[SOLVED] Is my LAN connection affecting my wireless download speed?

[Moravec]

I have an issue that I can't quite seem to figure out concerning my LAN cable affecting the wireless download speeds on my machine, and I can't find anyone else with the same issue with a cursory google search.

When I download files on my machine using my wired LAN, I typically get around 2.8 - 4 Megabytes per second.
When I download files with my shoddy wireless NIC connected to my router's 5Ghz band, I get upwards of 16 Megabytes per second.

My wired connection:
CAT 6 ISP to router
CAT 5e router to powerline adapter (adapter advertises maximum of 400 Megabits p/s)
Other end of powerline adapter > CAT 7 to a switch
From the switch I have two CAT 7 cables connecting my PC (the machine in question) and a video game console.

When I connect my PC to the 5Ghz wifi with my LAN cable plugged in, I'll average around 7 Megabytes p/s. When I unplug my LAN cable, the download speed shoots up to 16 Megabytes per second.

My guess is the powerline adapter may be bottlenecking my wired LAN download speed, or possibly the wiring in my small 3 bedroom apartment. The adapter was purchased in 2016, but the speed advertisement makes me think this may not be the case.

What I'm really trying to understand is why my LAN cable seems to be slowing down my wireless download speeds. Why does my download speed plummet when my wired LAN cable is plugged in, even when I set the connection to wireless on windows?

Any help is very appreciated, and maybe I'll learn some valuable information regarding my issue!
Cheers! -Aaron

 

[bill001g]

Those are old power line adapters and the proof they know the 400 number is a massive lie is that they only put 10/100 ethernet ports on the devices. The newest av2-2000 units can get 200-300mbits/sec in some houses. The only non ethernet technology that can get really high speed ie about 1gbit is moca. You must have tv coax in both location to use it.

It should not affect the wifi speed to have both plugged in but the best way to switch is to unplug the ethernet if you want to use wifi. I suspect you have not set the correct thing to force it to use wifi. There is a field called metric you must change. It is much easier to just unplug the lan cable.

 

[Moravec]

Those are old power line adapters and the proof they know the 400 number is a massive lie is that they only put 10/100 ethernet ports on the devices. The newest av2-2000 units can get 200-300mbits/sec in some houses. The only non ethernet technology that can get really high speed ie about 1gbit is moca. You must have tv coax in both location to use it.

It should not affect the wifi speed to have both plugged in but the best way to switch is to unplug the ethernet if you want to use wifi. I suspect you have not set the correct thing to force it to use wifi. There is a field called metric you must change. It is much easier to just unplug the lan cable.

Huh, TIL about the force wifi metric!

Thanks for the quick response, will look in to upgrading my powerline adapters!

 

[SamirD]

Quick way to confirm if it's the power line adapters is to run a long cable direct to your router from your computer and try a speed test and compare that to a wireless speed test. Wired should match or be faster. If it isn't, it might be more than just the powerline adapters.