All the examples given were related to the placement of a network device near household appliances, physical obstacles in the form of walls and partitions, but I said almost nothing about the settings of the router and clients that affect the connection of the Wi-Fi wireless network. In this article we will talk about why a router can slow down the speed and we will try to use examples to completely eliminate or at least partially get rid of the problem.
Before moving on to the router settings, it should be said that you need to consider when creating a wireless network, in addition to the location of the devices. The fact is that manufacturers of network devices indicate the theoretically maximum possible speed on the packaging or in the technical specifications on the official website. For example, if you see a value of 300 Mbps (Mbps) on the packaging of a network device, then it indicates the maximum possible speed of the router in a wireless Wi-Fi network in theory, but in practice everything is somewhat different.
1. The speed of the router, in contrast to that specified by the manufacturer (300 Mb/s), in practice will be much lower and this is due to wireless standards. For example, the N standard specification states that it is theoretically capable of providing data transfer rates of up to 600 Mbit/s if it uses four antennas simultaneously for communication. Therefore, each antenna of the N standard can transmit data at a speed of 150 Mbit/s.
But this is all in theory, but in practice the N standard does not always exceed the 54-60 Mb/s bar. Of course, the speed depends on the specified settings and a number of external factors, and if you managed to achieve a speed with the N standard on your router of more than 60 Mb/s, then share your experience in the comments with other users.
Remember the 802.11G standard, which theoretically states a maximum speed of 54 Mb/s, but in practice hardly anyone remembers more than 20 Mb/s. All new standards, of course, have improvements, but with regard to the speed ratio in theory and in practice, things are still the same.
2. If there are any problems with your Wi-Fi network, first of all update the firmware. The firmware affects the operation of all components of the network device. You can download the latest firmware version on the manufacturer's official website. As a rule, you need to download the firmware with the latest date and the highest version (index). TP-Link structures firmware for network devices very well in this regard. Some routers notify you in the router interface about the availability of new firmware.
3. It is also necessary to update the driver of the Wi-Fi wireless network adapter, which is installed in a desktop computer or integrated into a laptop. This is software that directly affects the speed of exchange of network packets between devices and functionality in general.
4. If your router can operate at a frequency of 5 GHz, then it is advisable to transfer all clients that support this range to it. At the same time, those devices that can only operate in the 2.4 GHz band and transferred to the 5 GHz frequency will not affect each other’s operation.
5. Some users, having bought a budget router model, are looking forward to high performance from it, but switching speed (bandwidth) and performance are on the same level and depend on the hardware. And we know that a network device is characterized by the ability to process and transmit the maximum high-speed flow, called switching from the WAN port (it contains the Internet provider cable) to the Wi-Fi wireless module. And as you understand, budget router models are not equipped with components for high switching.
Of course, the hardware in a network device is of significant importance, but as practice shows, setting up a Wi-Fi network on a router plays an important role. Let me give you some useful recommendations.
How can you increase the Wi-Fi speed in your router?
All of the above recommendations will in most cases help increase the speed of your Wi-Fi network and eliminate the main causes that negatively affect wireless communications. By the way, if you are planning to buy a router and you are not constrained by financial possibilities, then look towards those that support or IEEE 802.11ad. For example, ASUS RT-AC87U or TP-Link AD7200 Talon.
1. Many people still use the IEEE 802.11n standard in their home network and at the same time set mixed mode in the settings. That is, they set 802.11 b/g/n in the router interface for Wi-Fi networks. And this is of course logical since, for example, an old laptop may have a built-in G-standard module and not support the N standard. However, a Wi-Fi wireless network not only divides the signal between all clients on the network, but also with active packet exchange between the router and a client with a G-standard module resets the speed (on average to 50%) for all devices to the level of the slowest. In our case, this is a laptop with a G-module.
Today, all devices have long been friends with the N standard, therefore, there is no point in the old mixed mode. But if you still have a laptop with IEEE 802.11g at home, then it’s better not to use it at all. In general, it is recommended to configure the network so that all adapters work on the same standard. For example, many people at home have devices that support the N standard, so it would be correct to define the IEEE 802.11n standard for the entire network.
Many laptops also provide this option, and it would also be good for clients with wireless Wi-Fi modules to set the N mode. Go to “Device Manager” and find the computer’s network adapter in the settings.
On the “Advanced” tab in the “Property” window, find “802.11n direct connection mode” and set it to “Enable”. In some adapters this parameter is called “Wireless Mode”. The netbook that I currently have at hand does not have the ability to configure only the N standard in the adapter properties. But for example, here is a screenshot from another computer taken earlier for another publication.
2. In a Wi-Fi wireless network in a given N mode, you can try to increase the speed to more than 54 Mbit, but to do this you need to enable the WMM function in the adapter settings if it supports it. This function must be enabled on both the access point and the network adapter.
The WMM function, depending on the manufacturer and model, may be called differently in the adapter settings: WMM, Multimedia Environment, WMM Capable...
3. Despite the fact that a modern network device has more than enough Wi-Fi coverage for an apartment, it still makes sense to locate clients as close as possible to the source of the wireless signal. This is due not only to various obstacles (walls, household appliances...) for the signal to pass through, but also to the noisy channel at the 2.4 GHz frequency. It is advisable to place the devices at a distance of no more than 20 meters from each other. By the way, for the new standards 802.11ac and 802.11ad there is no such thing as an obstacle.
4. I have already mentioned more than once that the channel is noisy in the 2.4 GHz band; our task is to choose the freest one in the area. Noise in a radio channel means the presence of neighboring networks that may use the same channel as your network.
Just now I suddenly opened the connections tab and counted more than 6 networks around.
To find the most free channel, you need to switch to it when your neighbors detect a less loaded channel.
5. Some routers justifiably initially have low radio signal power. If you walk around a room or apartment with a tablet or laptop (do not sit still), then the signal strength should be turned up to full.
But if, on the contrary, you are “chained” not far from the router, then it makes sense to lower the signal. Otherwise, due to the strong signal and the short distance of the client from the network device, the router will reduce the speed.
6. Standard N works great with a channel width of 40 MHz, but quite often in the settings you can find the 20/40MHZ parameter (automatic selection). If you set the channel width to 40 MHz, you can get from 10 Mbit/s to 20 Mbit/s speed increase if you have a stable and good signal. However, this is an experimental parameter. The fact is that with such a channel width, at a short distance the signal level may decrease and, accordingly, we will not get the desired result.
Therefore, here the issue is resolved experimentally. First set the values to 20 MHz and measure the speed from different distances, and then set it to 40 MHz and test the Wi-Fi speed again from the same points. During tests, always turn off all devices except those being tested. The conclusion is obvious. We leave the value where the result was with the highest speed reading. It should be said that there are still clients who can only work on a channel width of 20 MHz and do not want to establish a connection at 40 MHz.
The speed through the router is “not the same”, the router “cuts” the speed.
Often, after purchasing a router, connecting it and setting it up, users are faced with the problem that the Internet connection speed has become lower than before purchasing the router. This problem occurs especially often on high-speed Internet plans.
For example, if you have a tariff plan that provides “Internet connection speed” of 100 Mbit/s, and when you connect the provider’s cable “directly” to the computer’s network card, the Internet speed fully corresponds to the tariff plan:
When you connect the provider's cable to the WAN port of the router, and the computer to the LAN port, you can often observe a decrease in throughput (or, as they say, “the router cuts the speed of the tariff plan”):
It is most logical to assume that in this scheme the problem is in the router itself and the speed of the router does not correspond to the speed of the tariff plan. However, if you connect to a “slower” tariff plan (for example, 50 Mbit/s), you will notice that the router no longer cuts the speed and the “Internet speed” corresponds to that specified in the tariff plan:
Among engineers, the terminology “router cuts speed” or “router speed” is not accepted - they usually use the terms “WAN-LAN routing speed”, “WAN-LAN switching speed”, or “WAN-LAN throughput”.
WAN-LAN throughput is measured in Megabits per second (Mbps) and is responsible for the performance of the router. The speed of WAN-LAN switching and the performance of the router as a whole is determined by the hardware of the router (H/W - from the English “Hardware”, indicated on a sticker that is pasted on the bottom of the device) - this is the model and clock frequency of the router processor, the amount of RAM memory, switch model (switch built into the router), standard and model of the Wi-Fi radio module (Wi-Fi access point) built into the router. In addition to the hardware version of the device (H/W), the version of the installed firmware installed on the router plays a significant role in the speed of WAN-LAN routing. That is why it is recommended to update the device’s firmware version immediately after purchase (see “How to “reflash” a router?”).
After “reflashing” or, professionally speaking, after updating the firmware to the recommended firmware version, the stability of the router, the level of optimization of the device for working in the networks of Russian providers, as well as WAN-LAN throughput should increase.
It is worth noting that the WAN-LAN switching speed depends not only on the device’s hardware version (H/W) and firmware version, but also on the connection protocol to the provider. In order to find out how to determine the type and protocol of connection to the provider, you can follow this link.
The highest WAN-LAN routing speed is achieved using the DHCP and Static IP connection protocols, the lowest when the provider uses VPN technology, and the lowest if the PPTP protocol is used.
WiFi speed.
Many users who connect to any Wi-Fi network are not always satisfied with the connection speed. The issue is quite complex and requires detailed consideration.
Real speeds of Wi-FI technology.
This is what frequently asked questions on this topic look like:
“My tariff plan provides a speed of 50 Mbit/s - why is it only 20?”
“Why does the box say 54 Mbit/s, but the client program displays a maximum of 2.5 MB/s (which is equal to 20 Mbit/s) when downloading a torrent?”
“Why does the box say 150 Mbit/s, but the client program displays 2.5 - 6 MB/s (which is equal to 20 - 48 Mbit/s) when downloading a torrent?”
“Why does the box say 300 Mbit/s, but the client program displays 2.5 - 12 MB/s (which is equal to 20 - 96 Mbit/s) when downloading a torrent?”
The boxes and specifications for the devices indicate the theoretically calculated maximum throughput for ideal conditions of a particular Wi-Fi standard (essentially for a vacuum).
In real-world conditions, network throughput and coverage are dependent on interference from other devices, WiFi network load, the presence of obstacles (and the materials they are made of), and other factors.
Many client utilities supplied by manufacturers along with WiFi adapters, as well as utilities of the Windows operating system, display exactly the “theoretical” bandwidth when connecting via Wi-Fi, and not the actual data transfer speed, misleading users.
As the test results show, the maximum real throughput is approximately 3 times lower than that specified in the specifications for the device or for one or another IEEE 802.11 group standard (Wi-Fi technology standards):
WiFi Technology Standards Maximum Achievable Theoretically Designed Bandwidth
PC users who previously interacted directly with the provider via cable, when connecting the router, notice a loss of speed. The article answers the question - how to increase Internet speed via a Wi-Fi router.
Reasons for reducing speed
Obvious reasons:
- Poor location of the router. There are large metal or electrical obstacles in the signal path.
- Low power signal transmission device.
- The provider uses one of the connection types - PPPoE, L2TP, PPTP.
- Not installed or not updated driver for signal transmission and reception devices.
- Connected users cutting Internet speed in half.
Among the hidden reasons:
- Incorrect modem settings in the parameters of channel width, network operating mode, network security, and channel selection.
- Incompatibility of router and receiver equipment. The discrepancy between their capacities, resulting in asymmetry. In this case, fine tuning is required using device manufacturers' data shields to achieve a balance between speed and coverage.
- Setting up the transmission channel in adjacent rooms (if you do not have a reflector).
Speed increase
Let's consider options that will help increase the speed of your Internet connection.
The more advanced the technology, the better the equipment works. In 2009, a new wireless communication technology was developed that supports channel speeds of up to 300Mbit/s. This is 3 times higher than the 802.11g standard. Therefore, all wireless devices are transferred to this standard (the diversity of standards leads to a decrease in speed).
WPA2-PSK security standards
Encryption itself reduces transmission speed. But it’s impossible without him. Data protection is the basis for device performance. The challenge is to choose the right encryption type in the router settings so as not to reduce performance.
For standards-compatible receiver and transmitter, choose WPA2-PSK with AES encryption. On older versions, you will have to select the TKIP cipher.
Wi-Fi MiltiMedia
To ensure speeds greater than 54 Mbit/s, you need to enable WMM in the router settings (if such a function is available on the router).
Enable WMM on the receiving device too.
Channel width 20 MHz
By default, the 802.11n standard sets the channel width to 40 MHz. It is better to define a width of 20 MHz. The reason is that if there are routers in the neighborhood, it is impossible to maintain the 5 GHz mode, in which a channel with a width of 40 MHz will work well.
There will always be interference that will force the router into 2.4 GHz mode, which will reduce performance. It is better to immediately set the width to 20 MHz.
Installing drivers for Wi-Fi
On devices connected to the Internet - tablets, laptops, desktop PCs and other gadgets - a signal receiver (adapter) driver must be installed. If it is installed, you need to update the firmware from the manufacturer's website.
New driver versions optimize the operation of individual device elements and eliminate the shortcomings of previous versions. An incorrectly installed driver is often the main reason for slow speed or lack of communication.
The driver needs to be updated for both the receiver and the signal transmitter.
Elimination of influence of external factors
It is impossible to completely exclude such influence. But this can be done as much as possible.
- The router must be placed at a minimum distance from all receiver devices.
- An ideal placement option when there are no obstacles in the way of large metal objects or electrical communications.
- Avoid placing it on a window so as not to pick up neighbor interference and not become a source of broadcast interference yourself.
Checking the connection speed with the router
There are several ways to find out the performance of your wireless connection:
After the manipulations, the following result was obtained via a Wi-Fi connection. The receiving speed has increased by 6 Mbit/s.
Limiting the speed of connected devices
If one of the network users constantly loads the channel and does not allow others to work comfortably, the administrator performs the task of limiting the speed of this user, either equalizing the speed for everyone, or setting each user a certain speed.
This can be done through the modem settings:
Questions have arisen! Please indicate what the problem is so that we can help.
If you ask the average user why routers are so good, you can get two answers. Firstly, they provide some freedom of movement, and secondly, they can distribute the Internet to several devices at once. Most owners of wireless routers don’t think about the shortcomings until they accidentally encounter them. Thus, many routers reduce the Internet speed over Wi-Fi, however, not only over Wi-Fi, but also with a cable connection.
The difference in data transfer speed between a direct connection and a connection via a router cannot always be noticed by eye, unless you test the connection in some kind of Internet speed meter, and then only if certain conditions are met. However, there is always a slowdown in connection speed when connecting via a wireless network. Moreover, this is normal. But why does the router slow down the Internet speed via Wi-Fi, and is it possible to somehow increase it? Let's figure it out.
You can only rely on the Internet speed declared by your Internet provider with a direct cable connection; when using Wi-Fi, the speed will always be lower than the declared one. It is also worth considering that the speed indicated in the router documentation is usually significantly lower than the real one.
Signal transmission medium
There may be several reasons for the decrease in the speed of the Internet distributed through the router. It all depends on the signal level, the presence of interference, problems on the provider’s side, the protocol used, channel congestion, router model and a bunch of other small factors. The basic reason for the lower speed is the medium through which the electromagnetic signal is transmitted. Whether you like it or not, it travels through the air worse than through an electrical cable.
Location of the router indoors
Is there any way to increase Wi-Fi speed? Ideally, the router should be located in the center of the room without internal walls and partitions at the same distance from the devices receiving the signal, which, of course, is impossible in the real conditions of apartment buildings. If you place your router in a back room, don't be surprised if the Internet becomes slow.
The router should be installed in a central room or corridor, and the device should not be located near devices that generate electromagnetic radiation - computers, microwave ovens, modern TVs, etc. To determine the optimal location for the modem, you can also use special programs, for example, Wi-Fi Analyzer or InSSider.
Radio channel selection
Low Internet speed over Wi-Fi may well be due to channel congestion, and residents of apartment buildings most often have to deal with this problem. Most routers operate at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, using a range of channels from 1 to 13. If there are many networks in the house, they literally begin to jam each other. There are two main solutions to this problem. You can determine using the program Acrylic Wi-Fi Home the cleanest channel and use it in the router settings. A more radical option involves purchasing a router that operates at a frequency of 5 GHz and, accordingly, has a large range of channels.
Optimizing your wireless connection
Alternatively, you can try setting your router to maximum Wi-Fi speed. Go to the router settings, find the “Network Mode” section or with a similar name and select “11n Only” or “N Only” from the list. Additionally, you can change the channel width to 20 or 40 MHz (40 is more relevant at 5 GHz).
If your router supports the 5 GHz frequency, see if the new 802.11ac standard is available in its settings; if so, enable it. If only 802.11n is available, try enabling the WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia) option in the router’s advanced settings. You also need to enable it in the properties of the wireless adapter on the “Advanced” tab by selecting “Game/Multimedia Environment” or “WMM” from the list of properties.
Old wireless adapter model
Internet speed depends not only on the router and provider, but also on the signal receiver - the Wi-Fi adapter on a laptop or computer. If it doesn't even support 801.11n, then there can be no talk of any high speed. Replacing a Wi-Fi module is still a hassle, but you can try updating its drivers to the latest version, which may give you a slight speed boost.
Old or buggy firmware
Another way to increase Internet speed via a Wi-Fi router is to update the firmware. Over the past few years, wireless communication technologies have come a long way, but users, as a rule, change routers very rarely and usually do not care about updating their firmware. But in vain, because installing a new version of the software can improve the quality and security of your Internet connection.
Different connection protocols
The connection protocol used by your Internet service provider plays an important role. The highest connection speeds are provided by the DHCP and Static IP protocols; when using the PPPoE protocol, it will be slightly lower; if the connection is made using PPTP technology, the data transfer speed will be even lower. You won’t be able to change the protocol, but you can check with your provider about the technology used and, if something happens, change your Internet service provider – this is entirely within your power.
Drawing conclusions
Above we have given the main reasons why the Internet speed through a router drops. In reality there may be even more, they are just not as common. The location of the router in the house is important, the settings used are important, but the most important point, perhaps, is whether the router and receiver devices support the latest wireless communication technologies. If you want maximum speed, consider purchasing a newer, more powerful router model.
Recently, one of my good friends decided to change his WiFi router to a new one. The old one didn’t suit him, or rather he wasn’t happy with the speed of the wireless network. An expensive ASUS router was purchased. But imagine the owner’s surprise when it turned out that the new router also slowed down the WiFi speed. The first reaction is that the device is faulty! The store agreed to the meeting and replaced the device without talking. But on the next copy the picture was completely repeated. After that, a man came to me.
Using his example, I will show you why the actual WiFi network speed is lower than advertised and how you can achieve maximum performance from your Wi-Fi.
Before moving on to active manipulations with device parameters, you should understand what the theoretical and real data transfer speed over a wireless network is. This will help you look at things realistically and not chase the “white unicorn” in search of hurricane speeds.
When buying a modern access point or router, the user reads that the box says Wireless N150 or N300, which means, respectively, a theoretically achievable connection speed of 150 or 300 Megabits/sec. It will also be displayed in the connection information when connecting a computer.
But, unfortunately, you will not achieve such indicators. At best, you will be able to achieve at least half. You just need to understand this and get used to it. Values of 150 and 300 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz range were achieved under ideal laboratory conditions. In reality, it is necessary to take into account a bunch of environmental factors that negatively affect the transmission of the radio signal. Really high speeds can only be achieved using equipment in a different frequency range - 5 GHz, where the theoretical limit already reaches 7 Gbit/s. But this will require replacing both the router itself and the network adapters on computers and laptops. And these are still considerable financial costs.
The recommendations below will allow you to make the most of your router's potential. For example, I will take the most common model today - D-Link DIR-300. If you have a different device, just do it by analogy.
WiFi Standards Used
In order to get the highest possible speed, you must use the appropriate wireless communication standard. In the usual range today, 2.4 GHz is the standard 802.11N.
We go to the Basic WiFi settings, find the “Wireless mode” item and force this mode in it.
Attention! Here we must take into account that the old and much slower 802.11G will not be used, which means that those devices that used it will no longer see the network!
Radio channel and its width
The second important parameter that has a significant impact on achieving maximum performance is the radio channel.
Firstly, if you have many access points in your neighborhood (6 or more), then they can simultaneously use either the same or intersecting channels. This means that they will interfere with each other. You will think that it is the router that is cutting down the WiFi speed, but in fact the culprit will be interference from the “neighbors”. By the way, they will also suffer from the same problem. To avoid this, you need to find the “Channel” item in the settings and select the least loaded one there. On the latest firmware for D-Link routers, this is very conveniently implemented:
The most clogged channels are marked in red, the free ones in green. Everything is simple and clear. Other models may not have such a built-in analyzer. Then you will need to install the inSSIDer program on your computer and scan the range with it.
Secondly, the maximum speed indicators of a wireless network directly depend on the channel width used:
By default it is set to 20MHz. This is no longer enough and the value needs to be changed to 40MHz.
Enable WiFi Multimedia technology
Very often, wireless devices cannot reach speeds above 54 Mb/s until WMM mode is enabled on the router. The point here is that the WiFi Multimedia function is a special automated mechanism for ensuring Quality of Service QoS Quality of Service.
In the menu of the D-Link DIR-300 D1 router, this function is displayed in a separate section. On other models, this checkbox is usually located in the additional parameters.
P.S.: In conclusion of the article, I would like to remind you of the need to update the drivers of the wireless adapter, as well as the firmware of the router or access point. In my memory, there were a couple of cases when it turned out that the router was slowing down Wi-Fi speed due to the fact that it was using old firmware. Flashing to the latest version in this case will immediately solve the problem.
