up and down speed

[CU]

2 phones, 4 tablets, 1 chrome book, and 3 PC's through a TEW-640MB are all connected to my router wirelessly. The router was an old TEW-652BRP running gargoyle 1.5.9. That worked, but sometimes anywhere from a few times a day to once a month 1 or all 3 of the PC's would loose connection to the router. Everything else would be fine. To fix it I would have to reboot the router.

So, I got a second hand wrt610n v1 for free and thought that might work better. I put the latest firmware on it and set it up. Now the internet speed seems way inconsistent. I can watch youtube and have the windows network monitor up and watch the usage go from 10+ Mbps to a few Kbps and even 0. The video will always have to stop and rebuffer before it can finish, sometimes several times. You can watch the buffer on the video stop and jump forward by a large amount instead of constantly growing the buffer. And this is with no one else using the internet. The phones, etc. are still connected, but no one is using them, so I should be getting all the bandwidth. Does anyone know what could be wrong? If I cannot find a solution I plan to swap back to the TEW-652BRP.

Right now it is configured as N only and 40hz wide on the 2.4ghz with 5ghz turned off. I have also turned off upnp, but that didn't seem to help any.

 

[JackMDS]

Try to use both.

Using Wireless Routers (or Modem/Wireless Router) as a Switch with an Access Point - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html


Or (with all due respect) get something Modern that is above the low class of what you have Now.

 

[CU]

I thought about using both to lighten the load, but I don't think load is the problem as this happens when all the other clients are idle.

And yes I need new modern hardware. But, I have other things I need to spend money on more.

 

[sdifox]

40 MHz wide on 2.4GHz is not kosher. Why would you turn off 5GHz? Also, why are the PCs on wifi and not hardwire?

 

[JoeMcJoe]

Right now it is configured as N only and 40hz wide on the 2.4ghz with 5ghz turned off. I have also turned off upnp, but that didn't seem to help any.

Put it on channel 1, 20 Mhz for 2.4 Ghz, WPA2-AES.

Enable 5 Ghz with the same SSID and security.

 

[CU]

40 MHz wide on 2.4GHz is not kosher. Why would you turn off 5GHz? Also, why are the PCs on wifi and not hardwire?

I am using 40mhz to try and increase speed. I am also in a subdivision and not an apartment complex, so there are not hundreds of wifi's around me. I am setting on 3 using the wide channel 5. Most everyone else is on 1, 6, and 11. I don't have any 5ghz devices. I don't think, I still need to check. The PC's on the 2nd floor and the cable modem and router are on the 1st.

 

[sdifox]

I am using 40mhz to try and increase speed. I am also in a subdivision and not an apartment complex, so there are not hundreds of wifi's around me. I am setting on 3 using the wide channel 5. Most everyone else is on 1, 6, and 11. I don't have any 5ghz devices. I don't think, I still need to check. The PC's on the 2nd floor and the cable modem and router are on the 1st.

3 and 5 overlap 1 and 6. The random drop points to interference.

 

[CU]

Using Wifi Analyzer on my phone (LG G3), I poked around to see what was out there.

few on channel 1 with -80 dBm
few on channel 6 with -65 dBm
one on channel 8 with -80 dBm
few on channel 11 with -70 dBm

I show up on 3 with -55 dBm. I assume Wifi Analyzer doesn't show the 40mhz band coverage as it looks like I am only going from 1-5 should be 1-9, I think. The same coverage everyone else has. So, if I drop down to 20mhz should I put it on 1 where the lowest signal strengths are or 3 and center the 1 and 6 channel guys?

 

[sdifox]

Using Wifi Analyzer on my phone (LG G3), I poked around to see what was out there.

few on channel 1 with -80 dBm
few on channel 6 with -65 dBm
one on channel 8 with -80 dBm
few on channel 11 with -70 dBm

I show up on 3 with -55 dBm. I assume Wifi Analyzer doesn't show the 40mhz band coverage as it looks like I am only going from 1-5 should be 1-9, I think. The same coverage everyone else has. So, if I drop down to 20mhz should I put it on 1 where the lowest signal strengths are or 3 and center the 1 and 6 channel guys?

should always only use 1,6 or 11 on 2.4. That was why I was asking about 5ghz since congestion is not likely.

So pick 1 in your case.

 

[CU]

Thanks for the help. I put it on channel 1 and 20mhz last night. It seemed to work. I will check again tonight.

Curious now if trying to run 40mhz was part of the problem with the TEW-652BRP. I should hook it back up and set it to channel 1 and 20 mhz and test the signal strength. Wonder if it can do better than -55 dBm. It doesn't have 1Gbit lan ports, which my bluray player doesn't need anyway. But, it does have a higher clocked chip, not sure if it is actually faster though. It also only has half the ram and flash and no usb port. It does uses external antennas which may be better. I guess if the signal strength is much higher I could use the wrt610n as just a router and the TEW-652BRP as an AP. Seems like a waste of power unless the signal strength is a lot stronger though.

 

[CU]

Still looking OK. I only had it slow down once last night and the wife said it was fine during the day.

Looked up my devices on the internet and my phone, 2 of the tablets, and the chrome book support 5ghz. Who knew. So, I guess I should turn it back on and move them to it. Although none of those are used for much streaming and downloading. But, I guess the fewer things on 2.4ghz the better. Assuming the range is about the same. Question, if I give both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz the same SSID will the device pick the one it thinks is better, or do they have to be distinct and set to use the correct one.

 

[sdifox]

Still looking OK. I only had it slow down once last night and the wife said it was fine during the day.

Looked up my devices on the internet and my phone, 2 of the tablets, and the chrome book support 5ghz. Who knew. So, I guess I should turn it back on and move them to it. Although none of those are used for much streaming and downloading. But, I guess the fewer things on 2.4ghz the better. Assuming the range is about the same. Question, if I give both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz the same SSID will the device pick the one it thinks is better, or do they have to be distinct and set to use the correct one.

I prefer distinct ssid myself but the devices will pick whichever has stronger signal.

 

[VirtualLarry]

40 MHz wide on 2.4GHz is not kosher.

Yeah. Unless you're out in the wide open, in farm country, don't use wide channels on 2.4Ghz. It's not polite. And stick to ONLY channels 1,6, or 11.

 

[JackMDS]

devices will pick whichever has stronger signal.

This is Not correct for Entry Level Wireless.

It is better to try whatever is available the connect to then Best and put it as the first priority in the Wireless Center.

This App can give the info needed - http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/wifiinfoview.html

Question, if I give both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz the same SSID will the device pick the one it thinks is better, or do they have to be distinct and set to use the correct one.

IY is better to Give separate SSID so that you what you are connected too.

Can be like 2.4GHz calles CU and 5GHz called CU-5

 

[sdifox]

This is Not correct for Entry Level Wireless.

It is better to try whatever is available the connect to then Best and put it as the first priority in the Wireless Center.

This App can give the info needed - http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/wifiinfoview.html



IY is better to Give separate SSID so that you what you are connected too.

Can be like 2.4GHz calles CU and 5GHz called CU-5

I dont see any ranking setting in android.

 

[CU]

Turned on 5ghz with a different SSID and connected my phone to it.

Internet speed tests averaged over several runs.
2.4ghz 20mhz 20Mbps
5ghz 20mhz 34Mbps
5ghz 40mhz 45Mbps

That is a nice jump. Really wish my TEW-640MB supported 5ghz now.

 

[sdifox]

Turned on 5ghz with a different SSID and connected my phone to it.

Internet speed tests averaged over several runs.
2.4ghz 20mhz 20Mbps
5ghz 20mhz 34Mbps
5ghz 40mhz 45Mbps

That is a nice jump. Really wish my TEW-640MB supported 5ghz now.

Should be doing lan speedtest, not wan.

 

[CU]

Should be doing lan speedtest, not wan.

Yeah, I know. I just don't have anything on lan besides my bluray. Also my chrome book jumped up to 51 Mbps.

 

[sdifox]

Yeah, I know. I just don't have anything on lan besides my bluray. Also my chrome book jumped up to 51 Mbps.

So copy a big file and seebwhat kind of transfer rate you get.