WiFi disconnections in 5Ghz mode

[kueppers]

Hello,
I have owned the CQ20B for just about four weeks now. Yesterday it lost the connection 3-4 times during the band session (2 hours). It was the first time I ran the CQ20B with WPA2 and 5GHz. All the time before I left it at the default values. And as far as I can remember, it rarely happened. I was able to re-establish the connection with just one click (OK button), but I was very surprised at the frequency of the disconnections yesterday.

Is there anything I can do to minimize these disconnections? Have I done something wrong? Do I have to worry about such disconnections during a performance?

Regards
Kueppers

[Lee7]

When you are using 5ghz you need to make sure that you have good line of sight between your device and the CQ-20B. Also take a look and see if any other band members are using wireless mic or guitar systems operating within the same frequencies. I have done quite a few shows now with my 20B and the connection has been very stable operating in 5ghz mode.

🙂

[KeithJ A&H]

@kueppers

Something else that can help is to ensure the channel is set to Auto. This will search for the least congested channel when the WiFi is initialised (you can force it to search again with a restart or by switching to a fixed channel and back to auto).
There are apps available for iOS and android which can be used to show wireless signals in the environment, along with their channel and power e.g. Apple Airport Utility and Android WiFi Analyzer.
These can help show any conflicts or interference, or just to check you have good signal level at a distance or through walls/people/instruments.

Thanks,
Keith.

[Brian]

5ghz can allow for faster data transfer, but the wave lengths are also smaller and more easily blocked by things. (As sound engineers, this shouldn’t be a foreign concept to grasp). 2.4ghz tends to connect at farther distances and have a more stable connection vs 5ghz. Unless you need the “speed” of 5ghz (which you really shouldn’t for this type of application), you should probably default to 2.4ghz first and only use 5ghz if the 2.4ghz environment is too crowded. But honestly with most devices defaulting to 5ghz now, it’s usually the 2.4ghz bands that are less crowded.

[kueppers]

Many thanks for the answers.
Following Keith’s tip, I installed the “Wifi Analyzer” app, which shows that the CQ20B is really set to 5 GHz. During the session, the CQ20B was only a few meters (max. 3m) away from the tablet (Fire HD10). Our guitarist plays with a wireless system that transmits via 2.4 GHz. This can be ignored as an interference factor. Is it possible that the LED spotlights or the halogen lamp are interfering with the connection? These were switched on.

Another question in this context:
How do I proceed if I want to connect the CQ20B via Ethernet? To be honest, I’m a bit scared to switch from WIFI to Ethernet now. What if I can’t get the Ethernet connection to work for some reason? How do I get back into the CQ app? Via WIFI? Is this automatically when I have removed the network cable or do I have to RESET again?

Tomorrow we will be using the CQ20B live in front of an audience. I’ve been a little bit nervous ever since the connection was lost during the band training, all of which could be turned off again with an “OK” without any negative effects.

Regards
Kueppers

[KeithJ A&H]

@kueppers

Switching between WiFi and Ethernet is done from the CONFIG / CONTROL AND NETWORK / Network screen.
But if you’re not connected to your CQ-20B and can’t access this, you can reset the network settings at any time and have the CQ-20B restart in either WiFi or Ethernet mode as shown here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3paeL9xKxoI&list=PLq3_zC_Xz0PhzmZibU9d1Zz9CnK4KUmSq&index=3

The reason the apps are useful is to check if any other devices are running in those bands on the same channels as the CQ, and potentially causing interference. As well as showing the signal level being
If you are still experiencing drop outs, please contact us through support.allen-heath.com with more info on the setup and a screenshot of the results from the app.

Thanks,
Keith.

[kueppers]

Hi,
I would like to tell you about my first live performance using the CQ20B live on saturday. It was a little birthday party with just about 50 people. I was able to use the settings from the band’s studio with minor changes. We played for a about 3 hours. And I’m sorry to say that the WLAN connection was interrupted like more than 15 times during this time. The mixer was about 2 meters in front of me on the floor. The settings were: WPA2, 5GHz and automatic. After disconnection I had to press OK and reconnect every time. There were no problems with the PA, the music continued during playing and singing without any problems.

However, I had forgotten to check the frequencies of the phones present before the gig started. But with just under 50 people, I shouldn’t have had any problems. And if there were, what alternatives would I have had? I even asked my guitarist to replace his wireless connection with a cable in the middle of the gig. But the disconnections continued. There are no other sources of interference within the band. One band member has the Bluetooth connection to the mixer.

I use Amazon’s Fire HD10 as tablet. Could it be that the tablet caused these interruptions. But how can I find it out quickly? Connect this tablet at home for a while and wait to see if disconnections will happen, then try my Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S phone instead of the Fire HD10 and wait to see what happens. Then maybe test an iPad10 and so on. Am I right in this approach? I don’t want to wait until the next performance I assume that a direct connection via Ethernet will not cause any problems.

I have fallen in love with the CQ20B and really want to keep it. Please help me to solve the connection problem.

Regards
Kueppers

[alvaroguitarplayer]

Hello
Yesterday was first show with CQ20B, total disaster!! I configured it at home to use it with external router…. Tuns out that Connection lost message on APP was displayed every 3 minutes so I switch to integrated Wifi, same problem but worse, Bluetooth was cutting out and songs were changing the tempo (like trying to keeping up). Right now Im testing it at home and is the same problem its impossible for me to use 2.4GHZ with integrated WIFI and Bluetooth.

The issue with Bluetooth was solved by using my external router, but message “Connection lost” still present every 2 or 3 minutes….. I`ve tried with another router (2.4Ghz, 5 GHZ) different cables (RJ45) and Tablet Samsung, iPad Pro and MacBook Pro 2022, same problem!!

Please, please Im hopping the may be an APP bug that can be fixed with an update. The other thing (please God No) es that maybe this starts to happen when the mixer is hot. The problem starts after maybe 20 minutes and then “connection lost” starts.

Is important to mention that mixer always is producing sound, mics, preamps and everything else works fine during this interminable “connection lost”.

[KeithJ A&H]

@alvaroguitarplayer

Please contact us through support.allen-heath.com with more details on your setup, environment and any other wireless devices in the area and we will help to figure out what’s going on.

Thanks,
Keith.

[aksakalli]

I’m using Fire HD 8 to control CQ18 through the built-in wifi. I did 7 shows with my tablet so far from 20 to 250 people. In all of them the tablet keeps disconnecting from the mixer. It happened all the time and I kept missing the queues. It’s so frustrating. I use many other digital mixers with an external routers through my tablet. This never happens. I tried different 2.4 and 5.8 ghz, the problem remained the same. I upgraded to the firmware 1.2 before my gig last night and no solution either.

@kueppers you’re also using a Fire tablet, could it be about my device? This device works perfectly fine with any other network.

I sold my other digital mixers to be compact without an external router, tablet, and bluetooth dongle. I’m loving my mixer so far a part from no pre-fader option for fx buses and this wifi problem.

[kueppers]

@aksakalli: The Fire HD behaved in exactly the same way for me as it did for you: regularly disconnections. However, the mixer continued to run well. If I had to correct something, I pressed the OK button, the mixer was re-connected and I could change something – until the next disconnection. That was annoying and also made me feel insecure.

In the meantime I work with an iPad – and it works very well

Regards
Kueppers

[Brian]

I’m not sure if this is part of the problem or not, but most mobile devices by default set their apps to be optimized for battery efficiency. What this means is that if an app sits idle for too long, the device will effectively start shutting down parts of the app to save battery. When this happens with these types of audio control apps, they will loose the connection to the console and you will have to reconnect to the console manually. This also happens usually if your screen turns off on your device.

The moral of the story is to make sure you triple check your app permissions and make sure these apps are exempt from any battery optimization rules and change your screen time out setting to ensure it doesn’t turn off.

[Mike C]

Kind of looking like a Fire Tablet issue, have you tried and iPad without changing anything else?

Good advice on getting a WIFI scanner APP to see what channels are in use and to stay clear of. I have an Android tablet with the “WIFI Man” scanner app for just the purpose.
I use iPads to mix with.
With my external routers I normally use 5g in the lower channels, 36, 40, 44, 48 with no issues.

There are lots of wireless guitar and mic systems that operate in the 2.4 WIFI bands and there are a couple of IEM systems that operate in the upper end of the 5g WIFI range.
The WIFI band scanner apps will not show those devices.

Actually I think anyone using a wireless mic or guitar system that operates in any WIFI band is just asking for wireless drop outs at the wrong time.

[Author]

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