Question Getting only 10Mbps with wireless connection ?

Sep 3, 2021
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I have a 5G Wireless network adaptor and am getting very low speeds when running the speedtest on my laptop.

PING ms
12
DOWNLOAD Mbps
14.24
UPLOAD Mbps
3.63

On my IPad I get:

PING ms
52
DOWNLOAD Mbps
69.54
UPLOAD Mbps
10.96

I am using the latest wireless drivers and have run Malwarebytes and it says there are no threats on my pc. Speed under Wi-fi status fluttuates between 14.4 - 65 Mbps. Any ideas?
 
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Are you sure it is connecting to the 5g radio. Do you have the same or different SSID for the 2.4 and 5g radios.

The so called "speed" in the wifi status is actually a number that represents the data encoding. You can look these up in what is called a MCS table to determine how it is connecting.
You need the exact numbers.

14.4 and 65 generally mean you are only using 20mhz data channels. This is very common if you connect on the 2.4g radio. The other thing it means is you are using 1x1 mimo which is all your card supports. The other thing is 14.4 means you are getting a very poor signal level. 65 is ok but the best would be 72.2

I would look on your ipad and see if you can find similar numbers,

What I suspect is the ipad is using the 5g radio where you can get 80mhz channels. This will give you a number like 433 in the status for a card like yours. The IPAD likely is 2x2 so it can get a even higher data encoding rate.

What you need to do is check your router and try to force a wider channel width. 40mhz on 2.4 and 80 on 5.
 
Other than the first link I get no images.

The first one again shows you are running 20mhz channel width. Some wifi devices are doing stuff like reduce the channel width because they detect neighbors on other channels. It can also be the channel number you select in some router, some have strange restrictions on how wide the channels can be based on what number you pick. It is not consistent between routers. All I can recommend is make sure that the router is set to allow 80mhz channels. Try changing the channel number in the 5g radio. Although not common there might be a driver setting in your pc related to channel width
 
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Sep 3, 2021
13
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Other than the first link I get no images.

The first one again shows you are running 20mhz channel width. Some wifi devices are doing stuff like reduce the channel width because they detect neighbors on other channels. It can also be the channel number you select in some router, some have strange restrictions on how wide the channels can be based on what number you pick. It is not consistent between routers. All I can recommend is make sure that the router is set to allow 80mhz channels. Try changing the channel number in the 5g radio. Although not common there might be a driver setting in your pc related to channel width
Try this link, it's an imgur link and tell me if you can see the pictures.

Update: I hate to admit it but your absolutely correct, my wi-fi adaptor is for some reason running on a 20mhz channel width. I confirmed it with Wifi Analyzer shown on the last image. The thing is my router only allows me to change the 2G channel and not the 5G.
 
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try other channel numbers if it will take it try 42. This is the middle of the first 80mhz band but not all routers work the same when it comes to how they treat channels. I would just try a few different ones and see if something changes.

I would also dig around the setting for the wifi nic there are some that let you set the channel width....at least they let you set the maximum you will accept since this is negotiated with the router. The router does appear to have 80mhz channels.
 
Sep 3, 2021
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try other channel numbers if it will take it try 42. This is the middle of the first 80mhz band but not all routers work the same when it comes to how they treat channels. I would just try a few different ones and see if something changes.

I would also dig around the setting for the wifi nic there are some that let you set the channel width....at least they let you set the maximum you will accept since this is negotiated with the router. The router does appear to have 80mhz channels.
There is no channel option. Also i linked the the channel width settings which only has a 20Mhz and auto option.

View: https://imgur.com/UWVeJRq


have you done a solo speed test for the device that needs internet? Solo as in.. all devices except the device that needs a "accurate" test.
No there is no easy way for me to do so.

Update:

Direct LAN connection
https://www.speedtest.net/result/11990565858

W-iFi but hugging the router
https://www.speedtest.net/result/11990571846
 
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microtank

Commendable
Mar 26, 2021
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There is no channel option. Also i linked the the channel width settings which only has a 20Mhz and auto option.

View: https://imgur.com/UWVeJRq



No there is no easy way for me to do so.

Update:

Direct LAN connection
https://www.speedtest.net/result/11990565858

W-iFi but hugging the router
https://www.speedtest.net/result/11990571846
Distance from the router can play a role on your speed. This includes the materials of the objects it passes through. You also have to include the 802.11 protocols that are being broadcasted and autonomously functions of the router or device. For distance 802.11 N on the 2.4 frequency is your best bet for high bandwidth with many obstructions.

without any information on how far the router is from your desirable location to use a device makes it a conundrum that is difficult to solve. Speed is not nearly important than connectivity. Exceeding 1000 ms to most servers will result in a disconnect and majority of the issues is coming from the device itself and not the ISP and believe it or not most people in the US pay for 2 internet providers without knowing it.
 
Sep 3, 2021
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Distance from the router can play a role on your speed. This includes the materials of the objects it passes through. You also have to include the 802.11 protocols that are being broadcasted and autonomously functions of the router or device. For distance 802.11 N on the 2.4 frequency is your best bet for high bandwidth with many obstructions.

without any information on how far the router is from your desirable location to use a device makes it a conundrum that is difficult to solve. Speed is not nearly important than connectivity. Exceeding 1000 ms to most servers will result in a disconnect and majority of the issues is coming from the device itself and not the ISP and believe it or not most people in the US pay for 2 internet providers without knowing it.
I would say around 25 feet from the router so pretty far. I am at the furthest point from the router and unfortinately I cannot move my laptop closer cause I use it in my room. I cannot remove the router since it is attached to my cable modem. Any ideas?
 
Again your problem is that for some reason the end device and the router are negotiating 20mhz wide channels.

It has to be some issue with that combination of nic card and router. Not sure what to recommend pretty much the only thing you can really change is the channel number on the router so I guess change that and maybe you get lucky. On the nic card you want to leave it on auto.
 
Sep 3, 2021
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Again your problem is that for some reason the end device and the router are negotiating 20mhz wide channels.

It has to be some issue with that combination of nic card and router. Not sure what to recommend pretty much the only thing you can really change is the channel number on the router so I guess change that and maybe you get lucky. On the nic card you want to leave it on auto.
I changed the channel for the 2G band but, was unable to do so for the 5G as there is no option to do so:
View: https://imgur.com/Wwgbyux
 
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That is strange it has a line for channel but will not let you set it.

The 867 number means it will attempt to use a 80mhz channel.

This is where some diagnostic data would be nice to show why you are only getting a 20mhz channel. Unfortunately none of the wifi chipset provide this so we really don't know if it is a router or pc issue or just some incompatibility.

Maybe see if there is newer firmware for the router and check that you have the latest drivers from intel for your wifi card.

If possible try to use your laptop someplace else and see if you can get faster connections. This is getting to be do you try to replace the router or the wifi nic. My guess it is the router because that intel nic is very popular and you do not see people report this issue.
 
Sep 3, 2021
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That is strange it has a line for channel but will not let you set it.

The 867 number means it will attempt to use a 80mhz channel.

This is where some diagnostic data would be nice to show why you are only getting a 20mhz channel. Unfortunately none of the wifi chipset provide this so we really don't know if it is a router or pc issue or just some incompatibility.

Maybe see if there is newer firmware for the router and check that you have the latest drivers from intel for your wifi card.

If possible try to use your laptop someplace else and see if you can get faster connections. This is getting to be do you try to replace the router or the wifi nic. My guess it is the router because that intel nic is very popular and you do not see people report this issue.
The wifi nic is built in to my laptop so that would be difficult. I am actually looking into buying this router. I think it will be on sale on black friday and has an 1,800 sq. ft. coverage. If it helps my router just started doing this 2 days ago.
 
Do not get hung up on wifi6. Your current laptop can not use it and planning for "future" use is silly because wifi6 is already outdated.

Either buy wifi6e if you can find it or buy a inexpensive wifi5 (ie 802.11ac) router. The coverage is the same as long as you are buying quality routers, the distance the signal goes is purely based on transmit power which almost every router runs at the maximum legal power.
 
Sep 3, 2021
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Do not get hung up on wifi6. Your current laptop can not use it and planning for "future" use is silly because wifi6 is already outdated.

Either buy wifi6e if you can find it or buy a inexpensive wifi5 (ie 802.11ac) router. The coverage is the same as long as you are buying quality routers, the distance the signal goes is purely based on transmit power which almost every router runs at the maximum legal power.
Can you please make some recommendations for possible replacement routers?
 
In general any router that costs about $50 from brand name manufacture would likely be fine in your case. You want to look for the numbers on the box to be around 1200-1750.

I don't know the details of your IPAD but let say can support 3x3 mimo that would be equivalent to a router that has a number 1750. Very few end users devices have 4 antenna so they can do 4x4. In any case you could get 300mbps in real life use.

You PC is restricted to 1x1 mimo. This gives a number on a router of 600. It tends to not be cost effective to buy a router with a number less than 1200. Many people can get 100-150mbps on a so called 433 wifi connection.

I would avoid the lessor known brands such as buffalo or belkin. Tplink tends to make low cost good product but asus,netgear,linksys etc are good also.
 
Sep 3, 2021
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In general any router that costs about $50 from brand name manufacture would likely be fine in your case. You want to look for the numbers on the box to be around 1200-1750.

I don't know the details of your IPAD but let say can support 3x3 mimo that would be equivalent to a router that has a number 1750. Very few end users devices have 4 antenna so they can do 4x4. In any case you could get 300mbps in real life use.

You PC is restricted to 1x1 mimo. This gives a number on a router of 600. It tends to not be cost effective to buy a router with a number less than 1200. Many people can get 100-150mbps on a so called 433 wifi connection.

I would avoid the lessor known brands such as buffalo or belkin. Tplink tends to make low cost good product but asus,netgear,linksys etc are good also.
So what was wrong with this router, it is name brand(Netgear) and has a 1,800 number? Unless you’re talking about a different number. Also it’s currently on sale for $90.
 
This gets very complex and takes understanding what those numbers mean.

The 1800 number in this case means it runs 2x2 mimo at 80mhz max. One of the huge advantages of wifi6 is the use of 160mhz radio band. The other way wifi6 gets faster speeds is by using a more dense encoding called QAM1024. This only works at short range. These are the 2 key things that make wifi6 faster than 802.11ac. If they can not be used it runs pretty much the same as 802.11ac router with a 1200 number on it.

In your case since you do not have wifi6 equipment it is going to drop back to that even if the signal would be strong enough to run qam1024. This makes no difference at all to your PC since it is only 1x1 but if your apple can run 3x3 then this router will run slower than a 802.1ac router that can do 3x3 mimo.

I guess I didn't realize these routers have gotten so cheap. I actually see 2 1800 one costs just $60 and the other $75. Not sure other than the case what is different they are so new there is not much detailed information about the internal parts.

There likely is nothing wrong with these taking into account your apple device. I have pretty much ignored wifi6 since it was only about 6 months after wifi6 stuff first came to market that the FCC approved the 6g radio band used by wifi6e. All this extra bandwidth on the 6g radio is going to be a massive improvement since for a while there is enough room for multiple neighbors to use 160mhz channels and not interfere. The current 5g in most countries only has room for 1 and you still need to worry about things like weather radar and other government transmissions. This is the key reason a lot of wifi6 routers only support 80mhz
 
Sep 3, 2021
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This gets very complex and takes understanding what those numbers mean.

The 1800 number in this case means it runs 2x2 mimo at 80mhz max. One of the huge advantages of wifi6 is the use of 160mhz radio band. The other way wifi6 gets faster speeds is by using a more dense encoding called QAM1024. This only works at short range. These are the 2 key things that make wifi6 faster than 802.11ac. If they can not be used it runs pretty much the same as 802.11ac router with a 1200 number on it.

In your case since you do not have wifi6 equipment it is going to drop back to that even if the signal would be strong enough to run qam1024. This makes no difference at all to your PC since it is only 1x1 but if your apple can run 3x3 then this router will run slower than a 802.1ac router that can do 3x3 mimo.

I guess I didn't realize these routers have gotten so cheap. I actually see 2 1800 one costs just $60 and the other $75. Not sure other than the case what is different they are so new there is not much detailed information about the internal parts.

There likely is nothing wrong with these taking into account your apple device. I have pretty much ignored wifi6 since it was only about 6 months after wifi6 stuff first came to market that the FCC approved the 6g radio band used by wifi6e. All this extra bandwidth on the 6g radio is going to be a massive improvement since for a while there is enough room for multiple neighbors to use 160mhz channels and not interfere. The current 5g in most countries only has room for 1 and you still need to worry about things like weather radar and other government transmissions. This is the key reason a lot of wifi6 routers only support 80mhz
Which is why I initially asked for a recommendation, I am not very versed in networking. Considering you seem to talk in techno babal (no offense!) I figured you would probally know more what type of router I would need for my MSI GF63 8RD laptop. I'm not sure why if it supports 5G why it's stuck on a 20Mhz band if thats how it came or I messed it up somehow without realizing it.
 
In general most people do not need really fancy routers. Like you their end devices can not use the features. The vast majority just buy the biggest number on the box they can find and they "feel" smart but the marketing guys at the router companies are laughing at them.

The wifi numbers are extremely deceptive but it is also many consumers are so lazy they will not even come to a forum like this and ask for help.

I know all this stuff because I used to do this for a living and held many certifications that required you to know this stuff in great detail.
 
Anything related to coverage is a number they are pulling out of their backside. You will not find any technical description of the testing methods they used to get the numbers.

The distance the signal goes is a function of the transmit power. That is regulated by the government and almost all routers transmit at the maximum legal power. This means the signal goes about the same for all devices.

In addition the end device is 1/2 the connection so even if you were to get some magic router that could send the signal farther the end device could not send it back. The house you place the router in makes far more difference. A house with concrete walls is going have much poorer coverage than a house that has a open floorplan.

There is nothing wrong with that route but again it is chasing bigger numbers. First it uses 4x4 on 5g which is very rare. Next is uses a non standard data encoding to get the 600 number on 2.5 rather than the more common 450. The 450 still requires 3x3 mimo.