Technicolor Modem TC7210: Questions about WiFi Speed Variations

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#1352620 27-Jul-2015 15:12

frednz:
andrewNZ: If you want a reliable connection you MUST to use a cable, its as simple as that.

You just aren't going to get much better than you currently have ATM with WiFi. There are so many things that can degrade the signal strength and quality. Even if you do get a full speed WiFi connection, it could fail at any time due to influences both in and out of your control.

Just run a cable. Or, failing that, get some powerline adaptors.

Thanks for that advice, I see that Vodafone talk about powerline adaptors here:

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/broadband/netcomm-adaptors-extend/

Fred

Considering your computer is fixed to being attached to the tv, and is only 12M from the modem, it would be logical to go down to PB or the likes, and pickup a 15M CAT5+ cable.

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Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

frednz

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#1353164 28-Jul-2015 09:50

hio77:
frednz:
andrewNZ: If you want a reliable connection you MUST to use a cable, its as simple as that.

You just aren't going to get much better than you currently have ATM with WiFi. There are so many things that can degrade the signal strength and quality. Even if you do get a full speed WiFi connection, it could fail at any time due to influences both in and out of your control.

Just run a cable. Or, failing that, get some powerline adaptors.

Thanks for that advice, I see that Vodafone talk about powerline adaptors here:

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/broadband/netcomm-adaptors-extend/

Fred

Considering your computer is fixed to being attached to the tv, and is only 12M from the modem, it would be logical to go down to PB or the likes, and pickup a 15M CAT5+ cable.

Thanks for this suggestion, but I guess you can lose some signal strength when you extend the line by 15 metres?

However, WiFi is often the preferred way of receiving internet for phones, tablets, smart TVs and for Freeview TV recorders that have WiFi built in. It's often impractical to have all these devices located close to the modem.

So it has to be asked whether it's worth paying extra for ultra fast broadband if it doesn't result in a significant improvement in WiFi performance.

I doubt whether many people have long cables all throughout the house, and they may not realise that ultra fast broadband may not improve their WiFi performance all that much (as discussed in this thread). So. for some people. UFB may simply be a waste of money!

Regards
Fred

ZollyMonsta

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#1353172 28-Jul-2015 09:55

Wifi was created for convenience, not speed.

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Jase2985

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#1353186 28-Jul-2015 10:19

ultrafast broadband and wifi are completely different things. wifi is a complimentary solution to fixed/hard wired devices, there is nothing that says the devices have to be close to the modem/router, you say that. Ive run network cables in my house to locations of media players and TV's and also for a second access point to give me better wifi coverage.

A wired connection will always be better in performance than a wireless one. it just lacks the convieance of portability. If you have fixed devices like access points, tvs pc's etc consider running cables to them, If cables arent an option try a ethernet over powerline adapter, most of the time they offer better performance than wifi.

paying extra for a 100mbps plan has no effect on your wifi performance, your wifi performance limits the speed you can get on your portable devices though. not the same thing.

People seem to think that wifi is a magic solution and they will automatically get their line speed over it, they need to do a little reading and see this is not always the case.

If you want speed and reliability use a cable, be it ethernet or ethernet over power adapters. done

jlittle

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#1353384 28-Jul-2015 14:02

frednz: So it has to be asked whether it's worth paying extra for ultra fast broadband if it doesn't result in a significant improvement in WiFi performance.

Considered end to end, well, yes. Similar to, say, getting a 300 kW car to commute in rush hour traffic, or a $5,000 gaming PC to watch YouTube.

I doubt whether many people have long cables all throughout the house...

But they all do, in their house wiring. I find the flexibility of my powerline adapters marvellous.

tdgeek

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#1353635 28-Jul-2015 18:38

jlittle:
frednz: So it has to be asked whether it's worth paying extra for ultra fast broadband if it doesn't result in a significant improvement in WiFi performance.

Considered end to end, well, yes. Similar to, say, getting a 300 kW car to commute in rush hour traffic, or a $5,000 gaming PC to watch YouTube.
I doubt whether many people have long cables all throughout the house...

But they all do, in their house wiring. I find the flexibility of my powerline adapters marvellous.

I'd like that except my garage slept cable goes from fuse board to garage, no powerpoint to plug into.

frednz

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#1353722 28-Jul-2015 19:41

ZollyMonsta: Wifi was created for convenience, not speed.

Before I upgraded to 50Mbps I was getting a maximum download speed of 15Mbps. As mentioned earlier, when using WiFi and when the computer is in the same room as the modem / router, I can get 48Mbps from WiFi and 30-40Mbps when the computer is 12 metres and two rooms away from the router.

So, the increase in WiFi speed from a maximum previously of 15Mbps to a steady 30-40Mbps, is worthwhile.

So, with a 100Mbps plan, if a WiFi receiving device was within a couple of metres of the router, what do you think would be the maximum Mbps that could be achieved with WiFi?

Regards
Fred

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Jase2985

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#1353826 28-Jul-2015 21:10

move it and see, no one can answer that for you as they have no idea how everything is setup.

Jase2985

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#1353856 28-Jul-2015 21:43

based on your wifi device being a Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230, you have a laptop. and being 12m away will significanly degrade your signal stregnth.

download http://www.techspot.com/downloads/5936-inssider.html
see what your signal is when you are 12m away, then move right by your modem and check again

dB = The lower the better

5Ghz
For me 2m away from my modem i have a singal stregnth of 50dB and a connected speed of 390Mbps, actual throughput is 204mbps down and 200 up
4m away through 1 wall its dropped to 50dB and a connection speed of 230Mbps, actual throughput is 117mbps down and 114 up
8m away through 2 walls its dropped to 70-80dB and a connection speed of 29Mbps, not going to bother with this as its going to take for ever with my 500mb test file, would suspect it would be about 20Mbps each way.

2.4Ghz
For me 2m away from my modem i have a singal stregnth of 35dB and a connected speed of 300Mbps, actual throughput is 170mbps down and 165 up
4m away through 1 wall its dropped its 50dB and a connection speed of 180mbps, actual throughput is 100mbps down and 96 up
8m away through 2 walls its dropped to 60-65dB and a connection speed of 65Mbps, actual throughput is 42mbps down and 40 up

so you can see the effect that walls and distance has on the actual speed of your network

As you can see distance and walls have a huge effect on the speed you can get over the network

Where i tested at the 8m point in the bedroom we have a second access point to provide 2.4Ghz wifi for that end of the house so we dont have issues up there. mainly for phones/tablets as they have lower powered radios compared to a laptop.

so please dont rely on wifi if you want speed on a network and are more than a few meters away from the modem/router

Apsattv

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#1353989 29-Jul-2015 02:55

ON my tablet in my lounge using 5 GHZ band through several walls I get around 300 mbit connect speed. Using the standard Vodafone router and 600 MBIT on the Samsung TV in the bedroom also on 5GHZ. Other devices around the house are on 2.4ghz (old tablet in bedroom 65mbit) Laptop in kitchen 150 mbit etc

Fred are you mixing up speedtest results with wifi connect speeds? if you want speed and distance on wifi then you will need to improve your signal or get a wifi extender. IF you don't want to run cables through walls or use a powerline adapter

tdgeek

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#1354025 29-Jul-2015 06:55

frednz:
ZollyMonsta: Wifi was created for convenience, not speed.

Before I upgraded to 50Mbps I was getting a maximum download speed of 15Mbps. As mentioned earlier, when using WiFi and when the computer is in the same room as the modem / router, I can get 48Mbps from WiFi and 30-40Mbps when the computer is 12 metres and two rooms away from the router.

So, the increase in WiFi speed from a maximum previously of 15Mbps to a steady 30-40Mbps, is worthwhile.

So, with a 100Mbps plan, if a WiFi receiving device was within a couple of metres of the router, what do you think would be the maximum Mbps that could be achieved with WiFi?

Regards
Fred

This laptop I am on is 3 metres line of sight from my router, when I was on the 200/20 plan I got 205/22. This is AC to the router (Apple Extreme) and 1Gbit LAN to the modem (Huawei 659b) I'll test distances today if I get a chance, and on N

tdgeek

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#1354033 29-Jul-2015 07:16

Raise the height of the modem/router.
Keep away from sheet metal, microwaves, other electronic gear (not always possible)
Use INSSIDER to see what channel you are on and others in range and use 1,6 or 11 to keep yourself on a low or non used channel
Turning the transmit power down is worth testing, as lower power means less nearby wifi's are seen, reducing interference, collisions
If you set yourself up with an AC solution, thats great, my connect rate is up to 867Mbit, although it does vary from 434 to 867, not sure why
2.4 is best for distance if you use a concurrent 2.4/5Ghz solution, 5 is best for speed as less interference, but has less range

My setup is pretty ideal:
Router is central
Router is 2.4/5 and AC and 1Gbit LAN/WAN ports
My laptop is on AC 5Ghz and its close as is iPad and phone
WDTV is non wifi, used a N dongle before, now thats cabled to the router, so I effectively get up to 867Mbit to the router reduced to 100Mbit ethernet to the WDTV, great
Apple TV is the same setup as the WDTV, cabled.
PS3 the same for streaming
Outside and at end of property these drop back to 2.4, gives me distance.

If you are settled at your home, i.e. not renting, and longish term, I would shell out and get a sparky that does data to place a patch panel near the router, and feed them to 3 rooms that would benefit from speed, say family room, 2 bedrooms, and one at the back of the home for outside use, and use AP's in these places. Plus, if desired you can use ethernet in those places as well via a cheap unmanaged switch. If the sparky draw wires down a nearby power point, that work won't be a lengthy and costly drama.

I've not used power line, you'd need to make sure that the power points at modem end and room end are on the same network, so buying and the option to return is desired.

Yes, there is cost and mucking around, but its a one off, and you can then exist is an environment that is as good as it can be.

frednz

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#1354198 29-Jul-2015 10:34

Thanks very much for your recent replies, they are very helpful. Jase, I have also found that distance and walls have a huge effect on the speed you can get over the network. I will have a look at the "techspot" site you refer to, thanks for this helpful link.

And as "tdgeek" says, I realise it's important to raise the height of the modem / router, I have found this can improve results significantly. It's a good suggestion to employ a sparky to help with the set-up, thanks for that.

"Apsattv" thanks for your comment about speedtest results and connect speeds. It's interesting that, in this morning's "Dominion Post", there is an article about 2degrees offering home broadband. Their marketing is in terms of download speeds (up to 200Mbps) and upload speeds (up to 20Mbps) and the extra costs of going to the fastest download and upload speeds. This is also how Vodafone have marketed their plans, but I guess somewhere in the fine print it's mentioned that WiFi may not be able to deliver on the advertised speeds as well as a direct cable connection to the receiving device(s).

Regards
Fred

Jase2985

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#1354211 29-Jul-2015 10:45

An isp provides the internet up to the device you use to establish that connection, ie the modem/router. Anything after that is your problem/issue. and ISP doesn't guarantee wifi connections, in fact most will only help you with basic trouble shooting for wifi issues and thats it, where as for the actual internet connection they will go a lot further.

hence why people on here always tell you to do a speed test over ethernet as its generally rated at 1gbps (device dependent) so it eliminates any bottlenecks in the system, which is what wifi generally is.

richms

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#1354244 29-Jul-2015 11:07

No need for the ISP to have any fineprint about wifi, just like the providers of landlines dont need to tell people that their cordless phone might not work over the whole house.

Richard rich.ms

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