Slow WiFi speeds with the Telecom supplied VDSL Modem/Router

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Slow WiFi speeds with the Telecom supplied VDSL Modem/Router

fatboyslim

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#138057 18-Dec-2013 12:10

So I got VDSL installed a couple of days ago and I'm fairly happy with the speeds. 35Megabit down and 10Megabit up. However I noticed I only get those speeds when i'm connected directly via ethernet. Switching to wireless even being in the same room as the router (less than 1m away) the maximum speeds I can achieve is only 22-24 megabit for the download. This is consistent with all my wireless devices so i'm guessing its a problem with the router. Is anybody else having the same issue with the Technicolour router?

PeterReader

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#954204 18-Dec-2013 12:10

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

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Yyrael

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#954218 18-Dec-2013 12:17

Wireless is never going to give you the same speeds as cabling in over Ethernet, those kind of speeds are about what I would expect you to get tbh.

yitz

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#954221 18-Dec-2013 12:20

There's some eco/power saving setting you can turn off.

sbiddle

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Biddle Corp

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#954225 18-Dec-2013 12:28

That's perfectly normal WiFi performance.

2.4Ghz WiFi is turning into a complete waste of time in many crowded environments these days. With only 3 usable channels the interference issues are a nightmare that can't be fixed.

WiFi is a complementary solution to Ethernet connections. Is it not, and never will be a replacement and will never deliver the same performance.

stevenz

2802 posts

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#954396 18-Dec-2013 15:26

As above, it's not the routers fault, it's limitations of WiFi. Unless you have one of the magic combinations of router & device that both support the same enhanced implementation(s) of the 802.11n protocol, then you won't get much speed out of it, especially at 2.4Ghz with a single antenna.

@KnightNZ

Pulinski

131 posts

Master Geek

#955065 19-Dec-2013 20:01

I am using an ASUS RT66ac router which is bridged to the standard Telecom VDSL router. Using wireless n & ac devices on the 5GHz band I can max out the VDSL over WiFi.

Short answer. It's the Technicolour's WiFi, not the throughput from the VDSL.

Cheers.

hashbrown

463 posts

Ultimate Geek

#955139 19-Dec-2013 21:49

If you don't mind being greedy with radio spectrum and have devices that support 40MHz wifi channels (the mobile devices I have don't) you can try the following.

- BACK UP YOUR CONFIG

- Telnet to your router (User:Administrator no password)
- Enter the following

wireless radio channelwidth=20/40 radio_id=0

If it works for you, don't forget to enter "saveall"

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raytaylor

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#955195 20-Dec-2013 00:28

802.11g runs at a maximum of 54mbits air speed. This is with the 50% error correction overhead that gets added to the data packets.
So the true throughput is around 25megabits on a perfect wifi link.

If you were to upgrade your computer to use 802.11n, you will be able to get some more speed.
802.11n on a single chain runs at an air speed of 65mbits. Also the overhead is only about 40% so the maximum usable throughput on a single chain 65mbit 802.11n connection is around 40mbits, slightly more if both the AP and the client support packet aggregation.

If you are using 802.11n already then it is possible you are simply too far away from the router to be getting a good enough signal, could be picking up interference from nearby 2.4ghz sources of noise such as your neighbours wifi networks, cordless phones, wireless cameras, baby monitors or anything else really.

Ray Taylor

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Jase2985

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#956133 22-Dec-2013 11:59

What device are you trying to connect to the wifi?

im using the Telecom supplied technicolor router and get the following

via speedtest.net
PC via Ethernet:
Ping: 5ms Down: 40.12Mbps Up: 9.79Mbps

All devices are less than 2m from router, router is the only one in the area on channel 11 (-20-40dbm attenuation) and all other wifi signals in the area have more than -80dbm attenuation

Ipad2 via wifi and only device connected (Wireless Speed according to router and device 65Mbps)
Ping: 12ms Down: 37.96Mbps Up: 8.91Mbps

Asus Android (4.2.1) Tablet only device connected (Wireless Speed according to router and device 65Mbps)
Ping: 12ms Down: 23.73Mbps Up: 9.74Mbps

Asus Windows Vista Laptop 5 years old only device connected (Wireless Speed according to router 65Mbps laptop thinks 130Mbps)
Ping: 7ms Down: 39.55Mbps Up: 9.83Mbps

HTC Wildfire Cellphone Android (2.3.5) (Wireless Speed according to router and device 65Mbps)
Ping: 66ms Down: 11.18Mbps Up: 4.37Mbps

As you can see its not an issue with the built in wifi, its an issue with the way the devices can handle the wifi. as the Ipad can make the most of the avaliable bandwidth all the time, the laptop has issues some of the time with lower speeds which makes me think its more susceptible to changes in with routers wifi speed, while the others for some reason or the other cant make full use of it.

Not sure why.

that all FWIW

raytaylor

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#956582 23-Dec-2013 14:32

65mbps airspeed = approx 40mbit real throughput (60% plus one or two percent more from aggregation)

The processor speed in many devices will also affect wifi speed - especially noticeable on cellphones. I remember i used to have a telecom harrier (pocket pc days) and it used to transfer about 1megabit on the wifi even though it connected at 54mbits.

Ray Taylor

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Jase2985

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#956643 23-Dec-2013 17:08

Thats good to know :)

i was just trying to point out that in this case (ie this thread and some of the responses in it like the one below) the router is more than capable of delivering VDSL via wifi at the connected speed of the VDSL to the devices. Its the devices that cant handle it.

in my case its the devices that are the bottle neck in the system, but im never needing to download much on the tablet or the cell phone so i dont notice any bottle necks normally.

Pulinski: Short answer. It's the Technicolour's WiFi, not the throughput from the VDSL.

Cheers.

hashbrown

463 posts

Ultimate Geek

#957257 25-Dec-2013 15:37

raytaylor: The processor speed in many devices will also affect wifi speed - especially noticeable on cellphones. I remember i used to have a telecom harrier (pocket pc days) and it used to transfer about 1megabit on the wifi even though it connected at 54mbits.

I'm also suspicious of the OOKLA android apps. On the same tablet I get significantly faster results using the browser based flash app.