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router disconnecting at random times

My WiFi keeps disconnecting at random times i am running on a router/modem Belkin and comcast is my provider if that means anything,my xoom,netflix and ps3 are good.It's my old phones like droidx,samsung fasinate and bionic.All three phones are out of service but worked before when they were disconnected from verizion,it started this week.
Under wifi it will say scanning then obtaining ip address then connected to WLAN,then repeat all over again.
This is no big deal,and I have some time so I threw this question out there to try and figure it out.
THANKS
P.S.... I tried changing channels in router page,unplugged router and went back to my old settings.

Did you check the screen off settings? It's possible your MAC address of your phone has become blacklisted automatically by your router as well. Just a couple things to check.

can you tell me where i can find the mack address.thanks

The MAC Address can be found on Android phones in :
Parameters > About phone > Status
Right below your IP Address, you should have your MAC address.

.

this wont fix your router, but make sure your gateway from comcast has been bridged or else you're running a double NAT and will have sporadic DNS error when the comcast DNS servers have to outsource the lookup to other servers...

Have you set any static IPs? If so, make sure they don't fall in your DHCP range as this can cause IP conflicts. Also make sure you're close enough to your router to get a good signal.
It's also possible that you just have a crappy router. ISPs are notorious for giving out garbage.

ConfusingBoat said:
Have you set any static IPs? If so, make sure they don't fall in your DHCP range as this can cause IP conflicts. Also make sure you're close enough to your router to get a good signal.
It's also possible that you just have a crappy router. ISPs are notorious for giving out garbage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1, but he has a seperate Belkin... crap router... needs to get a highend Cisco, and bridge the gateway to prevent DNS issues...

DNS should never be a problem as long as you're not using the ones from your ISP. Use the Google public DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) or some other reliable public DNS service. Years ago when I used the DNS servers from Qwest or Comcast my internet would randomly **** out every few days until I renewed my WAN DHCP.
Also, as far as routers go, I personally use a high-end Buffalo (cost me $80 new) loaded with DD-WRT and a NetGear WNDR-3700 with DD-WRT. Great routers, great firmware. If you have any reasonable amount of tech knowledge I would highly recommend using it.

Let me explain... I worked for Comcast for 2 years... He stated he is running a modem/belkin combo... That's not enough info to determine if he has two separate devices, or and all-in-one Gateway...
If he is using an all-in-one Gateway, and decides to use his own personal router, the Gateway MUST be placed into bridged mode, disabling it's built-in router. If that is not done, he is running a double NAT and will have sporadic DNS issues when the Comcast DNS servers cannot perform the lookup, and have to outsource them to another set of DNS servers...
And yes, Google DNS FTW

In any case it doesn't sound like a double-NAT issue as he said his other devices work fine, and any future double-NAT could be resolved by simply turning the wifi off on any applicable combination device (modem/router combo) and simply running any other routers in infrastructure (AP) mode. Either that or you could place the new router in a DMZ, effectively disabling NAT altogether without actually turning it off. There are many ways to skin a cat, especially in IT.
Btw I'm a developer / network admin at an information services company

ConfusingBoat said:
In any case it doesn't sound like a double-NAT issue as he said his other devices work fine, and any future double-NAT could be resolved by simply turning the wifi off on any applicable combination device (modem/router combo) and simply running any other routers in infrastructure (AP) mode. Either that or you could place the new router in a DMZ, effectively disabling NAT altogether without actually turning it off. There are many ways to skin a cat, especially in IT.
Btw I'm a developer / network admin at an information services company
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand, but having the ISP place it into bridged mode is easier... It's still unclear what equipment he has.
BTW, I don't care...

Quasimodem said:
I understand, but having the ISP place it into bridged mode is easier... It's still unclear what equipment he has.
BTW, I don't care...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if you realize it, but your response seemed a little crude. My profession is every bit as relevant as you having worked for Comcast, and helps add credibility to my input regardless of whether or not you care.
Now, before this gets derailed into a geek-knowledge **** size contest...
If other wireless devices are working fine as the OP stated and all the affected devices are as small as a phone, it really starts to sound like a poor signal / interference issue. If the OP is in an older building, a building which utilizes dense materials or is full of anything else that may add to the signal attenuation, that could be part of the problem.
Another possible cause is that the DHCP pool isn't big enough to address all of the OP's devices. That's not to say there's not enough free addresses though, as the OP could just increase the pool size.
Or, again, it could just be that the router doesn't have the hardware to support as many devices as are trying to connect.
We really won't know until the OP replies with more information.

Quasimodem said:
this wont fix your router, but make sure your gateway from comcast has been bridged or else you're running a double NAT and will have sporadic DNS error when the comcast DNS servers have to outsource the lookup to other servers...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ConfusingBoat said:
I'm not sure if you realize it, but your response seemed a little crude. My profession is every bit as relevant as you having worked for Comcast, and helps add credibility to my input regardless of whether or not you care.
Now, before this gets derailed into a geek-knowledge **** size contest...
If other wireless devices are working fine as the OP stated and all the affected devices are as small as a phone, it really starts to sound like a poor signal / interference issue. If the OP is in an older building, a building which utilizes dense materials or is full of anything else that may add to the signal attenuation, that could be part of the problem.
Another possible cause is that the DHCP pool isn't big enough to address all of the OP's devices. That's not to say there's not enough free addresses though, as the OP could just increase the pool size.
Or, again, it could just be that the router doesn't have the hardware to support as many devices as are trying to connect.
We really won't know until the OP replies with more information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read my post above, you will see that his equipment is unknown, and i was providing a helpful tip if in fact he does have a gateway device.
Why in the world would you have him check all you mentioned when it's most likely easily fixable?
**** measuring? I think you just showed yours is smaller..
PS - I accidentally thanked you...

I was just throwing some ideas out there as food for thought because there's a lot that can affect a wireless connection, especially on devices as small as phones.
And my comment about "**** measuring" was thrown in solely because your responses come off rather condescending, especially when you begin with this:
Quasimodem said:
Let me explain... I worked for Comcast for 2 years...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry if I offended you somehow, and I'm sure you're actually a nice and helpful person, but you just come off as a know-it-all prick.

ConfusingBoat said:
I was just throwing some ideas out there as food for thought because there's a lot that can affect a wireless connection, especially on devices as small as phones.
And my comment about "**** measuring" was thrown in solely because your responses come off rather condescending, especially when you begin with this:
Sorry if I offended you somehow, and I'm sure you actually a nice and helpful person, but you just come off as a know-it-all prick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all good man, sometimes I'm like that... but we still don't know if he has a gateway device... from memory, belkin doesn't make gateways.... He just needs to optimize his router settings to WPA2-PSK and limit the radio to N only if that's all he's got... A gateway is a different animal and needs to be bridged... Uncheck avoid poor connections...

Why would it only be happening with the phones though, that's my main beef.

ConfusingBoat said:
Why would it only be happening with the phones though, that's my main beef.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cause it's a belkin... and uncheck avoid poor connecions...

Internet issues with Android devices at school

Hi,
Just got a shiny new Galaxy Note 10.1 last weekend. Yesterday, after receiving my case and keyboard from Amazon, I brought it in to school to start taking advantage of the S-Pen for note taking in classes that keyboards don't quite cut it in. Unfortunately, it revived an issue that I had and ignored on my HTC Rezound from last year... an issue that a WiFi device can't ignore, and unfortunately my phone's battery is not up to using CM10's tether function all day (and it might start running down my monthly data being used 5 days a week, all day).
So, any ideas what might cause this issue? The school primarily has Macs, and my Windows 8 Laptop sometimes has issues, but at least half the time it works fine. It is just Android devices that will not work. They connect, and get great signal strength, but just won't get any actual data. To my knowledge, nobody has ever gotten an Android device to connect. My Rezound is running an unofficial CM10 (4.1 JB) version, and my Note is using whatever the newest official update is (4.1 as well, I believe. Non-rooted). I don't know a whole lot about this type of stuff, but I'm not afraid to tinker around to try and get it working. I've tried a few other suggestions from numerous Google searches, but to no avail so far. The network is unprotected, and run by the school's IT people, so needless to say I have no way to easily change settings for the campus' network. I'd prefer not root the Note just yet, but if I need to, so be it. Any ideas what this might be?
Thanks

Some more Info
Coffeeist said:
[Original Post]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some more info:
I cannot ping the tablet from my laptop (I get no packet loss, but all return 'Destination Host Unreachable'.
Same result if I try pinging my laptop or the router from my tablet using Terminal Emulator.
Sometimes, if set to DHCP, the tablet will give an 'Authentication Error Occured' error (or similar, I don't recall the actual wording). Sometimes it indicates a connection, but just won't work. I've never had a problem connecting using the same info as my laptop (with the IP changed, of course), but again, no internet, no ping.
Thanks

May or may not be the problem, but from what I've noticed, school networks tend to have a lot of blocked ports. I know the main Google Sync Framework uses port 5228. Try shooting an email to a network admin in your school's IT dept, asking about that port or just in general if they're aware that Android devices are unable to connect on their network.

Coffeeist said:
Some more info:
I cannot ping the tablet from my laptop (I get no packet loss, but all return 'Destination Host Unreachable'.
Same result if I try pinging my laptop or the router from my tablet using Terminal Emulator.
Sometimes, if set to DHCP, the tablet will give an 'Authentication Error Occured' error (or similar, I don't recall the actual wording). Sometimes it indicates a connection, but just won't work. I've never had a problem connecting using the same info as my laptop (with the IP changed, of course), but again, no internet, no ping.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by "same info as my laptop" what types of credentials are you referring to? Something you have to change on the laptop in order to get in? The more information regarding this you can provide (safely, mind you, mask/alter any sensitive info), the better we can assist you. If you have to do something like set a VLAN, then you're never going to get an Android device to work as we do not have the capability to use VLAN'd wireless like most PCs and Macs can with the proper configuration changes. If there's some browser catch-all page, then that should work, but based on your statement "with the IP changed" leads me to believe that you're messing with the adapter settings directly. I would be especially keen to helping you with more detailed networking issues like this should you provide me with the information requested. I look forward to your reply. (Yes, I like technical challenges like this, it's why I work VoIP support.)

IP address or no IP address
Coffeeist said:
Some more info:
I cannot ping the tablet from my laptop (I get no packet loss, but all return 'Destination Host Unreachable'.
Same result if I try pinging my laptop or the router from my tablet using Terminal Emulator.
Sometimes, if set to DHCP, the tablet will give an 'Authentication Error Occured' error (or similar, I don't recall the actual wording). Sometimes it indicates a connection, but just won't work. I've never had a problem connecting using the same info as my laptop (with the IP changed, of course), but again, no internet, no ping.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
since you know ping, then did you check the IP address for each device?
Back to basic:
1: ping your device gateway IP
2) if ok, then ping ur device (tablet or laptop)
3) if ok then ping bbc.co.uk (this will check your dns), if failed ping your dns's IP address.
If no IP on android, then check if there is any protection on device. It sound like no IP been allocated for you.
Depends on how good a school's IT dept. I have not seen many school actually put filter to stop non-window device.
I am not sure it has anything to do with VLAN yet. As a simple logon, device does not care VLAN or no VLAN.
The basic for us is 1) get an IP on device. 2) know how to get out (gateway IP) 3) interrept hwere you go (DNS resolution) 4) know how to get to internet (internet router, internet firewall, internet boardband et...)
If you have authentication error, then it is sure you are not going to get an IP address. If this is WiFi then check on security (WEP, WAP...TKIP...)

tinbox134 said:
since you know ping, then did you check the IP address for each device?
Back to basic:
1: ping your device gateway IP
2) if ok, then ping ur device (tablet or laptop)
3) if ok then ping bbc.co.uk (this will check your dns), if failed ping your dns's IP address.
If no IP on android, then check if there is any protection on device. It sound like no IP been allocated for you.
Depends on how good a school's IT dept. I have not seen many school actually put filter to stop non-window device.
I am not sure it has anything to do with VLAN yet. As a simple logon, device does not care VLAN or no VLAN.
The basic for us is 1) get an IP on device. 2) know how to get out (gateway IP) 3) interrept hwere you go (DNS resolution) 4) know how to get to internet (internet router, internet firewall, internet boardband et...)
If you have authentication error, then it is sure you are not going to get an IP address. If this is WiFi then check on security (WEP, WAP...TKIP...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Coffeeist,
Please contact your schools IT department and find out what kind of encryption they use on their APs.
If they use TKIP, then that is whats causing the problem with android devices.
Once TKIP is disabled on the AP you are connecting to, you will be able to reach the internet.
I say this because I had the same problem in the past (setting up Cisco APs), and can confirm that this is the cause of the problem.
TKIP shouldn't be used anyway. They should be using AES. TKIP is too weak.
I guess that last part answered another question that you might of had. (Why TKIP doesn't work with Android?) Android=Secure TKIP=WEAK.... Unacceptable for Android
Also, you mention something about not being able to ping your tablet from your laptop. If I understand this correctly, you have both your laptop and tablet connected to the same AP and you are trying to ping between the two. This wont work in most cases. Reason: "Port-Protection", which if enabled doesn't allow clients on the AP to communicate with each other.
Regards,
Ed
Let us know how it goes.

nasvi said:
Hello Coffeeist,
Please contact your schools IT department and find out what kind of encryption they use on their APs.
If they use TKIP, then that is whats causing the problem with android devices.
Once TKIP is disabled on the AP you are connecting to, you will be able to reach the internet.
I say this because I had the same problem in the past (setting up Cisco APs), and can confirm that this is the cause of the problem.
TKIP shouldn't be used anyway. They should be using AES. TKIP is too weak.
I guess that last part answered another question that you might of had. (Why TKIP doesn't work with Android?) Android=Secure TKIP=WEAK.... Unacceptable for Android
Also, you mention something about not being able to ping your tablet from your laptop. If I understand this correctly, you have both your laptop and tablet connected to the same AP and you are trying to ping between the two. This wont work in most cases. Reason: "Port-Protection", which if enabled doesn't allow clients on the AP to communicate with each other.
Regards,
Ed
Let us know how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With useful posts above the rest is not much left for me to say but a simple advice
Make sure your friends aren't playing a prank on you coz I tend to do it I use arpspoof and aireplay-ng to cause such mayhem
Sent from my A116 using Tapatalk 2

Airplay and Arpspoof wouldn't be possible if MFP is enabled on the AP. Also the OP is stating that it is with all android devices and not 1.
Sent from my HTC One XL using xda app-developers app

responses
First off, thanks for all of the posts, and I apologize for taking so long to respond.
Also, I did check port 5228 with my laptop, and it seemed to indeed be closed. Haven't been able to contact IT yet, but I will need to soon to solve an issue with another, unrelated issue.
Cynagen said:
What do you mean by "same info as my laptop" what types of credentials are you referring to? Something you have to change on the laptop in order to get in? The more information regarding this you can provide (safely, mind you, mask/alter any sensitive info), the better we can assist you. If you have to do something like set a VLAN, then you're never going to get an Android device to work as we do not have the capability to use VLAN'd wireless like most PCs and Macs can with the proper configuration changes. If there's some browser catch-all page, then that should work, but based on your statement "with the IP changed" leads me to believe that you're messing with the adapter settings directly. I would be especially keen to helping you with more detailed networking issues like this should you provide me with the information requested. I look forward to your reply. (Yes, I like technical challenges like this, it's why I work VoIP support.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just IP/DHCP/DNS (and I've also tried public DNS such as Google). Nothing fancy set up on the laptop (everything should be on Windows default network settings, same with Android on both devices). There is also no catch-all page, assuming I'm interpreting that correctly (as a login page sort of thing, like I'd get at Starbucks or a Hotel).
Glad to provide the challenge... truth be told, underneath the annoyance of lacking connection, I love issues like this because of the fun tricks and such that solving them can teach.
tinbox134 said:
since you know ping, then did you check the IP address for each device?
Back to basic:
1: ping your device gateway IP
2) if ok, then ping ur device (tablet or laptop)
3) if ok then ping bbc.co.uk (this will check your dns), if failed ping your dns's IP address.
If no IP on android, then check if there is any protection on device. It sound like no IP been allocated for you.
Depends on how good a school's IT dept. I have not seen many school actually put filter to stop non-window device.
I am not sure it has anything to do with VLAN yet. As a simple logon, device does not care VLAN or no VLAN.
The basic for us is 1) get an IP on device. 2) know how to get out (gateway IP) 3) interrept hwere you go (DNS resolution) 4) know how to get to internet (internet router, internet firewall, internet boardband et...)
If you have authentication error, then it is sure you are not going to get an IP address. If this is WiFi then check on security (WEP, WAP...TKIP...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. If I recall, this either had full loss, or Destination Host Unreachable, when pinging the gateway IP from the tablet.
2. Have tried this nonetheless, and I think I made it through once or twice just after turning on the tablet, but after that would only get Dest. Host Unreachable.
3. Had tried with Google, fails across any DNS.
I seem to get an IP, although sometimes I get the authentication error in Android and it won't connect. Whenever I set a static IP, based off of my laptop's IP (not the same, of course), I get connected, just no internet.
nasvi said:
Hello Coffeeist,
Please contact your schools IT department and find out what kind of encryption they use on their APs.
If they use TKIP, then that is whats causing the problem with android devices.
Once TKIP is disabled on the AP you are connecting to, you will be able to reach the internet.
I say this because I had the same problem in the past (setting up Cisco APs), and can confirm that this is the cause of the problem.
TKIP shouldn't be used anyway. They should be using AES. TKIP is too weak.
I guess that last part answered another question that you might of had. (Why TKIP doesn't work with Android?) Android=Secure TKIP=WEAK.... Unacceptable for Android
Also, you mention something about not being able to ping your tablet from your laptop. If I understand this correctly, you have both your laptop and tablet connected to the same AP and you are trying to ping between the two. This wont work in most cases. Reason: "Port-Protection", which if enabled doesn't allow clients on the AP to communicate with each other.
Regards,
Ed
Let us know how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless I am totally clueless about this stuff (er, moreso than I though I already was), it uses neither TKIP or AES, being an open and unsecured network.
sak-venom1997 said:
With useful posts above the rest is not much left for me to say but a simple advice
Make sure your friends aren't playing a prank on you coz I tend to do it I use arpspoof and aireplay-ng to cause such mayhem
Sent from my A116 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, I doubt it. None of my friends, especially the ones who I think would even try and do something like this, are tech-savvy enough for me to have any suspicion of that. Thanks though
Another piece of info (a pretty weird seeming one at that): Sometimes, I'll turn on my tablet in the middle of the day, and out of the blue there is an email notification there, for recent emails. Of course, if I go into browser, I can't get any pages. Can't think of any other networks that the device could/would connect to on campus, either.
Thanks!

Coffeeist said:
First off, thanks for all of the posts, and I apologize for taking so long to respond.
Also, I did check port 5228 with my laptop, and it seemed to indeed be closed. Haven't been able to contact IT yet, but I will need to soon to solve an issue with another, unrelated issue.
Just IP/DHCP/DNS (and I've also tried public DNS such as Google). Nothing fancy set up on the laptop (everything should be on Windows default network settings, same with Android on both devices). There is also no catch-all page, assuming I'm interpreting that correctly (as a login page sort of thing, like I'd get at Starbucks or a Hotel).
Glad to provide the challenge... truth be told, underneath the annoyance of lacking connection, I love issues like this because of the fun tricks and such that solving them can teach.
1. If I recall, this either had full loss, or Destination Host Unreachable, when pinging the gateway IP from the tablet.
2. Have tried this nonetheless, and I think I made it through once or twice just after turning on the tablet, but after that would only get Dest. Host Unreachable.
3. Had tried with Google, fails across any DNS.
I seem to get an IP, although sometimes I get the authentication error in Android and it won't connect. Whenever I set a static IP, based off of my laptop's IP (not the same, of course), I get connected, just no internet.
Unless I am totally clueless about this stuff (er, moreso than I though I already was), it uses neither TKIP or AES, being an open and unsecured network.
Haha, I doubt it. None of my friends, especially the ones who I think would even try and do something like this, are tech-savvy enough for me to have any suspicion of that. Thanks though
Another piece of info (a pretty weird seeming one at that): Sometimes, I'll turn on my tablet in the middle of the day, and out of the blue there is an email notification there, for recent emails. Of course, if I go into browser, I can't get any pages. Can't think of any other networks that the device could/would connect to on campus, either.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on your responses, I have a follow up question and comment. The question is as follows: Did you have to register your computer with your IT when you started school in order to be permitted on the wireless network? If this was the case they're likely filtering based on MAC address (which you won't be able to spoof on your Android, but you may be able to spoof on your laptop), get them to re-register your laptop after you spoof the MAC address so you can get both devices on using the same MAC address (though not at the same time of course unless you're fine with stuff randomly not working). The comment is as follows: Yeah, finding the workarounds to get back limitations like this is definitely a fun challenge because when you win, you've definitely learned something new. Oh, and you were right about my question of the gateway authentication page like a hotel wifi login page.

MAC
Cynagen said:
Based on your responses, I have a follow up question and comment. The question is as follows: Did you have to register your computer with your IT when you started school in order to be permitted on the wireless network? If this was the case they're likely filtering based on MAC address (which you won't be able to spoof on your Android, but you may be able to spoof on your laptop), get them to re-register it after you spoof the MAC address so you can get both devices on using the same MAC address (though not at the same time of course). The comment is as follows: Yeah, finding the workarounds to get back limitations like this is definitely a fun challenge because when you win, you've definitely learned something new.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, it was up and running just through connecting normally, and has been since (mostly) - no registration or anything like that. Now, the reason that I put 'mostly' in parentheses is that sometimes the computer will be connected, but also have no internet (I don't think this started until I, dare I admit, upgraded to Windows 8). However, this only happens sometimes, whereas the Android devices never get internet access.
However, on the topic of MAC addresses, one post (in fact, I think it was on XDA) I saw awhile back while Google searching this problem was that someone had a similar issue, found to be with their device's MAC address having the letters 'FA' instead of 'FB' or something like that. Being that my Note isn't rooted, I haven't tested it with that, but perhaps I should give that a try with my CM10 Rezound?
(This is the post: HERE)
Thanks!

Coffeeist said:
Nope, it was up and running just through connecting normally, and has been since (mostly) - no registration or anything like that. Now, the reason that I put 'mostly' in parentheses is that sometimes the computer will be connected, but also have no internet (I don't think this started until I, dare I admit, upgraded to Windows 8). However, this only happens sometimes, whereas the Android devices never get internet access.
However, on the topic of MAC addresses, one post (in fact, I think it was on XDA) I saw awhile back while Google searching this problem was that someone had a similar issue, found to be with their device's MAC address having the letters 'FA' instead of 'FB' or something like that. Being that my Note isn't rooted, I haven't tested it with that, but perhaps I should give that a try with my CM10 Rezound?
(This is the post: HERE)
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That shouldn't be it unless they have corporate level routers that don't recognize the MAC address of any devices manufactured after 2009 (when most of these manufacturers got the MAC addresses assigned to them (this is VERY unlikely)). I would honestly work with IT on campus and advise that it appears not a single Android device is allowed on the network. If they're blocking Android for any reason, check the terms of service for using the WiFi and see if there's any provisions for banning an entire brand of device/OS for whatever reason. If there's only provisions for individual banning, then take it back to them and show them that your record has not been abusive in the least and go from there. Make a case, otherwise draw one up with legal council. *shrugs* I don't believe anyone should ever be punished for the type of device they chose to purchase, that's first amendment choice, but it really comes down to their terms of service which you agree to by using the wifi.

Cynagen said:
That shouldn't be it unless they have corporate level routers that don't recognize the MAC address of any devices manufactured after 2009 (when most of these manufacturers got the MAC addresses assigned to them (this is VERY unlikely)). I would honestly work with IT on campus and advise that it appears not a single Android device is allowed on the network. If they're blocking Android for any reason, check the terms of service for using the WiFi and see if there's any provisions for banning an entire brand of device/OS for whatever reason. If there's only provisions for individual banning, then take it back to them and show them that your record has not been abusive in the least and go from there. Make a case, otherwise draw one up with legal council. *shrugs* I don't believe anyone should ever be punished for the type of device they chose to purchase, that's first amendment choice, but it really comes down to their terms of service which you agree to by using the wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give it a shot, thanks.

Coffeeist said:
I'll give it a shot, thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to bump the thread, but seeing as it's my own I figured it would be alright...
I got around to asking the the school IT about the issue, and they said that the deliberately block mobile traffic, which they went on to find out does include Android tablets (I understand phones, but I can't even begin to understand why they target Android tablets... unfortunately, that's not my call). I Google searched a bit, and found that networking devices from a company called Aruba can be set to block traffic from specific types of devices (supposedly Cisco and a few other companies can do similar things too), by checking something with the HTML version, or something like that (I'm by no means a networking expert hehe).
So, I guess I'll make my last effort with this thing, and ask if anyone knows of some legal, non-hacky way of getting by this?
I'm guessing not, but worth asking.
Thanks

Coffeeist said:
Sorry to bump the thread, but seeing as it's my own I figured it would be alright...
I got around to asking the the school IT about the issue, and they said that the deliberately block mobile traffic, which they went on to find out does include Android tablets (I understand phones, but I can't even begin to understand why they target Android tablets... unfortunately, that's not my call). I Google searched a bit, and found that networking devices from a company called Aruba can be set to block traffic from specific types of devices (supposedly Cisco and a few other companies can do similar things too), by checking something with the HTML version, or something like that (I'm by no means a networking expert hehe).
So, I guess I'll make my last effort with this thing, and ask if anyone knows of some legal, non-hacky way of getting by this?
I'm guessing not, but worth asking.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before discussing any workarounds, you may need to review the Terms of Service for your wifi on the school premises first, review the consequences for bypassing their security measures, and figure if it's worth the risk to you... At this time, it'll be kind of "hacky" to get around such a block. In order to provide you with a valid workaround though we'll need a little bit of information regarding what's going on when you connect.
First, when you connect to the WiFi with your Android device, do you even receive an IP address? If you don't then we'll stop here, the only way to get around the types of blocks they're employing at this level would require hardware hacking/firmware reprogramming to change the identity of the device itself, which is flat out illegal in just about anywhere I can think of. Here's your checklist, fill out where applicable: (Even if you set static information to accomplish this, that will be a valid Y.)
Get an IP? (If Y, proceed)
Is it a valid IP address on the same network as your PC? (Either way, don't care)
Can you ping the gateway you got from DHCP on Android? (If Y, proceed)
Can you ping the DNS server(s) you got from DHCP on Android? (If Y, proceed)
Can you ping an external server such as Google DNS (8.8.8.8) on Android? (If Y, then we're done here)
It's kind of a bit of a process unfortunately, however, if you pass every single one of these tests with the Android device, there's good news. They're only filtering traffic based on the User-Agent identification of all your applications (and based on the MAC address of your device, denying your DHCP requests), you should be able to bypass this with a VPN tunnel back to your home from your Android (after setting your static IP) in order to encrypt and keep this information from leaking to their systems. However, this will likely set off alarms if they monitor their network heavily. If the school IT asks, then you're "working on projects in-between classes on your computer at home and your family has a home office with VPN already, so you used that to connect back to the house". Either way, they can't say much about it besides cut you off... again. Anywhos, I wouldn't recommend trying to bypass without doing all this research first, and then also evaluating the possible consequences, however the rewards are within themselves. You'll be the only person at school with a working mobile device, (besides those iSuckers). Technically, encrypting your traffic is completely legal (and they can't say anything legally about it), however, setting a static IP address in the same range as your computer at school may be against their TOS which you abide by being on campus. Let us know how everything goes.

Cynagen said:
Get an IP? (If Y, proceed)
Is it a valid IP address on the same network as your PC? (Either way, don't care)
Can you ping the gateway you got from DHCP on Android? (If Y, proceed)
Can you ping the DNS server(s) you got from DHCP on Android? (If Y, proceed)
Can you ping an external server such as Google DNS (8.8.8.8) on Android? (If Y, then we're done here)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With Static I set an IP and all other info (Gateway, DNS, etc, except for Network Prefix Length... no clue what that is, left it at 24 default), and could not ping gateway
Dynamic/DHCP I will have to check tomorrow, after downloading stuff for the tablet to get that info (I think I need root to use IfConfig with Terminal Emulator, correct?).
Whatever they use to block me out, it seems to have a slight hole built in... every day, multiple times a day, I will look down at my tablet and see notifications (mainly email, occasionally Facebook, etc) that pushed through on the schools network (I know that for sure, being that often times the emails are messages received during the day, in a time period where the tablet has been nowhere near any other networks). Maybe this hole can be breached?
Thanks!

Coffeeist said:
With Static I set an IP and all other info (Gateway, DNS, etc, except for Network Prefix Length... no clue what that is, left it at 24 default), and could not ping gateway
Dynamic/DHCP I will have to check tomorrow, after downloading stuff for the tablet to get that info (I think I need root to use IfConfig with Terminal Emulator, correct?).
Whatever they use to block me out, it seems to have a slight hole built in... every day, multiple times a day, I will look down at my tablet and see notifications (mainly email, occasionally Facebook, etc) that pushed through on the schools network (I know that for sure, being that often times the emails are messages received during the day, in a time period where the tablet has been nowhere near any other networks). Maybe this hole can be breached?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems like small gaps where the system doesn't block you long enough to receive some traffic, but that is promising. BTW, you can get your "network prefix" (netmask as we call it) from your computer. If you go into the command prompt on windows and run "ipconfig /all" you'll get 4 useful bits of info we need, IP address (so you can mimic it), the gateway, the subnet mask (usually 255.255.something.something) and the DNS servers. The subnet mask determines what you use, and I HIGHLY doubt they use 24 (that's mainly for home networks, 24 = 254 devices permitted on the DHCP, 16 = 65534 devices (this is WAY more likely)).

Cynagen said:
It seems like small gaps where the system doesn't block you long enough to receive some traffic, but that is promising. BTW, you can get your "network prefix" (netmask as we call it) from your computer. If you go into the command prompt on windows and run "ipconfig /all" you'll get 4 useful bits of info we need, IP address (so you can mimic it), the gateway, the subnet mask (usually 255.255.something.something) and the DNS servers. The subnet mask determines what you use, and I HIGHLY doubt they use 24 (that's mainly for home networks, 24 = 254 devices permitted on the DHCP, 16 = 65534 devices (this is WAY more likely)).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I just had a clean connection for about 5 minutes, and had a normal-looking IP based on my PC. Using Terminal Emulator I pinged the gateway after my connection failed, still with no response. I still appeared to have a proper IP on my tablet, but no actual internet connection.
So, perhaps these small windows are something to pursue? Or perhaps sticking with the VPN plan is best?
Thanks!

Coffeeist said:
Well, I just had a clean connection for about 5 minutes, and had a normal-looking IP based on my PC. Using Terminal Emulator I pinged the gateway after my connection failed, still with no response. I still appeared to have a proper IP on my tablet, but no actual internet connection.
So, perhaps these small windows are something to pursue? Or perhaps sticking with the VPN plan is best?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to make sure your networking information is entered correctly, you still haven't said anything about the netmask in this situation. However, if you're entering this information in correctly then you should have a solid connection until they realize you've forced a device into the network. The only thing you can do beyond that point is during that window, open a VPN connection without using a single browser request so they don't know what the device is unless they check the MAC address. Either way, this is a window that can be used, you just need to avoid identifying your device in any way prior to initiating the VPN connection. Turn off Sync when you connect.

[Q] dreaded gray Wi-Fi bar

Hey guys,
My nexus 10 had a gray Wi-Fi bar and is failing to connect any of the Google services such as play store, search app, or gmail. Basically GAPPS. I cannot find a solution to this besides factory resetting, can someone help? My tablet is on stock rooted.
Thanks!
add12364

My N10 either has a grey WiFi bar or it disconnects completely. This happens very often and occurs no matter what rom I have, even stock. I've always felt that the WiFi has always had issues but never got resolved. I've looked around for solutions but not found any. Much appreciated if someone explained or had a solution.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD

I completely cannot use Google play, someone please help.

Toggle the Wifi off and then back on a few seconds later.
If this doesnt fix anything then you need to modify your router settings to be compatible.

Don't use 5g on router.
Sent from my Nexus 10

5GHz networks work fine on this tablet.

trickster2369 said:
Don't use 5g on router.
Sent from my Nexus 10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense meant, but that's a pretty silly claim. The transmission technology involved (2.4GHz/5GHz) or protocol (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) has no bearing on the color of the Wi-Fi indicator, which indicates just one thing: does a request to Google's secure servers work, or not? It's virtually always a problem with the network setup, be it with the ISP or the router blocking a port. OP should try using a public access point (coffee shop or something) or mobile hotspot to see if they're able to connect that way.

EniGmA1987 said:
5GHz networks work fine on this tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My apologies. There was a lot of discussion concerning the use of 5ghz when the tablet was released. My comment was more of a suggestion than an absolute, and probably wasn't written the best.
Rirere said:
No offense meant, but that's a pretty silly claim. The transmission technology involved (2.4GHz/5GHz) or protocol (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) has no bearing on the color of the Wi-Fi indicator, which indicates just one thing: does a request to Google's secure servers work, or not? It's virtually always a problem with the network setup, be it with the ISP or the router blocking a port. OP should try using a public access point (coffee shop or something) or mobile hotspot to see if they're able to connect that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None taken. I was under the impression that grey/no bars, meant that there was no signal or there was a connection issue. I had no idea that the wifi state on the tablet had anything to do with Googles secure servers. I would like to learn more about that, if you would be so kind.

trickster2369 said:
None taken. I was under the impression that gray/no bars, meant that there was no signal or there was a connection issue. I had no idea that the wifi state on the tablet had anything to do with Googles secure servers. I would like to learn more about that, if you would be so kind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Wi-Fi state doesn't depend on the connection to Google's servers-- that's why it's quite possible to get full graybars. You'll also notice that if your Wi-Fi goes to sleep, when you wake up a (stock) Android device, you should basically always see it gray first, then turn blue after a second or so (speed depends on how good your connection is).
It's also not as simple as just going to google.com, because you can (usually) do that regardless of the status reported. That's because going to google.com only relies on basic HTTP/HTTPS web traffic through ports 80 and 443, which on most functioning networks are never going to be blocked (mostly because it would make even basic web browsing more or less impossible without workarounds). All of your "real" transactions with Google (Gmail sync, location reporting, etc.) happen through secured connections that run on different ports.
Some networks will block those ports for security reasons (the more ports you have open, the greater the network's functionality-- and its vulnerability to outside attack). In those situations, you'll see a gray bar indicating that while you've got connectivity, you won't be able to establish the connection to Google needed for some services to run (most importantly, any GCM/C2DM-based push notifications).
And no problem. Unfortunately, many OEMs muck around with the iconography, making this distinction meaningless on a pretty wide range of devices. It's annoying because this is one of the more common reasons that Google services don't work.

Rirere said:
The Wi-Fi state doesn't depend on the connection to Google's servers-- that's why it's quite possible to get full graybars. You'll also notice that if your Wi-Fi goes to sleep, when you wake up a (stock) Android device, you should basically always see it gray first, then turn blue after a second or so (speed depends on how good your connection is).
It's also not as simple as just going to google.com, because you can (usually) do that regardless of the status reported. That's because going to google.com only relies on basic HTTP/HTTPS web traffic through ports 80 and 443, which on most functioning networks are never going to be blocked (mostly because it would make even basic web browsing more or less impossible without workarounds). All of your "real" transactions with Google (Gmail sync, location reporting, etc.) happen through secured connections that run on different ports.
Some networks will block those ports for security reasons (the more ports you have open, the greater the network's functionality-- and its vulnerability to outside attack). In those situations, you'll see a gray bar indicating that while you've got connectivity, you won't be able to establish the connection to Google needed for some services to run (most importantly, any GCM/C2DM-based push notifications).
And no problem. Unfortunately, many OEMs muck around with the iconography, making this distinction meaningless on a pretty wide range of devices. It's annoying because this is one of the more common reasons that Google services don't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you happen to know if roms can affect wifi reception?

ikenvape said:
Would you happen to know if roms can affect wifi reception?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROMs and kernels shouldn't affect reception in a technical sense (unless the kernel developer really messes up or something), but they will affect what your device can do with the signal it has. There are also various modes your device can follow that offer compromises (i.e. for CDMA devices, EVRC-B vs. EVRC-C -- one is better for normal usage, the other holds clearer calls with low signal).

Rirere said:
ROMs and kernels shouldn't affect reception in a technical sense (unless the kernel developer really messes up or something), but they will affect what your device can do with the signal it has. There are also various modes your device can follow that offer compromises (i.e. for CDMA devices, EVRC-B vs. EVRC-C -- one is better for normal usage, the other holds clearer calls with low signal).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really appreciate the reply Rirere
I tried several lately. Since day one I have been receiving such poor reception. We have heavy wireless users here ranging from multiple game stations,phones tablets ,PC's etc. All have been receiving full strength except for the N10. From what your saying it seems like I have adjust the router for this one.

ikenvape said:
Really appreciate the reply Rirere
I tried several lately. Since day one I have been receiving such poor reception. We have heavy wireless users here ranging from multiple game stations,phones tablets ,PC's etc. All have been receiving full strength except for the N10. From what your saying it seems like I have adjust the router for this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you be a little more specific? Android has some nasty Wi-Fi issues (never have as many on my iOS devices), but the situation you describe doesn't sound like it helps. I'm the student manager at a college helpdesk, so we sometimes have this kind of problem in the dorms. If you give some more info about your setup, I might be able to at least point you in the right direction.
Things like what's the make and model of the router, where it's located, how close are neighbors, and so on. You can also use this app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/...SwxLDEsImNvbS5mYXJwcm9jLndpZmkuYW5hbHl6ZXIiXQ) to see if there's channel interference. If your router is new enough, you could also potentially kick it up to use 5GHz only (although that causes lower speeds the further you get much faster than auto 2.4GHz/5GHz).

Rirere said:
Could you be a little more specific? Android has some nasty Wi-Fi issues (never have as many on my iOS devices), but the situation you describe doesn't sound like it helps. I'm the student manager at a college helpdesk, so we sometimes have this kind of problem in the dorms. If you give some more info about your setup, I might be able to at least point you in the right direction.
Things like what's the make and model of the router, where it's located, how close are neighbors, and so on. You can also use this app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/...SwxLDEsImNvbS5mYXJwcm9jLndpZmkuYW5hbHl6ZXIiXQ) to see if there's channel interference. If your router is new enough, you could also potentially kick it up to use 5GHz only (although that causes lower speeds the further you get much faster than auto 2.4GHz/5GHz).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your too kind Reiere Thank you,
I'm using a Media Link MWN-WAPR150N. I see, it doesn't support 5ghz which seems to be a total bummer. I could have sworn that I purchased a dual band model. It's a wonderful device as I'm not having to constantly power cycle it like in the past. We do catch a neighboring facility's wifi here on our devices so I believe this can be causing interference and it would be best to switch up to a 5ghz router? Definitely will check out the app. Thanks allot. I apologize for the ignorance in this area.

ikenvape said:
Your too kind Reiere Thank you,
I'm using a Media Link MWN-WAPR150N. I see, it doesn't support 5ghz which seems to be a total bummer. I could have sworn that I purchased a dual band model. It's a wonderful device as I'm not having to constantly power cycle it like in the past. We do catch a neighboring facility's wifi here on our devices so I believe this can be causing interference and it would be best to switch up to a 5ghz router? Definitely will check out the app. Thanks allot. I apologize for the ignorance in this area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're almost always going to get some degree of interference from other devices. How bad it is depends on the power of your neighbors' rig and its proximity. Other items, such as microwaves can cause temporary disruptions in wireless power, but it's much more unusual these days than it was in the past.
Given the way other devices in your network seem to be functioning alright, it might be a device-side issue. However, before that I would look into a Wi-Fi analyzing app like I posted earlier and try setting your network to a particular channel. If you pick one clear of your neighbors' wireless network, then if it's set to auto (which it probably is), it should adjust around yours and grant you a clear channel. (two networks on auto can occasionally snarl with one another, and the one with more power is going to win. Since yours is a single-band N home router, there's a good chance you'd lose with the routers out these days).

Galaxy Note 3 Wifi Issues

I have had my new Galaxy Note 3 for about 3 weeks now, and have had an issue with certain apps not connecting to the internet over wifi. All of the google apps (youtube, play store, hangouts, gmail, etc) are not able to connect to the internet over any wifi hotspot, or if they do, they're painfully slow.
I have changed MTU settings on my home router, DNS settings, wifi auto switch is off on the phone.
Here's the kicker. If I enable airplane mode first, then turn wifi on, everything works great. I suspect this to somehow be related to the SIM card? Really should have nothing to do with wifi, but who knows...
I should add that I've owned a couple other android phones that have had this issue, but it seemed to have just "worked itself out" after a day or so. (Droid 4, Stratosphere II)

Have you tried a 30/30/30 hard reset on the router yet?
Does a laptop connected via Wi-Fi also have similar issues?
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I have hard reset and factory reset the router a few times, even went so far as to buy a brand new router and use it. No difference.
I get 26/8 speeds on two different laptops, and one desktop, all with ping times down to about 18ms (as shown on speedtest.net)

spoke with a helpful rep at verizon today, who supposedly called samsung regarding this fix while I was on hold. My replacement should be here tomorrow. This issue is exactly the same as when older android phones would not connect to google (signal indicators would be white instead of blue). It seems like something to do with ssl traffic.
Anyhow, will post back after i've played with the replacement for a bit.

syntheticexctasy said:
I have hard reset and factory reset the router a few times, even went so far as to buy a brand new router and use it. No difference.
I get 26/8 speeds on two different laptops, and one desktop, all with ping times down to about 18ms (as shown on speedtest.net)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
syntheticexctasy said:
spoke with a helpful rep at verizon today, who supposedly called samsung regarding this fix while I was on hold. My replacement should be here tomorrow. This issue is exactly the same as when older android phones would not connect to google (signal indicators would be white instead of blue). It seems like something to do with ssl traffic.
Anyhow, will post back after i've played with the replacement for a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The next most common thing that it would be is the channel that your router is set to. You want to use a frequency that has little interference and there is an app called WiFi Analyzer to help figure it out for your surroundings.
The reason that the laptops might work ok is because the channel can be set within Windows and are most likely set to a different random number between 1-11 than your phone is.

I have found open channels and used those, which made no difference. I believe this may be a google issue as evidenced here (granted these guys are talking about the nexus 5, the issue is very much the same)
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/SN03aclu7B8[1-25-false]
I received my replacement today, no dice. I also bought a new router today, no dice. I've tried every channel 1-12, no dice.
The only thing that works is to enable airplane mode, then turn wifi on. I then see full speeds on play store, youtube, gmail, and hangouts. Interestingly enough, the facebook app is affected by this, as well as all push notifications.
It should be noted that the replacement note 3 exhibits the exact same behavior. This leads me to believe there is a modem issue causing the phone to switch back and forth between LTE and wifi, or something along those lines (if the cell radio is off, wifi works great)

syntheticexctasy said:
I received my replacement today, no dice. I also bought a new router today, no dice. I've tried every channel 1-12, no dice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
syntheticexctasy said:
The only thing that works is to enable airplane mode, then turn wifi on. I then see full speeds on play store, youtube, gmail, and hangouts. Interestingly enough, the facebook app is affected by this, as well as all push notifications.
It should be noted that the replacement note 3 exhibits the exact same behavior. This leads me to believe there is a modem issue causing the phone to switch back and forth between LTE and wifi, or something along those lines (if the cell radio is off, wifi works great)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is truly odd. I suppose it could be believable that an ISP throttled traffic to specific blocks (net neutrality anyone?), but I don't know why that would cause an interface change on the handset.
There are some apps which are network interface aware - e.g. as an example carriers will use split DNS and inbound IP firewalling so only people on their own network can resolve the IPs of MMS (APN) servers or *send* data to them. That prevents them from being DDOS'ed and I suppose other attacks from anything but their own network - which they have well instrumented. But that means that the MMS apps can not use whatever IP interface happens to be up - either for DNS service or for IP routing - so they need to be able to bring up a specific IP interface, use DNS that is bound through that interface, and route through that interface as well.
I was going through the apps on my phone the other night with a package browser (Package Explorer (Ribo), btw) and I was stunned at how many apps have "CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE" privileges.
What I'm wondering is if you have an app installed that has gone nuts and is toggling on/off your cell I/F. Something like that would be consistent with your observations.
Is there anything relevant happening in your device logcat when this is going on?
.

bftb0 said:
That is truly odd. I suppose it could be believable that an ISP throttled traffic to specific blocks (net neutrality anyone?), but I don't know why that would cause an interface change on the handset.
There are some apps which are network interface aware - e.g. as an example carriers will use split DNS and inbound IP firewalling so only people on their own network can resolve the IPs of MMS (APN) servers or *send* data to them. That prevents them from being DDOS'ed and I suppose other attacks from anything but their own network - which they have well instrumented. But that means that the MMS apps can not use whatever IP interface happens to be up - either for DNS service or for IP routing - so they need to be able to bring up a specific IP interface, use DNS that is bound through that interface, and route through that interface as well.
I was going through the apps on my phone the other night with a package browser (Package Explorer (Ribo), btw) and I was stunned at how many apps have "CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE" privileges.
What I'm wondering is if you have an app installed that has gone nuts and is toggling on/off your cell I/F. Something like that would be consistent with your observations.
Is there anything relevant happening in your device logcat when this is going on?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are no apps installed other than the stock verizon/samsung apps. I have reset to factory in preparation for sending this unit back to vz, however it appears i'll be keeping it since the replacement didn't work any better.
Nothing interesting from logcat. Just a lot of IRListener messages, and DalvikVM occasionally clearing ram.

I can see why you would be pulling your hair out.
And the fact that you observe the same behavior with two different units (completely different hardware) and two different routers means one of two things:
- the problem is the handset/software
- the problem is not the handset/software.
Not trying to be funny there. What I mean by the above is that for you to pull two devices out of Samsung's production line at random (unless you happened to get two devices from a single batch of defective units), then the problem couldn't possibly be a low-probability defect thing: either it happens on a very large fraction of all N3 handsets, or the problem actually has nothing to do with the handset at all.
e.g. suppose Sammy shipped handsets where 1 out of 100 had the problem you observe. For you to end up with two of them in a row, the odds of that happening would be 1 in 10,000. If affected half of all handsets, then your odds would be more reasonable - 1 out of 4.
But it sure seems like if it affected half of all owners... or even 10% of all owners, people would be piling in in droves to complain.
I haven't noticed it on my N3, but I have other devices so I'm not sure how much I have used it for e.g. Youtube streaming. I do leave both WiFi and the cell on, and haven't noticed what is happening to you, but I am on MJ7 instead of MJE, and my WiFi is older (802.11g), so maybe if it is a bug it that wouldn't even show up with my setup even if it were the N3's fault.
(BTW, that offers a suggestion - because the N3 is so new it has 802.11ac capabilities - and I suppose your new router does too - if you turn off some capabilities, does the problem disappear? For instance turn off 802.11ac or 802.11n or 5Ghz band usage on the router, does that change anything?)
The other alternatives? Some kind of burst RF noise in your local environment? You earlier said
are not able to connect to the internet over any wifi hotspot, or if they do, they're painfully slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
were the "any wifi hotspot" APs that were all relatively close to a single location, or were they widely dispersed (miles apart)? If they were miles apart, then the problem isn't ISM-band interference. Even if it were, interference from non 802.11 devices (bluetooth devices, baby monitors, microwaves, some wireless cameras, etc) isn't going to show up using a scanning app. Relatively sophisticated equipment would be needed to make that determination. Or a search and destroy mission.
I will say that I had a similar problem a few weeks back (using completely different gear) - I was tethering to a different Android phone (USB tether), and Web browsing on the client device (N7 tab) was fine except the Google Play store app - data would only come dribbling out of it. I couldn't even complete a single app listing, much less begin an app download. At the time I just chalked it up to a temporary problem with Google's Play store. But now it makes me wonder if it isn't something more subtle - as you noted, Google servers seem to be a commonality you are observing. Maybe some ridiculous bug involving Google's single credential efforts?
Well, now I'm rambling and I really haven't given you a suggestion. Maybe something I said will jog you in a different direction and you'll figure it out. If it really is something generic to the current Note 3, it seems like Google would want to know about it. I wonder if it is even possible to get telephone support from Google - they don't really have a reputation as being a consumer-oriented business.
good luck
.

Thank you for all of your help. I am sort of an amateur RF "enthusiast" myself. This happens in more than one location, literally every wifi location i've connected to.
I do believe on past handsets a new sim card sorted this out for some reason, however the vz rep that I spoke with activated a new one that I had gotten with the note 3, but not activated at the time, since my droid 4's sim card was "current enough".
I am lead to believe that this is a modem firmware issue, due to the fact that when the cell radio is off (doesn't matter if mobile data is on or off) the wifi works great. I am running MJE, and would be willing to try and downgrade to the previous radio to see if it makes a difference, but I don't know if that's even possible without causing some damage.
edit: I just realized that the replacement phone is running MJ7...so not sure it would matter.

Resolved
Ok guys, I figured this out, sort of.
I went into an angry router swapping/resetting frenzy when I figured out that the replacement acted the same.
My original setup consisted of: (I have a lot of wired devices in my house)
Comcast Gateway (set up as a normal cable modem, wifi/firewall/dhcp disabled) ----> Linksys WRT54G w/ DD-WRT (wifi off, using for firewall/routing) -----> Zonet N router (no dhcp, using as a switch, wifi off) --------> Linksys BEFW11S4 (used as a switch) ------> Netgear WNR1000V2 (used as a switch and second wifi access point occasionally)
During this frenzy, I eliminated the Zonet unit, and the BEFW11s4. My network now looks like this:
Comcast Gateway ----> Netgear WNR1000V2 (router/firewall/dhcp/wifi access point) -----> WRT54G (as a switch)
This seems to have solved my problem. I noticed while troubleshooting that if I disconnected the segment between the Zonet and the BEFW11S4, my phone would work perfectly fine. I believe that taking the BEFW11S4 out of the picture solved my problem, even though my data was not riding on that segment of the network.
Still, I am perplexed as to why the airplane mode trick fixed the issue.

LOL. I have a pile of Cisco routers if you want to buy them - and I'll throw in some token ring gear and another BEFW11S4 for free.
But seriously - you did the right thing by (experimentally) simplifying; the more complex an environment is, the more opportunities there are for bug expression.
Glad everything worked out - and I await your PM inquiring about my Cisco pile

I never wanted to upgrade from my WRT54G V1! What an awesome, rock solid router! However, need faster wireless speeds nowadays.
I was trying to keep that as my firewall, since the dd-wrt firewall is so much more robust than that of the netgear, also the netgear does not support nat loopback (something I really would like to have)

VM Super Hub 1

Is there anyway of using the super hub 1 from virgin media to act as a wifi extender/repeater?
I currently have a super hub 2 connected but in some spots of the house i cant access wifi or its a poor signal so o was tjinking if it is possible to create a wifi extender from the super hub 1? Any help would be appreciated, and thanks.

skyla20 said:
Is there anyway of using the super hub 1 from virgin media to act as a wifi extender/repeater?
I currently have a super hub 2 connected but in some spots of the house i cant access wifi or its a poor signal so o was tjinking if it is possible to create a wifi extender from the super hub 1? Any help would be appreciated, and thanks.
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It is possible, the easest way is to first change some settings on your old hub, you will need to disable built in features such as the DHCP, secondly you may need to change the old hubs ip, if it is the same as the new one, to prevent a ip address conflict (for example, if they are both using 192.168.1.254 though if yours is an old netgear tg834? Then its probably using 192.168.1.1) , now assuming your old super hub supports the same wireless encryption as the new one, match the wireless ESSID (name) and encryption password (And type! Such as wpa2) so that they appear as the same Wireless network (distributed wireless) and the easesst and most supported method is to then link the two devices via ethernet and place one of them somewhere else in the building where it can provide a signal in the blindspots of your primary superhub.
Also a side not.. If i recall, the most recent superhub uses 802.11n on 5GHz, which does not boad well in old victorian houses, and new ones made with lots of metal strips between plaster boards.. 2.4GHz works better at penetrating walls, so check you dont have this option set to 5GHz under the wireless settings.

tytiger said:
It is possible, the easest way is to first change some settings on your old hub, you will need to disable built in features such as the DHCP, secondly you may need to change the old hubs ip, if it is the same as the new one, to prevent a ip address conflict (for example, if they are both using 192.168.1.254 though if yours is an old netgear tg834? Then its probably using 192.168.1.1) , now assuming your old super hub supports the same wireless encryption as the new one, match the wireless ESSID (name) and encryption password (And type! Such as wpa2) so that they appear as the same Wireless network (distributed wireless) and the easesst and most supported method is to then link the two devices via ethernet and place one of them somewhere else in the building where it can provide a signal in the blindspots of your primary superhub.
Also a side not.. If i recall, the most recent superhub uses 802.11n on 5GHz, which does not boad well in old victorian houses, and new ones made with lots of metal strips between plaster boards.. 2.4GHz works better at penetrating walls, so check you dont have this option set to 5GHz under the wireless settings.
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Ok i will check all that out soon as i have time but thanks also. The house is made in 1970's it is strange that im not getting good signal in the garage room the wireless hub is situated in the living room downstairs then theres a brick wall then the hall way withthe stairs in the middle another small brick wall which leads to the garage room. I get signal but its poor. Would a netgear wifi extender work the one on the net for about £40 if the super hub 1 idea didnt work?
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skyla20 said:
Ok i will check all that out soon as i have time but thanks also. The house is made in 1970's it is strange that im not getting good signal in the garage room the wireless hub is situated in the living room downstairs then theres a brick wall then the hall way withthe stairs in the middle another small brick wall which leads to the garage room. I get signal but its poor. Would a netgear wifi extender work the one on the net for about £40 if the super hub 1 idea didnt work?
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Yes, any off the shelf Signal "Booster" device should work, I use one at work and it's essentially a small WiFi device that connects to a specified Access point (in your case the super hub) and re-broadcasts the same network settings from it's own wireless card, forwarding any data to and from the original access point like a wireless bridge. the only down side is there is usually a slight decrease in bandwidth with this method, where as using multiple wireless access points, hard-wired in to a network via Ethernet all have their own dedicated connection providing maximum bandwidth. Hope that helps and isn't too technical

tytiger said:
Yes, any off the shelf Signal "Booster" device should work, I use one at work and it's essentially a small WiFi device that connects to a specified Access point (in your case the super hub) and re-broadcasts the same network settings from it's own wireless card, forwarding any data to and from the original access point like a wireless bridge. the only down side is there is usually a slight decrease in bandwidth with this method, where as using multiple wireless access points, hard-wired in to a network via Ethernet all have their own dedicated connection providing maximum bandwidth. Hope that helps and isn't too technical
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I full understand, soon as i get some spare time i will try the settings on the hub etc, if no luvk with that then i will look towards on getting the wifi extender preferably the netgear with two sntennas on for £40, i did hear that that one is only 2.4ghz. Oh well fingers crossed somthing works.

skyla20 said:
I full understand, soon as i get some spare time i will try the settings on the hub etc, if no luvk with that then i will look towards on getting the wifi extender preferably the netgear with two sntennas on for £40, i did hear that that one is only 2.4ghz. Oh well fingers crossed somthing works.
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If im not mistaken again (the VM Superhub in my experience is the one at the office) it broadcasts on 2.5 and 5GHz simultaneously, so you may get away with it, the repeater would use the 2.4Ghz band for it's distribution link, and any devices close enough (and supporting) could use the 5GHz band, which in theory would work in your favour, and not effect the repeated signal, giving you a little boost in performance.. this, of course depends on how well the superhub manages its wireless, and i have little faith in it as it is..