Wifi speed?

joedm126

Well-known member
Feb 21, 2013
83
0
0
Visit site
My question is how fast should I expect my wifi speed to be when I have 50 megabyte download speed on my internet? The speed just doesn't seem as fast as I thought it would be. I tested my desktop and I am get close to 58, but when I tested the tablet wifi it said I was getting about 5 but 11 upload speed. Not sure what I should be getting and if this is normal or if I need a faster router. Thanks.
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,284
4,396
113
Visit site
Use a program on your computer like InSSIDer to see what nearby wifi networks are using which channels, and to see if your wifi network is using a congested channel. If so, you could log into your router's settings and change its wifi channel.

Also, are you using any wifi extenders? Some of them can degrade the download speed.
 

charles777

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2011
315
0
0
Visit site
My question is how fast should I expect my wifi speed to be when I have 50 megabyte download speed on my internet? The speed just doesn't seem as fast as I thought it would be. I tested my desktop and I am get close to 58, but when I tested the tablet wifi it said I was getting about 5 but 11 upload speed. Not sure what I should be getting and if this is normal or if I need a faster router. Thanks.
I have 30mb wired Internet speed and with a dual band router, I am connected to the 5GHz band and the Speedtest app clocks my tablet at 31mbps down and 12mbps up.
I would definitely look at your router setup.
Hope that helps :)
 

dianehelen

Well-known member
Jun 5, 2011
998
1
0
Visit site
I agree, the channel selection is key, especially if you are in an area with alot of dwellings that have in home networks. Most routers will default to use channel 1 or 2. So most of the networks in range will share/fight for bandwidth on those channels. I just put mine on ch 1 and my speed went from 25/6 on my regular channel 6, to 9/4 on channel 1. There are 6 other neighbors networks on ch 1, just me I ch 6 :)
 

joedm126

Well-known member
Feb 21, 2013
83
0
0
Visit site
Thanks everyone. I tried changing the channels and i now have between 14-21MB depending on where I am in the house. I think I will call my provider any see if there are any other settings I should change.
 

Dr Law

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2013
61
0
0
Visit site
I live in the sticks with no nearby homes, so the airwaves are uncluttered. Just wondering, can you select a different channel per device, so other users on the same network, eg the missus who's constantly online, doesn't impact on my bandwidth?
 

monicakm

Well-known member
Sep 8, 2012
2,092
1
38
Visit site
You live in the "sticks" and have a 50MB download speed? What internet provider do you have? I live in the sticks too (no cable) and have to rely on satellite. Here's a picture to make you feel good about yourself <lol>
2014-01-24 08.09.06.png

I live in the sticks with no nearby homes, so the airwaves are uncluttered. Just wondering, can you select a different channel per device, so other users on the same network, eg the missus who's constantly online, doesn't impact on my bandwidth?
 

joedm126

Well-known member
Feb 21, 2013
83
0
0
Visit site
Update - Apparently my Router is a little too old and I was told the max speed I would get with this router is 20 MB on a wireless device. The other problem is that I can find a channel that works well and get between 15-20MB and then the next day that same channel is only about 5. I don't know what is going on and why the speed of the channel would change from day to day even with 11 channels to chose from.
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,284
4,396
113
Visit site
Routers are often set to Automatic when it comes to channel selection, so they're supposed to pick a channel that isn't very congested. If your router doesn't have an automatic setting, perhaps the channel it's set to suddenly became more congested with other nearby routers that decided to pick that channel for the day. Or maybe there's just a lot of wi-fi traffic near you, meaning all of the channels are kind of congested.

Although there are 11 channels, I believe there are realistically only 3 main channels to choose from, because there's some spread--it's usually channel 1, channel 6, or channel 11.
 

monicakm

Well-known member
Sep 8, 2012
2,092
1
38
Visit site
The 10.3 Mbps speed shown above (and advertised by Hughesnet as what I should be getting on my plan) isn't the same as the 1.2MB/sec speed when I'm downloading, for instance, a program.
Trust me, unless someone is on dialup, I pretty well have the slowest internet connection of anyone I know. Not a competition I want to win <g>

Au contraire, you jumped to conclusions there, now you can feel smug, as I only get 5 on a good day!
 

Shawn Waldo

Member
Jan 24, 2014
19
0
0
Visit site
What router do you use any router within the last few years should be able to get 54 mbps.... check your wireless settings and see what band it it broad casting.... Some routers broadcast in b and g signals which b is older and way slower you should be able to switch the router to g only and pick up some speed... I went from 4-5 up to my normal 15ish with that switch
 

joedm126

Well-known member
Feb 21, 2013
83
0
0
Visit site
I have my router set to automatic now and it seems to okay for now but it was set to automatic when this started. I have fios and there h guy told me that this router would only provide about 20 mb and i would have to upgrade the router for more. He said there were no other settings go to change besides the channel. He logged into my router and looked around and tried different channels. No real difference. I have fios about 5 years or so and the router is my original. I am getting about 56mb to my desktop.

just checked and once again i am only getting about 5mb.
 

Shawn Waldo

Member
Jan 24, 2014
19
0
0
Visit site
With out know the model(GEN) of router its hard to say.. if it irks you terribly you could switch to a different router.... Although if you anything like me you like the free mods best.. if you are able to find model number and then look up specs on it it should tell you what you can really expect to see wireless wise... I am not expertly vesrsed in verizon products but this link may also help. How to Get the Fastest FiOS Speed - Page 6 - Verizon Forums
 

Uschiekid

Well-known member
Nov 18, 2013
70
0
0
Visit site
What router do you use any router within the last few years should be able to get 54 mbps.... check your wireless settings and see what band it it broad casting.... Some routers broadcast in b and g signals which b is older and way slower you should be able to switch the router to g only and pick up some speed... I went from 4-5 up to my normal 15ish with that switch

I'm not talking the max speed posted on the router.... That is not the problem...I can set it to 300mbps, doesn't make a difference if the internet speed in my area is crap, which it is. I'm talking about the ACTUAL download speed....I mean if I monitor the speed while downloading or streaming with a network system monitor. I live where it used to be rural.... and the lines were always crappy. Then they put in a huge housing development across the street, but not new lines, so instead of 25 houses sharing crappy lines, there are now probably a few thousand.... More every year are being built, overtaxing an already burdened system. Called the company many times, they refuse to do anything, and they are the only option here.

btw, I wasn't looking for a solution...I've tried anything and everything, I'm just happy they aren't doing the massive construction that meant no Internet for days on end anymore....I just was having a bit of fun joining in when everyone was comparing the worst Internet... All of which sounded amazing to me :)
 
Last edited:

Shawn Waldo

Member
Jan 24, 2014
19
0
0
Visit site
oh well that makes sense *its all so clear now*..sorry wasn't trying to hi-jack the thread must have misinterpreted and wanted to throw my .02 in FWIW..