My s21 ultra (snapdragon, unlocked) wifi range is really poor. Mobile data works perfectly, but on wifi I have to be right next to the router to get anything over 2 mbps consistently.
Here's what I've tried:
Reset network settings
Boot into safe mode (issue persists in safe mode)
Factory reset phone and opted out of smart switch after reset
Turned off 5g
Tried with/without bluetooth
Turned off Google Location Accuracy Restarted router
Changed router frequency channel
Reset router to default ssttings
Changed MAC address to phone MAC
I do not see any messages like "Connected Without Internet". The connection just says "Connected". Very occasionally some apps will cause a message along the lines of "WiFi unstable, waiting for stable wifi before continuing"
Every other device in the home connects just fine, including my previous phone s7 edge. On my s7 edge, I can be on the complete other side of the house and still get reasonable speeds.
When enabling mobile data tethering on another device, I can connect to that device's hotspot with a reasonable speed.
When checking the speed directly next to the router, I see good speeds, as expected with any device right next to a router. A couple feet or more away from the router, and the speeds are abyssmal as described. It seems the WiFi range on my device has huge exponential drop-off after a couple feet.
My router is single-band (2.4GHz only). The model is MI424WR rev 1.0. I pay for 100 mbps, my s7 edge gets around 25 mbps consistently, but the s21 ultra gets around 1mbps on average, and very commonly even less than that.
Due to COVID I will likely not be able to test my device on anyone else's router but my own anytime soon.
Is it safe to say the device is defective? Do you recommend I RMA this device? Anyone else with similar issues have advice? Sure one can argue I have an "older" router but I would expect this device to at least match the network performance of my S7 edge. It does not make sense to me to say this is an issue with the router.
I have submitted an error report through Samsung Members, just thought I'd post here as well to get more community feedback and discussion going.
Yea, so if your S7 has great range, and the Ultra does not, then it seems to be a hardware issue (antenna). There's not much that can be done "software wise".
The 2.4Ghz channel is slower, but has better range than 5 Ghz. 5 Ghz is faster, but range isn't as good as 2.4.
The 2.4 channel will [almost] always be more congested, because many devices use it vs 5 Ghz ... unless you're using "current hardware technology" devices.
If you can, set Fixed Allocation for the phone in the router's settings. Then turn off Wifi on the phone, wait 15 seconds, then turn it back on. Test again
If it persists, I'd call Samsung - maybe the phone has an antenna issue.
One last to thing ... have you tried a completely different Wifi network away from your home?
I'm assuming I'm not using private DNS considering I'm not sure what that is exactly.
is fixed allocation same as giving the device a static IP to connect to? Because if so, I tried that but didn't work. if not, I'm not sure what that is and couldn't find anything regarding fixed allocation in relation to my Verizon router on google.
Unfortunately due to COVID I wont be able to try another router anytime soon. I wish I could because that would give helpful info.
I think I'll give Samsung a call tomorrow. Thanks!
Yea, so if your S7 has great range, and the Ultra does not, then it seems to be a hardware issue (antenna). There's not much that can be done "software wise".
The 2.4Ghz channel is slower, but has better range than 5 Ghz. 5 Ghz is faster, but range isn't as good as 2.4.
The 2.4 channel will [almost] always be more congested, because many devices use it vs 5 Ghz ... unless you're using "current hardware technology" devices.
Thanks for the reply. Although I'm not sure I'm convinced this is the issue. My phone is so advanced that it can't handle connecting to a router that every other modern device can? Seems more likely to be a phone defect
