Extremely Poor RPi 3 Wifi Performance

Gullyn · March 9, 2017 at 1:12 AM

I am attempting to stream 720p30 using the Twitch add-on using the built-in Raspberry Pi 3 wifi. The stream consistently stalls almost immediately.

I have tried 2 different Raspberry Pi 3s. I have tried LibreELEC v8 and LibreELEC 9 alpha. I have tried 3 different access points at different distances. I have tried forcing the power-save feature off. All have the same issue. The wifi tools add-on suggests I have a good to excellent connection to the access points. When I try a wifi dongle (WiPi) it is able to stream perfectly. I use no third-party add-ons.

I was convinced that it was a hardware issue with my Pis. In a last-ditch attempt, this evening I loading the latest Raspbian (2017-03-02) and apt-get'd Kodi 16. I then installed the Twitch add-on and have been streaming for the past hour with absolutely no stalled stream.

I don't know how long this has been an issue as I normally use a wired connection. I will review what else I can provide to help debug this issue.

gaelic · March 9, 2017 at 7:31 AM

Quote from Gullyn

I am attempting to stream 720p30 using the Twitch add-on using the built-in Raspberry Pi 3 wifi. The stream consistently stalls almost immediately.

I have tried 2 different Raspberry Pi 3s. I have tried LibreELEC v8 and LibreELEC 9 alpha. I have tried 3 different access points at different distances. I have tried forcing the power-save feature off. All have the same issue. The wifi tools add-on suggests I have a good to excellent connection to the access points. When I try a wifi dongle (WiPi) it is able to stream perfectly. I use no third-party add-ons.

I was convinced that it was a hardware issue with my Pis. In a last-ditch attempt, this evening I loading the latest Raspbian (2017-03-02) and apt-get'd Kodi 16. I then installed the Twitch add-on and have been streaming for the past hour with absolutely no stalled stream.

I don't know how long this has been an issue as I normally use a wired connection. I will review what else I can provide to help debug this issue.

My experience is and was: when using the RPi you should also use a Wifi Dongle with AC capability. Everything else I tried was not successful.

Gullyn · March 9, 2017 at 12:02 PM

Quote from gaelic

My experience is and was: when using the RPi you should also use a Wifi Dongle with AC capability. Everything else I tried was not successful.

Exactly, this shouldn't be the case! I have proven in my tests that the built-in wifi IS capable of streaming (in suitable situations). If LibreELEC on the RPi3 can't stream with an access point sitting 2 feet away, then there is a problem here.