How to test stability of wireless router

Question

I had a wireless router that would intermittently drop connections, so I had switched to using a different router.

I have since updated the firmware on the problematic router. Is there an easy way to test if the intermittent connectivity issues have been resolved by the firmware update? Perhaps a simple script?

Answer 1

If you don't know the exact cause of why the connections dropped, or a reliable way of reproducing it, or empirical data of how often it happens under what kinds of conditions, then you can't hope to employ a script or other test tool that will give you any meaningful results.

For example, if you, without evidence, assumed the problem happened while a lot of data was flowing, you might write a script or run a tool to send/receive a lot of data continuously. But if the original problem was actually a bug in how the device handles power-save mode during idle periods, your traffic-sending tool would actually prevent the real problem from happening by keeping the link from ever going idle. So you'd run your tool and think the firmware update fixed it, when it hadn't.

Answer 2

Only by using it in the exact same environment as your current wifi router will you be able to know for sure. Substituting something that is known to work or vice versa is always the best choice.

Now, enterprise level wifi equipment has different diag tools which would be able to tell you different things, but I'm assuming you are referring to home based equipment.

Answer 3

At home many times "dropped connection" and such was due to some neighbor using the same channel (interference). Others were due to a flaky/insentitive WiFi card in the machine (one machine works intermittently, the one by its side works fine).