Slow download speed for me but good for rest of the family

[Balinator]

Hello everybody!

I have a Dlinkgo N 150 wireless USB adapter connected to my computer and at the beginning I had 4Mbps download speed on speedtest and sometimes it even went down to 2 Mbps.
After a while I realized I forgot to install the drivers to my pc for the USB adapter and after installation my wifi speed went back up to around average of 17Mbps download speed.

It has been good for a while now but after some days I see that I can barely move in games because I'm lagging and my ping is more than 300. I went up to speedtest to check my download speed and what I saw was that my speed went back down to 2-4 Mbps. The highest download speed I got was around 10 Mbps download speed. I asked my parents to do speedtests too and both of them got 24+ Mbps download speed they even hit 30... While my computer is only hitting around 8Mbps download speed...

None of us know what the problem is unfortunately. Why am I getting little internet and why do my parents get higher? Also how could I fix this problem? Thanks in advance!

 

[Balinator]

Bump

 

[urbanj]

Your ping will be higher because you're on WiFi.

Just to rule out other factors, try to run a physical connection to your PC (so you're connected via Ethernet), that way you can say for sure it is something with the WiFi connection/driver/or card.

Keep in mind, when on WiFi, Router placement, as well as placement of your PC and the WiFi Antenna is huge. You want the least obstructed path between the two (and that includes any electronics that broadcast or receive ANY TYPE of wireless signal).

 

[Balinator]

Your ping will be higher because you're on WiFi.

Just to rule out other factors, try to run a physical connection to your PC (so you're connected via Ethernet), that way you can say for sure it is something with the WiFi connection/driver/or card.

Keep in mind, when on WiFi, Router placement, as well as placement of your PC and the WiFi Antenna is huge. You want the least obstructed path between the two (and that includes any electronics that broadcast or receive ANY TYPE of wireless signal).

When I connected to the ethernet I got 70+ download speed. We tried it actually. The problem is that at first i had 4 dl speed only and after connecting to ethernet my wifi jumped up to an average of 17-20 and after days have passed it dropped back down to 4-10Mbps dl speed.

 

[urbanj]

Your ping will be higher because you're on WiFi.

Just to rule out other factors, try to run a physical connection to your PC (so you're connected via Ethernet), that way you can say for sure it is something with the WiFi connection/driver/or card.

Keep in mind, when on WiFi, Router placement, as well as placement of your PC and the WiFi Antenna is huge. You want the least obstructed path between the two (and that includes any electronics that broadcast or receive ANY TYPE of wireless signal).

When I connected to the ethernet I got 70+ download speed. We tried it actually. The problem is that at first i had 4 dl speed only and after connecting to ethernet my wifi jumped up to an average of 17-20 and after days have passed it dropped back down to 4-10Mbps dl speed.

Does the WiFi speed suck even if you computer is next to your router (connected via WiFi)?
This will tell you if it is an interference issue or if it is something software or hardware related on your PC's side.

You could try uninstalling/reinstalling your WiFi cards drivers, if you're still having an issue being on WiFi right next to your router, and see if that helps.

 

[Balinator]

Your ping will be higher because you're on WiFi.

Just to rule out other factors, try to run a physical connection to your PC (so you're connected via Ethernet), that way you can say for sure it is something with the WiFi connection/driver/or card.

Keep in mind, when on WiFi, Router placement, as well as placement of your PC and the WiFi Antenna is huge. You want the least obstructed path between the two (and that includes any electronics that broadcast or receive ANY TYPE of wireless signal).

When I connected to the ethernet I got 70+ download speed. We tried it actually. The problem is that at first i had 4 dl speed only and after connecting to ethernet my wifi jumped up to an average of 17-20 and after days have passed it dropped back down to 4-10Mbps dl speed.

Does the WiFi speed suck even if you computer is next to your router (connected via WiFi)?
This will tell you if it is an interference issue or if it is something software or hardware related on your PC's side.

You could try uninstalling/reinstalling your WiFi cards drivers, if you're still having an issue being on WiFi right next to your router, and see if that helps.

Well, When I turn around my pc the wifi speed does get a little faster, not much but a little so I was guessing it might be that the router doesn't reach out that good or there are interferences. I cannot try putting the router next to me unfortunately because the router is connected to a cable that cannot be disconnected or anything and it doesn't reach till my room. When I put my pc on my bed which is closer to the router then the speed got faster for sure. I also tried reinstalling the drivers but those did nothing. Thank you for the answer. It looks like it's just something in the way.

 

[urbanj]

Might be a bit of a pain, but just to be sure it's interference, maybe setup you tower and monitor next to the router on the floor.
It's just for troubleshooting, and will confirm for sure that your speeds go up.

Try to get your router as high up as possible too. This can help with interfrench sometimes .
There are also extention cables you can buy for cheap to extend the antenna from the back of your PC up higher if that would help.

 

[Balinator]

Might be a bit of a pain, but just to be sure it's interference, maybe setup you tower and monitor next to the router on the floor.
It's just for troubleshooting, and will confirm for sure that your speeds go up.

Try to get your router as high up as possible too. This can help with interfrench sometimes .
There are also extention cables you can buy for cheap to extend the antenna from the back of your PC up higher if that would help.

You see the problem is that my internet speed isn't stable. It jumps around all the time while my parents' internet speed(Even my phone's) are stable at 20+ Mbps download speed. Yesterday (01. 08.) I tried speedtest and it showed 20+ Mbps for my computer too. Today from the same location I get a mere 2 Mbps download speed. I tried setting up the computer next to the router it didn't help. My parents are also around the same distance away from the router as I am btw but they are in a different room.

 

[Ralston18]

@Balinator: Read this link per your posting in the other link.

So, I trust, the problem was resolved by reinstalling the network adapter settings....

Keep in mind that you can also place the USB wireless adapter on the end of a USB extension cable (15 feet or 5 meters max) to raise the adapter up and around to improve reception.

 

[Balinator]

@Balinator: Read this link per your posting in the other link.

So, I trust, the problem was resolved by reinstalling the network adapter settings....

Keep in mind that you can also place the USB wireless adapter on the end of a USB extension cable (15 feet or 5 meters max) to raise the adapter up and around to improve reception.

Well the problem is that lately the pc has gotten down to even under 2 Mbps download speed. I think switching the setting from "Performance" to "Wifi" fixed it though in device manager. If anything happens I'll be sure to write to you.

 

[Balinator]

@Balinator: Read this link per your posting in the other link.

So, I trust, the problem was resolved by reinstalling the network adapter settings....

Keep in mind that you can also place the USB wireless adapter on the end of a USB extension cable (15 feet or 5 meters max) to raise the adapter up and around to improve reception.

Well 10 days ago I thought the problem was resolved and everything was fine but yesterday my internet speed has started jumping around again causing huge ping-laggs in games. I went on speedtest and tested my internet and got 8-10 Mbps again. Even though I was on 17-20 average before. And it is going down again to even 6-7 Mbps. I don't know the problem anymore. It just randomly dropped down from 18 Mbps download speed average to 9 Mbps download speed average.

 

[Ralston18]

Noted your PM about the preceeding "repost". Thanks.

Is your computer still the only one with the internet speed problem(s)?

Does your wireless network adapter feel overly warm or even hot? Do you get better speeds when the adapter has not been used for awhile?

What make and model router do you have? Who has the admin rights?

You might just try reinstalling the drivers again. Could be something buggy that has a cumulative effect after some measure of use and time.

 

[Balinator]

Noted your PM about the preceeding "repost". Thanks.

Is your computer still the only one with the internet speed problem(s)?

Does your wireless network adapter feel overly warm or even hot? Do you get better speeds when the adapter has not been used for awhile?

What make and model router do you have? Who has the admin rights?

You might just try reinstalling the drivers again. Could be something buggy that has a cumulative effect after some measure of use and time.

To answer your first question: yes, it is still only my computer that is getting these speed problems. Right now I am gettig lag-waves kind of where first my dl speed is 20+ then goes down to 8 then back up to 17 then down to 9. It is really weird and even though I am able to play games it is really difficult because sometimes my character either stops or randomly jumps around.

As for the second question: My router when I touch it, it feels normal. It isn't warm at all so that can't be the problem. And I actually don't know the answer for the second question as we never tried it but I probably won't because the first day I came back from vacation(1 month away and router was turned off), I got really big lags too...

Third question: I have no idea actually as it is currently not our home where we stay at. We are actually moving back to our home in 3 days and i really hope the router there which we set up will be better.

And reinstalling the drivers didn't work at first either. Resetting some setting did. But now even with those settings it doesn't work. I tried messing around but none seemed to work unfortunately. Everything worked for 10 days and now I am getting laggy as damn. I doubt it is weather or anything. I think it might be the router.

 

[Ralston18]

I trust that you meant "adapter" versus router with respect to temperature being normal (i.e., the second question). A hot router can be a bad sign also but the adapter was the real object of the question.

Probably best to hold off until you are back to your home. If the problem follows then you will have more options with respect to viewing router logs, the full configuration, QoS, and other administrative settings that are currently out of your control.

Once you are home, see if the problem follows your computer. If so, try flushing the dns and even another fresh driver install for your network adapter.

My expectation would be that you will have more control over your own router and network.

Then, if the problem continues, start a new post with as much additional detail and description as you can provide.

 

[Balinator]

I trust that you meant "adapter" versus router with respect to temperature being normal (i.e., the second question). A hot router can be a bad sign also but the adapter was the real object of the question.

Probably best to hold off until you are back to your home. If the problem follows then you will have more options with respect to viewing router logs, the full configuration, QoS, and other administrative settings that are currently out of your control.

Once you are home, see if the problem follows your computer. If so, try flushing the dns and even another fresh driver install for your network adapter.

My expectation would be that you will have more control over your own router and network.

Then, if the problem continues, start a new post with as much additional detail and description as you can provide.

Well just now my internet went back up to normal 21+ download speed so it could be the ISP that messed up a bit. Thank you so much for your help and sorry for the mistakes I made, my native tounge isn't english and I am not the best at internet and wireless adapter configuration.

 

[Ralston18]

No problem - and you are doing very well with your English.

Computer/network problems can be messy and there are always terminology problems for any number of reasons.

And intermittent problems are more difficult to troubleshoot and resolve. Too many things may be changing making it tough to narrow down.

Keep watching your computer, read up on things you do not understand, and you will get better with respect to internet and wireless adapter configuration. And other things as well.

 

[Balinator]

No problem - and you are doing very well with your English.

Computer/network problems can be messy and there are always terminology problems for any number of reasons.

And intermittent problems are more difficult to troubleshoot and resolve. Too many things may be changing making it tough to narrow down.

Keep watching your computer, read up on things you do not understand, and you will get better with respect to internet and wireless adapter configuration. And other things as well.

Thank you so much! If I see a problem with my internet speed again, I'll be sure to inspect it more and open a new thread. I hope it isn't a problem if I send you a PM about it either. Thank you for the help so far. I hope my problem is resolved for now.

 

[Ralston18]

Sure but no need for PMs per se. It is best to keep all of the information etc. in the posts. That way everyone reading will be aware of the problem and associated details.

Helps as I might miss something and someone else will catch (or correct) things accordingly.

 

[urbanj]

Ya, if you computer is the only one experiencing the issue, it won't be an ISP problem.

Take that WiFi adapter out of the equation all together, and just string an Ethernet cable directly from the router to your PC, and try that for a few days.
I'm leaning towards your USB WiFi Adapter as the culprit....but that's why I say to take it out of the equation.

 

[Balinator]

Ya, if you computer is the only one experiencing the issue, it won't be an ISP problem.

Take that WiFi adapter out of the equation all together, and just string an Ethernet cable directly from the router to your PC, and try that for a few days.
I'm leaning towards your USB WiFi Adapter as the culprit....but that's why I say to take it out of the equation.

Well I did try that already with the Ethernet and the internet was good then. I actually moved to a new place and we are supposed to be getting 20+ dl speed here too and all I'm getting is just 10- 12 at max. I did multiple speedtests and it always showed 9-10 download speed... Unfortunately the problem was not resolved still.

Also maybe it's the problem of my motherboard? Because the problem showed up when I upgraded my old pc and moved back to the country I currently live in? In the country I bought the computer in I used ethernet all the time and my internet speed and ping were normal. I had no problems whatsoever. Now that I'm using my old wireless USB adapter I started lagging.

It is really weird the way my internet keeps going up and down. First it is 3-4 then goes up to 18-19 then back down to 5-6 then up to 20-23 again. So it is kind of "waving" if you could say it like that. I know internet speed isn't stable but it shouldn't be going like this in my opinion. Also there are DAYS between these spikes.

So everything works using ethernet but it sometimes works, sometimes doesn't with USB adapter. I installed all the drivers normally, everything was fine but I kept getting low internet speed and remember, my family got the normal speed.

It is my first day at the new place and my internet speed is as I said around 10 Mbps download speed while my family is still getting 20+. Please help me I don't know what to do anymore. Should I open a new thread or keep this one going?

 

[Ralston18]

urbanji makes a valid point. Try his suggestion

Here is my suggestion: and then give it a few days. Too many things have been changing......

Borrow another USB adapter if you can. See if that helps.

Who controls/manages your family router? See if the router's logs provide any clues.

Make a few notes on what is (or is not) happening. Use the experience and knowledge you have gained to troubleshoot and narrow down the problem as best you can.

Then post and open a new "updated" thread.

 

[urbanj]

In the country I bought the computer in I used ethernet all the time and my internet speed and ping were normal. I had no problems whatsoever. Now that I'm using my old wireless USB adapter I started lagging.

Right there, you've answered your own question.

That USB adapter is the issue.
It COULD be the adapter, or it COULD be that because it's USB, it uses your CPU for all the processing, as that is what USB does.

Try plugging the USB Adapter in to another set of USB ports on your PC, and if that fails, you'd need to either use Ethernet, or try a new WiFi adapter. I would strongly suggest a PCI or PCIe x1 (depending on your motherboard) adapter instead of a USB.

 

[Balinator]

In the country I bought the computer in I used ethernet all the time and my internet speed and ping were normal. I had no problems whatsoever. Now that I'm using my old wireless USB adapter I started lagging.

Right there, you've answered your own question.

That USB adapter is the issue.
It COULD be the adapter, or it COULD be that because it's USB, it uses your CPU for all the processing, as that is what USB does.

Try plugging the USB Adapter in to another set of USB ports on your PC, and if that fails, you'd need to either use Ethernet, or try a new WiFi adapter. I would strongly suggest a PCI or PCIe x1 (depending on your motherboard) adapter instead of a USB.

Thanks for the answer! I just tested out the internet on both my phone and my mother's laptop and they both got a similar 8-10 Mbps download speed. I still believe that my USB adapter is broken too but right now it is my ISP that is being slow. Maybe they aren't providing full internet speed because we only moved in yesterday so they have to go back to normal speed or maybe the router has to heat up a bit after 3 months of not using it. Who knows. I hope my internet speed will go back up to normal and I will definitely try out a differnet adapter but as of now, I don't have much money to buy one so it will have to wait, I'll try to survive with what I have for now. Thank you so much for all the help you two have given me, I really appreciate it. If I have a problem later on, I'll be sure to open a new thread about it and say everything in detail. Thank you again!