Broadband speed up & down

[#1]

Link score is now between 27 & 30. Don`t know if that means anything.

[#2]

Hi Bob,
Sorry - saw your update and was about to reply when I noticed the MSO - been fielding numerous threads spawning from people unable to connect at all...
What that means is the wifi connection is quite poor - signal level should be circa -50dB (or more -45dB) with a score better than 80.  It is a bit difficult to explain what you need to do, but I'll try!  I have attached a view of the plot of networks near me.
These are quite tidy as all of the stations are on "preferred" channels 1,6,11.
From the information you've provided, there are other stations which are appearing on channel 1 nearby you.
Are the signal levels on the other stations appearing on channel 1 higher than yours?
Are there other stations on 6 & 11?  Are their signal levels less than yours?
You need to find a channel on which your signal has a chance of being the best.
I assume that you are using the TG582n as supplied by PN?  Where is it located?  How close are you to it?

Kevin

[#3]

Signal levels on others near me (BT) are all 83-91 and all on channel 1. I`m on PC in bedroom upstairs at moment and modem is downstairs where my laptop is. The signal level on my PC is 41. I`ll try mine on different channels.
Thanks for all your help.

[#4]

Bob,
I'm still here to help.
Sounds like you really do need to be off channel 1.
Can I please clarify...

Quote from: ossettbob

The signal level on my PC is 41.

Is the PC (where you got the 9.2Mbps) speed test WiFi connected as well?  If it is, then maybe we are looking at the wrong end of the problem... it could be back to the laptop configuration. 
A less congested channel will always be better though.
Kevin

[#5]

The PC is where I got the 9.2 Mbs. It is connected to WiFi with a TP LInk 300 Mbs High Gain Adaptor. The PC is in spare bedroom upstairs. The modem is downstairs in the hall plugged into master socket. I use the laptop, with it`s in-built WiFi in the lounge about 10ft from modem. It is the PN modem you mentioned. I agree that the problem seems to be with the laptop and I`m sure it`s because of up-grade to Windows 8.1.

[#6]

Bob,
So you have two WiFi access points?
Do they have the same SSID?
If not, how does the laptop perform if you try connecting to the TPLink?
What speed does inSSIDer report for the TG582n WiFi?
Kevin

[#7]

I only have the one modem if that is what you mean by access point. Don`t know about speed of TN. It says Max Rate of 130 if that`s what you mean. I was going to try the TP Link adapter in my laptop during week and if it improves it I`ll buy another one. By the way, the signal strength on my laptop is now 78, As I said, it changes all the time.

[#8]

I think I might be confusing you. I keep saying modem when I mean router !!!. Told you I`m old lol

[#9]

Bob,
Stop trying to kid me, you've got more working marbles than many who come here for help.  Modem / router are often (both correctly and incorrectly) used interchangeably.  Many ADSL devices like the PlusNet TG582n contain: a modem; a router; a Wireless Access Point (AP); a NAT and a firewall.  In other circumstances each of these could be a separate device.  Therefore in respect of a ADSL TG582n calling it a "router" or "modem" is arguably equally correct.
In FTTC setups most people (at present) have both a modem (BT Supplied) and a router (PlusNet supplied or their own), consequently in the context of FTTC, unambiguity is essential.
Your situation is a little more complicated - having now (bothered  ;)) to look up the details of a "TP LInk 300 Mbs High Gain Adaptor" (this is a WiFi AP) I have realised that it is a WiFi REPEATER - that is it (in effect) takes the WiFi signal from the TG582n and re-broadcasts it.  I had thought this was connected to the TG582n by an Ethernet cable.
If there is no wire connection between the TP and the TG device, then the TG's WiFi is servicing BOTH the TP and the laptop.  Given that the PC sees 9.2Mbps, the TG must be running at least at that speed.  Can the PC connect to the TG wifi signal?  If yes can you try connecting to the TG, turn the TP off and do a speed test please?
What is the laptop please?  I now suspect the operation mode of the laptop.
Do you know how to look up the WiFi interface properties?  For best performance the laptop should be set to use AES encryption see - http://www.speedguide.net/faq/wpa2-tkip-or-aes-encryption-331
If you need more help, please keep asking.
Kevin

[#10]

Townman, how did you go from a e.g. "TP Link 300 Mbs High Gain Adapter" to wireless repeater?
You are not going to get good wireless speeds with a signal strength of around -80 dBm, and changing channels in an effort to dodge other networks is unlikely to change that.
Setting the 582n (it's not really something you change on a computer) to WPA2 / AES only is the best setting, but again this is unlikely to solve a low signal strength problem.
It might be worth looking for updated drivers for the laptop's wireless. Yes, trying the TP-Link (presumably USB) adapter connected to the laptop is a good idea.

[#11]

Thanks for the clarification ejs... 
Nice to know that someone is keeping an eye on posts and adding value! 
...looked at the picture, part read the description... looked very similar to a range extender I had in my hands of Friday night at a mates house... reached the wrong conclusions.  The Human Condition?
The signal strength is up and down like a yo-yo the -81dB you referenced is the worse that Bob has reported.  he ahs also reported -69dB and a inSSIDer score of 78 (no indication of the then signal strength).

As for fixing AES mode in the router, would I be wrong in thinking that if the router is configured for TKIP+AES then it will only drop its speed if a connecting client requests TKIP?  My logic was to check how the client had been configured as the PC seems to be running OK, where as the laptop does not.  Looking for updated drivers (if the exist) for the laptop was going to be my next advice when I find out what it is and checked its Win8 compatibility.
Kevin

[#12]

A laptop under a year old, supplied with Windows 8, I would expect its hardware to be compatible with Windows 8/8.1.
Regarding the TKIP / AES distraction, if a connected device somehow only supports TKIP, then that device would only operate at 11g rates. There wouldn't really be any need to restrict the speeds of other devices or make them all only use TKIP. Although there's only a single password used to access the wireless, each device ends up with two different keys used to do the actual encryption. There's the "pairwise" key which is unique to each device and generated when the device connects, used to encrypt the traffic to/from that device. There's also the "group" key used for broadcast traffic going to all devices. If the access point is set to the default TKIP+AES, then the group encryption will be TKIP only, so some tiny amount of broadcast traffic will be limited to 11g rates. Setting "AES only" results in the group encryption also using AES.
If a device really only supports TKIP, then that implies it's old, perhaps 11b or an early 11g device. So TKIP wouldn't be adding any additional speed restrictions. And even if the rates are somehow incorrectly being restricted to 11g up to 54Mbps rates, that shouldn't even matter because 11g should be sufficient to handle the 9.2Mbps throughput of this ADSL connection.

[#13]

Again ejs,
Thanks for the edification.  Clearly I have been a little mislead by NetGear configuration warnings which suggest that using TKIP will impact the maximum rate of "n" standard WiFi.
The PC on the TP adapter is running at near the line profile, the laptop is way below that.
Do you have ay suggestions on how to progress the issue please?
Kevin

[#14]

It is quite strange that the laptop reports such a low or variable signal strength in the same room as the 582n. Taking the laptop upstairs to the same room as the PC and seeing what signal it gets up there, where we know the signal is pretty good, is another idea. It should help determine if the problem is with the laptop, it does look like that is the most likely possibility, perhaps its wireless driver is no longer working properly after the Win 8.1 upgrade.
I suppose it might be possible that the 582n is somehow outputting a better signal upwards than it does horizontally. The 582n has an internal antenna on each side. Rotating it a bit will change the relative positions of the antennae to the laptop, so might change the signal coverage a bit. I don't think the 582n is really designed to stand vertically.

[#15]

Wish I had all your knowledge. I`ve checked that I have up to date driver for the WiFi in my laptop. I`ll try it upstairs tomorrow where  my PC is and see what happens. Then I`ll try the TP Link in my laptop. I`ll let you know how I get on with that before you blow my brain any more !!