What should I upgrade to get better speed?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › What should I upgrade to get better speed?

HenryNZ

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Master Geek

#242656 7-Nov-2018 22:22

I have Spark Fibre100 but on a SpeedTest I only get 38 Mbps down and 12 Mbps up. This is far cry from what the Fibre is theorectically capable of. I am thinking about upgrading the equipment to get the most out of the Fibre, but preferably in a piece meal fashion so not to spend a large chunk of money in one go.

Current set up:

ONT -> Huawei HG659b (Wifi AP disabled, used as a router / wired switch only) -> Unifi AC LR in the middle of the house.

The above speed test was done using Wifi on my iPhone standing right next to the Unifi AC LR.

Also from the above HG659b:

(1) to a 10/100 Powerline Ethernet adaptor via powerline to another 10/100 Powerline Ethernet adaptor -> TV

(2) to an old HP Laser Jet JetDirect network card

(3) to an old HP OfficeJet

So to get better speed to better utilise the Fibre100, shall I:

(1) Swap the Huawei for an EdgeRouter ER X, with Eth1-Eth4 put on Switch0 to connect the Unifi (via PoE), the two printers and the Powerline?

(2) Get a switch to put between the Huawei HG659b and the various bits (Unifi, printers and powerline)

(3) Change some settings somewhere on my Unifi or Huawei?

What kind of speed should I be expecting with an optimised setup, using Fibre100?

Thanks

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566 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2121885 7-Nov-2018 23:36

don't test with wifi

test with a pc/laptop plugged in with a cable to the hg659b

Lias

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#2121887 7-Nov-2018 23:37

Pretty much everyone will tell you that Wifi should never be used for testing, so here's what I'd do to test and isolate things:

Step One.. Test over Ethernet from a device directly connected to the HG659b, with all the other devices disconnected. For most accurate results use the Windows Store version of speedtest, not the website version.

Step Two.. Plug the AC LR's Ethernet cable back into the HG659b, at the far end, unplug the AC LR and connect your wired device, repeat the test.

Step Three.. Plug in the other devices to the HG659b one by one, repeating the wired speedtest from the far end of the Ethernet connection after each step.

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hio77

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Lizard Networks

#2121890 7-Nov-2018 23:38

What wireless band are you connected to while running this test? sounds somewhat like your on 2.4ghz which would explain the slower speed.

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Talkiet

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#2121893 7-Nov-2018 23:40

The standard Huawei 659b supplied by Spark is easily capable of 940+Mbps... The other advice in the thread is good. Try Lias' suggestions in order.

Cheers- N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

HenryNZ

55 posts

Master Geek

#2121899 7-Nov-2018 23:58

Thanks all.
Will try to dig up my old netbook with Ethernet port to run a test directly from the Huawei and report back.

bigalow

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Ultimate Geek

#2121900 7-Nov-2018 23:59

Talkiet:

The standard Huawei 659b supplied by Spark is easily capable of 940+Mbps... The other advice in the thread is good. Try Lias' suggestions in order.

Cheers- N

only get that speed if the device connected to it is wifi ac compatible

want get that speed if its only wifi a,b,g compatible

Talkiet

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#2121905 8-Nov-2018 00:18

You don't get that speed on wireless at all in general. Start by ruling out the basic issues as per lias' post

N

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michaelmurfy

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#2121918 8-Nov-2018 07:31

You've now started a few threads where people have given advice:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=66&TopicId=242567

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=66&TopicId=242473

For starters, please stop creating new threads. It really isn't needed. You've been given a bit of advice here.

You don't need any more equipment really, but if you're still using those powerline adapters then this could be slowing you down. Also, what controller are you using with your UniFi and how did you set it up? Did you disable WiFi on your HG659? Is the UniFi plugged straight into your router (and not into a powerline adapter)?

If you're wanting a new router also then I do recommend buying the UniFI USG along with a UniFi Switch. You do need a controller for this like a Cloudkey or the controller in my signature.

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HenryNZ

55 posts

Master Geek

#2121922 8-Nov-2018 08:06

Thank you Michael for your tips and all the other good advice on your other posts.

I apologise if it sounds like I am spamming the forum, however I thought starting new topics would provide clarity as each thread relates to a different problem as it arises in my pursuit to better speed.
For example, my very first thread relates to whether I should upgrade to 1000 mbps powerline. From that discussion someone raised the question about Amplifi or an unifi. I was interested in these options and as the title no longer reflect the new question I posted the second thread, which relates to the choice mesh wifi vs upgrading powerline. At the end I decided against either and went down the path of a Unifi AP. This has been great in terms of coverage and now my downstairs home office has reliable access. I am very grateful.

Now that I have went down the Unifi (via direct wire to the router by the way), I would like to improve the speed further. The issue is no longer wifi coverage which I must say is day and night difference from before. It is more to do with the general slowness of the network. Hence this thread.

However I admit that I could have put all threads together under a single thread of “how to improve my internet speed”.

From now on I will keep my questions on this thread which has a generic title.

Back to the question on hand. I have installed Speedtest on my old netbook which runs windows 7. It is the only computer I have that still has an Ethernet port. However speedtest seems to have a bug where the display is gibberish and the text is not readable. However looking at the graphics representation of the pointer and looking at the online version, the speed is very slow even when it is hooked directly to the router. In fact slower than the iPhone speed via wifi. I was getting only 15 mbps down. Tonight I will try to download a different speed test app that will work properly on my netbook and try again.

Thanks for all the tips. I am very appreciative. It has made my internet experience much more enjoyable. I did not know what I was missing until I got my unifi.

Assuming that my Huawei is not faulty, how much performance gain would one expect upgrading the router? From what I read it is really improvement in reliability and configurability, as it seems the Huawei should be able to handle a 100 mbps broadband easily. Is that correct?

Thanks in advance

bignose

142 posts

Master Geek

#2122108 8-Nov-2018 12:08

Talkiet: You don't get that speed on wireless at all in general.

well certainly not off phones where the wifi implementation almost seems an after-thought

you CAN get decent speed off wifi using decent 4-stream links though

https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/42ec4cf7-b246-41bf-a085-a7d5b24a4aba

bignose

142 posts

Master Geek

#2122110 8-Nov-2018 12:14

Back to the question on hand. I have installed Speedtest on my old netbook which runs windows 7. It is the only computer I have that still has an Ethernet port. However speedtest seems to have a bug where the display is gibberish and the text is not readable. However looking at the graphics representation of the pointer and looking at the online version, the speed is very slow even when it is hooked directly to the router. In fact slower than the iPhone speed via wifi. I was getting only 15 mbps down. Tonight I will try to download a different speed test app that will work properly on my netbook and try again.

speedtest app or just accessing the speedtest web version? The web-based version isn't a good option as you end up benchmarking your browser as much as your link - will give really poor numbers on old/slow cpus. The desktop app should give you a meaningful number (I've got an ancient Gateway LT32 I sometimes plug in for network troubleshooting and on it's ethernet it can easily hit 800+ using the app, despite it's meagre cpu - in the web version it can be about 1/3 of that)

your results are so spectacularly low that I'd suspect you've got another problem though - first thing I'd do is drop ALL the other stuff you've got hung off the HG659 (powerline adaptor, access point etc) and run speedtest with JUST the netbook plugged directly in.

BarTender

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#2122111 8-Nov-2018 12:14

Are you sure it's not the devices you are testing with??? As has already been discussed never test over WiFi.

And quite possibly your Laptop and Phone simply can't push the speeds you are looking for. So upgrading of the network equipment will make no difference.

trig42

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#2122119 8-Nov-2018 12:34

I easily get 100/20 speedtest results on my iPhone (7) while in the same room as my router. If you are getting 38, it may suggest there is an issue, but you will not know for sure until you do some wired tests with a machine you know can get 100 through it's ethernet port. Your netbook may not be able to do this either.

Have you tried a speedtest to your phone from the WiFi on the HG659b?

How is the Unifi connected tot he HG659? You say the Unifi is in the middle of the house, I'm assuming the HG659 isn't?

DarkShadow

1647 posts

Uber Geek

#2122132 8-Nov-2018 12:59

What model of iPhone do you have? If it is old it may not have the right WiFi standards.

Can you borrow something with an ethernet port that's not a netbook? Some of them are so underpowerd they can't even do 100Mbps on a speedtest.

MurrayM

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#2122137 8-Nov-2018 13:09

A netbook (especially an older one) may really struggle to keep up and give you much lower speeds than what your connection can handle.

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