How do I go about troubleshooting a router?

[Marblark]

First, some info: 

My router is a linksys e2000 (updated to the latest firmware).  

I am on Time Warner Cable's 50Mbps network.

Router sits at almost floor level, but is very open.

I live in an apartment complex. 

 

Problem:

Recently I have noticed that my wireless connection is slower than I would expect it to be. It is also extremely spotty, dropping speed every couple of seconds (seen during speed tests). 

My gaming PC, which is wired to the router, seems to be fine. (speed test results fluctuate between 50-56Mbps)

The issue seems to lie in the wireless departement. A laptop that is only ~3-4 feet away gets about 30Mbps with dips to as low as 15Mbps....

 

Question:

Does this sound normal?

How do I go about troubleshooting the router? 

Is it time for a new router? 

 

Thank you. 

 

[LarsReviews]

For my experience, you can´t troubleshoot routers. It is like they have a own personality. They do what they want.

 

Sorry, I just had to post this ;D

[zsanfusa]

that is

 

For my experience, you can´t troubleshoot routers. It is like they have a own personality. They do what they want.

 

Sorry, I just had to post this ;D

thats not funny.  Latency is the time that may be killing you.  first try the PING command from windows command prompt.  e.g.  PING www.google.com  would ping the google domain servers.  test that against plugging the network cable directly into the router.

[zsanfusa]

post those results and i will try to help you from there.

[gasho]

Well first of all a wired connection is going to be always superior to wireless.

 

To improve your wireless connection try this:

 

1. Try to change the location of the router. Maybe a bit higher on something.

 

2. Go into the settings and change the channel to one that is not used by your neighbors. Look at the WiFi connection around you and if you see a lot of people using the same channel example 7 than change to a different one.

 

3. Check your settings if you have enabled the fastest transfer speeds (B+G+N). You probably did but your never know

 

Please let us know if this helped.

[Marblark]

that is

 

thats not funny.  Latency is the time that may be killing you.  first try the PING command from windows command prompt.  e.g.  PING www.google.com  would ping the google domain servers.  test that against plugging the network cable directly into the router.

 

First of all, thank you for the quick responses.  

I do have a small issue when it comes to your suggestion; the only laptop I have is a Macbook Pro, which doesn't have an ethernet port. I also don't know how to preform "PING command from windows command prompt" on MacOS, but I'm sure a quick google search will help me there.

Ok, it goes something like this:

 

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=29 ttl=53 time=22.135 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=30 ttl=53 time=33.130 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=31 ttl=53 time=33.107 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=32 ttl=53 time=19.646 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=33 ttl=53 time=16.975 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=34 ttl=53 time=140.028 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=35 ttl=53 time=76.331 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=36 ttl=53 time=105.898 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=37 ttl=53 time=65.440 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=38 ttl=53 time=49.672 ms

Request timeout for icmp_seq 39

Request timeout for icmp_seq 40

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=41 ttl=53 time=19.449 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=42 ttl=53 time=23.031 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=43 ttl=53 time=20.323 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=44 ttl=53 time=23.616 ms

64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=45 ttl=53 time=22.513 ms

s64 bytes from 74.125.224.206: icmp_seq=46 ttl=53 time=21.040 ms

...and on and on...

[Marblark]

Well first of all a wired connection is going to be always superior to wireless.

 

To improve your wireless connection try this:

 

1. Try to change the location of the router. Maybe a bit higher on something.

 

2. Go into the settings and change the channel to one that is not used by your neighbors. Look at the WiFi connection around you and if you see a lot of people using the same channel example 7 than change to a different one.

 

3. Check your settings if you have enabled the fastest transfer speeds (B+G+N). You probably did but your never know

 

Please let us know if this helped.

 

1. I will definitely try this ASAP.

 

2. Could you please elaborate on this a bit. What do you mean change the channel? The 2.4Ghz vs the 5Ghz thing? 

 

3. Looking at my "network mode" I see options such as "wireless-B only", "wireless-N only", among others. Mine is currently set at "Mixed". Should I change this? 

[gasho]

2.  Look at this manual. To change the channel look at Step 3. In the picture it is under Channel set to Auto. Change this to let say 11 or 13 an try if it helps.

 

http://kb.linksys.com/Linksys/ukp.aspx?vw=1&docid=476326f36c294e579ba6691a8db5411e_3698.xml&pid=96&fcid=&fpid=&snid=

 

3. Mixed is good. It means it will negotiate with clients the best possible speed. You can change this to Wireless-N if you are sure that all your devices support the N standard. Witch is the fastest for your router.

[zsanfusa]

you can only chose channels 1 - 11 here in N. America.  do you have a computer with a NIC?  your latency looks good.   Try pingtest.net and test your connection there.  I think the most important question is when and how did these issues first appear?  time of day, what you internet usage is like during a slow down.

[zsanfusa]

if you want your router to become a real router use thishttp://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Linksys_E2000. Do this with extreme caution though because if you don't read the directions carefully you can brick the router.

[zsanfusa]

Included in DD-WRT is the ability to adjust the signal strength.  Multiple access options are available, which are unavailable on lower end routers.  Basically, your router will have the same functionality as a nice $600 small business router.

[zsanfusa]

If you keep experiencing this issue try to update the firmware from Linksys.  There you won't be in danger of router death.

[Marblark]

2.  Look at this manual. To change the channel look at Step 3. In the picture it is under Channel set to Auto. Change this to let say 11 or 13 an try if it helps.

 

http://kb.linksys.com/Linksys/ukp.aspx?vw=1&docid=476326f36c294e579ba6691a8db5411e_3698.xml&pid=96&fcid=&fpid=&snid=

 

3. Mixed is good. It means it will negotiate with clients the best possible speed. You can change this to Wireless-N if you are sure that all your devices support the N standard. Witch is the fastest for your router.

 

Ok, I believe you just "fixed" the issue...I'm trying not to get too excited here...

So yes, I did what you said, I changed the Channel to 11 (the highest it goes), and so far so good. 

After running ~10 consecutive speed tests, results are solid. A constant 50+Mbps Down. (laptop is in the same location and so is the router)

Thank you so much for the help so far. That goes for everyone.

[Marblark]

you can only chose channels 1 - 11 here in N. America.  do you have a computer with a NIC?  your latency looks good.   Try pingtest.net and test your connection there.  I think the most important question is when and how did these issues first appear?  time of day, what you internet usage is like during a slow down.

Pingtest results seem to be fine. This is after changing the channel as gasho suggested. I got 35ms ping to a server in LA, I am in San Diego. 

The issues seemed to have appear right as I moved to this new apartment complex. In fact, I should have pointed that out in my original post, sorry.

Time of day does not seem to matter however, I made the thread at ~1am, and I had the issues then, all the way up until 2am (I assume there is minimal internet usage at this time), which is when I changed the channel, and it now seems to be "fixed"....

[gasho]

glad to help