Appallingly slow wifi speeds on Pixel 4a 5G

[BiotechBen]

Hey guys, so yes this is about phones, but it involves networking.

So: on wireless network on Wifi4(n) my Moto G100 is able to get fantastic speeds (90ish% stable, weird networking gear from the ISP that Uni has) with speeds of 50+ down and 70+ up but my cousin's Pixel 4a 5G was struggling to get to 15mbps in either direction. Anyone know what would do that? Results were taken in exact same spot immediately after each other with Ookla Speedtest

[Cr33ps]

Do any of you guys use a vpn or custom dns? Also what bandwith (2.4g or 5g) did you both use? 

[Eigenvektor]

So both of you were connected to the same Wi-Fi, you ran the test one after the other and nothing/no one else was using the Wi-Fi and internet connection at the same time?

 

Wi-Fi also has the issue that e.g. a neighbour using the same frequency range could interfere with results. So ideally you might run the test more than once.

[BiotechBen]

10 hours ago, Eigenvektor said:

So both of you were connected to the same Wi-Fi, you ran the test one after the other and nothing/no one else was using the Wi-Fi and internet connection at the same time?

 

Wi-Fi also has the issue that e.g. a neighbour using the same frequency range could interfere with results. So ideally you might run the test more than once.

Test was run multiple times with similar result(also is the case with the wifi adapter I have for my tower)(TP-Link Archer)

One access point for whole building (HP ENTERPRISE access point)

10 hours ago, Cr33ps said:

Do any of you guys use a vpn or custom dns? Also what bandwith (2.4g or 5g) did you both use? 

For some reason only 2.4ghz is utilized over 4 channels.

[Cr33ps]

2.4 ghz does have a longer range so there should not be a range issue, not sure if it is a hardware problem

[BiotechBen]

2 minutes ago, Cr33ps said:

2.4 ghz does have a longer range so there should not be a range issue, not sure if it is a hardware problem

They do give unusual IPs, I know that probably has nothing to do with it right?

204.186.255.x

[Cr33ps]

IP adress is just a recieving way of verifying hardware messages and I do not recommend sharing any IP adresses since people can find your location using it.

[Lurick]

16 minutes ago, Cr33ps said:

IP adress is just a recieving way of verifying hardware messages and I do not recommend sharing any IP adresses since people can find your location using it.

wot? An IP address is how information is sent (routed) across and between different networks, it has nothing to do with verifying message integrity or anything of that nature. Message integrity verification is done much higher up the TCP/IP stack and CRC verification isn't part of it.

An IP address can MAYBE give a rough idea of the city or county you live in but that's it. You still shouldn't share a public address because some asshole could try to DOS or DDOS you in the slim chance you run into someone who cares enough to do that.

 

21 minutes ago, BiotechBen said:

They do give unusual IPs, I know that probably has nothing to do with it right?

204.186.255.x

Sounds like they're giving out public IPs (which isn't all that uncommon for universities to have horded large blocks over the years) or they (although far less likely) just picked a random address block and started using that internally. It doesn't really matter which IP you've got but what does matter is that different phones can have different TX/RX power capabilities since they use different wifi chipsets (the Pixel and Moto phones) which could impact speed to a noticeable degree or if there is a firmware bug on the phone causing it to not increase power level and transmit or receive (or both) on a lower power level (dBm). WiFi is also very fickle and even in the same spot can cause fluctuations. I can get 600/600 one minute and 850/800 the next and on a third test without moving drop down to 400/400 depending.

I would pull up a wifi analyzer or something and see if you and your friend can at least see what kind of signal quality you show in the same spot. I highly suspect different wifi chipsets and implementations are causing this disparity though.

[Falcon1986]

1 hour ago, Lurick said:

I would pull up a wifi analyzer or something and see if you and your friend can at least see what kind of signal quality you show in the same spot. I highly suspect different wifi chipsets and implementations are causing this disparity though.

Agreed.

 

Also, it's WiFi at a university. That single AP is being hit by every student's device running who knows what. So speed tests are not going to be reliable.

 

2 hours ago, BiotechBen said:

For some reason only 2.4ghz is utilized over 4 channels.

On 2.4GHz at a 20MHz width, only channels 1, 6 and 11 can be utilized simultaneously without overlap and interference. This is made worse if 40MHz widths (bonded channels) are used. If the channels are associated with a specific SSID, select the one with minimal overlap. Or if there is overlap, the "interfering broadcast" is being detected as less than -80dBm.

 

15 hours ago, BiotechBen said:

on wireless network on Wifi4(n) my Moto G100 is able to get fantastic speeds (90ish% stable, weird networking gear from the ISP that Uni has) with speeds of 50+ down and 70+ up but my cousin's Pixel 4a 5G was struggling to get to 15mbps in either direction.

I'm feeling too lazy to go research the chipsets, but sometimes, some chipsets just work better with certain AP antennae. Might be due to the number of spatial streams that the AP and client are able to negotiate for wireless communication. Maybe it's something else. Either way, it's nothing you have control over to fix.

[BiotechBen]

7 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

Agreed.

 

Also, it's WiFi at a university. That single AP is being hit by every student's device running who knows what. So speed tests are not going to be reliable.

 

On 2.4GHz at a 20MHz width, only channels 1, 6 and 11 can be utilized simultaneously without overlap and interference. This is made worse if 40MHz widths (bonded channels) are used. If the channels are associated with a specific SSID, select the one with minimal overlap. Or if there is overlap, the "interfering broadcast" is being detected as less than -80dBm.

 

I'm feeling too lazy to go research the chipsets, but sometimes, some chipsets just work better with certain AP antennae. Might be due to the number of spatial streams that the AP and client are able to negotiate for wireless communication. Maybe it's something else. Either way, it's nothing you have control over to fix.

With chipsets, could it be as simple as the G100 having a better chipset that supports wifi6 and the pixel does not? Could that explain weird differences in speed? Now that I think about it, the other devices that other people are saying the wifi is shit with also don't support wifi 6. That feels like it shouldn't make a difference between "very useable" and "struggling to connect" if it's 2.4ghz...

[BiotechBen]

And adding to the strangeness it looks like it throttles to ~13mbps on those devices

[Alex Atkin UK]

3 hours ago, BiotechBen said:

And adding to the strangeness it looks like it throttles to ~13mbps on those devices

Well firstly, I doubt WiFi 6 is relevant.  If you're only getting 2.4Ghz then either the range is terrible or its really old kit that will long pre-date WiFi 6.  Even on WiFi 6 APs a lot only use WiFi 5 on 2.4Ghz.

The big difference in speed between devices is usually down to SISO vs MIMO WiFi chipsets, although the difference isn't usually this pronounced.

[BiotechBen]

9 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Well firstly, I doubt WiFi 6 is relevant.  If you're only getting 2.4Ghz then either the range is terrible or its really old kit that will long pre-date WiFi 6.  Even on WiFi 6 APs a lot only use WiFi 5 on 2.4Ghz.

The big difference in speed between devices is usually down to SISO vs MIMO WiFi chipsets, although the difference isn't usually this pronounced.

I agree, that's what gives me pause. Like it should not be that big of a difference. The only info I have about the access points is that they are Aruba by Hewlett-Packard APs

[Alex Atkin UK]

9 hours ago, BiotechBen said:

I agree, that's what gives me pause. Like it should not be that big of a difference. The only info I have about the access points is that they are Aruba by Hewlett-Packard APs

But they definitely do not give out 5Ghz?  Because that seems rather weird unless they are ancient.  Or is the nearest one really far away/through several walls?

[BiotechBen]

1 hour ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

But they definitely do not give out 5Ghz?  Because that seems rather weird unless they are ancient.  Or is the nearest one really far away/through several walls?

They have the APs set to only broadcast on 2.4ghz. these are "new" that replaced very very outdated Cisco ones.

[BiotechBen]

1 hour ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

But they definitely do not give out 5Ghz?  Because that seems rather weird unless they are ancient.  Or is the nearest one really far away/through several walls?

 

[Alex Atkin UK]

12 minutes ago, BiotechBen said:

They have the APs set to only broadcast on 2.4ghz. these are "new" that replaced very very outdated Cisco ones.

Why on earth would they do that?

[BiotechBen]

12 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Why on earth would they do that?

Because they're stupid. Legit brain damaged. The decisions made at this university feel like it's a council of toddlers.

To have someone who makes intelligent decisions, look for below middle management, or at the very top.

 

It legit feels like every decision made here is the result of rolling a 20 sided die 

[BiotechBen]

The residence building I'm in is the "it's technically off campus but it is on campus (it's literally at the bottom of a hill from the center of campus) everywhere that's an on campus residence hall has AC wifi, and all the academic buildings have it as well, but the Ridge(where I am) is the cupboard under the stairs of the university, while being the most expensive place to live.