aja

I pay for 30 Mbps cable internet through Charter. I have a Linksys BEFW11S4 wireless router. I use wireless on one laptop only, and I have my bluray player hooked up to the router via cat5.

Running speedtest.net and Charter speed test, I get a max of 4.9 Mbps download using wireless. When I hook up the laptop via cat5, I get 40.2 Mbps.

I expect a loss in Mbps using wireless, but a 35 Mbps loss??? My main question is:

Is it possible to change the router settings to allow a higher speed wireless, or is 5 Mbps the max? I tried google and every product description for the router says 150 Mbps, though it doesnt specify wireless or not.

kardiac996

That is a B Class router running over 2.4ghz. You will see much better transmission rates of a N class router dual-band 5gh/2.4gz router. Though you will see some drop off of speed compared to Cat5/6 but not as much as your mentioning.

Amazon.com: Cisco-Linksys E3000 Wireless-N Router: Electronics

Depending on your PC or laptop you might also need to install a new N class PCie/usb receiver to gain better speeds for a better router.

The problem with the B class 2.4ghz range is it shares that same frequency with every wireless device. Home phones, remotes, radio. etc.. With that level of interference there is certainly a lack of performance. I personally recommend the unit i linked above.

I run a VMware lab in my home and host up to 20 Virtual machines plus 3 laptops, PS3, XBOX 360 and Bluray. It handles the traffic like a champ.

Also to note if you have purchased a residential plan with your ISP you are not guaranteed the up and down rate they post as you will share it with your immediate zipcode so 9/10 the numbers are totally bogus. I pay 10 bucks more for a buisness class line run to my house and maintain a constant up/down speed even in peak times.

Hope this helps some

HRCA#1

What did he say in english?

Tweety

The routers come toted with a big B or G or N on the box or a combination of them... The B stands for an old standard that's slow but works on all ancient laptops... The G is middle of the pack, and N is the newer standard... The laptop needs to be the same standard to work...

So, if you want speed on a wireless, use a router with the N standard, as well as a laptop that has the N standard... If the laptop (older) doesn't have that, disable the internal wireless and stick a dongle with N standard wifi in a USB port and you are good to go...

Clearer now?

Tweety

In fact the router aja have being a "B" class router means that it has a theoretical limit of 11 Mbps but that's one way, so getting half that downstream isn't that bad, it's probably about what you can expect...

"G" is theoretically limited to 54 Mbps, but the same applies, it's one way, so around 27 is "normal"...

"N" however has a theoretical limit of 300 Mbps full duplex, if both devices support it, so it should with a newer laptop get close to that... That is, if you have the internet connection to support it...

aja

My laptop is a HP DV6000 with upgraded CPU, ram, hd, video and sound cards. It's not new but not ancient, around 5 years old.

I don't mind 5 mbps on my laptop since I only browse the web and do school work on it, I was just curious if I could change any settings. Thanks for the info guys.

jaypo

TDD = Time Division Duplex. One radio talking means it can't transmit and receive at the same time. So 11Mb, really means half that as it tries to send and receive and use every bit it can. Take into that other interference and signal strength and there you have your bandwidth.

One helpful thing to try is to change your channel settings to 1 or 11. Most folks set their to 6 so trying to reduce interference can help. If you aren't sure what nasty interference you have, download inSSIDer. It's a free little tool I often use when I want to see how dirty the air is.

inSSIDer – Discover The Wi-Fi Around You | MetaGeek

Oh yeah, don't use the microwave while using wireless. Cordless handsets can be bad too if using spread spectrum in 2.4.

Cheers

PUSHrod

Dear lord, I read through this thread and realized that I still don't know how an 8-track cartridge rewinds itself. Will I ever catch up?

99superhawk_Dom

Your laptop is probably not capable of connecting to a 5ghz N wireless network bu if you want to increase the speed you can go to best buy and get a netgear or linksys 802.11N usb wireless adapter For around $30. Most new Wireless routers will run 802.11(a/b/g/n) 2.4ghz network or an 802.11n 5ghz network and are normally st to run an 802.11 a/b/g/n compatable network. And the wireless network woll only run as fast as the slowest device conected to it meaning that of you have a friend over and his laptop is newer and can connect to the faster 802.11n network it will only be able to connect to the 802.11g that your laptop is connecting to.

I'm dont know how new your router is but apple makes the airport express for $99. It is a dual bandrouter which means you can have a 802.11a/b/g compatible 2.4ghz network running that your laptop can connect to and a 802.11n 5ghz network for newer compus to connect to both running at the same time at there respective speeds.

Your other option is to connect the laptop via Ethernet to the router.

Your cheapest and simplest fix os buying the 802.11n woreless usb adapter.

CrankenFine

With all the hackers in the world, simply for reasons of security alone, I run everything in my house hardwired with CAT 6 and additional routers. Consistent, reliable high speed connections at every device are just a happy byproduct.

Only our iPhones and my wife's iPad work wirelessly so there's plenty of wireless bandwidth available for her to watch reruns of old cop shows in the kitchen on her iPad --- unless she's heating something in the (2.4 Ghz) microwave oven... then all bets are off for wireless stuff..

kardiac996

Wireless connections carry the toughest encryption available, IE.. WPA2. It was developed by NASA and technically will hold better then any home cat network you could put together as a consumer. Now that doesn't mean that you and your IP aren't open to being taken advantage of out there in the deep net but as breaking into your home network sitting at the curb its near impossible.

just an FYI

aja

I'm not sure of my laptops specs as its been about 5 years since I bought it, but it is a custom entertainment edition with an upgraded mother board, video and sound card, extra ram, larger HD, so I'm sure it came with an upgraded wireless card. A USB wireless isn't an option, I use the wireless on my phone sometimes when streaming music to keep my data usage down.

I don't care how many mbps I get on the laptop, it is my blu ray player I care about. I can access Netflix, Pandora, and YouTube from it so I want my streaming to be fast and clear.

Ill have to go check out some n routers, thanks for all the info.

99superhawk_Dom

In your original post it says that the blueray is connected to the router by cat5. If that is the case then the wireless connection will not effect the cat5 connection speed between the blueray player and the router.

What you need to do is check if the router has a firewall,and then open the specific ports that netflix uses.

kardiac996

Right.. but he is also asking why running a speed test shows a mass degradation of speed (checked via his laptop over wireless) which is why the posts followed in such a fashion. More then likely its an MTU and NAT configuration before which tcp or udp ports are open.

Since he is able to make connection to the service the ports are open, he is experiencing a latency of network across his devices. Most routers are set with a restrictive NAT and default 1500 MTU most of streaming services require a different MTU setting for best performance (this includes gaming consoles) there are certain udp/tcp ports that can be opened to provide a moderate NAT (allowing better packet transmission) but this is typical for P2P networking and atypical client to server. By getting a router that supports dual band, duplex and QOS then proper network load balancing can occur across all services no matter their connection (netflix will utilize larger packets giving it priority over your gmail screen trying to refresh for updated mail). Not to mention the higher transmission rates over wireless and wired. His cat 5 connection on the B class router supports 100mbps the newer models allow for 1gbe so the increase from this stand point is 10 fold.

At the end of the day routers are cheap and upgrading will do wonders with today's multimedia inter-connectivity. You are utilizing a system that's still based 10 years ago. You are also still limited by your ISP. Depending on his high speed service DSL/Cable/Fiberoptic or satellite you can also see crazy difference in results even if the posted specific Up and down speeds look the same across providers. To put it simply they are vastly different. But by having better hardware you can at least attest that you are getting the most out of your service, your current hardware can not say this.

Edit: Just noticed you said you had Charter cable so the above in regard to what ISP you have is over explanation on my part. Apologies.

99superhawk_Dom

He also said when he connects the laptop with cat5 and runs a speed test he gets 40.2mbps.which is hogher than he pays for. Again wireless networks will not run as fast as a wired network. And a slow wireless network will not cause the Ethernet connection between the blueray player and the router to run slowly. Cat5/Ethernet runs at 10/100/1000, wireless networks run at: 802.11b=11mbps, 802.11a=54mbps, 802.11g is a combination of a&b and will run up to 54mbps, 802.11n=100mbps.

Now as i said im my last post he needs to find out what ports netflix uses(i can't remember them, sorry) and the open the ports on his router. This will not cost anything to do it and should resolve his issue

Im not trying to start a heated discussion i worked for apple troubleshooting wireless networks for the last 3 years and the same issue would happen when watching netflnx appletv that were comected tonet hear an linksys routers.

kardiac996

I figured you worked for apple based on the router suggestion no one recommends apple airport unless he works for apple. But the question still had nothing to do with his cat 5 connection. Apple genius or not his question was about his wireless connection wether or not he cared about his speeds. He was asking how do I improve it without spending any extra cash.

Nothing heated about it was just pointing out that you were addressing an assumption and not the question posted. I think 9 responses ago he got the information he required.

I also didn't suggest that his wireless connection would ever run faster then wired. I pointed out that with upgrading he would improve transmission over wireless and wired as both allow for faster transfer rates on new N routers given he also updates his laptop with a new N rated usb dongle or pcie card with 1gbe ethernet. And as an FYi connected to wireless or not any device utilizing an active network will effect the other, so if hes browsing, watching you tube videos and downloading on his pc and then wants to watch netflix via the tv you better believe that NAT network is sharing bandwidth.

TCP/UDP ports will not improve his wireless connection so these comments and point do not apply.

I don't think i could have been more clear in the post.

Either way this is sort of hijacking the original post as he has moved on with prior suggestions.

wayne

kardiac996 hit the nail on the head. You're up against the limitations of your hardware. Nothing more needs to be said.

nath981

I have an old laptop on wireless and I kept losing connection after I changed providers, the newest of which supplied the router. **** me off, pull the battery, disconnect power, reboot 10 times+ a day. So i called tech and was told that i had a G router(didn't stand for good, that's fo sho), and that I should go buy an N or pay them more to rent one of theirs. Well i had another G from previous vonage phone connection, so i thought i give it a try before buying an N. Guess what? one G must be better than another because I haven't had a disconnect since. My story!

aja

I know zip about wireless connections. I know enough to name my network and set a password, so I have no idea how I would find out what ports netflix uses, let alone change the settings.

I wasnt very clear with my original post, but I only get 40.2 Mbps when hooked up via cat5 directly to the modem. Cat5 hooked up to the router gives me 4.9, so I am only getting 4.9 to Netflix.

I hear you about resetting, I have to reset the POS modem Charter supplied me with every day without fail. And not only unplugging it, I have to remove the signal cable as well.

Tweety

OK, it's obviously time for some basic network school here...

ONE, everthing with the name "router" has a processor in it... It works the same as a computer, and runs the firewall... It looks at the traffic, and determines good from bad... The cheaper the router, the slower the processor... It's that simple... You get what you pay for, or not...

And basically a "G" router has a cpu that can at the most produce 54Mbps -10% or so... So with the router between you and the net, you will loose about 10%, but you also gain some small security, regardless if you are using a wire or not... Then comes wireless, which always, always have some latency, so in that case expect about another 5% regardless of the router...

A "N" router should be able to produce on a wired connection, about the same, ie 90Mbps or so... Say about 85 on wireless... That is, higher than your current connection... So ou would at all times then be using your connection to it's fullest, and have the bottleneck moved to your provider or the speed you are paying for... Which is a good thing...

IF you want speed out of your connection, buy a new, "N" type router, and don't go for the cheaper one's... Might not need a "top of the line", but somewhere in the middle... Then hook the stuff that needs speed up with a wire, and if you have choosen a decent router, it will have in the software preset profiles for example netflix... So then just enable the profile for whatever you need...

kardiac996

I agree, I suppose I should get better at laymans terms haha. Explaining it verbally is much easier for me but for some reason when I write it, it seems to always look like a technical document lol.

jaypo

Kicking a dead horse, but you should know WPA2-PSK can be cracked. Simply deauth the client from the AP, capture the reauth and run against a wordlist. I've done it against my own laptops and while most people don't need to worry about it (range plays a factor), it can be done. Great discussion by the way. Never thought I'd hear MTU discussed on the ole superhawk forum.

Also, I've lab'ed up most AP's (aruba, aerohive, meraki, enterasys, cisco) and the apple airport extreme did a respectable job, although it capped my linux machine at 20Mb (not sure why yet - thanks apple). The apple air got near 120Mb. Although airtime fairness isn't as good and they aren't a good enterprise solution. But for home use, not a bad box and I'm not much of an apple guy.