Troubleshoot slow wifi?

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peejayw

1841 posts

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#206151 12-Dec-2016 07:24

I have just installed a new router, TPLink TL-WR1043ND. Using an ethernet connection I get the expected speeds of 50/10. However, on wifi its more like 12/10 but varies quite a bit.

The router is only 2.4mhz but there are no competing sites close by. There are no other devices connected wirelessly except for the laptop. Signal strength seems fine, laptop is approx 3 metres away with clear line of sight.

Any suggestions on what I can do to try to improve the wireless speed?

Thanks.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

raytaylor

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#1686303 12-Dec-2016 07:50

Use a program called inssider to check the signal level.

If your signal level is higher than -50 (eg in the -0 to -49 range) then your laptop is too close and the signal is too strong.

The most you should expect from a single chain 802.11n connection is about 30mbits so you would also need to confirm that your router and client devices are all dual chain to get any faster speeds.

Ray Taylor

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peejayw

1841 posts

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#1686310 12-Dec-2016 08:06

Thanks for that. I installed inssider and it shows a signal strength of -62. The box the router came in says 450Mbps wireless speed. Also says ready for NBN whatever that means.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

Kiwifruta

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#1686313 12-Dec-2016 08:22

peejayw:
Thanks for that. I installed inssider and it shows a signal strength of -62. The box the router came in says 450Mbps wireless speed. Also says ready for NBN whatever that means.

I have version 1.8 of the same router and get wifi speeds of around 38/28 on a 50/20 connection. My version is only capable of 300Mbps.

We have about half a dozen neighbours on the 2.4GHz band, I use the android app 'WiFi analyzer' to select the best channel of channels 1, 6 and 11.

I'm running OpenWrt 15.05 as my firmware.

NBN is the Australia's National Broadband Network, their equivalent, but dogged with problems, to our UFB.

peejayw

1841 posts

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#1686314 12-Dec-2016 08:26

I will keep trying then, should be able to do better that this. Do you think OpenWRT is a better option?

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

sbiddle

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Biddle Corp

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#1686317 12-Dec-2016 08:43

peejayw:

Thanks for that. I installed inssider and it shows a signal strength of -62. The box the router came in says 450Mbps wireless speed. Also says ready for NBN whatever that means.

450Mbps is just marketing speak. It's the maximum possible at the PHY level excluding all overheads using 3x3 MIMO.

Most devices aren't 3x3 MIMO so can only get a maximum PHY speed of 300Mbps using 2x2 MIMO. Single chain can only get 150Mbps.

Now you have to remember that once you add overheads you'll get roughly 1/2 of this. Suddenly the maximum real world speed of a 3x3 MIMO AP is 150Mbps.

Now you have to remember that 40MHz channels are pretty much unusable for 2.4MHz (and should certainly be avoided in most environments) and you'll now have to half these figures again. This means the maximum real world throughput of a 300Mbps 3x3 MIMO AP at 20MHz is around 75Mbps, and realistic real world speeds will be between about 30-40Mbps in most environments. If you're in a noisy environment you can chop this in half again.

Getting 38Mbps on 2.4GHz WiFi falls entirely within real world figures.

richms

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#1686356 12-Dec-2016 09:39

OP is getting 12/10.

I have seen some junk "laptops" with one of those SDIO wifi devices like you would use in a junk tablet. Those are single chain and top out at around there, so if device manager shows it as a SDIO wifi device and not PCIe or USB, then that would be the answer to the problem there.

Richard rich.ms

Kiwifruta

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#1687772 14-Dec-2016 15:54

peejayw:
I will keep trying then, should be able to do better that this. Do you think OpenWRT is a better option?

Flashing OpenWrt to your router will not dramatically increase your WiFi speeds, it some cases it can get worse. I flashed my router with OpenWrt to get some extra functionality that wasn't on the TP-Link firmware.

Quic Broadband

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1101

3122 posts

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#1689157 15-Dec-2016 09:47

peejayw:

.... There are no other devices connected wirelessly except for the laptop.....

Any suggestions on what I can do to try to improve the wireless speed?

Thanks.

1) test with another modern laptop (if possible, and not some cheapy)
2) try moving the router somewhere else in the room, move the laptop somewhere else . Put the router at about desk height
Dont sit between the laptop & router when testing
3) try another channel
4) 2.4Ghz & 5.8 are not just wifi.
many other devices use 2.4 &5.8 for other things, they wont show on wifi scanning/testing software: eg cordless ph, video senders, toy RC, security cams, wireless mice & kb

The best solution to poor wifi speed is not to use it .
Seriously, if its that close just use network cable , or be prepared to spend $$$ & time & still not allways get the desired result

Kiwifruta

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#1689179 15-Dec-2016 10:18

peejayw:
I have just installed a new router, TPLink TL-WR1043ND. Using an ethernet connection I get the expected speeds of 50/10. However, on wifi its more like 12/10 but varies quite a bit.

The router is only 2.4mhz but there are no competing sites close by. There are no other devices connected wirelessly except for the laptop. Signal strength seems fine, laptop is approx 3 metres away with clear line of sight.

Any suggestions on what I can do to try to improve the wireless speed?

Thanks.

If you prefer to use WiFi, and the laptop's WiFi device is of poor quality, perhaps try a USB WiFi dongle.

allio

886 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1689184 15-Dec-2016 10:26

I used that router for a long time (the 300mbps V1 version) and also got around 40mbps on average. That was in a moderately crowded environment where there were usually 1-4 overlapping networks.

Try picking the emptiest of channels 1, 6 and 11, as reported by inssider. 20MHz bandwidth. WPA2 encryption. Default transmit power. Antennas fully upright or at a slight angle. No other settings should really make a difference...

Only other thing I can suggest is that these routers are ideal for third-party firmware. OpenWRT works well but my preference was Gargoyle - the web interface is much friendlier. Agreed with previous posts though that third party firmware won't improve your wireless throughput - generally the best case scenario is that you match the factory firmware.

Edit: actually I do remember getting terrible performance when I tried to use 40Mhz mode, even with no interference from competing networks. Double check that you're using 20Mhz.

Kiwifruta

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#1689209 15-Dec-2016 10:39

allio:
I used that router for a long time (the 300mbps V1 version) and also got around 40mbps on average. That was in a moderately crowded environment where there were usually 1-4 overlapping networks.

Try picking the emptiest of channels 1, 6 and 11, as reported by inssider. 20MHz bandwidth. WPA2 encryption. Default transmit power. Antennas fully upright or at a slight angle. No other settings should really make a difference...

Only other thing I can suggest is that these routers are ideal for third-party firmware. OpenWRT works well but my preference was Gargoyle - the web interface is much friendlier. Agreed with previous posts though that third party firmware won't improve your wireless throughput - generally the best case scenario is that you match the factory firmware.

Edit: actually I do remember getting terrible performance when I tried to use 40Mhz mode, even with no interference from competing networks. Double check that you're using 20Mhz.

Plus One for Gargoyle, it's great. BUT if you're on UFB and your ISP needs VLAN tagging, then it's a PITA because the VLAN settings drop off each time the network settings are changed.

allio

886 posts

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#1689220 15-Dec-2016 10:53

Kiwifruta:

Plus One for Gargoyle, it's great. BUT if you're on UFB and your ISP needs VLAN tagging, then it's a PITA because the VLAN settings drop off each time the network settings are changed.

Yep, definitely not suitable for UFB. The hardware on my router was only barely capable of routing 100mbps anyway so I when I got UFB I took the opportunity to just get a new router. OpenWRT can do VLAN tagging just fine, but you do need to be a little bit of a guru to navigate that interface.

Kiwifruta

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#1689364 15-Dec-2016 13:45

allio:
Kiwifruta:

Plus One for Gargoyle, it's great. BUT if you're on UFB and your ISP needs VLAN tagging, then it's a PITA because the VLAN settings drop off each time the network settings are changed.

Yep, definitely not suitable for UFB. The hardware on my router was only barely capable of routing 100mbps anyway so I when I got UFB I took the opportunity to just get a new router. OpenWRT can do VLAN tagging just fine, but you do need to be a little bit of a guru to navigate that interface.

Agreed OpenWrt is not for newbies, it took me 5 months before I got it working, admittedly most of that time it was in the too hard basket, waiting for me to get back to it. Once I learned the vocab it was reasonably straight forward.

Kiwifruta

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#1689365 15-Dec-2016 13:45

@peejayw Any progress?

peejayw

1841 posts

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#1689465 15-Dec-2016 14:53

Tried a few things but no improvement so I reconnected the old dual frequencey wireless router to compare. It had lost an ethernet port hence the new one. Had the same poor speed on 2.4 but when I switched to 5 it was back to full speed! Something must be interfering on the 2.4 frequency. I will have to start removing devices from the network until I find the culprit.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.