Wifi vs Ethernet for Speedtests

Hyperbollix

Just got fibre installed at home, 500mb.

My ethernet connected desktop is reporting 530mbps on any speedtest I run, however my android phone manages about 200mbps when Im sitting right beside the router. If I move 20ft away to the kitchen, it falls off a cliff down to double digit speeds.

I spoke to my provider who got me to reset my network settings on my phone to make use it's using 5ghz instead of 2.4 - It is, and I can see that in the router settings. But the phone speedtests wont replicate anything like what I see on the desktop.

Also have a smart tv on wifi. Reset that and it's on the network at 5ghz but speedtests done on the tv's browser are similarly low. Despite this, streaming 4K content in youtube seems to work without any buffering.

Any able to cast any light on whats going on here?

L1011

It is very unlikely any device on wifi is going to get 500mbit or close to it.

Older kit has less performant cards, distance or obstructions between a device and the router will reduce speed and there being too many other networks nearby will reduce what's available

You might be able to squeeze more out with a higher end router or a mesh network solution but its almost certainly not worth it.

With a Wifi 6 (actually 6E I think) certified card, and my Wifi 6 router in sight, I can get the 250mbit I pay for and would probably get significantly more - but I get about 80mbits the opposite side of the house.

long_b

I'm on a 500 mbps package too. Sitting about 2 feet from the router I can get 500 down on my Pixel 4a 5g.

The good news is that it's not the connection to your house if ethernet gives you full speed.

Who's your internet provider ? What type of phone do you have ?

NSAman

I’ve 2gb up and down at home. Wired is always 2gb down and up. WiFi using orbi mesh only gives 300mb max. Depends on the router and your equipment.

Hyperbollix

Thanks all. My provider is Aptus, a company serving rural Carlow/Kilkenny. I originally had a 50mb wireless broadband service with them (roof mounted dish) - Now on fibre I'm using the same router, just swapped the cables. I've had this router a number of years on the wireless service.

If I check the wifi network speed in the settings of my A21s android phone, it shows 430mb if Im close to the router but once I move out of that room at all, it drops to 70 or even 50mbps. The kitchen and bedrooms are the furthest points and it's particularly slow there.

Should I look into getting an wifi extender to help?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628103#Comment_121628103

Extenders make things worse not better, they use up more signal bandwidth.

You may find a mesh network works better but you really need to have all the access points cabled.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628103#Comment_121628103

How far from the router are the bedrooms?

Wireless will never match wired. The further you go, the more you are slowing the system. It's just the logistics of wireless data transfer.

4K streaming only needs about 50mbps. Fibre speeds are generally far more than is require for residential users (outside of something where every millisecond counts)

zg3409

What make and model is wifi router? Most quoted wifi speeds are "up to" as speeds claimed on WiFi are theoretical in some cases and not even possible in real world ideally you need a new performance phone and a high performance latest router.

That said you probably don't need hundreds of megabits on a phone.

The more devices on the wifi in particular older devices the slower it will be as devices on wifi share bandwidth and the WiFi needs to slow down to talk to older devices.

Hyperbollix

@L1011 From what bit of research I've done, it seems the best way to use an extender is to have it connected by cable to the router. This then acts as an device to which phones etc can get a closer (and better) signal from? Is this what you mean by mesh?

@Mellor The bedroom that could do with a good signal is 4/5 metres down the hall from the office where the router is. There are 2 or 3 (depending on orientation) concrete block interior walls between the router and the phone in that bedroom.

@zg3409 The router is a Fritzbox 4040. The devices on the Wlan would be two android phones. A SkyQ box. And an LG smart tv which would only be on and connected to the network in the evenings. Apart from one of the phones being used for whatsapp voice calls, I'm the only person who would be doing any streaming etc so this isnt a case of 3 kids connected and going hard on streaming and gaming all evening. It's a very low use network.

The TV would probably get the most benefit from a wired connection so since I'm planning to renovate the living room later in the year, I've decided to run some Cat6 cable from the router across the attic and down to the living room to fit an ethernet port in that room for the TV. I'd just like to see if there's some way I could get maybe faster wifi speeds around the house.

smuggler.ie

"...since I'm planning to renovate the living room later in the year, I've decided to run some Cat6 cable from the router across the attic..."

As you have this option, consider run few extra CAT cables there, get dedicated WiFi AP's (Aruba, Unify, other) and install in the attic - signal penetrates plasterboard better than concrete hence provide wider coverage/stronger signal.

Depending on property area/shape you might be fine with one/two, always can add more later if needed(providing cables there for it). And its way superior than any ISP router(FritzBox seam to have good reviews), not even talking about extenders.

Hyperbollix

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121630689#Comment_121630689

That's a great idea. The router is pretty much in the centre of the house, so If I had Cat cables running up into the attic connected to one of those AP's, maybe one close to the bedroom and one close to the kitchen at the other end, that should solve the issue.

Just for something to test until I get around to doing work in the attic..... I have an old D-Link router in the drawer which I used to use when I first got broadband as the ISP only provided a modem. Would there be any sense in connecting that to my current ISP's router and seeing if my phone gets a better signal from that. I assume if that worked well, I could disable routing on the Fritzbox and just use it as a modem.

smuggler.ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121630773#Comment_121630773

"old D-link" does not sound good as its old, however no harm in trying.

Be aware that you should not connect another device that has DHCP function as you might cause network issues if not take entire network down. Needs to be pre-configured beforehand

smuggler.ie

Furthermore.

You can have several "old" routers configured to serve as AP's , however, problem will be that even if you configure them with same SSID and pass you will not have seamless roaming between. This will not effect stationary devices like TV or game console, but will effect your mobile devices if you walk from one end to other. Device have to disconnect from one AP and connect to another.

Dedicated AP's from same brand would be on same "system" , "talk to each other" and would have build-in mechanism to allow mobile device to "roam" from one AP to another (with better signal) without actually dropping off.

SortingYouOut

Extender won't do anything for speeds unless the wifi source (router) is sorted out. You could look into getting a router not provided by your ISP. I got a TP link and currently getting 500+ down without Ethernet.

CalamariFritti

I have a 500Mbits fibre package too and I get appropriate speeds on the 5GHz connection like ~ 56MBytes/sec plus. Digiweb w Fritzbox and laptop client.

5Ghz has more bandwidth than 2.4GHz but doesn't have the same reach and it doesn't deal as well with obstacles like walls, doors etc. I get the above full speeds from about 10 metres no obstacles, clear line of sight. From about 8 metres with one brick wall in between I get about 20% less.

Sitting in that second location right now, 8m one brick wall, I just ran a speedtest and with 2.4GHz I get 80/40 (down/up) and with 5GHz I get 400/40. This is on the laptop. With the phone (iPhone SE) I get the same on the 2.4 but a little less on the 5GHz (370/40).

5GHz is more volatile than 2.4 but shouldn't be as volatile as what you're describing. But as you can see there are variables, router, phone, laptop etc.

NIMAN

Have you bison slabs between floors, or wooden? Could break up the signal a fair bit.

I recently added a fairly basic Mesh system to my house, it has made a world of difference, get same speeds in all rooms now.

Hyperbollix

Nothing unusual about the walls no. 1970's build, just concrete block walls dividing various rooms. Between the distance between say the kitchen and the router and the amount of obstacles, the speed drops are probably normal.

Niman, what does your mesh involve?

NIMAN

I bought a 4 unit Tenda Nova MW3.

Hook one to your router, and the other 3 at various points around the house. I had a couple of powerlines installed previously, but always found these would give intermittent errors and needed reset.

I must say I am impressed with the Mesh system, especially considering its a very basic, cheap setup. There are much more powerful, expensive ones which I'm sure would be better, but I pay for 30meg and my speed tests on my phone using each node at various parts of the house are all around 28 or 29meg. I even get 22 out in a detached garage which is a driveway and another bedroom away from the nearest node.

Perhaps watch a few YouTube videos on mesh systems? Might help you in your case?

Hyperbollix

Sounds like another good option. I presume those nodes all need their own power supply which is the only issue. Whereas the APs in the attic can be powered just with the Cat cable feeding them data.

I will indeed look into on YT. Thanks

NIMAN

Yip, all need to be plugged in.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121631278#Comment_121631278

The issue isn't the router. It's provide typical max wifi speeds when adjacent to it. The issue is the signal strength over distance.

My appartment is quite long (dual access). But the router is at one end. Bedroom at other end had a weak signal. Extender made a huge difference. Not as much as a wried AP obviously. But nowhere near nothing

Glaceon

Speedtest from my Ubiquiti U6 Enterprise access point, one upstairs and one downstairs with wired backhaul. Works very well but not cheap! Digiweb SIRO 1Gb package.

gijoees

Hoping for advice from a mobile broadband customer.

I use one of the outer antenna's to get reception for internet. Although even with the antenna, I can still only achieve between 8 - 12 Mbps download. The house is somewhat in a small valley between 2 hills. On one hill why I placed the same antenna the signal can reach up to 30 Mbps which is more than sufficient for me.

So my question is, if I availed of a second antenna, can one signal to the other and boost the signal at the house? I see a lot about this company Ubiquiti and how their signal is much better but still unsure if it will help me.

Thank you in advance.

smuggler.ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121820104#Comment_121820104

You better of starting your own thread. For mobile broadband - Midband forum , plenty info there about external antennas

I cant make much sense of hills and antenna on them , is it mobile tower you mean? how far is it ?

What router you got?

What antenna you got?

gijoees

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121820462#Comment_121820462

Will start a new thread, thank you.

I am currently using a Poynting A-XPOL-00002-V2. Yes a mobile router (Huawei) through the Vodafone Network.

The closest mast is 4.5 km away from us. However there is forests and hills between. So I wanted to add a small mast or antenna at the hill opposite the house to try and boost the signal down to my house.