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Very low wireless speeds - is my DG834G router OK?

swleventhal
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎16-07-2010

Very low wireless speeds - is my DG834G router OK?

I'm really struggling with my download speeds. Recently my speed has dropped significantly to under 3Mbs. It used to be 10Mbs for wireless and my line speed profile has been increased to 20Mbs. I've run 2 BT speed tests this last week (screen results attached). The initial one shows speed with a wired connection (9.8Mbs) and 2nd one shows the wireless speeds - 2.5Mbs (warnings indicating I should be raising this with my ISP). I do indeed have a 20Mbs profile on the line. I have also raised this with Plusnet as a support issue but was simply told that my performance is within accepted tolerance levels. My line is clear and master socket connected. I did have major disconnection issues last year but these were eventually resolved by BT who installed a new physical wired connection for me at the exchange and all my outgoing/incoming lines have been tested by BT. I'm using a Netgear DG834G router (v2) with the latest firmware. Wonder if my router isn't up to the faster speeds of my new line profile which could be causing the problem?
Any tips or help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Simon
4 REPLIES 4
custos
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 315
Thanks: 50
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎28-06-2007

Re: Very low wireless speeds - is my DG834G router OK?

I am using a DG834G with the latest firmware and it is working as well as the Thompson supplied by Plusnet. In fact the wireless performance is considerably better than the Thompson with a much better range.
godsell4
Rising Star
Posts: 3,366
Thanks: 15
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: Very low wireless speeds - is my DG834G router OK?

If it is your wireless connection which has problems. Do you live in an area where you have many neighbours?
If so run a program called inssider and see if your Wireless network is on the same channel as everybody else, this could be the reason why your wireless speeds are slower now.
--
3Mb FTTC
https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer_speed
EricAyshus
Newbie
Posts: 1
Registered: ‎26-12-2011

Re: Very low wireless speeds - is my DG834G router OK?

Quote from: swleventhal

Any tips or help would be appreciated.

In a different context I did a lot of research into the DG834GT (http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=25345). It's the faster version of the DG834G but my wireless findings would still apply I guess.
1. Wired speed of 9.8Mb/s on a 20Mb/s profile sounds good to me. (I have a 20Mb/s profile and can never get above 7Mb/s - exchange is < 1km away).
2. Best wireless speed for the DG834G  should be around 54 / 4 = 13 Mb/s. This is a continuous streaming rate which is rarely achievable so the 10Mb/s you were getting is spot on. 2.5Mb/s is poor; if nothing has changed in your house to introduce noise (check by placing the wireless PC/laptop right bang slap against the router) I'd guess the router is being starved by the ADSL line. There's real black magic here; although the wired speed may seem high enough to feed the wireless link that 9.8Mb/s is just an average over time.  I found that both my DG834GT's wireless performance suffered disproportionately when the internet connection was "jerky"; it was better to have a slower and smoother ADSL link rather than fast and jerky. Once the line was fixed the wireless followed.
FYI : I reflashed one DG834GT with diagnostic software (http://dgteam.ilbello.com/) to try to sort out my ADSL problems. After 3 months of phone calls to India and Newcastle, trying all kinds of profiles and other tweaking and having the street and garden dug up  the only thing that made a difference was a "lift and shift" in the exchange (sounds like you've already had that though). At no time was the router unable to cope. I have since tried several more recent routers but they showed no improvement with wireless or ADSL. I'd be wary of splashing cash on a new one.
Good luck,
Bob
swleventhal
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎16-07-2010

Re: Very low wireless speeds - is my DG834G router OK?

Quote from: godsell4
see if your Wireless network is on the same channel as everybody else, this could be the reason why your wireless speeds are slower now.

Interesting point. I did actually change my channel on the router the other night and the wireless speed has indeed increased from 2.5 to around 6Mbs which is quite significant.
Also thanks to Bob for the advice about the Netgear router. That may well have saved me some money trying other routers. 🙂
Happy to take any other suggestions on board as these 2 have been fantastic.
Thanks,
Simon