What wifi speed over a home network?

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peejayw

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#123448 8-Jul-2013 13:13

I have a Cisco Linksys X3500 providing my home wifi internet to an Acer Aspire V5 laptop. There is a WD MyBook USB drive connected to the modem. No other devices on the network, no mobile phones.
If I transfer a large file from the MyBook drive to the laptop (running Win8) I get a speed of around 2MB/s which seems a bit slow, should I be getting better speeds than this?

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tdgeek

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#850821 8-Jul-2013 13:17

I have a TP-Link W8960N and copying from the laptop to a WD HDD connected to a WDTV, I get a range of 3 MB/sec to 3.8 MB/sec sustained. Starts off around 4.2.

In the home there will be another laptop, 2 iPhones, 1 or 2 iPads.

I don't copy from the HDD to the laptop, I will try to remember tonight to test that, and add any details on my modem config

khull

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#850826 8-Jul-2013 13:24

looks like it is probably negotiating at wireless G speeds (check if dual band is enabled on the cisco) - also check on the sync rate is at 5Ghz on wireless N rather than 2.4Ghz

Just take a snapshot of the wireless network properties window and reply back - Go to your Network Conenctions window, right click on your wireless adapter and select "properties".

(Good luck finding this window) ;)

peejayw

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#850842 8-Jul-2013 13:50

Is this the window you mean?

I checked with inSSIDer and it gave me this info...

Does that help?

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peejayw

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#850849 8-Jul-2013 13:54

Found another one :-)

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ubergeeknz

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#850868 8-Jul-2013 14:25

peejayw: I have a Cisco Linksys X3500 providing my home wifi internet to an Acer Aspire V5 laptop. There is a WD MyBook USB drive connected to the modem. No other devices on the network, no mobile phones.
If I transfer a large file from the MyBook drive to the laptop (running Win8) I get a speed of around 2MB/s which seems a bit slow, should I be getting better speeds than this?

I'd say the bottleneck is more than likely the USB file sharing on your router.

Have you got another machine you can hook into ethernet, hook the USB drive to, and test file transfer speeds?

peejayw

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#850885 8-Jul-2013 14:44

No, just the one laptop and modem.

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ubergeeknz

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#850898 8-Jul-2013 15:01

How's your internet speed on the WiFi? That should tell you.

peejayw

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#850909 8-Jul-2013 15:11

Internet speed over the wireless is 11/1. I connected the laptop via ethernet and got a download speed of 5MB/s so better but still slow so it must be something to do with the USB connection of the drive to the modem as has been suggested.
The blurb for the router has this to say about the usb connection but no mention of speed.

The USB port let you add storage devices and printers to your network to share files or print wirelessly throughout your home. The built-in DLNA Certified® media server enables media streaming to your TV, Xbox 360, PS3, or other DLNA compatible devices.

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ubergeeknz

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#850913 8-Jul-2013 15:17

That's a decent jump in speed, so it could be partially your Wi-Fi.

FYI on 100-baseT Ethernet you should get about 8MB/s ; USB 2.0 can do around 15-20. If it's just one device you need to share the drive with you'd be best off just plugging it straight in.

peejayw

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#850919 8-Jul-2013 15:21

I need to share it with a WD TV Live :-(

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raytaylor

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#853655 11-Jul-2013 00:51

That signal level of -44 could also be slowing you down. When you get above -50 it can start distorting and the units will slow down to compensate. Its like two people yelling in each others ear.

See if you can move the laptop away further to bring the signal down to about -55 to -65

I am also thinking its possible that a limiting factor could be the processor in the router. I know it doesnt take much to route packets but i am wondering if its being coupled with the extra file sharing processes that it could be slowing down a bit as we know, many home routers arent capable of fibre (30mbit+) internet speeds due to the limited processing power.

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#855217 14-Jul-2013 12:54

I would say keep using the ethernet cable... Maybe you could run a more permanent cable to an outlet in a convenient location.

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