sony z11 wireless N stuck at G speeds

Hey guys,

have a z11 with wifi on. it says it is connected 802.11n but the speed is always locked to 54mbits. my router (d-link dir 655) says that it is connected using 802.11g. the router settings are mixed b g n.

updated wifi through sony, did not work (13.2.1.5)

after that i tried it from intel's site, same version, did not change.

are you guys getting faster speeds (something closer to 100)? i had the same issue with my asus ul30vt but after updating wifi driver it was ok.

i need n speeds to play HD content wirelessly.

thanks in advance

 

Working fine here with Netgear router, although shows 300Mbps connection speed, the real speeds are around 150Mbps (measured on 2GB file transfers).
I have fat (40MHz) channels enabled for 802.11n but, perhaps, something else has to be set.

Make sure that in driver settings (Advanced tab in the driver properties dialog) 802.11n mode is enabled. Also, make sure that transmit power is set to full (lower power states may switch mode).

It is also possible that there is 802.11b/g transmitter in the area and, if you set your router to behave nicely (i.e. tolerate "b/g"), it might drop speeds dynamically, possibly without indicating that it's done so.

Don't think that it has anything to do with a version of router firmware: I still have DIR-655 running in the office with firmware 1.09 (I believe) because it supported Access Point mode. Never upgraded it.

Edit: My DIR-655 is on version 1.04 of firmware in "Bridge" mode.

 

Does someone else connect to your router with 802.11g? The router can only work at one mode (b or g or n) at the same time

 

@ zugzug, the settings are all set according to what you stated.
@ NHT. are you sure about that for all routers? I have had mixed use before with no problems.
regardless of the mixed modes, when i set my router to N only. the z will not connect to it.

any other ideas?

thanks

 

I was gunna ask what NHT asked. if the router has 1 antennae (I'm not sure if yours has 3 individual one that works for b g n separately or if yours is just a single band antennae with 3 physical ones for best transmission) than even though it runs b g n, if a wireless g device is connected to it, it slows down the entire network to g. same for b

 

Here is one:
I ran into the same problem and that's because N mode is not compatible with WEP encryption which I had the router set for. WPA-TKIP is not compatible too. Change the security to WPA2 and you're good to go.

 

That's the link Wireless Networking — What are the recommended settings for 802.11n connectivity?
and I paste the doc too.

If you are not receiving the expected performance from your Intel® Wireless products and wireless routers review the following recommendations.

Set your wireless router to use channel bonding (40 MHz).
Implementing channel bonding on the wireless router will allow the router to use 2 channels at the same time. Channel bonding is also known as mixed mode.
The following adapter settings can be found under the Advanced menu on Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software. Your settings should match the values below. These are the default settings for Intel Wireless Adapters supporting 802.11n.

Property Value
802.11n Channel Width for band 2.4 Auto (not in 20 MHz only)
802.11n Channel Width for band 5.2 Auto (not in 20 MHz only)
802.11n Mode Enabled
Fat Channel Intolerant Disabled
Roaming Aggressiveness Medium (or less)
Throughput Enhancement Disabled
Transmit Power Highest
Wireless Mode 802.11a/b/g



On the wireless router check the following options:

Property Value
Auto Channel Scan Enable
802.11 Mode use 802.11 only
Channel Width 40MHz

Note WEP and WPA-TKIP are not compatible with 802.11n.

Note Data rate will not exceed 54 Mbps when WEP or TKIP encryption is configured.

 

hey, i changed it to wpa2 and AES and it is now up to 117. this is around the range i was expecting. thanks for the help guys! im assuming i cant go faster than that right?

 

when i access files through the network it is still really slow! i can't watch standard def to content let alone HD. what is going on?

 

If it's pre draft N - 150Mb/s max you should be able to reach 135Mb depending on the rest of the settings (protected mode, QoS, channels, noise, etc).

 

These rates are in theory and I found them far from reality but you shoud be able to stream SD content over 54g with no problem. N-150 should be better. I can't fix your network setup here but reboot everything - laptop, router and the file server and try again.
Another hint would be to move your traffic from ch 6 (the routers are comming by default set on ch6 to another pair of channels). My whole street is on ch 6 and I found moving on ch8/4 to give me better rates.

 

when transferring a file through the network, i got to 256KB per second. there is something wrong here. what should i do?
under status, my wifi says im connected to 802.11n with speed of 117mbit. i do not know where to start on figuring out what the problem is.

any suggestions?

 

I got this with an unprotected network


300mbit via Z's 6200

 

that is pretty reassuring i guess. i know that it is capable of going that fast. its just the something is wrong.

this is what might be wrong

1.there is a hardware problem
2.driver issue
3. conflict with my d-link dir 655
4. interference


if it is 1 or 2 it can be solved easily. i dunno how to figure out what is wrong though. any suggestions or help would be appreciated.

 

Nice ping time, looks like you work there...

 

I was talking about the router speeds - not the Z 6200 wifi card.

 

Slow transfer may be due to the source (where do you transfer from?). You may also want to play with QoS (Quality of Service) settings on the router: turn it off or on and see what happens.

Depending on network config you may let router get DNS from your provider and have laptop DNS set to router IP. Or, even when using DHCP, you may hardcode DNS on laptop to IPs from your provider. See which one is faster and stick with it.

 

Give a shot with no encryption at all and post the results

 

the source is my QNAP ts-639 pro connected via Ethernet to the dir-655 which is a gigabit router. I have had no issues with my asus ul30vt having this exact setup. i will try no password protection and post the results.
_____________________

UPDATE: no security did not change anything. still get crippling speeds (less than 1MB when transferring files, any kind of video file played from my qnap never loads)

im at a dead end, anything else i should be doing?

 

I just checked your router model. You should be able to connect your Z at 300Mb/s.
But it has some bugs too. If you have the first revision - you should upgrade to the latest fw 1.34NA - as they admit some problems with the files transfer. Rev_B is ok.
D-Link Xtreme N Gigabit Router

Anyway if your Asus performs ok with the current setup then you must have changed something in your Z. Restore the settings like Intel recommends and try again.

 

I have a similar setup to yours:

D-link 855 and vaio Z12 with latest firmware and drivers for the z.

My wifi configuration is:
802.11 mode: mixed G and N (because my cellphone only works in G)
Speed trasnmit: Best (auto)
channel width: Auto (20/40Mhz)

password: ONLY WPA2
encryption: AES

Everything else is auto or default.

About Channel setup, take into consideration only channels 1, 6 and 11 don't overlap.

My vaio connects at 300Mbps and transfers, from my netgear readynas duo, connected through gigabit and with jumbo frames enabled, transfers at over 9MB/s, which means, 75Mbps.
Here it is really crowded with wifi networks (over 30).

If I switch to 5ghz band, and similar settings (wide channel, same security, etc), it is actually a bit slower at 60Mbps, despite there are not any other 5ghz wifi networks in range.

Last but not least, although I guess it is not needed to say, it is not the same to transfer small 1mb files than transferring big files around 1gb.
Bigger files should be a lot faster, like HD videos you are trying to stream...

 

i have never updated my router as i fear d link firmware upgrades. i just did it and i can actually play content without the player crashing now.both standard and HD lag like cray though so there is still something wrong.

transfer speeds are berzerk. they fluctuate like crazy, the most i have seen it go is 5MB/s it is generally slow though.

under status i get either 117mbps or 130mbps. what more can i do to make it go up to 300? i need a more stable, wireless connection.

thanks again!

 

Well from 256Kb to 5Mb in one day you should be quite happy .
What about your Asus. What transfer speeds do you get for it? Like for N connection and for file transfer. First we should allign them...and then aim higher.

 

I just got my Master degree on Network, so I'm pretty sure about what I'm talking about. The speed also depends on the random access to the media as well. It's a complex problem .

 

The answer to your problem here is simple. for reliable hd streaming, you want a 5ghz router...or pick up a SIMULTANEOUS dual-band router.

If you have any neighbors at all, or a microwave, you'll never get reliable streaming over 2.4. I use 5ghz at home for my extenders and 2.4 for other pc's and it's pretty much flawless.

 

I might be a newbie here NHT but I hold a PHD in networks and the routers are capable of servicing N, G and B clients at the same time. N won't reach its full specs - but will be close (anyway better than G).

 

Well, I may be wrong because I didn't spend much time on it. But I remember that my prof once told that the router will run in the slowest speed for all clients. I personally tested that with my N router (150Mbps). I only got beyond 54Mbps whenever my roommate is not connected to the router. There may be some routers that can service N, G and B at the same time (like WRT620 with dual band), but I think it's not too common.

 

That's for multiple antennae right? If the router only has one antennae, it is capable of servicing all of the standards, but it can only do ONE at a time. Hence, that's why they sell, specifically, dual antennae routers that can run both G and N at the same time. For all other routers, they automatically run at the standard of the lowest standarded device connected.

 

It might depend on how manufacturers implement that in their devices. Actually I have one router for the N clients and one for G clients (I don't have B) but I had at some point a mixed environment and the N devices were able to connect well over the G speeds.
Anyway best practices recommend separation but it's workable in mixt env too.

Something similar is with the USB 2.0 hubs. Current implementations have about 2-4 hubs with 2 ports each. If in one port you have a USB 1.1 device(like mouse/keyboard) the other port will be downgraded at the same speed so pay attention how you pair them.

Times have changed NHT... you know the Earth was flat till 16 century or so and it was said by great teachers of that time.

As a rule of thumb homie: if you can copy a movie over wifi in less time than it's duration you should be able to stream it. Maybe you should try other video player?

 

i do not have my asus ul30vt anymore, my asus g1s does not have N but i played HD on G and it was pretty decent, lags every once and a while. my g1s has just kicked the bucket R.I.P (will write on that in another post, i plan to go to a small claims court and maybe the BBB as the nvidia chip is defective and they want me to pay for it. i have always loved asus support but that was when i had warranty.)

anyways, i now have my z11 connected via Ethernet. i live in an apartment building and there are a lot of wireless networks around me. but i have never had such horrible speeds before. when i had my ul30vt i could stream hd fine. the only thing is that when i seek during a video it lags, but only for a sec or two and then its ok. so that was normal. the vaio is picky and will sometimes hang or not play. i wish transfer speeds were at 5Mb but like i said it fluctuates like crazy, id say the average speed is more around 2MB. sad. im honestly sick of having to deal with computers, i used to love problems like this just so i can fix them. i dnt have time for this stuff anymore, now my g1s is toast and i need a shoulder to cry on .

thanks for all the help, i really appreciate it.

 

If you live in an apartment you should definitely get a dualband (simultaneous) router. 2.4 is going to have too much interference.

 

I have a dual setup with access points running on the 2.4 GHz band for b/g, and access points running on the 5 GHz band for a/n.
That way, all devices can connect, but only those that support 5 GHz n will get full N speed. And they won't be slowed down by other devices connecting.

I also run one 100 Mbit and one 1000 Mbit wired network, in parallel but with no routing between them. For pretty much the same reason -- no interference, or slower devices holding back the faster ones.

 

In my experience, although there are far less interference in the 5ghz (a) band, the signal goes weaker a lot faster than 2.4ghz with distance, it should be taken into account.

With 5ghz you get less interference from other networks but you get less coverage

And with worse coverage, worse transfer speeds!

 

Yes, 5 GHz implies a shorter wavelength than 2.4 GHz, which means it is blocked easier and doesn't reach as far. But on the other hand, there's less interference -- 2.4 GHz not only get interference from all other WiFi installations, but also microwave ovens, bluetooth phones, fog(!) and much more.

It's usually pretty difficult to be able to use 40 kHz bonding (two data channels plus one control channel) on the 2.4 GHz band, at least in the US where 11 is the highest channel. You need all channels from 3 to 11 pretty clear, or it'll drop straight down to 72 Mbps, or even g speeds.

Bonding on the 5 GHz band is much easier, both because you are less likely to get interference from neighbours (because of the shorter range, and because few neighbours will have 5 GHz) and other devices. And even with interference, you'll generally only drop to 150 Mbps speeds, not all the way down to g speeds.
But yeah, the range is shorter, which is why a bridged repeater is a good thing to have.

 

OP is in an apartment. In an apartment or a smaller (<3000ft) home, 5ghz should do just fine....unless of course your walls are made of metal or some other design anomaly.

 

no metal walls or anything crazy. normal apartment. i still think there is a software problem some where. whether it is a router compatibility issue or a driver issue i do not know. the speeds are too erratic.

 

It's interference. How many access points can you see from your PC? 10? 20? 2.4 is likely saturated. Not to mention your neighbors' cordless phones, microwaves, etc.

 

And even your own bluetooth phone, and whether you carry it in your right or your left pocket that day, or placed it on the table next to the access point or PC.

 

I upgraded to a full featured dual simultaneus band (5ghz + 2.4ghz) because here I can find more than 30 wifi networks and about 15 with very strong signal and I believed the switch to 5ghz would be worthy, but, the 5ghz reach is very limited even when comparing it to a crowded 2.4ghz space.

I don't live in a very big flat and neither metal walls or extra deep, no bunker At most, 15m (45feet) end to end.
And I have the router pretty raised (this helps a lot to enhance coverage).

In the 2.4ghz available channels you can:

a)change your wirelless settings to a different country (both router and adapter) to choose a broader space.

b) If following a), take into consideration that only 1, 6 and 11 have enough separation between them to avoid overlapping frecuencies.

 

^sounds like you have maybe an issue or a poorly designed router. I run a dual band router in my home in the basement and have zero coverage issues on 5ghz over the entire house (even two stories above I get 3 bars and over 100mbps connection speed). In my townhouse I run a dual band router downstairs and no issue upstairs either.

 

i did not think about the bluetooth issue. i had my z11 bluetooth on all the time as i use a BT mouse. ill turn it off and see what happens. And yes it is pretty crowded here in terms of wireless networks. Maybe i will get a 5ghz router if nothing else works.

thanks for the help guys!

 

A few more ideas for you:

I had the same unstable connection speed as you till I turned the router to accept only 802.11N connection. If you don't have other devices on G speed - try it. Even for a test.
Second - if you have it working on 20MHz you are not going to go over 150MHz speed (or 117-135MHz counting in the interference). Enable multichannel (40MHz) in your router at wireless settings (I don't know exactly for your D-link, but has to be somewhere there) and do the same for the 6200 AGN card.
For this one click the wireless signal in the tray - right click on your connected network - pick Status - in the new window select Properties - in the new one under Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6200 AGN - select Configure and click the Advanced tab. Check the first property 802.11N Channel width for 2.4GHz. If it's 20MHz only - which is the default - turn it to auto. You should unlock new speeds.

 

ok, there is still something very wrong here.
Xnetx, i tried your suggestion, did not change anything.

i still have crippling speeds. i cant even browse files on the network, it just crashes. this is really frustrating!!

im officially giving up, im going to get an 8 port managed switch and just have Ethernet cables all across my room.

any last suggestion before i go ahead and buy a switch?

regards

 

^Yeah, buy a 5ghz router like I keep telling you you're issue is your neighbors.

 

but it is just the sony laptop. and when i say crippling, i mean i cant even transfer a 10MB folder. it takes forever and might crash. i cant even print. i tried printing, the file transfer is so slow that my inkjet pauses mid-print. if i were to buy something id rather go gigabit and wired. i think ill go with the asus GX-D1081 8 port managed switch and just connect that to my router.

 

Have you tried disabling all the wirless power management stuff? Do what I did and pick up a 5ghz router with built-in gigabit switch. Best of both worlds!

 

Thanks to all for this thread! I have the Z 1190 and a D Link 655. By reading this I was able to set my router to b, g and N, and by changing the channel type to 20/40 auto and the cipher type to AES I am now able to connect at 300Mbps. I just went to a speed test on CNET and am getting around 5000Kbps.
It was very hard to find the properties on my Sony to tell it to allow AES instead of TKIP, but once I did that, it now connects at N speeds.

 

im glad the thread has helped you!

i tried testing with other laptops, i have the same crippling speeds. I guess a lot more people got wireless routers next to me. I got an 8 port gigabit switch and 2x 10 meter ethernet cables to solve my problem. wireless still works for browsing the internet but nothing else really. Im happy with the setup. my room is just a bunch of cables everywhere anyways, a few Ethernet cables won't make a difference.

 

You're welcome ggold321.
As a last attempt homie_g.
The fact that you tried other laptops with the same results makes me think is something wrong with your QNAP ts-639 settings.
We kind of looked in the wrong direction. The recommended settings have worked for others with same hardware.
Do a test on Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test and if you reach the limit of your connection(5-10Mbit/sec) then is nothing wrong from Z to the router. Interference has no foul play. Your QNAP ts-639 pro is a hi-tech device but looks to me a bit complicated to set it right. Here is where you have to try something else. Make a file server from an XP PC and see how it goes just to confirm that. And talk to QNAP guys to see what is the solution.

 

unfortunately, my internet speeds are very bad. i get 4mbps on a good day. so i dnt think that is the way to test it. I will share some files between the z11 and my asus wirelessly and see how that goes. if the speeds are horrible, that means that there are no issue with the qnap. ill post again when i get around to testing this. hopefully over the weekend. thanks for posting back.

regards