NAS slow over Wifi Only

[artkingjw]

Hello, 

 

I have a NAS ethernet connected to my modem/router, but file transfers are impossibly slow over WiFi (< 1 MB/s). I am on the 5Ghz band, and signal strength is not the issue as internet speeds are normal.

 

When the link to my NAS is over a wired connection, speeds are fine (40+ MB/s). Using a powerline connection also maintains the same transfer speed. The problem only appears when I am wireless. I have tested the same machine - wired and wireless. 

 

Hardware: 

NAS: WD MyCloud EX4 

Modem: TP-Link Archer VR600  

PC: Various Windows machines... 

 

Wireless settings for the modem are:
Security: WPA2-PSK Encryption: AES Connection: 802.11 a/n/ac mixed Channel are Channel Width are Auto 

 

Am I missing something? Would love any advice. 

 

Thank you. 

[homeap5]

Try to separate your AC wireless and N wireless by assign them different SSID and passwords. Then login using AC only wireless if possible.

[artkingjw]

46 minutes ago, homeap5 said:

Try to separate your AC wireless and N wireless by assign them different SSID and passwords. Then login using AC only wireless if possible.

Hey, thanks for a quick reply. I switched to ac only wireless mode - it helps, but does not seem to fix the issue entirely. 

 

Before this, transfer speeds were about 1 MB/s, now it is up to 8 MB/s. Still no where near the 40+ MB/s of a wired connection. I doubt I have hit the limit of 5Ghz wifi at 8 MB/s have I? 

[SkilledRebuilds]

48 minutes ago, artkingjw said:

Hey, thanks for a quick reply. I switched to ac only wireless mode - it helps, but does not seem to fix the issue entirely. 

 

Before this, transfer speeds were about 1 MB/s, now it is up to 8 MB/s. Still no where near the 40+ MB/s of a wired connection. I doubt I have hit the limit of 5Ghz wifi at 8 MB/s have I? 

I pull 12.5MB/s from my Networked Gaming PC (Wired directEthernet to Router 10/100/1000) transferring Media (7GB+ files) to my Phone via 5G Wireless and 3/4 Strengths.
^25ft from router,...I can however, just move in the path of it with my body or hand,..and it cripples to 2-5MB/s and back up...
Highly sensitive to interference..at any time.

Likely other factors are involved....

[Dekenizer]

I don't remember the theory much, but if you don't have MIMO, some wireless router have the habit of going to the slowest speed of the slowest device on the wireless network. So if you have an old laptop laying around that only supports wireless type b, your whole wireless network will go 11Mb/s.  But wireless N is the slowest on 5Ghz, you should have 300Mb/s.  Problem with 5Ghz it's almost needs line of sight... It might show you 3/4 strength, but it can drop paquets like hell in between...

 

If you work in a mill like I do and have wireless radio transmitter in forklifts, as soon as they click on their mics, the network goes down... It's called a wave harmonic... and some electrical motor have the same effect... Never try to send thru an old fridge when the pump is running(you know the one that sounds like a Caterpillar) .  I had a Microwave that killed my WiFi too once... 

[Dekenizer]

.... Bottom line... Always wire your stuff!!!!!!

[homeap5]

2 hours ago, artkingjw said:

Hey, thanks for a quick reply. I switched to ac only wireless mode - it helps, but does not seem to fix the issue entirely. 

 

Before this, transfer speeds were about 1 MB/s, now it is up to 8 MB/s. Still no where near the 40+ MB/s of a wired connection. I doubt I have hit the limit of 5Ghz wifi at 8 MB/s have I? 

Well, 40 MB/s is not so much. I can copy files over network around 90-95 MB/s - and that is what it should looks. Gigabit wired connection should be fast.

You have good router, so you probably have no good ac network card.

Try to configure AC network to work only on highest channel width - 80 MHz.

 

[artkingjw]

Hi all, 

 

Thanks for the tips! 

 

homeap5: I switched to 80 MHz, and it seems slightly faster? basically no difference though. 

 

Dekenizer & SkilledRebuilds: Yea so it seems like this could be a line of sight issue then, the closest wireless device I had actually tested this on had a plasterboard wall between it the router (although it was separated by a mere... 7 ft or so). None of the computers/laptops are particularly expensive or have expensive wireless cards, so that could be another part of it. I'll eliminate line of sight variable when I test it after I get home from work. 

 

I'm only really discovering these issues after my powerline kit failed, so slumming it out with wireless while the replacement unit is on its way. 

 

Cheers! 

[artkingjw]

update: file transfers from next to the router, and in my room have no significant speed difference.

[myselfolli]

1 hour ago, artkingjw said:

update: file transfers from next to the router, and in my room have no significant speed difference.

Sitting right next to your WAP will hurt the connection as well. You'll have the best signal in a doughnut-shape around the WAP

[Dekenizer]

It's fun to guess the spread spectrum with non existing documents.......... Not

[artkingjw]

I tested it 'right next' to the WAP and about 3 feet away, and a few other 'points' around the room, no luck. 

 

Anywayz thanks guys for helping, it is at least usable now. 

[homeap5]

22 minutes ago, artkingjw said:

I tested it 'right next' to the WAP and about 3 feet away, and a few other 'points' around the room, no luck. 

 

Anywayz thanks guys for helping, it is at least usable now. 

External AC card with antenna is cheap and can make huge difference.

[artkingjw]

1 minute ago, homeap5 said:

External AC card with antenna is cheap and can make huge difference.

Thanks for the suggestion. My main machine has an ASUS PCE-AC55BT - would this be one of those things that makes a 'huge difference'? At the moment it doesn't, have even tried putting the antenna in various spots around my room. Also, let me try and understand - when you refer to an "External AC card with antenna", you arn't referring to those little USB dongles yea? the "with antenna" addition makes me think of those big ones... 

 

Not uber keen on spending more money than I absolutely have to, considering that I *SHOULD* have the powerline kit back in the not too distant future. 

[homeap5]

33 minutes ago, artkingjw said:

Thanks for the suggestion. My main machine has an ASUS PCE-AC55BT - would this be one of those things that makes a 'huge difference'? At the moment it doesn't, have even tried putting the antenna in various spots around my room. Also, let me try and understand - when you refer to an "External AC card with antenna", you arn't referring to those little USB dongles yea? the "with antenna" addition makes me think of those big ones... 

 

Not uber keen on spending more money than I absolutely have to, considering that I *SHOULD* have the powerline kit back in the not too distant future. 

I tested one of the cheapest AC adapters on the market, small dongle for about 14$ from Edimax. It reach 250 Mbits, so it should give you transfer about 30MB/s. But since your LAN gives you only 40 MB/s, something different is wrong probably. Maybe it's NAS problem?

[artkingjw]

17 minutes ago, homeap5 said:

I tested one of the cheapest AC adapters on the market, small dongle for about 14$ from Edimax. It reach 250 Mbits, so it should give you transfer about 30MB/s. But since your LAN gives you only 40 MB/s, something different is wrong probably. Maybe it's NAS problem?

I think I made a mistake in saying 40+ MB/s earlier. I should have said > 40MB/s. As in, the slowest I've ever seen it go for large file transfer is about 40 MB/s for large files. It can hop around a little, but gets as high as 90 MB/s usually. It's only 1 HDD at the moment. Sorry about that. 

[homeap5]

1 hour ago, artkingjw said:

I think I made a mistake in saying 40+ MB/s earlier. I should have said > 40MB/s. As in, the slowest I've ever seen it go for large file transfer is about 40 MB/s for large files. It can hop around a little, but gets as high as 90 MB/s usually. It's only 1 HDD at the moment. Sorry about that. 

I tested some laptops with wireless AC network card built-in. Not so many - two or three of cheap ones, but they was slow. 100-150 Mbits max. Compared to stupid Edimax (this one) it was slow. I don't know how fast better cards may be (for sure I don't recommend that Edimax).

[Scheer]

What do you get when you do an internet speed test over wireless? Keep in mind there is a difference between Mb (bit) and MB (byte). If you are getting ~60mbps on your internet speed test, the 8MBps transfer rate to the NAS would line up.

[artkingjw]

11 hours ago, Scheer said:

What do you get when you do an internet speed test over wireless? Keep in mind there is a difference between Mb (bit) and MB (byte). If you are getting ~60mbps on your internet speed test, the 8MBps transfer rate to the NAS would line up.

An internet speed test will not be able to tell anything because *cue my opportunity to whine* - I live in a land down under, where internet sucks, and it's (bloody) expensive 

 

Yea I max out my connection speed regardless of wire/wireless. 

[Scheer]

6 hours ago, artkingjw said:

An internet speed test will not be able to tell anything because *cue my opportunity to whine* - I live in a land down under, where internet sucks, and it's (bloody) expensive 

 

Yea I max out my connection speed regardless of wire/wireless. 

Then try something like this (there are hundreds of other options as well) https://totusoft.com/lanspeed to test the wireless speed.

[artkingjw]

Results of Totusoft  LAN speed test: 

 

Wired PC - NAS = fast (~50-80 MB/s)

Wireless PC - NAS = slow (~8 MB/s)

Wireless PC - Wired PC = slow (~8 MB/s)

 

Results are relatively consistent for various file sizes tested. Generally faster for smaller sizes. 

[Scheer]

Its looking like that is just all the faster your WiFi is then.

 

Could be an issue with the router or wireless card in the PC, or just interference inside your house from other devices.