"Speed" of Wireless Network Connction changing constantly

Recently, the internet connection for my laptop has ranged from not working at all, very slow, to normal. I am wondering if I have unintentionally did something wrong.

I live in Canada and use Telus. I am currently using a box that Telus provided me, which is a combination of both a modem and router

Other computers in my house can access the internet normally.

My Adapter: WiFi Link 5100 AGN

When I check the "Status" of my wireless connection, next to "Speed:", the number keeps cycling between 1, 2, 5.5, 11.0. 24.0, and 54.0 Mbps

The speed of my internet connection seems to correlate with what the "Speed" number is currently -- for example, when it is at 1 Mbps, the speed is slow, and when it is 55 Mbps, it is fast

Any idea why?

 

radio conditions / interference changes constantly too.

Fact of life.

What kind of connection do you have from Telus and what kind of box did they give you?

 

Is your laptop the only device connected via wireless? You could try changing the channel in your router's settings to avoid interference.

 

Thanks for your responses!

I have an ADSL connection and I believe that it is a 6Mbps connection (all i know is that my max download speed is about 650 kbps

the box is silver and has some lights, other than that, there's nothing on it
i believe it's the standard box that Telus distributes to everyone now

my laptop is not the only device connected wirelessly, there are 2 other laptops connected wirelessly (I do not have access to them right now), and I can play games online with the PS3 with no problem.

I am going to change the channel now and see if it gets better

on a side note, this may have to do with interference because I am downstairs whereas the router is upstairs. I just went upstairs and I'm getting normal speeds. I'll go up and down the stairs in a bit to check it out

 

yes, moving anywhere seems to change the "speed" status

but this has never happened before, and there isn't anything in particular blocking my laptop from the router

what determines this "speed" status anyway? i thought it means the maximum speed of the network, which should be constant unless you limit it.

 

Wireless network speed can change due to interference and range. Try switching to a less crowded wireless channel. You can download programs to scan for which channels are currently being used by people living around you then just pick one that isn't being used. If you can, try to get a direct view between your wireless router and your laptop.

 

inSSIDer is free and will detect the wireless networks that are in range. You'll be able to see which channel they use. Preferably, if channel 1, 6 or 11 is free take one of those three.

Oh and by the way how many floors is there between your laptop and the router? You said upstairs, but you could be in the basement and the router on the 2nd floor. If that's the case, move the router to the first floor.

 

The antenna configuration of most routers is usually optimized for best performance in the horizontal plane and don't work too well vertically.

 

Which is funny because my new 6300N on my beloved Precision fluctuates like a pig while my work laptop (a Dell Latitude E5500) with the stock Dell G card gets a constant flow of 54 MBPS. Is it because of channels and my Latitude is running on a channel that isn't occupied?

PS: Both are on Channel 11 yet the Dell G card is staying 54 MBPS while the Intel 6300N is like going from 2-48 MBPS every second in the same location! Arrgh this is frustrating and embarrassing for the superior Intel card!

 

what is the difference between "Signal Quality" and the green bars next to it, and the "Speed" status, then? Because I seem to have full bars with "Signal Quality", yet I still get the 1 Mbps status next to "Speed"

and again, this happened just recently

my router is just 1 floor above me

and I downloaded that application and there are not many people on the same channel (11), perhaps 5 others, and they seem to be far away from me

i'm suspecting that there's something wrong with my adapter

btw, thanks for the responses! very appreciated!

 

actually, i am very sure it has something to do with interference now, every time i go upstairs, my internet connection is normal

btw, if i change my router's channel, does my adapter use that channel automatically?

 

I think so, yes. Very easy to confirm. And be sure to be wired to the router when making router configuration changes.

GK

 

That, and if your router has an option to change the settings via wireless, i suggest you deactivate it for security purposes. 5 networks on channel 11 is still quite a few even if they are far, if channels 1 or 6 are less crowded, try those. Your adapter should change channel automatically, the thing is most adapters are configured to seek channel 11 by default in windows 7, at least that's the case on both my win 7 notebooks, so it can get get crowded rather fast. Oh and by the way, even two networks on channel 11 can interfere with each other so imagine 5...

 

Is there any chance you're using a dual band 2.4/5GHz router, and your laptop with bad reception is on the 5GHz band? It's usually more empty but has much worse range etc. Just wondering.

 

how much stuff is installed in the floors of your house?

plumbing, electrical heating/cooling, etc, etc.

802.11 is susceptible to interference from pretty much Everything in the Known Universe. But if the only difference you're seeing is upstairs vs. downstairs I'll bet it's whatever your building is made out of or the placement of the router itself.

 

So what confuses me is that when I move my Precision next to my router it still fluctuates between 36-54 MBPS and I tried every Ad-Hoc Channel I can think of. My Latitude with the crappy Dell card manages to get 54 MBPS anywhere in my apartment. Do you guys know what is going on with the Intel card?

 

Apartment?

How many cordless phones and microwave ovens do you think are within say, 100 meters of your computer?

Why do you think it's a "crappy Dell card"?

What are the antenna configurations in both laptops and who makes the wireless cards?

 

1. 2nd floor and yes my room is the farthest from the AT&T U-Verse Router/Modem Unit in the living room.

2. One microwave in front of my wall that is facing the laptop on my desk.

3. It is their cheapest b/g on (the 1505 I think the model was) and it doesn't have good reception, but its speed is always at 54 MBPS without doing anything to it.

4. Precision = 3x3 Antenna System currently on the Intel 6300N. Latitude: 2x2 Antenna System on the Dell (Broadcom?) 1505 b/g.

 

So between your apartment and all of the others nearby yours is the only one with a microwave oven?

 

Assume everybody has a microwave.

GK

 

And assume that at they will be used at random all hours of the day.

 

IT WAS MY WIFI ADAPTER!! crappy intel wifi link 5100 agn

now on a usb wifi adapter

 

Or it was the antenna placement of the original internal adapter.

Untuned wires strung in the inside of an LCD screen is almost the worse possible layout, but that is pretty much all that is available to a laptop.

 

The most common cause of this problem is INTERFERENCE. Make sure that there is some space between the router and other electronis equipment. This doesn't have to be much but don't have the stuff sitting on top of each other.

Also check any cordless phones in your home. Most routers use 2.4Ghz frequency for wifi. If you have a cordless phone that is using the same frequency it WILL interfer.

If you have a 2.4Ghz phone then you can try changing the channels in the router but more than likely you'll have to get rid of the cordless and buy something newer like 5.8Ghz or 6.0DECT.

A very easy way to test this is to just unplug the cordless phone's main base (the one that connects to the phone line) from the power. If the speeds return to normal it's interference from this cordless.

Take care,
Shannon