Channels for wireless

[Nealf]

I'm having issues with my Netgear wireless and my phone.   When I pickup the phone I get cut off the internet.   According to Vonage, since my phone and router are both running at 2.4 GHz , and are apparently using the same channel, I must change one of them.  I can't seem to find how to identify what channels are being used, and then change.   I've tried a couple of different programs, (all of which I found here)  but none offer assistance with using Windows 7  64 bit, which is what I'm using.  Your thoughts and suggestions, as always, would be greatly appreciated.

[michaewlewis]

To change the channel on your wireless router, you need to look through the configuration web page for your wireless router (usually http:/192.168.0.1, but check your router's documentation). There will be a channel selection option somewhere in the configuration. Every router has it in a different location, so you'll need to either look around for it or check your documentation.

[Nealf]

Thanks.  Tried that but had to go to1.1 instead of 0.1.....Anyway then it asked for username and password, but I'
ve never entered one.  When I hooked the router up it automatically linked in and started working.

[Geek-9pm]

Bother idea. Get rid of your phone. What kind of phone is it? It should not share the spectrum with WI-Fi devices.
Here is a ad copy fir a popular wireless phone for use in North America.

Panasonic KX TG9333T Cordless phone

DECT 6.0 (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) technology lets you move freely around your home with long range and amazingly clear sound. It also assures greater protection against eavesdropping for all your calls. Operating in the 1.9GHz frequency range, your phone will not conflict with other wireless devices such as computer routers, wireless keyboards, microwave ovens and other common household devices. Now you can program each handset to ring - or not - at your discretion. Before going to sleep, simply set the bedside handset to Night Mode so that it won't ring in your bedroom. In the meantime, the handset in the den will still ring when that important call comes  in without disturbing the person who's sleeping. Now you don't have to be holding the phone to see who's calling. Using text-to-speech technology, the Caller ID information is announced between rings. Panasonic's KX-TG9300 series DECT phones also boast a talking alarm clock that will tell you when it's time for lunch, and a talking battery alert that politely tells you when your battery is low with a "please charge phone" reminder. Store the Caller ID info of any and all unwanted callers into your phone's Call Block list so that you can eliminate future pesky calls. After the information is stored, those unwanted callers will receive a busy signal when they call you again. Don't miss important calls when the ringer is off. The Light-Up Indicator with Ringer Alert at the base of the antenna will flash quickly to show that you have an incoming call, and it will flash slowly to let you know you have a new message. So turn off the ringer and ....

From the above you can see these normal cordless phones do not use the same band. So, the question is, Why do you need a phone theft conflicts with the Wi-Fi spectrum? Where do you live?
A workaround would be to force all you network devices to only use the upper band.

For an in-depth study, please look at this link.
http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/wireless80211/a/aa80211standard.htm

[Nealf]

I had considered that option, but thought maybe there would be a simple way to just change the router.  I understand not being able to change the phone.
Thank You

[Geek-9pm]

You did not say which router you have nor did you indicate which phone you have. Stuff changes.

More information about the nature this problem is in the link I gave you in my last post.
The technician who told you to just change the channel may not have understood the nature of the problem. In the present wi-fi protocol, changing to another channel is only effective if all devices in range respect the current protocol. In other words, they all conform to the present day standards for the wi-fi protocol. That would not be true of cordless telephones. Cordless telephones don't know anything about the wi-fi standard. They do whatever they think they need to do to establish communications, including destroying any communications link you have established. The article I referred to earlier explains how this sad situation came about. It was poor planning on the part of the agencies that are supposed to control this sort of thing.

Yes, there is a way to get the router  to work around this. We can not give you the specific information you would need. Not knowing which router it is, we don't know it's even possible and even then, it also depends on all the other devices you have in your system. The other devices have to have the capability e to switch to the upper band. Just changing over to another channel won't solve the problem. All devices must switch to the upper band.

[BC_Programmer]

if it's 802.11g I don't believe you would be able to change it. and 802.11n would require that all devices are N devices, and support dual-band operation, since it still primarily uses 2.4ghz for compatibility with the 802.11g devices.

Changing the channel on the router changes the frequency, but it's still at 2.4ghz. The range is very small, and chances are the phone uses a large range for no good reason (after all, it was probably made before wifi became omnipresent and therefore the entire 2.4ghz band was unused.

The only fix would be the replace the phone. Either that, or replace every single wifi device and hope they all meet the proper specifications for 802.11n so that they can operate in the higher bands. Even then they still perform the protocol communications in 2.4ghz so it would be pretty futile. a new phone costs probably 50 dollars, whereas replacing all your wifi equipment with dual band 802.11n could go to 200$ just for a router, and even then it's a slim chance that it will workaround the old cordless phone.

[Nealf]

Thanks fellas.
 I think I'll just go with another phone.  I can get a DECT for around $25.