Westman Support

Slow Wi-Fi Troubleshooting Guide

What is the difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks?

In theory, 5GHz has less range capabilities than its 2.4GHz counterpart, however, the main benefit of 5GHz is that it will be impacted less by interference of other wireless devices operating in the same band. Therefore, given the lack of interference, it may end up having the same range as a 2.4Gz network.


What causes Wi-Fi interference?

Almost everything in your house can cause interference with your wireless signal, including both physical and electrical. This can include, but is not limited to:

  1. Microwaves
  2. Cordless phones
  3. Neighbouring Wi-Fi Routers
  4. Other Wireless devices
  5. Shiny or dense materials
  6. Tile, concrete, plastered walls


Wired connection vs. Wireless connection

Wireless has its place in modern society, but when possible it is best to connect a device directly into a router. Due to Wi-Fi having no wires it is likely that some packets (packet: piece of data/webpage) will be lost during transmission. Not only that. nut some people claim that their speeds increase up to 30% when switching to a wired connection.

More Devices = Slower speeds

Westman provides its customers with several internet packages. These packages are delivered to the router and, after it has gone to the router, it is distributed as needed to all devices currently in use. If you have 30Mbps download and have 5 devices in use, we do not expect each device to have 30Mbps, but rather they share the 30Mbps.

Analogy: Internet is like the water in your home, when you have one tap on the pressure is at 100%, but when the washing machine, dishwasher, and all taps are on, you cannot expect that every tap’s pressure will be at 100%.

I have no other devices in use and have slow speeds.

Although you may only be actively using one device, this does not mean that your other devices may not also be using data. Devices not in use could be doing several things that could affect your experience such as:

  1. Online Backups
  2. Updating firmware, software or apps
  3. Uploading photos and videos

How do I log into my router?

Why someone might want to log into their router?

  1. To reset their Wi-Fi password
  2. To reset the Wireless Network Name (SSID)
  3. To change the Wi-Fi channel

Open up a web browser (Google Chrome, Firefox etc.) and type in the URL (address) bar at the top of the page. Hit Enter

Once there you will be greeted by the Hitron login screen. The login credentials are:

  • Username: cusadmin
  • Password: password


Optimizing Your Network to prevent slowness

The below information is only for users that have our CGNM product.


Determine Device

Finding out if this issue is a problem with a particular device is simple and can save a lot of time during the troubleshooting process. The easiest way to determine which device may be problematic is to remove all but one device from the wireless network. Run a couple of speed tests (fast.com or westmancom.speedtest.net) and, if it passes (reaches or near reaches your speed package), keep slowly adding devices one at a time and do speed tests between each device added. If the speeds dramatically decrease, the newest device added to the network may be causing a problem.

A Wi-Fi network works like a team: It will only be as good as its worst player.

Change the WI-FI Channel

Although the router should automatically pick the best channel by choosing the ‘Auto’ option, sometimes it is best to pick a more specific channel than the router suggested on boot up. If you wish the router to try and automatically do this, log into the CGNM modem and select the Refresh Primary Channel button. This button is available for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Channels 1,6, 11 are non-overlapping and will have the least interference from neighbouring devices and routers.

Changing Wireless Mode and Channel Width

There are a couple of settings that you could try changing to optimize your Wi-Fi network. This will involve changing the wireless modes on the 5GHz network to AC only and the 2.4GHzGHz network to Mixed. If you have one of our CGNM routers (pictured below), there is a step by step guide below.

Why do we change the Wireless Mode? We change the wireless mode to ensure that all devices are using the fastest wireless standard they are capable of. As you can see from the chart below, not all standards are equal and some standards can transmit data at a much faster rate. Running older devices on the same wireless network as newer ones may impact your speeds on the newer devices by as much as 20-30%.

Before changing the Wireless mode it is a good idea to find out which wireless modes each of your devices are capable of. To help save time, we have listed some common devices below.

First, log in to you CGNM. To log into our router, open up a web browser and type “”, once there, type in your credentials. The default login is:

  • Username: cusadmin
  •  Password: password


1. At the top of the screen you should see the word “Wireless”; click on this.

2. On this screen, look below “Basic Settings” and set Wireless Mode to 802.11 g/n mixed.

3. Now click on the “5G” just above the basic settings

4. Under “Basic Settings” set the Wireless Mode to 802.11 ac only.

5. Select “Save Changes” at the bottom of the screen


Note: Once changed, ensure that all devices are working correctly and no device has lost connection due to changing the wireless mode. 


Channel Bandwidth

Ensure that channel bandwidth is set to 20/40MHz on a 2.4GHz connection and 40MHz on a 5GHz connection. If 5GHz it is set to 80 MHz, interference may be a problem; please lower it to 40 MHz


Using 5GHz

Heavily populated areas such as apartments, condos, and townhouses may benefit from having 5GHz as the sole WI-FI network. This is due to the resiliency to interference of the 5GHz network. Another reason that 5GHz is recommended is due to the fact that only the 5GHz networks can use 802.11ac.

Product Information



  • 6 antennas (3 transmitting, 3 receiving)
  • Built-in firewall, to increase network security
  • Ability to create up to 16 SSIDs
  • Easy to use web interface
  • Supports 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Information to gather before calling Helpdesk


Accurate and isolated speed tests

These speed tests should be done on multiple devices multiple times. We recommend 3 tests per device on a minimum of 2 devices for 1 accurate test.

(if possible, it would be best to compare speed tests between wired and wireless devices) Speed tests can be done by visiting





Dead spots

If you are having Wi-Fi issues, see if the Wi-Fi improves the closer you move to the router. If it does, this is most likely a range issue and will require a different approach from standard troubleshooting.

In the picture below, the more red the colour is, the worse the signal will be. We hope this helps explain how obstacles affect Wi-Fi


Time and Date

Having an accurate record of when this issue is taking place allows techs to more efficiently troubleshoot the problem, thus saving you time on the phone.


Affected Devices

This goes hand in hand with the time. An accurate list of devices affected and at what time will ensure a faster resolution.


Please see the following links for more information:

Slow Internet

No Internet: Wireless Gateway Modem



© 2020 Westman Communications Group | Privacy Policy / CCTS