Q: My computer’s wireless network connection drops every time I use my cordless phone. How do I make it stop?

A: The overlapping frequency ranges used by both your wireless network and your cordless phone are causing the problem. The 802.11 b, g, and n wireless network standards both operate in an unlicensed spectrum of 2.4 GHz. Many cordless phones operate in the same spectrum. Bad things happen when both devices try to grab the same chunk of frequency. Poorly manufactured phones that bleed across several channels within the 2.4 GHz range when they transmit can complicate this problem.

The best solution is to retire your 2.4 GHz cordless phone and to purchase one that operates in the 5.8 GHz range instead. If the older model is sabotaging your home wireless network, it is quite likely playing tricks on any neighbors you have using wireless equipment in their homes as well.

If you absolutely refuse to give up using your old cordless phone, go into the configuration interface for your wireless access point and change the channel it operates on. If it is on channel 1, try setting it to channel 11 instead, or vice versa. The farther away you get from the portion of the band where the overlap occurs, the happier you’ll be. Trying this solution may lessen the problem.

I would not recommend purchasing or using a 900 MHz cordless phone to anyone living within about 10 km of Consort or Coronation. Xplornet, the local high-speed wireless Internet provider in these communities, deploys 900 MHz subscriber modules for customers who are not “line of sight” to their radio tower (this lower frequency does an excellent job of penetrating obstacles). You can quite easily sabotage your neighbors by operating equipment operating in the 900 MHz range.

The bottom line is that a home with a wireless network shouldn’t contain any other devices operating in the 2.4 GHz range. If you purge your home of the offending equipment and the problems continue, it’s time to have a talk with your neighbors.

Sean McCormick
A+, Network+, Linux+, CTT+, I-Net+
MCSA, MCSE, LPIC1