Gigabyte Wifi card dropping connection?

had a chat with Plusnet and apparently there is a firmware upgrade for our router but they have asked me to try other wifi channels first. From 1 6 and 11 it is clear 1 is best (and is set having no improvement on 6 or 11) but they have suggested using wierd channel numbers like 4

 

any thoughts on that, I see a couple of neighbours on TalkTalk are using 9 and 7

1, 6 and 11 are the only channels that do not overlap so using 4 likely means getting more interference so seems strange advice. But it's hardly a difficult thing to test so why not give it a try?

had a chat with Plusnet and apparently there is a firmware upgrade for our router but they have asked me to try other wifi channels first. From 1 6 and 11 it is clear 1 is best (and is set having no improvement on 6 or 11) but they have suggested using wierd channel numbers like 4

 

any thoughts on that, I see a couple of neighbours on TalkTalk are using 9 and 7

It's bad advice, you shouldn't do that.

2.4 GHz channels are wider than the allotted channel capacity. When we talk of channels 1,6 and 11, those are actually the mid-frequency of each channel. The width of the spectrum exceeds each channel, into the neighboring 2 channels (so channel 6 will bleed into channel 4 in one direction, and 8 in the other direction), hence why we use 1, 6 and 11.

Probably worth mentioning that you can also use 1, 5, 9 and 13 in Europe (but shouldn't, as most home users here and abroad use the "1,6 or 11" rule). Enterprises often use this configuration (as they get 4 channel spaces instead of 3).

If it's like my Plusnet technicolor router, it's getting on for 5 years old and dying. Plusnet don't give them out to new customers anymore, they've replaced it. The WiFi struggles when it's under heavy use and will randomly drop a device and pick it up again after a few minutes.

I'd give serious consideration to replacing the router, it was considered a turkey when it was new.

ALmost certainly its the TG582N.

That router is awful, never liked it when I worked at Plusnet as its a cheap option for a provider and has so few features its laughable.

I would suggest getting a better router from a company like TP-Link, Asus, or even Netgear.

All will provide better options and if you buy the right one, even give you the 5Ghz band that will allow your WiFi card supports.

Okay so some money might be needed to sort this properly

any views on this router? For £60 it seems decent to me but I am no expert - wfiw Currys label it "low internet usage" device and recommend the more expensive C9 at £85. We only have Plusnet basic broadband but a handful of tablets and stuff, no smart tv (yet)

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/networking/network-routers-and-switches/routers/tp-link-archer-vr400-wireless-modem-router-ac-1200-dual-band-10154408-pdt.html