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Wireless-N getting SIGNIFICANTLY lower speeds than wired

T

toastyghost

Senior member
I'm using speakeasy.net/speedtest and my roommate's computer, which is plugged directly into the router, is getting as high as 18.5mbps downstream (Comcast Blast is only rated for 16) while my laptop, which is connecting with a wireless-N card, is getting piddly 3-6mbps. I've tried changing channels, enabling/disabling QoS, disabling IPv6, tweaking the window size with DrTCP, and nothing seems to help. It's not that the laptop itself is slow, either, as I have better system specs than he does, and plugging the lappy into the same cable gives similar, MUCH higher results. What gives?
 
You have interference. Do you have other 2.4 Ghz access points in your area? Draft-non-standard N can't overcome physics and noise.
 
I'm kind of new to this wireless thing, didn't even know there were routers/AP's with different frequencies. Can you typically use the same adapter with 2.4ghz and 5ghz AP's?
 
No it's at least 15 feet away and on the other side of a wall. I tried moving the router into my bedroom using a long network cable and it was a little slower, but not outside the range of fluctuation we've already seen with just the modem. I'm using a D-Link DIR-615 router and a Linksys WPC300N card, for whatever that's worth.

I tried that program and it's not showing anything, but there are at least 7 or 8 access points around the apartment complex and they're all 802.11b, so I'm pretty sure it's interference.

The 5ghz equipment is a little pricier than what I'm using, but not enough so that it wouldn't be worth it if it will ensure that I get comparable speeds to a wired connection. With our floorplan, it'd be really unsightly to use wires indefinitely.
 
Originally posted by: toastyghost
No it's at least 15 feet away and on the other side of a wall. I tried moving the router into my bedroom using a long network cable and it was a little slower, but not outside the range of fluctuation we've already seen with just the modem. I'm using a D-Link DIR-615 router and a Linksys WPC300N card, for whatever that's worth.

I tried that program and it's not showing anything, but there are at least 7 or 8 access points around the apartment complex and they're all 802.11b, so I'm pretty sure it's interference.

The 5ghz equipment is a little pricier than what I'm using, but not enough so that it wouldn't be worth it if it will ensure that I get comparable speeds to a wired connection. With our floorplan, it'd be really unsightly to use wires indefinitely.
Click to expand...

Ethernet over powerline FTW! 😀

(Disclaimer - at least FTW for me as it works pretty darn fast and doesn't disconnect...but not very good for laptops though! 😛 )
 
Noise can be a problem but to be so within few feet in an apartment it is very unuall.

I have about 20 APs around me and at least 6 of them are 802.11b (I can see them with WirelessNetView and Netstumbler), and within my apartment I have No noise problem.

That said, you might have noise problem becuase each environmemt is different.

However as a first step borrow a Laptop that is known to be good, or and take yours to an other location to make sute that it is Not hardware problem.
 
OP has linksys and dlink = mixed gear. This is why you MUST buy matching non-standard-pre-draft stuff from the same manufacturer.

Noise aside, that's asking for trouble.
 
Ok so it might not be noise? Should I maybe try getting a D-Link adapter or a Linksys router before I scrap all the 2.4ghz stuff and get dual-band? Money's not really an issue, but I'd prefer not to spend ~$120 more if a different $30 card will do the trick.

Also I've come across some info about this house power networking technology while trying to solve my wireless woes today. I don't take my laptop anyplace where I wouldn't just use the integrated 802.11g adapter, so I really don't care whether it's plugged in when I'm at home. The only reason I didn't go with a wired network to begin with was to avoid the headache of obfuscating the cat5's, which I'd much prefer to my current headache. 🙂 Anybody else have good experiences with a power outlet setup and maybe want to give me a few links or model numbers?
 
Originally posted by: toastyghost
Ok so it might not be noise? Should I maybe try getting a D-Link adapter or a Linksys router before I scrap all the 2.4ghz stuff and get dual-band? Money's not really an issue, but I'd prefer not to spend ~$120 more if a different $30 card will do the trick.

Also I've come across some info about this house power networking technology while trying to solve my wireless woes today. I don't take my laptop anyplace where I wouldn't just use the integrated 802.11g adapter, so I really don't care whether it's plugged in when I'm at home. The only reason I didn't go with a wired network to begin with was to avoid the headache of obfuscating the cat5's, which I'd much prefer to my current headache. 🙂 Anybody else have good experiences with a power outlet setup and maybe want to give me a few links or model numbers?
Click to expand...

I'm using two of these and they have been very good but I'm not sure if they are made anymore.


I chose these after dropping connections several times daily on one PC at the far end of my house. I get about 25Mbps (megabits per second) full time. Probably could get better if I moved around to different outlets or bridged the two 120V lines in my home's breaker box with a pass through bridge (capacitor) but not worth the trouble right now...maybe when it's warmer! 😛 )
 
Did you try changing the channel on your Wireless Router yet? Most 802.11 b/g routers default to channel 6, which would cause interference with your router if you were using the same channel.
 
1. Try using inSSIDer to draw some pretty graphs of your neighborhood wi-fi and see how much crowding you might be facing.

2. Try measuring wireless performance without including Internet and HD to isolate just that. E.g. using iperf version 1.7 between the wireless and wired computers.

server: iperf -s
client: iperf -c server -l 64k -t 15 -i 3 -r

3. Try repositioning, changing channels, etc., while using tests like (2) to help you judge. Note that wireless is erratic and the results might vary just due to outside factors. Sending a continuous unidirectional stream while watching the performance in Task Manager / Networking might give more visual information. iperf -c server -l 64k -t 300 -i 3 for example.

4. Try using WPA2, etc., as suggested here: Smallnetbuilder: 5 Ways To Fix Slow 802.11n Speed

5. Try alternatives such as 5 GHz, powerline, or even ordinary wired networking.

FWIW, here's some of my data:

A. 2.4 GHz draft-n. Linksys to Linksys:

[604] local 192.168.0.147 port 45826 connected with 192.168.0.172 port 5001
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[604] 0.0-15.0 sec 31.3 MBytes 17.5 Mbits/sec
[604] 15.0-30.0 sec 48.5 MBytes 27.1 Mbits/sec
[604] 0.0-30.1 sec 79.8 MBytes 22.2 Mbits/sec
[580] local 192.168.0.147 port 5001 connected with 192.168.0.172 port 49166
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[580] 0.0-15.0 sec 39.7 MBytes 22.2 Mbits/sec
[580] 15.0-30.0 sec 55.6 MBytes 31.1 Mbits/sec
[580] 0.0-30.1 sec 95.4 MBytes 26.6 Mbits/sec
Click to expand...

B. 5 GHz draft-n. Linksys to D-Link (Same locations, Linksys as in A; other Linksys not dual-band.)

[604] local 192.168.0.147 port 43381 connected with 192.168.0.150 port 5001
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[604] 0.0-15.0 sec 150 MBytes 84.1 Mbits/sec
[604] 15.0-30.0 sec 142 MBytes 79.4 Mbits/sec
[604] 0.0-30.0 sec 293 MBytes 81.7 Mbits/sec
[580] local 192.168.0.147 port 5001 connected with 192.168.0.150 port 49290
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[580] 0.0-15.0 sec 182 MBytes 102 Mbits/sec
[580] 0.0-29.9 sec 355 MBytes 99.6 Mbits/sec
Click to expand...

C. 2.4 GHz draft-n. Linksys to Linksys with microwave running

Run c1:

connect failed: Connection timed out.

Run c2:

[596] local 192.168.0.147 port 45832 connected with 192.168.0.172 port 5001
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[596] 0.0-15.0 sec 320 KBytes 175 Kbits/sec
[596] 15.0-30.0 sec 192 KBytes 105 Kbits/sec
[596] 0.0-45.1 sec 576 KBytes 105 Kbits/sec
Click to expand...

These figures are only for random illustration. Your network environment and gear is different from mine, so its behavior would be different.
 
Do you have a Brand you might Recommend?

I need to setup that for my Brother-In-Law for his McMansion and his seemingly lead lined walls :>

But before I told him to get a particular set, I was hoping to find someone with 1st hand experience.
 
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