cable vs wifi speed

[McCloud]

I know it's pretty much common knowledge that cable will always be faster and more stable than wifi.. but this is too much of a difference.

 

I've got a flashed (dd-wrt) Linksys WRT54GL which is 54mbps - and it's just next to my notebook, so no interference etc.

Only possible reason I am able to think of is the channel overlay, as there are tons of wlans around me.. But I think they are set on c11 by default and mine is on 6.

 

 

Can anybody clear this up for me please ?

[Arty]

Could be yoru wifi chip

Did you try other devices?

[Belgarathian]

54G... Seriously, you need to update. In theory, your throughput is already double the available bandwidth of that router.

[AnonymousGuy]

GF just hit this issue.  2.4Ghz is congested as fuck in her apartment complex (probably 15 routers nearby).  Ended up having to use something like Channel 9 of all channels to get the best speeds.  5Ghz was full speed.

[Sevilla]

Download WiFi Network Analyzer on your phone (Android) or Acrylic WiFi for PC, or anything comparable on iOS to see how many SSIDs are in your respective channel. Best you can do is change the default channel (1, 6, or 11) to something like 3, 7, 9, etc so you can get better performance out of your signal.

 

Best thing to do, however, upgrade to wireless AC. As of right now, not everyone uses it so enjoy it while it lasts.

[McCloud]

54G... Seriously, you need to update. In theory, your throughput is already double the available bandwidth of that router.

I got this for 12 bucks on ebay... just to get familiar with dd-wrt.  

 

@Sevilla I got it already.. will do the testing today. I wouldn't expect that the network congestion can be such a problem (in terms of speed).

[Sevilla]

I got this for 12 bucks on ebay... just to get familiar with dd-wrt.  

 

@Sevilla I got it already.. will do the testing today. I wouldn't expect that the network congestion can be such a problem (in terms of speed).

You'd be shocked to discover that being on a congested channel can bring your WiFi speeds drastically low. Also, keep in mind we're saying channel congestion not network congestion. When there is severe overlap of channels, there is interference, where there is interference, the signal quality suffers significantly thus affecting speed/throughput.

 

Also, I flashed a Netgear router to DD-WRT back when I lived in my old place a few years ago and my speed went from 40ish to about 80. That was using an uncongested channel. If I were to revert it to channels 1/6/11, i'd be at around 50ish or so. But that's when I lived in Tallahassee, FL, and apartments weren't so close to one another and channel congestion wasn't as bad. Here when I'm in now (Miami) everyone has 2 networks, a private wireless N network and a guest network.

 

It's a testament to how well DD-WRT if setup correctly can work wonders for network performance, but not even custom firmware can surpass channel limitations/congestion.