So I think I've solved my issues with my Xperia Z5 constantly dropping WiFi connection at my house, especially while playing high-bandwidth YouTube videos (1080p60), and I wanted to share my result because it might bring some enjoyment back for some people with respect to this phone.
Over the past months, I have played with many of my router settings and even added a repeater in my house to no avail. Recently I changed my 2.4 GHz router channel from Auto (at the time it was set to channel 3) to Manual - Channel 11, and I have had no problems with connection dropouts since then.
Therefore, if you are experiencing the same problem as I did, try the following things:
- Start Fresh - Back up your personal data and use the Xperia Companion software to perform a full repair of the operating system of your phone.
- Update - Make sure your network hardware including router and repeater, if applicable, have the latest firmware updates installed.
- Configure Router Settings - I've found channel 11 on the 2.4 GHz band to work best with the Xperia Z5. Channel 1, 6 and 11 are all standard channels. I've also set the bandwidth of the channel to 20MHz, which gives up a little performance, but increases range slightly.
- Run Lean - Before installing a thousand apps back to your phone, set up and configure the stock software and update all of the stock software through the Play Store or and the Sony What's New app. If you don't get a notification from the What's New app, you can force the updates manually. This will help you determine if a specific app is causing your problems or if it is the network configuration.
- Configure WiFi - I have the following configurations set up on my working phone. Maybe this will help as well.
- Settings->Wi-Fi->Settings
- Network notification - ON
- Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep - ON
- Settings->Location->Scanning
- Wi-Fi scanning - ON
- Bluetooth scanning - OFF
- I am using Dynamic IP Addresses for all connected 2.4 GHz networks.
- Once stable, add apps one at a time (or better yet, one a day) and make sure a poorly crafted app or game isnt responsible for breaking the phone.
- I've also removed my SD card, and have not put it back in yet, so I do not know if putting it back in will cause issues or not.
Hope this helps. It seems to be working well for me.
