[SOLVED] Does Wifi speed increase with connection speed?

Jun 28, 2021
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Hi,

I currently have a TP-Link Archer C9 from quite a few years ago which is going strong. Our current ADSL connection is limited to 38Mb but I am looking into increasing this. Due to Xboxs, Netflix and PC gaming at home, there can be quite a lot going on in parallel.
I was wondering if our current Wifi router wasn't up to handling all of the streams so I have been on the hunt for newer equipment.
Router 1 - Asus CT8 - Base and an additional node. Base was fine, but the node kept disconnecting all of the time. Even when connecting it was a third of the speed of the base unit.
Router 2 - Linksys MR9600 - Worked on first day, speed was better all over the house; on the second day, it kept falling over, and when it was up, was a third of the speed.
When the routers were operating successfully, the Speed Tests I ran from different locations in the house were from 24 to 38Mb.

A couple of questions:
  • Is the Archer C9 still good enough for multiple devices?
  • If I do increase my ADSL connection speed, will the Wifi speeds in my house increase proportionally, or will a 24Mb now, be 24Mb even with a 66Mb connection?

Regards,

Ian.
 
Solution
Hi,

I currently have a TP-Link Archer C9 from quite a few years ago which is going strong. Our current ADSL connection is limited to 38Mb but I am looking into increasing this. Due to Xboxs, Netflix and PC gaming at home, there can be quite a lot going on in parallel.
I was wondering if our current Wifi router wasn't up to handling all of the streams so I have been on the hunt for newer equipment.
Router 1 - Asus CT8 - Base and an additional node. Base was fine, but the node kept disconnecting all of the time. Even when connecting it was a third of the speed of the base unit.
Router 2 - Linksys MR9600 - Worked on first day, speed was better all over the house; on the second day, it kept falling over, and when it was up, was a...

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
Hi,

I currently have a TP-Link Archer C9 from quite a few years ago which is going strong. Our current ADSL connection is limited to 38Mb but I am looking into increasing this. Due to Xboxs, Netflix and PC gaming at home, there can be quite a lot going on in parallel.
I was wondering if our current Wifi router wasn't up to handling all of the streams so I have been on the hunt for newer equipment.
Router 1 - Asus CT8 - Base and an additional node. Base was fine, but the node kept disconnecting all of the time. Even when connecting it was a third of the speed of the base unit.
Router 2 - Linksys MR9600 - Worked on first day, speed was better all over the house; on the second day, it kept falling over, and when it was up, was a third of the speed.
When the routers were operating successfully, the Speed Tests I ran from different locations in the house were from 24 to 38Mb.

A couple of questions:
  • Is the Archer C9 still good enough for multiple devices?
  • If I do increase my ADSL connection speed, will the Wifi speeds in my house increase proportionally, or will a 24Mb now, be 24Mb even with a 66Mb connection?
Regards,

Ian.
The AC1900 C9 is as good as most home routers. To improve your network, the best thing to do is to move as many devices to wired connection. WIFI is a shared resource. Even with dual band, two devices can monopolize, especially steaming devices.
40Mbit download bandwidth is good for a couple people. Get too many simultaneous users and you can use up that resource long before you use your WIFI bandwidth.
 
Solution
Archer C9 should be plenty to handle 38mbps. Buying a new router won't really help you at all.

I would install DDWRT on your router and turn on CAKE algorithm under QOS. Set your bandwidth properly to about 85% of your average speedtest. This will split bandwidth evenly as necessary. So every person gets a decent amount of bandwidth. If someone is updating a game on a console, the whole network won't saturate to just one user where someone else gaming will get packet loss and ping spikes. Instead, the router will drop the console update to a lower bandwith and carve out a reasonable amount of bandwidth for the person playing a game so they're not getting packet loss and constant ping spikes. It will share the internet in a reasonable manner.
 
Jun 28, 2021
13
1
15
The AC1900 C9 is as good as most home routers. To improve your network, the best thing to do is to move as many devices to wired connection. WIFI is a shared resource. Even with dual band, two devices can monopolize, especially steaming devices.
40Mbit download bandwidth is good for a couple people. Get too many simultaneous users and you can use up that resource long before you use your WIFI bandwidth.
Thank-you for your reply. The TV and set top box are wired into the router.
The Xboxs and PC are on Wifi.
If my internet connection doubled to 76Mb, could I expect my Wifi to jump from 24Mb (PC connection), to 48Mb?
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
Thank-you for your reply. The TV and set top box are wired into the router.
The Xboxs and PC are on Wifi.
If my internet connection doubled to 76Mb, could I expect my Wifi to jump from 24Mb (PC connection), to 48Mb?
It is difficult to predict WIFI speed. There are too many variables, distance, interference, etc. The best way to predict the ABSOLUTE limit is to look at the link speed of your WIFI link and divide that number by 2. This Netgear article shows how to find the link speed -- https://kb.netgear.com/19668/Link-Rate-and-Transfer-Speed
 
Jun 28, 2021
13
1
15
Archer C9 should be plenty to handle 38mbps. Buying a new router won't really help you at all.

I would install DDWRT on your router and turn on CAKE algorithm under QOS. Set your bandwidth properly to about 85% of your average speedtest. This will split bandwidth evenly as necessary. So every person gets a decent amount of bandwidth. If someone is updating a game on a console, the whole network won't saturate to just one user where someone else gaming will get packet loss and ping spikes. Instead, the router will drop the console update to a lower bandwith and carve out a reasonable amount of bandwidth for the person playing a game so they're not getting packet loss and constant ping spikes. It will share the internet in a reasonable manner.
Thank-you for your reply. I think installing DDWRT is beyond my skillset.:rolleyes:
 
Jun 28, 2021
13
1
15
It is difficult to predict WIFI speed. There are too many variables, distance, interference, etc. The best way to predict the ABSOLUTE limit is to look at the link speed of your WIFI link and divide that number by 2. This Netgear article shows how to find the link speed -- https://kb.netgear.com/19668/Link-Rate-and-Transfer-Speed
If I use WiFi Analyzer on my phone, I can see the 5GHz band jumping between 130Mbps and 195Mbps. So roughly my average max throughput would be 75Mbps?
Looking at the channels, there is no competition for 5Ghz in the local vicinity. Signal strength is about -64dBm.
If I increase my internet connection, will my PC client see the benefit?
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
If I use WiFi Analyzer on my phone, I can see the 5GHz band jumping between 130Mbps and 195Mbps. So roughly my average max throughput would be 75Mbps?
Looking at the channels, there is no competition for 5Ghz in the local vicinity. Signal strength is about -64dBm.
If I increase my internet connection, will my PC client see the benefit?
If your phone is what you are interested in, then yes 70Mbit throughput would be expected. If it is your PC, then you need to check with it. The antennas on your PC will be in a different location than your phone. That can make all the difference.
 
Jun 28, 2021
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My phone is for convenience and I had a Wifi testing app. My PC has a TP-LINK 450Mbps Wireless N Adapter. This afternoon's speed is 25Mbps. Would I see this increase?
Most devices are on the 5Ghz band. If I put some on the 2.4Ghz, would the load then be shared? Would the Archer C9 be able to cope?
If I bought a tri-band router, would that improve throughput?
Or is my Internet connection the most likely bottleneck?
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
My phone is for convenience and I had a Wifi testing app. My PC has a TP-LINK 450Mbps Wireless N Adapter. This afternoon's speed is 25Mbps. Would I see this increase?
Most devices are on the 5Ghz band. If I put some on the 2.4Ghz, would the load then be shared? Would the Archer C9 be able to cope?
If I bought a tri-band router, would that improve throughput?
Or is my Internet connection the most likely bottleneck?
I showed you how to find the link speed for Windows. Follow that and find your link rate.
 
Thank-you for your reply. I think installing DDWRT is beyond my skillset.:rolleyes:

The IQ router runs a custom version of OpenWRT I believe. It runs the algorithm I was talking about. But it's an off the shelf solution and the UI was designed to be simple to use for normal people. It won't improve your wifi connection speed, but it'll help solve bandwidth issues with the multiple people in your house on slower DSL. You can buy one on amazon, here's the product page: https://evenroute.com/

Honestly your 24mbps connection speed is fine for web surfing and watching youtube or netflix. I suspect you're having bandwidth issues with your internet and not necessarily wifi issues.
 
Jun 28, 2021
13
1
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Your USB adapter is a single antenna 1x1 stick. These USB sticks generally aren't very good for wifi reception at higher distances.

If your PC is a desktop, you may be better off with powerline or a MOCA adapter.
Its a PCI card with 3 antennas - I avoided the USB version for the reasons you mentioned.
For some reason powerline is really poor in my house, and the speed is less than Wifi!
 
Jun 28, 2021
13
1
15
The IQ router runs a custom version of OpenWRT I believe. It runs the algorithm I was talking about. But it's an off the shelf solution and the UI was designed to be simple to use for normal people. It won't improve your wifi connection speed, but it'll help solve bandwidth issues with the multiple people in your house on slower DSL. You can buy one on amazon, here's the product page: https://evenroute.com/

Honestly your 24mbps connection speed is fine for web surfing and watching youtube or netflix. I suspect you're having bandwidth issues with your internet and not necessarily wifi issues.
Thank-you. I suspected the drop is when the family are smashing the internet!