Wireless Router really slooow...how slow should it be relative to wired and how to improve wireless speed?

So my last router was basically junk - I thought it was the internet connection so switched from TDS to Comcast (which I should have done a long time ago) but it turned out the router was dying. I replaced it with a Cisco Linksys E1500, which has worked pretty well, but is still relatively slow, especially when downloading.

As a general rule, for instance, downloading a torrent ranges from about 10-20 times faster when I stick the internet cable directly into my laptop than when I download wirelessly (that is, a torrent that might download at 1.8-2 GB/s wired, downloads anywhere from around 60-300 kb/s).

So my first question: What is the typical ratio in terms of how much faster a wired connection should be, especially for downloads?

The second question is rather broad: How do I increase my wireless speed? The current connection works fine for internet browsing and and almost every other kind of online activity I use it for, from streaming Netflix to watching Youtube clips to Pandora, but it could--and should, I think--be faster. The laptop works fine elsewhere, as far as I can tell, although I haven't checked download speeds.

I have skimmed a few articles on how to improve wireless speeds but for the most part they're about small, incremental improvements. I'm thinking that my wireless speed is so slow that something must not be configured right. What to do?

To put it another way, and by way of summarizing the above, what are the leading, most common, causes of slow wireless speeds when--as in my case--the wired connection is strong? What should I check for first? And what sort of speed should I be expecting relative to the wired speed?

Thanks!

 

Let's get the number straight first- you are not downloading anything at 1.8 GB/s so what was that supposed to be- 1.8Gb/s?
The same for 300kb/s- kilobits or kilobytes.

Another question- at that speed are you connected to the wireless router according to Windows (I mean Wi-Fi Connection)?

 

I suggest using speed test while wired and while on wireless, just to get a rough estimate of your download speeds. (make sure to use the same server).

if they differ a lot then you can check the router and wireless adapter.

to be honest there's really only a few things you can do to a router and all of them will barely make a dent on download speed given it's a new router and assuming it doesn't have issues.


Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

Yes, right, Gb/s.

That higher speed is what I get when I pull the cord from the router and put it into the computer, although Windows still senses the router.

Right now I'm downloading something wirelessly at 50-60 kb/s; awhile I was downloading the same file at about 500+ kb/s via a wired connection.

 

The second question was about something else- what is the speed you're connected to the router as reported by Windows.
It's not the actual throughput but it may show 54mbps, 150mbps, 300mbps etc.- I'd like to know which one is it.

And you are downloading at 50-60KB/s via wireless right? Please pay attention to this- it's very confusing.

EDIT: What's your wireless card?

 

OK, here are some Speedtest results which vary rather widely. I tested in four different ways: wired, wireless on the 1st floor right near the router, wireless on the 3rd floor, and using my neighbor's wireless which I can get pretty well in my kitchen. I tested each location four times.

WIRED
Ping: 25ms each time
DL: 21.6/14.83/.13.87/.23.17 Mbps
UL: 3.54/3.43/3.54/3.55 Mbps

WIRELESS - 1st floor
Ping: ?/?/20/23 ms
DL: 0.08/0.11/0.26/0.27 Mbps
UL: 3.32/2.68/3.06/3.38 Mbps

WIRELESS - 3rd floor
Ping: 99/40/30/30 ms
DL: 0.18/0.54/0.73/0.60 Mbps
UL: 1.59/3.39/3.39/3.47 Mbps

WIRELESS - Neighbor
Ping: 30/55/35/35 ms
DL: 9.03/4.52/4.98/6.19 Mbps
UL: 3.52/2.83/3.06/2.92 Mbps

I don't know anything about networking but those numbers strike me as odd. Why am I getting better download speeds two floors away from the router rather than right next to it? And why am I getting much better speeds via my neighbor's router? Those are about the speeds that I would expect from a wireless connection - about 5-9 Mbps vs. the ~20 Mbps of the wired connection.

It seems that my wireless adapter is working fine, so it just be some way that my router is configured (or not configured). Any thoughts?

 

Yes, that speed is via wireless.

Card: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230
Speed: 144 Mbps

 

Try changing the wireless channel on the router- it's possible that the one you're using now is overcrowded or that there's a lot of interference.
(What makes it dubious is that your upload speed is better than download speed and interference should affect both).

Anyway- use inSSIDer to check the situation and choose an appropriate channel.

 

I already tried changing the channel a few times and it didn't seem to make a difference.

 

OK, I downloaded inSSider - now what? I'm running it and not sure what to look for.

 

Check the graph- move your wireless to a channel that is relatively free and if possible not overlapping with another heavily used channel or a channel with a network that has a strong wireless signal.

 

I changed it from 1 to 11 to no effect. The only other signal is my neighbor (I'm in the country). The signal strength looks good - I'm about 15 ft away from the router and the amplitude is -50 dBm. So I'm guessing that's not the problem.

So I'm thinking:

A) It isn't my wireless adapter as it can download from my neighbor at relatively high speeds.
B) It probably isn't my router as it was new (well, refurbished) and there are no other signs of it failing - it never loses the signal like the previous one, for instance.

So what could it be? Without really knowing what I'm talking about, could it be some kind of interference? Or could it be my adapter settings are incompatible with my router? Something else? What should I check for?

 

run inssider , upload a screenshot and let us know which SSID is yours.

 

Here it is. I'm not sure how this will help as the signal is obviously quite clear and not being interfered with by much. My SSID is "Akasha" and I also have "Akasha-guest."

 

OK, I solved it. It was as simple as updating the firmware. I feel sheepish, although then again no one has yet suggested that to me!

Anyhow, the router download speed is only a hair slower than wired - 22.12 Mbps was what I got.