Internet download speed drops when connected over router

[Nietzsche]

Hi all,

Recently I purchased Linksys WRT54GL router because my "old" WRT160N had serious issues with WLAN connection and signal loss, so I have decided to buy WRT54GL because of the good reviews and reliability it offers. I don't have any problems with it whatsoever and I am aware of the fact that it is a quite old peace of hardware, but download speed shouldn't drop so much when I connect my computer via router instead of directly to the modem. I did some internet speed tests (OOKLA speedtest) and here are the results:

-When connected directly to the modem, download speed is around 75-80Mbps
-When connected over router (with LAN cable of course), download speed drops to 30-35Mbps

I have two other devices (smartphone and tablet) connected over WLAN, but I was not using any of them during the internet speed test. WLAN works fine, although its speed is limited to around 20Mbps (1m away from the router), but that is not a big deal for me.

Upload speeds on the other hand are same with or without router connected to the modem (around 15Mbps in both cases).

I am not sure if something isn't set properly, but basically I didn't change any router settings. I did however update it to the latest firmware and set WPA2 protection for my network. Do you have any idea what could cause download speed reduction?

Thank you in advance!

 

[ODST120]

I believe the WRT54GL is a 802.11g radio type only, meaning that your speed will be capped to the max transmission speed of the g radio type (30mbps down, 15mbps up=45 total) the cap is 54 Mbps. So you will want a router that has the n or better radio type.

 

[Nietzsche]

I am aware of that and I don't need faster WLAN for my tablet or a smartphone. The problem is that speed drops on my computer, even if it is connected via LAN cable to the router.

 

[ODST120]

Hmm...Must still be the router's internal firmware is capping the wired speeds as well. Was this an issue on your previous router?

 

[scout_03]

on that wrt 160 n did you update the firware for the version of it same with the other .

 

[nuix0923]

overhead issues. your packets go through one more device before it hits WAN.
WAN - MODEM - PC
WAN - MODEM - ROUTER - PC

 

[Nietzsche]

WRT160N had better results on those speed tests few weeks ago. Download speed: 50-60Mbps and upload speed was the same. I was using the latest firmware on WRT160N as well.
The most logical explanation would be the overhead issue, but loosing so much download speed makes no sense to me.

 

[scout_03]

it could be with the high temp place the wrt 160 n on top of a desktop or a shelf so it could have more air around .

 

[Nietzsche]

Router is placed well and "problem" is related to wired connection between router and computer (modem - router - PC). WLAN works fine.

 

[scout_03]

check if you use another lan cable from pc to router if it does some change try a cat 6 if you could .

 

[Nietzsche]

I already did that. I have 3 category 6 cables and all of them performed same. I have also tested all 4 available ports for wired connection on the router and nothing changed.

 

[scout_03]

if you have a old nic card around i would try her to see how it goes and if the issue still on .

 

[Nietzsche]

I don't have old nic card, but I am quite sure that my network controller is working fine. As I said, old router had download speed around 60Mbps, but also some problems with WLAN signal. This is not a big deal for me in terms of performances, but if I am paying for 100Mbps download speed faster router would be appreciated. Or I just could pay 20€ less per month for 30Mbps package instead.

 

[scout_03]

the wrt 160 max is 100 mbts i would search why you do not have the 100 mbts since the router could handle it and it have a big drop from the modem to the router mine give me 100 mbts under connection .