Looking for better WiFi speed

[vikundefined]

• Hi guys, at the moment I am having Den boomband with 100Mbps Down and 5 Mbps Up plan. Now the WiFi router (provided by Den) is placed in lobby which is the center of the house.

The router does offer good range all over the house, but I am not particularity happy with the fluctuating speeds. My desktop is connected to Wifi with usb dongle and the max speed I get on it is 50mbps at night. I have tried to check speeds by connecting desktop through Lan cable and I am able to get upto 90Mbps.

I know I would get the best speeds with Lan cable, but it would be not easy to lay down cable in furnished house. I wanted to know if upgrading the router or usb dongle in my desktop to pcie would help in way.

Sorry for the long post, I am a noob in networking and looking to get best suggestions. Thanks

 

[vaalkai]

What is the make and model of the router you are using and the usb dongle? If you want faster speeds in Wifi you have to shell out for a MIMO router + MIMO receiver. Hope your neighborhood does not have too many interference. In general the longer you move away from the router the slower you will get and you should preferably have a line of sight between your antenna and receiver. Check how crowded your channel is (use some WiFi analyzer) and switching channels might help. If your router and pc support 5ghz and you are sitting near the router enforcing 5ghz mode might also help.

 

[TechFrost]

• Hi guys, at the moment I am having Den boomband with 100Mbps Down and 5 Mbps Up plan. Now the WiFi router (provided by Den) is placed in lobby which is the center of the house.

The router does offer good range all over the house, but I am not particularity happy with the fluctuating speeds. My desktop is connected to Wifi with usb dongle and the max speed I get on it is 50mbps at night. I have tried to check speeds by connecting desktop through Lan cable and I am able to get upto 90Mbps.

I know I would get the best speeds with Lan cable, but it would be not easy to lay down cable in furnished house. I wanted to know if upgrading the router or usb dongle in my desktop to pcie would help in way.

Sorry for the long post, I am a noob in networking and looking to get best suggestions. Thanks

What Router & USB dongle are you using ? If you use 150Mbps dongle, you would probably end-up with max of around ~60-70 Mbps!!
Its also depend on the router bandwidth, so come up with the above answers to get more inputs

 

[vikundefined]

I am using Netgear N150 WNA1100 adapter in my desktop and have a Changhong Docsis 3.0 wireless router provided by Den.

 

[TechFrost]

I am using Netgear N150 WNA1100 adapter in my desktop and have a Changhong Docsis 3.0 wireless router provided by Den.

As i said, your USB dongle limits your speed!! I couldn't able to find the spec of router, if its a 300 Mbps, then try to get a 300 Mbps USB dongle & try it. Also if you are using 150 Mbps router, then there is no much use, to go for 300 Mbps USB dongle.

 

[vikundefined]

As i said, your USB dongle limits your speed!! I couldn't able to find the spec of router, if its a 300 Mbps, then try to get a 300 Mbps USB dongle & try it. Also if you are using 150 Mbps router, then there is no much use, to go for 300 Mbps USB dongle.

Alright so should I upgrade the usb dongle to n300 pcie adapter or should I get a new router?

 

[TechFrost]

Alright so should I upgrade the usb dongle to n300 pcie adapter or should I get a new router?

1. If your router states 300 Mbps, then buy or try with 300 Mbps USB dongle (300 Mbps USB dongle is available, PCI cards is not necessary)
2. If your router is 150 Mbps, then you have to upgrade both !!

 

[vikundefined]

1. If your router states 300 Mbps, then buy or try with 300 Mbps USB dongle (300 Mbps USB dongle is available, PCI cards is not necessary)
2. If your router is 150 Mbps, then you have to upgrade both !!

It seems like the router is 150Mbps, any suggestion which router I should get.
I will first upgrade the router and then usb dongle.

 

[nRiTeCh]

It seems like the router is 150Mbps, any suggestion which router I should get.
I will first upgrade the router and then usb dongle.

As per what you mentioned the router is provided by your isp right. Then how come they provide a 150mbps router when it can hardly get speeds of 60mbps. Escalate to them and ask for a fast router which is 300mbps. You don't have to invest yourself unless you are willing to.
I was on aged router on hathway which barely passed 15mbps speeds. When I upgraded plan to 50mbps still I was getting below 15mbps. It was when they realize they didnt upgrade my router.

 

[TechFrost]

Yes, as nRiTech said, you could fetch an 300Mbps router from ISP & give a try.

 

[Konquerror]

If you are unable to get router replaced from ISP then you can consider following:

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B01LX8Z8TP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bought this sometimes back and getting good performance.

 

[vikundefined]

As per what you mentioned the router is provided by your isp right. Then how come they provide a 150mbps router when it can hardly get speeds of 60mbps. Escalate to them and ask for a fast router which is 300mbps. You don't have to invest yourself unless you are willing to.
I was on aged router on hathway which barely passed 15mbps speeds. When I upgraded plan to 50mbps still I was getting below 15mbps. It was when they realize they didnt upgrade my router.

Actually I have tried escalating this thing to DEN but they tell me that I can only get speeds up to 100mbps if I use LAN. They are providing these cheap routers to all the homes in my society so I don't think they will provide me a faster router, but I will try one more time.

I just wanted to check my options of how I can get best speeds on Wifi, when I was connected through LAN I could see 4k video without any buffering and then I realised the true potential of my internet connection and what I was getting through WiFi.
Thank you much for your suggestion, as I am a noob in networking I am trying to learn things and any suggestions from you guys would really help.
.

 

[vikundefined]

As per what you mentioned the router is provided by your isp right. Then how come they provide a 150mbps router when it can hardly get speeds of 60mbps. Escalate to them and ask for a fast router which is 300mbps. You don't have to invest yourself unless you are willing to.
I was on aged router on hathway which barely passed 15mbps speeds. When I upgraded plan to 50mbps still I was getting below 15mbps. It was when they realize they didnt upgrade my router.

Actually I have tried escalating this thing to DEN but they tell me that I can only get speeds up to 100mbps if I use LAN. They are providing these cheap routers to all the homes in my society so I don't think they will provide me a faster router, but I will try one more time.

I just wanted to check my options of how I can get best speeds on Wifi, when I was connected through LAN I could see 4k video without any buffering and then I realised the true potential of my internet connection and what I was getting through WiFi.
Thank you much for your suggestion, as I am a noob in networking I am trying to learn things and any suggestions from you guys would really help.
.

 

[vivek.krishnan]

Firstly, when manufacturers mention 300 Mbps or so in wireless, that is the theoretical speeds. Getting them is usually as good as sitting nearby to the WiFi AP, with nearly no other devices and zero interference. In reality, consider that max speed you will get, even when you are only using the WiFi is 50% ie 150M. Then, you are affected by distances as well and the radios/antennas of your devices. This is where MIMO and separate antennas come in.

If you want speeds of nearly 100M, you have 2 choices, get dual band routers, and ensure you get the USB/PCIe dongle which supports dual band with separate/detachable antenna. This will allow you to ensure you get higher speeds

Next, if the device is too far away, you need to invest in a repeater if you do not want to do wiring. I would suggest to find a way to do the wiring instead. Optionally, if you can spend more, look at mesh devices - TP Link/DLink are cheapest, cost about 15K for a set of 3. Otherwise, look at powerline adaptors.

 

[mk76]

I have similar setup and needs.

- DEN 100mbps connection.

- However I did not opt for their router as had ASUS RT-N66U.
--- I have set it to band 1 which has less local interference forced at 40MHz band
--- Router is placed high on wall (with 2 ft from the ceiling)

- 40ft + 2 walls away, I have the main desktop.
--- Here I have TP Link 850RE. This is also placed high on the wall
--- The range extender is also set at 40Mhz
--- It gets 70-90% of router singal with 248-270Mbps throughput
--- The desktop is connected to the RE via ethernet port. This way the RE acts like a powered WiFi Adapter

With this setup, I get 85-95MBps througput

 

[superczar]

Firstly, when manufacturers mention 300 Mbps or so in wireless, that is the theoretical speeds. Getting them is usually as good as sitting nearby to the WiFi AP, with nearly no other devices and zero interference. In reality, consider that max speed you will get, even when you are only using the WiFi is 50% ie 150M. Then, you are affected by distances as well and the radios/antennas of your devices. This is where MIMO and separate antennas come in.

If you want speeds of nearly 100M, you have 2 choices, get dual band routers, and ensure you get the USB/PCIe dongle which supports dual band with separate/detachable antenna. This will allow you to ensure you get higher speeds

Next, if the device is too far away, you need to invest in a repeater if you do not want to do wiring. I would suggest to find a way to do the wiring instead. Optionally, if you can spend more, look at mesh devices - TP Link/DLink are cheapest, cost about 15K for a set of 3. Otherwise, look at powerline adaptors.

I do get regular transfer speeds of 700+ mbps if I am in LoS of my primary router (R7000) and 200 if I am in the adjacent rooms
However I do have major problems on the other floor where I have an extra wireless AP
Took the plunge on an Orbi mesh kit this week - planning to install today evening with the hope that I will get consistent 300+ across the house.. fingers crossed!
On a side note, I have put up the R7000 FS on a separate thread in case anyone is interested

 

[vivek.krishnan]

I do get regular transfer speeds of 700+ mbps if I am in LoS of my primary router (R7000) and 200 if I am in the adjacent rooms
However I do have major problems on the other floor where I have an extra wireless AP
Took the plunge on an Orbi mesh kit this week - planning to install today evening with the hope that I will get consistent 300+ across the house.. fingers crossed!
On a side note, I have put up the R7000 FS on a separate thread in case anyone is interested

I said for consideration - meaning that assume the best you will get is 50%. Wireless is a finicky thing.

I am sure your router should support 1300 or higher mbps, albeit with 2.4 and 5 GHz together. Even assuming that the max on 2.4 usually is 300mbps, that brings us to 1000mbps max theoretical.

I had a 740N, when I sat near the router with my laptop and no other devices, I was getting nearly upto 80-90 mbps. But increase devices or walk away and the speeds start going down.

The orbi and other mesh stuff are good, but bloody expensive.

 

[vikundefined]

I have similar setup and needs.

- DEN 100mbps connection.

- However I did not opt for their router as had ASUS RT-N66U.
--- I have set it to band 1 which has less local interference forced at 40MHz band
--- Router is placed high on wall (with 2 ft from the ceiling)

- 40ft + 2 walls away, I have the main desktop.
--- Here I have TP Link 850RE. This is also placed high on the wall
--- The range extender is also set at 40Mhz
--- It gets 70-90% of router singal with 248-270Mbps throughput
--- The desktop is connected to the RE via ethernet port. This way the RE acts like a powered WiFi Adapter

With this setup, I get 85-95MBps througput

I think this setup can work for me as well, first I can get a range extender with ethernet port and check what speed I am getting.
After that I can decide if I need to get a new router or not.

 

[superczar]

I said for consideration - meaning that assume the best you will get is 50%. Wireless is a finicky thing.

I am sure your router should support 1300 or higher mbps, albeit with 2.4 and 5 GHz together. Even assuming that the max on 2.4 usually is 300mbps, that brings us to 1000mbps max theoretical.

I had a 740N, when I sat near the router with my laptop and no other devices, I was getting nearly upto 80-90 mbps. But increase devices or walk away and the speeds start going down.

The orbi and other mesh stuff are good, but bloody expensive.

Here is my experience with the Orbi over the last couple of days
The initial setup was Moore's law at its worst.. I have a long run from the pfsense box to the primary router location and in the physical movement, some part of the wire got frayed resulting in dropped packets - I of course pinned the problem on the new device and reset/reconfigured it endlessly...contemplated a return and wasted probably 6-8 hours of my time on troubleshooting
In the whole reconfiguration exercise, I also managed to (probably) corrupt the NVRAM on the Orbi

Anyway, to cut a long story short, rewiring the cable and a 30/30/30 reset later, I have got to say I am absolutely pleased !
I am getting 400-800 mbps in most rooms (two floors) and at least 100+ in the farthest corners of the front yard .. The backhaul link between the primary and the satellite is stable at 1000 mbps+
More importantly, it seems to be actually kicking roaming devices to the nearest AP

Expensive? Yes although I did get a good deal on amazon
Worth it? depends on your use-case but I certainly am glad I picked it