Understanding speed test

u0206397

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Some old laptop only has 2.4GHz wifi and even have 5Ghz also will not get > 100 Mbps. Better get a AC adapter and it should provide ~ 300Mbps. It is quite cheap too. It is available in many shops. Going for AC adapter is the only choice to enhance his speed.

In the old days, it was simple. 802.11g, you get 54 Mbps, 802.11b, you get 11 Mbps.

But once it comes to 802.11n, there are different speeds like 150 Mbps, 300 Mbps, 450 Mbps and even 600 Mbps. And when device makers say my device is 802.11n, hmm, it's hard for consumers to know what speed they can expect. And then of course, now there is the talk about theoretical speed in laboratory conditions, and actual real world speed. Just surprised that real world speed is only about half of the theoretical one.
 

renfred89

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Did you enable band steering? The moment you enable band steering, you lose control over the band and bandwidth.

Have you fixed the bandwidth to include 40mhz?

I have both 5GHz and 2.4GHz enabled in my wireless router.

But my PC, laptop and mobile phone always default to 2.4GHz for some reason. I haven't tweak further to force a 5GHz connection.

I am fine with the current speed since my Youtube is not halting and breaking. Just curious to know where the bottlenecks are that are keeping me stuck at 20+ Mbps.
 

ArcticCheetah

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In the old days, it was simple. 802.11g, you get 54 Mbps, 802.11b, you get 11 Mbps.

But once it comes to 802.11n, there are different speeds like 150 Mbps, 300 Mbps, 450 Mbps and even 600 Mbps. And when device makers say my device is 802.11n, hmm, it's hard for consumers to know what speed they can expect. And then of course, now there is the talk about theoretical speed in laboratory conditions, and actual real world speed. Just surprised that real world speed is only about half of the theoretical one.

For 802.11n
1 stream = 150Mbps
Performance will always be limited by the slowest devices
Adapter 1 stream, router 2 stream, Max Link Rate = 1 stream
When distance increase to avoid losses, modulation rate is dropped.
Wireless is more towards half duplex as single radio cannot transmit and receive at the same time, therefore throughput halfed.
 

Henry Ng

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In the old days, it was simple. 802.11g, you get 54 Mbps, 802.11b, you get 11 Mbps.

But once it comes to 802.11n, there are different speeds like 150 Mbps, 300 Mbps, 450 Mbps and even 600 Mbps. And when device makers say my device is 802.11n, hmm, it's hard for consumers to know what speed they can expect. And then of course, now there is the talk about theoretical speed in laboratory conditions, and actual real world speed. Just surprised that real world speed is only about half of the theoretical one.
Most of the time, real world speed is 30 to 50% of theoretical speed and this is normal. My AC adaptor speed of 400+ Mbps is also ~30% of my theoretical speed of 1200 Mbps. It is normal. There is no other cheaper option available to enhance your speed so that u can enjoy more. I suggest just go into USB AC Adapter. Simple solution that works.
 

u0206397

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Did you enable band steering? The moment you enable band steering, you lose control over the band and bandwidth.

Yes, band steering is enabled by default. SSID is same for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

Should 2.4GHz be disabled to force 5GHz only?

Have you fixed the bandwidth to include 40mhz?

Yes. Both 2.4GHz and 5GHz are set to the default 20MHz/40MHz. The other option iirc is 20MHz.
 

renfred89

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Try disabling band steering. It’s not useful to me in my opinion, or rather it’s only useful if you have band steering like Linksys smart connect which steering between 2 5Ghz bands..

Yes, band steering is enabled by default. SSID is same for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

Should 2.4GHz be disabled to force 5GHz only?



Yes. Both 2.4GHz and 5GHz are set to the default 20MHz/40MHz. The other option iirc is 20MHz.
 

Henry Ng

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In such situation even disabling band steering, in the real world speed TS will not get more than 100 Mbps.
 
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