Wi-Fi is slower on desktop that my laptop

PureGlee · June 2, 2023

For some reason my desktop is limited to less than 1mbps while my laptop isn’t and can go up to 10mbps (yes I have slow Wi-Fi, it’s a portable hot spot)

is there any known reason why that could be? And yes I use a wired connection, not wireless. So it should regardlessly be faster than usual

Bombastinator · June 2, 2023

41 minutes ago, PureGlee said:

For some reason my desktop is limited to less than 1mbps while my laptop isn’t and can go up to 10mbps (yes I have slow Wi-Fi, it’s a portable hot spot)

is there any known reason why that could be? And yes I use a wired connection, not wireless. So it should regardlessly be faster than usual

The wifi adaptor will be different. Different parts, etc…. Wired isn’t necessarily always faster than wireless, though it used to be. At the end of the day wireless means radio. There’s no such thing as 10gig wireless that I know of. 10baseT is real slow compared to modern wireless though.

CWALD · June 2, 2023

Wi-Fi can be finicky in lots of situations and using a cellular hot-spot can compound the issue with multiple wireless signals daisy chained off of one another. It could be that the antenna on your desktop just isn't as good or is in a bad spot, this could be especially true if you are using a cheap USB dongle rather than a dedicated card or dongle with an external antenna. Laptops by comparison usually have the antenna running up through the back of the lid so they are big, upright, and out in the open. If you are moving your hotspot around for a better Wi-Fi signal then you could unintentionally be putting it in a bad spot for the cell signal.

Long story short is that you have a lot of variables here and isolating it may take some extra work.

PureGlee · June 2, 2023

2 hours ago, CWALD said:

Wi-Fi can be finicky in lots of situations and using a cellular hot-spot can compound the issue with multiple wireless signals daisy chained off of one another. It could be that the antenna on your desktop just isn't as good or is in a bad spot, this could be especially true if you are using a cheap USB dongle rather than a dedicated card or dongle with an external antenna. Laptops by comparison usually have the antenna running up through the back of the lid so they are big, upright, and out in the open. If you are moving your hotspot around for a better Wi-Fi signal then you could unintentionally be putting it in a bad spot for the cell signal.

Long story short is that you have a lot of variables here and isolating it may take some extra work.

I use a portable hotspot (not a phone) and both were connected via cable so wireless isn’t something that can influence since it’s wired. And I tried both connections in the same space to make sure the service wasn’t different when checking.

Bombastinator · June 2, 2023

27 minutes ago, PureGlee said:

I use a portable hotspot (not a phone) and both were connected via cable so wireless isn’t something that can influence since it’s wired. And I tried both connections in the same space to make sure the service wasn’t different when checking.

A portable hot spot IS a phone. Or part of one anyway. They just cost more. They do sometimes have better antennas.

It’s the same thing really, just with different hardware except instead of a wireless nic that goes through space you’ve got a wired nic that goes through wire.

Edited June 2, 2023 by Bombastinator