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Wireless vs wired speeds

Duckman60
Dabbler
Posts: 19
Registered: ‎22-09-2014

Wireless vs wired speeds

Hello everyone I have changed routers from the plusnet one to a bt home hub 3 now on the routers I was getting a download speed between 30 and 40mbs wireless and wired I am getting 78mbs is there anyway of getting the faster speed wireless as I can't run wired to the computer also it is on a wireless N connection and I have tried different channels, many thanks
14 REPLIES 14
bill888
Champion
Posts: 1,254
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Registered: ‎18-10-2008

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

I think the shortfall in wireless speed you are witnessing is probably due to the type wireless adapter fitted to your computer.
A single stream N150 adapter usually maxes out around 40mbps in ideal conditions in 20MHz neighbour friendly mode.
Can you provide more details about the computer and its wireless capabilities ?

fwiw, to stand any chance of consistently achieving 78 mbps over wifi, you may need to look at 5 GHz wireless option.

ex-Plusnet (ADSL, FTTC) 2008-2023. now BT (FTTP) 2023-
Duckman60
Dabbler
Posts: 19
Registered: ‎22-09-2014

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

It is the same speed on all of my devices iPods iPhones and iPads also ps4. My computers wireless n card says it can handle speeds up to 150mbs so I am confused by it all lol, so u think invest in a 5ghz wifi card
ejs
Aspiring Hero
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Registered: ‎10-06-2010

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

iPhones, iPads etc. are also likely to be n150 class devices.
The 150Mb speed for a single stream device is based on using a 40MHz wide channel, which isn't usually enabled on the 2.4GHz band because it takes up most of the available channels leaving less room for other networks.
When connected a 582n operating with default settings, an n150 device would have a maximum wireless rate of 65Mbps. There are a lot of overheads with wireless, with a lot of the time used for making sure your data has arrived correctly, so the "throughput" speed measured by a speedtest will be less than the rate reported by the wireless card.
To use the 5GHz band you'd also need a 5GHz router. Neither the plusnet 582n nor the BT Home Hub 3 have 5GHz wireless. An "n300" or better 2.4GHz wifi card, which supports two or more streams (has at least two antenna) should be faster than an n150 card, but it would still be difficult to get 78Mbps speedtest results - it's just about barely possible under ideal conditions.
bill888
Champion
Posts: 1,254
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Registered: ‎18-10-2008

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

Quote from: Duckman60
so u think invest in a 5ghz wifi card

Can you provide more details about your computer such as make and model number?  
If it is a windows laptop, in some cases it 'may' be possible to replace the internal N150 card, otherwise, you will have to look at USB or ethernet plug-in solutions to improve wireless speeds.
ex-Plusnet (ADSL, FTTC) 2008-2023. now BT (FTTP) 2023-
dvorak
Moderator
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Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

my iPad to hit 60+ on a speedtest with a 5ghz network.
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npr
Pro
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Registered: ‎21-01-2013

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

Quote from: Duckman60
so u think invest in a 5ghz wifi card

The home hub 3 only does 2.4GHz, so a 5GHz card in the PC will not help.
supernova1
Grafter
Posts: 106
Registered: ‎17-11-2013

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

Plug a 5GHz access point into the router...would that work?
ejs
Aspiring Hero
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Registered: ‎10-06-2010

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

Quote from: dvorak
my iPad to hit 60+ on a speedtest with a 5ghz network.

According to the WiFi alliance certificates (search for ipad), the "4th generation ipad" has n150 1x1 wireless, and the ipad air has n300 2x2. Both can use the 2.4 or 5 GHz bands. On the 5GHz band, using 40MHz is generally enabled freely.
adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
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Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

Whilst it's important to remember that wifi speeds of any type will never be as fast as a wired connection you might want to give the tips listed here a try http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/wireless_broadband/wireless_signal.shtml
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
30FTTC06
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Registered: ‎18-02-2013

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

I've tested a few things that we use on a daily basis on 2.4GHz with iperf and it turns out that my macbook pro connects at around 144mbs Ipad2 65mbs, android 10.1 tab 7510 65mbs, old ish... phone HTC Desire 54mbs.
I'll post a few shots of what the bandwidth usage was below at the time of testing with the Macbook which was connected at 144mbs, My test sever was across my 100mb Lan otherwise the wifi would of been faster than my wired Lan, all that for 4 quid Smiley
30FTTC06
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Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

Just for a laff ejs I opened up the bandwidth to 40mhz with 33% Loss running @144mbs Oops!
ejs
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 5,442
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Registered: ‎10-06-2010

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

If it's connected at 144Mbps then it's probably not actually using 40MHz, either it wasn't enabled on the macbook pro or the router decided not to use it (probably due to the presence of other networks).
30FTTC06
Pro
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Registered: ‎18-02-2013

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

The 33% loss is in the wired part of my network not the wireless, 20 or 40 wide=happy days.
I can sniff 40 wide though Wink
p.s something isn't making sense here... if i can send at 144mbs shown by the bandwidth graph! why do i ony see 52mbps ?
30FTTC06
Pro
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Registered: ‎18-02-2013

Re: Wireless vs wired speeds

Strike that.... I now see 145mbps after changing the router back to 20mhz.