past.
  • If the Wi-Fi network does not appear in the list of available networks, restart your personal device and or RG.
    • Avoid doing a Hard Reset/Factory Reset of the RG. The process varies per RG and will revert the device to factory default settings, erasing custom configuration like the Wi-Fi network name & password. 
  • If you encounter an error message like "Failed to Connect" or "Incorrect Password/Passphrase/Key", check that the password is being entered correctly.
    • Be mindful that passwords are case-sensitive.
    • On many devices you can toggle an Eye icon in the password field to show/hide the password.
    • Check the password is correct by accessing the RG settings. Depending on the model RG, this may be accessible via an app or web-based portal. For specific instructions on accessing your RG setting, we recommend checking the user manual provided with your device.
• Check the Sonic Optical Network Terminal (ONT), i.e. fiber-optic modem, is powered on.
  • The lights on your ONT will vary per model.
  • If there are no lights, confirm the power cable is securely plugged in on both ends.
    • Confirm there are no reported outages with your power utility provider.
    • Test the power outlet, power strip, or battery backup/UPS the ONT is connected to is working.
    • You can also try another nearby power outlet if one is available.
  • Reboot the ONT by unplugging the power cable for about 30 seconds and then plugging that back in. 
• If you've exhausted troubleshooting, please contact our Support Team for further assistance. 
   

Performance Issues

When your Wi-Fi is connected but unreliable or impaired. Common causes include slow speeds, weak signal, or frequent drop outs. Sometimes a combination of these issues can occur simultaneously. 

• Run a Speed Test (https://www.sonic.com/speedtest) and check the download, upload, and latency (ping). 
  • Refer to the What to Expect on Wi-Fi section below for more details on real-world speeds over Wi-Fi.
  • Alternatively, some Residential Gateways/RGs (i.e. Router) have a built-in speed test feature available via an app or web-based portal. Refer to your RG's manual for more information. 
  • Run Speed Tests near the RG and in various parts of the home to compare performance.
    • If you notice a significant speed drop off, weak signal, or wireless dropouts as you roam throughout your home, consider opting for a mesh wireless solution. See the What is a Mesh System? section below to determine if that's a good fit. Alternatively, feel free to contact our Support Team, and we'd be happy to review mesh options together and find the perfect fit for your setup. 
• Check the RG and your personal device hardware specs, and ensure they are both multi-gig capable (1Gig - 10Gig depending on your service type).
  • For more details on Wireless Adapters.
  • Also, be mindful, as a device gets older, it may be less effective and result in degraded performance. 
    • If you are using a leased Sonic Eero and are interested in checking for equipment upgrades, please visit your Member Tools account > Manage Your Wi-Fi. Alternatively, our friendly Support Team is happy to discuss Eero options and find the best fit for your home. 
• Confirm you are using the appropriate Ethernet cable between the ONT and RG.
  • We recommend using a minimum of a Cat6 Ethernet cable to ensure it's able to transfer multi-gig speeds.
  • Older Ethernet cables can bottleneck the speeds between the ONT and RG.
  • Additionally, physically damaged or faulty cables can cause slow speeds or dropouts. If you notice visible damage (e.g. cuts, loose connectors, or severe bends), swap this cable out for a newer one.
• Confirm the RG placement is optimal. 
  • Aim high. The RG should be elevated off the floor, on a desk or shelf.
  • Keep in an open space. Avoid placing the RG in a corner, behind furniture, or inside a media panel, cabinet, or drawer. 
  • Ensure the RG is isolated and at least 6 feet away from other electronic devices that may cause interference. 
    • Common devices or appliances within close proximity to the RG, such as microwaves or speakers/subwoofers, can cause Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and impact the Wi-Fi signal strength.
    • For more details and examples, see our EMI article.
  • If you are using the Eero, or another equivalent mesh system, check the placement of the beacons/extenders.
    • The ideal range between extenders is around 20-30 feet. Ultimately, this will depend on home layout and the material of your walls, so extra fine tuning may be needed. You can experiment with the placement by plugging the extenders into different power outlets. Follow similar placement best practices (aim high, open space, & isolated from other electronics) for each extender. 
    • In the Eero app, you can run a Coverage Scan to diagnose the signal strength and placement.
    • Ensure the extenders are online. For the Eero, you can view the status within the app.  
• If you've exhausted troubleshooting, please contact our Support Team for further assistance. 

Contacting Support

If you have any questions or want to speak with someone to further troubleshoot your service, please feel free to reach out to our support team. Support is available between 6am-10pm PT every day and can be reached via phone at 1-888-766-4233 or via a callback request submitted here: https://www.sonic.com/support_cba_request. You can also reach out by email at support@sonic.com or via SMS at (833) 836-0300.

Further Reading:

Wired vs Wireless

While Wi-Fi is incredibly convenient, it is also less stable than a traditional wired connection due to potential signal interference and range issues. When a consistent, low latency connection is important, it is always advised to use a wired connection instead of wireless. The same is true when you're trying to maintain the performance of your line.

Wired:

• Capable of achieving consistently faster, symmetrical speeds.
• Ideal for tasks that require consistent stability and faster response times, e.g. video conferencing, online gaming, large file transfers & backups.
• Optimal for stationary devices that are near the Residential Gateway/RG (i.e. Router). 
• Impacted by several factors including cable type, length, physical damage, external interference, adapter type, and network card.

Wireless:

• Speeds can vary due to many competing factors.
• Ideal for portable or smart home devices, casual browsing, and email.
• Convenient, flexible, requires fewer cables, and works for most everyday tasks.
• Impacted by RG placement, home layout & size, wall materials, distance, hardware specifications, and more. See Factors that Impact Wi-Fi section below.

What to Expect on Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi performance is often unpredictable and can vary widely from home to home due to a variety of external factors. There are steps you can take to help mitigate some of these issues and improve your Wi-Fi connection, such as using a mesh system to increase coverage, but Wi-Fi will almost always be less consistent and variable than a wired connection. 

Fortunately, many everyday tasks require less download & upload bandwidth than most people expect. Another important benchmark for performance is latency, also known as ping. Latency is generally measured in milliseconds and represents the response time for data. Lower latency indicates a faster response time, whereas higher latency suggests a delay or slower response. Even a few milliseconds of latency can be noticeable to the human eye and results in noticeable problems for many tasks that require minimal bandwidth to function. For example, video conferencing generally requires about 1.2 Mbps - 5 Mbps download & upload depending on the situation, e.g. 1-on-1 calls, group calls, screen share, cameras enabled, etc. Even having the appropriate speeds, small spikes in latency can result in issues, such as dropouts, audio sync delays, or frozen screens & buffering. The following list is of everyday tasks and their bandwidth requirements:

• Web Browsing: About 1 Mbps – 5 Mbps
• Email: About 1 Mbps – 2 Mbps
• Video Conferencing: About 1.2 Mbps – 5 Mbps
• HD Streaming: About 5 Mbps – 8 Mbps
• 4K Streaming: About 15 Mbps – 25 Mbps 

Wi-Fi Generations

The organization responsible for standardizing Wi-Fi technology (the IEEE) has developed a versioning system to distinguish each new generation of Wi-Fi. The higher the generation number, the newer the technology and the faster the potential speeds. Depending on the age of your device or RG, you may experience different speeds based on the Wi-Fi generation it supports. For example, a laptop from 2016 using Wi-Fi 5 would max out at around 800 Mbps based on real-world conditions. Additionally, while Wi-Fi is typically designed to be backwards compatible, older devices cannot fully take advantage of the benefits of increased speeds offered by newer generations due to the limitations of their networking cards at the time of manufacture.

You can generally view the wireless adapter specs and which generation Wi-Fi technology your RG is using by checking the specs within the device manual.

*Please note, actual speeds will vary based on several factors. See below for more details.

Factors that Impact Wi-Fi

• RG location.
• Size of rooms & layout.
• Material and number of walls.
  • Just about any physical object will cause interference with Wi-Fi signal, e.g. drywall, wood, metal, etc.
  • Some materials are particularly bad, such as plaster, metal lath, stucco, or concrete.
• Distance.
• EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) from Electronics.
  • Microwaves, Bluetooth, Speakers/Subwoofers.
• Neighboring Wi-Fi.

What is a Mesh System?

A mesh system consists of several access points (a base station and one or more beacons) that spread throughout a building and work together to provide even Wi-Fi coverage. This can be of great assistance in situations where the size, physical layout, and/or construction materials used in the residence are causing impediments to the normal wireless network generated by a single RG. At Sonic, we provide the Eero mesh as our solution for improving both the range and performance of wireless networks.

If you are interested in leasing a Sonic provided Eero, please visit your Member Tools account > Manage Your Wi-Fi to place an order. Alternatively, our friendly Support Team is happy to discuss Eero options and find the best fit for your home.