topic BUG: Android 7.0 - WiFi connection drastically dropping bandwidth in Android TV

BUG: Android 7.0 - WiFi connection drastically dropping bandwidth

Jecht_Sin — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 09:19:29 GMT

I've got an issue with the WiFi connection. After few days the Internet bandwidth drops from 85Mbps to 10-15Mbps. I noticed it because the YouTube videos go into buffering for few seconds. It happened already few times, so it is a pretty constant issue. Switching the WiFi off and on doesn't solve the issue. The only way I've found to get the full badnwidth back is to reboot the television. Quite annoying.

PS: @Anonymous any chance this can be reported to Sony?

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Peter_S. — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 11:33:23 GMT

Hi,

Since Quinnicus is having some well deserved holidays I'm going to pick this up and report it to our technicans.

How did you measure the connection speed of your WiFi (which app did you use?)

Edit: Have you tried to use a different WiFi channel?

Thanks a lot in advance

Cheers
Peter

Betreff: BUG: Android 7.0 - WiFi connection drastically dropping bandwidth

Jecht_Sin — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 12:05:13 GMT

Hi @Peter_S.,

I test the connection speed in fast.com (the site from netflix. It's pretty accurate). Also with speedtest.net beta. Same results before/after rebooting.

I forgot to add that checking with AIDA64 when the issue is present it actually shows that the 5GHz ac connection (other thing that I forgot to mention) is established at around 180Mbps. I checked in a couple of occasions. Which is ok. My MacBook Pro usually gets something more than that (now the MacBook connection is indeed at 264Mbps), so it doesn't seem to be an issue in the channel either, something like in the WIFi module or TCP/IP stack slows down drastically.

Hmm.. I am checking it now just after a reboot and it still shows 180Mbps. I hope that isn't the maximum WiFi bandwidth. But anyway, the laptop is sitting near the television, and the bandwidth with it is always fine. So it is with my mobile phone. Obviously they all are in the same channel.

I don't know, it never happened in 6.0.1. Also connecting it wired (during the issue) the bandwidth I think goes up again, to drop switching back to wifi. Actually it's better if I check this again, because I am not really sure anymore.

PS: it's a 49XD8099. I just realised I forgot so many details in my first post! Sorry.

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Peter_S. — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 14:37:29 GMT

Hi Jecht_Sin,

No worries - meanwhile I discovered your model

Thanks a lot for sharing the additional details, I'm going to forward this issue to our engineers for further investigations.

Edit: One thing that came to my mind: On what channel your WiFi is operating? Above channel 12?
If so please try to lower the channel.

Cheers

Peter

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Kuschelmonschter — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 15:25:28 GMT

It is 5GHz AC. Of course it is > CH12...

Betreff: BUG: Android 7.0 - WiFi connection drastically dropping bandwidth

Jecht_Sin — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 18:31:19 GMT

yeah, as Kuschelmonscher said.

Also I have set the automtic channell in the router, so to know which channel exactly I have to wait for it to happen again. Right now is channel 100, but setting the channel manualy in the router I have only the channels 36, 40, 44, 48 and I don't like it.

Again, as I wrote, when it happens my laptop is on the same channel and it never has an issue.

Betreff: BUG: Android 7.0 - WiFi connection drastically dropping bandwidth

Peter_S. — Tue, 20 Jun 2017 07:14:39 GMT

Hi,

Ouch - appologies, I missed this information

I've sent the issue to our technicans for further investigation but haven't heard back yet.

Cheers

Peter

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Jecht_Sin — Tue, 20 Jun 2017 09:35:49 GMT

All right, thanks. If/when it will happen again (as long as I don't restart the television it should happen) I will investigate a bit further. I want to confirm that it works normally when wired. Then I may check the logcat a bit, although I doubt it will reveal any useful info. Also I want to monitor if locally (in the LAN) I get maximum local bandwidth, but I doubt that as well.

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Jecht_Sin — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 12:02:36 GMT

It happened again, but this time I first tried closing all apps from the app history (holding the Home button). And the bandwidth went back to nearly normal (50-60Mbps instead of 70-75Mbps). I noticed that among the open apps there were Plex and Video (I used the latter to stream a couple of videos via DLNA from the Plex server). And I don't know if it is related, the HueyModule crashed again. It didn't in the previous days, and I didn't stream any local video via either Plex or DLNA either.

Betreff: BUG: Android 7.0 - WiFi connection drastically dropping bandwidth

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 22:04:44 GMT

Finding out further info. BTW, I saw your @ to me previously, I forwarded the email onto Peter_S at the time

Betreff: BUG: Android 7.0 - WiFi connection drastically dropping bandwidth

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 12:02:21 GMT

Hi @Jecht_Sin

This has been passed onto Sony Support for them to contact you back. They should initially be contacting you via email as they do not have a phone number on record to contact you with (unless you PM me a contact phone number for me to pass on).

When you do get in contact with Sony, it should be with a experienced technical agent.

Cheers

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Jecht_Sin — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 12:13:21 GMT

Thanks @Anonymous! Also, and maybe it is related, in 6.0.1 I used (regularly) a memory cleaner, especially before starting Amazon Video (you can imagine why). Although that doesn't mean 6.0.1 had the issue. Now it is broken in 7.0, the memory cleaner can visualise only the processes it owns (same for busybox while doing "top"). It's most likely a new security policy in Android 7.0.

Which raises a question.. In the Xperia phones there is the option "Delete All" in the App History. Any chance we can suggest to Sony to have a similar mechanism implemented? Yes, I do know that it works only temporarly because after a while Android reloads various apps and services, but it did really make the tv more fluid. No placebo effect, I swear!! 😄

Betreff: BUG: Android 7.0 - WiFi connection drastically dropping bandwidth

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 12:29:39 GMT

@Jecht_Sin - Are you able to grab a screenshot on this 'Delete All' option on an xperia or android device. I can then forward this to a team called 'Voice of the Consumer'.

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Jecht_Sin — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 12:40:40 GMT

Sure I can!! Here:

"Cancella tutto" means "Delete all" in Italian. Actually it looked much nicer in 6.0.1. And as far as I know it has been a Sony's modification, because the stock history from Google didn't support it. It has been added after many people requested it.

Then this is what I get after deleting all:

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Kuschelmonschter — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 05:25:16 GMT

I can confirm such severe fluctuations in network speed. I am still on Marshmallow though so I can't easily kill tasks...

I can reproduce it by initiating a screen mirroring session with an Android phone. Speed decreases from about 120mbps to 70mbps. Also disabling WiFi Direct doesn't help.

(BTW, firmware 3.885 fixed that station mode wasn't working anymore after enabling WiFi Direct.)

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Jecht_Sin — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 09:58:51 GMT

Well @Kuschelmonschter, you still get a 60% or so. Mine drops to 15%. I have been contacted now by Sony (Thanks @Anonymous!) and among the various things they suggested to erase all apps cache, which I totally forgot to do earlier. Honestly to me it seems like a CPU or OS issue. For example if I go into settings while watching an YouTube video, after few seconds the video stops (which pairs with the fact that sometime the whole UI - only the UI. Like the volume or getting into settings - freezes for a minute or so). I enabled the "stats for nerds" and the download bandwidth drops indeed (but that could be because stopping the video YouTube stop downloading).

I mean, this OS release seriously needs a general bug fixing. There are too many small (but also not so small, like the infamous USB module) issues.

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Kuschelmonschter — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 12:19:41 GMT

I had the problem yesterday that YouTube would not go above 720p anymore. A complete restart (long power button press) fixed the problem. Unfortunately my ATV1 based Sony TV didn't receive the Nougat update yet, so I can't just close apps via task switcher...

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Jecht_Sin — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 13:31:33 GMT

@Kuschelmonschter Would you... like a script to cleanly terminate YouTube while in background?

Seriously. I would just need to adapt the one I am using for that useless, awful HueyModule constantly crashing.

Anyway, I think I forgot to mention that only an hideous reset to factory settings fixed my issue... Well, until now at least.