Home Networking Help

[Noyu]

First off, hello again LTT. I'm just here when I need help sorry.

Someone please help me with my setup.

 

50/5 Mbps Cable Internet [Coax] ARRIS DG860 Modem/Router [LAN 1] [WAN] 300 Mbps TP-Link TL-WR1043ND Router [WiFi] Everybody

 

SPECS:

Arris DG860: http://www.speedguide.net/routers/arris-touchstone-dg860-docsis-30-wireless-n-gateway-2612

TP-Link Router: http://www.tp-link.com/en/download/TL-WR1043ND_V2.html

 

HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION

(1) ISP subscription is 50 Mbps

(2) Main Rig is on Windows 10 with a PCI-E TP-Link TL-WN881ND

(3) Secondary is a very old Dell XPS15 (L502x) with an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000

(4) Most of the other devices are Apple stuff (iPad Mini 1, Macbook Pro 2014?, Macbook Pro 2015, 3 iPhones (5s))

(5) 2 Floors: Router is currently on the first floor on a table. (will transfer it to a shelf to get it near the ceiling of the first floor)

 

PROBLEM:

I cannot seem to fully utilize my 50 Mbps connection over WiFi.

Sample SpeedTests:

(1) Dell XPS15 1m away from the router, 20/5 Mbps (also, the link speed specified on the Network status is just 54 Mbps, which afaik, is 802.11g)

(2) Dell XPS15 Wired to router by LAN, 49/5 Mbps

(3) Main rig on 2nd floor, 15/5 Mbps (link speed specified: 300 Mbps, sometimes dips to 144.4 Mbps, I presume this is normal since the Channel Width (20/40MHz) on the router is on Auto)

 

Are my current hardware "ideal" for a 50 Mbps internet connection?

should I at least upgrade my stuff? like dual-band and sht? or can I at least "mitigate" this with DD-WRT, OpenWRT and the likes.

 

Actually, what's important to me is that my main rig and my laptop can fully utilize the DL speed of the internet connection, or at least 80% of it, at any time of day.

 

P.S. I'll reply every 1-2 hours.

P.P.S. I am nowhere near my house right now, will be able to try the suggestions/recommendations during the weekend.

[Trikein]

30 minutes ago, Noyu said:

First off, hello again LTT. I'm just here when I need help sorry.

Someone please help me with my setup.

 

50/5 Mbps Cable Internet [Coax] ARRIS DG860 Modem/Router [LAN 1] [WAN] 300 Mbps TP-Link TL-WR1043ND Router [WiFi] Everybody

 

SPECS:

Arris DG860: http://www.speedguide.net/routers/arris-touchstone-dg860-docsis-30-wireless-n-gateway-2612

TP-Link Router: http://www.tp-link.com/en/download/TL-WR1043ND_V2.html

 

HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION

(1) ISP subscription is 50 Mbps

(2) Main Rig is on Windows 10 with a PCI-E TP-Link TL-WN881ND

(3) Secondary is a very old Dell XPS15 (L502x) with an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000

(4) Most of the other devices are Apple stuff (iPad Mini 1, Macbook Pro 2014?, Macbook Pro 2015, 3 iPhones (5s))

(5) 2 Floors: Router is currently on the first floor on a table. (will transfer it to a shelf to get it near the ceiling of the first floor)

 

PROBLEM:

I cannot seem to fully utilize my 50 Mbps connection over WiFi.

Sample SpeedTests:

(1) Dell XPS15 1m away from the router, 20/5 Mbps (also, the link speed specified on the Network status is just 54 Mbps, which afaik, is 802.11g)

(2) Dell XPS15 Wired to router by LAN, 49/5 Mbps

(3) Main rig on 2nd floor, 15/5 Mbps (link speed specified: 300 Mbps, sometimes dips to 144.4 Mbps, I presume this is normal since the Channel Width (20/40MHz) on the router is on Auto)

 

Are my current hardware "ideal" for a 50 Mbps internet connection?

should I at least upgrade my stuff? like dual-band and sht? or can I at least "mitigate" this with DD-WRT, OpenWRT and the likes.

 

Actually, what's important to me is that my main rig and my laptop can fully utilize the DL speed of the internet connection, or at least 80% of it, at any time of day.

 

P.S. I'll reply every 1-2 hours.

P.P.S. I am nowhere near my house right now, will be able to try the suggestions/recommendations during the weekend.

First, is your Arris DG860 set to bridge mode? Or at the very least is the wireless disabled? I went through the manual, but could not find a option. May need to contact your ISP.

 

Second, which hardware version is the TL-WR1043ND? V1 has a option for N only radio mode, none of the others do. V2 has a wireless boost mode for Wifi N 450. V3 does not have that option of the N only version. I think this is important because I think the adapter on the Dell XP215 is a N300 and is trying to connect to the N450 but can't so is defaulting to Wifi G, which is slowing the rest of your wireless network. I think this can be resolved by changing some settings on the XPS15 and TP-Link router. 

[techguru]

you should set the wireless adapter to N mode only..in the driver properties

[Noyu]

Dammit this new LTT UI is giving me a headache. It'll take 3 weeks for me to get used to this.

 

Anyways,

4 minutes ago, Trikein said:

First, is your Arris DG860 set to bridge mode? Or at the very least is the wireless disabled? I went through the manual, but could not find a option. May need to contact your ISP.

 

Second, which hardware version is the TL-WR1043ND? V1 has a option for N only radio mode, none of the others do. V2 has a wireless boost mode for Wifi N 450. V3 does not have that option of the N only version. I think this is important because I think the adapter on the Dell XP215 is a N300 and is trying to connect to the N450 but can't so is defaulting to Wifi G, which is slowing the rest of your wireless network. I think this can be resolved by changing some settings on the XPS15 and TP-Link router. 

(1) Arris, yep it is already set to Bridge mode with WiFi already disabled.

(2) TP-Link, V2, they removed the wireless boost mode on the latest firmware though so it may not work properly as intended. Should I downgrade firmware? Good point on the "it might be defaulting to G" though.

1 minute ago, techguru said:

you should set the wireless adapter to N mode only..in the driver properties

(3) Problem is, I can't seem to force N-only on both the router and the driver. I can't find the option on the driver to set N-only. Just N-on and N-off ahahaha

[techguru]

1 minute ago, Noyu said:

Dammit this new LTT UI is giving me a headache. It'll take 3 weeks for me to get used to this.

 

Anyways,

(1) Arris, yep it is already set to Bridge mode with WiFi already disabled.

(2) TP-Link, V2, they removed the wireless boost mode on the latest firmware though so it may not work properly as intended. Should I downgrade firmware? Good point on the "it might be defaulting to G" though.

(3) Problem is, I can't seem to force N-only on both the router and the driver. I can't find the option on the driver to set N-only. Just N-on and N-off ahahaha

router should be in g/n mode

and tp should be in N mode only

go to device manager properties and change it

update the driver if you have to

[Noyu]

2 minutes ago, techguru said:

router should be in g/n mode

and tp should be in N mode only

go to device manager properties and change it

update the driver if you have to

Router is on b/g/n mode.

 

For the TP-Link adapter, I haven't fiddled with it yet because Win10 drivers are not yet available.

Besides, this one is working properly since the network status reports a link speed of 300 Mbps.

 

However, for the Intel Wireless-N on the laptop, it's like I said, no "N-only" mode.

[Razor512]

Set the channel width to 40MHz mode only (20MHz devices can still connect, but it will avoid having the router randomly drop to 20MHz mode when ever it does its periodic scan and sees another AP in range with no other non overlapping channels available.

 

Also be sure to test each channel. Under good conditions with n300, you should be able to get a little over 100mbit/s for a decent distance.

 

If your WiFi adapter also has a 20/40 coexistence function, then you can also disable it in the device manager.

 

 

Other than that, also check how many other APs are in range of you, if your 2.4GHz band is getting too congested, then it may be time to upgrade to 5GHz

[Trikein]

9 minutes ago, Noyu said:

.

(2) TP-Link, V2, they removed the wireless boost mode on the latest firmware though so it may not work properly as intended. Should I downgrade firmware? Good point on the "it might be defaulting to G" though.

(3) Problem is, I can't seem to force N-only on both the router and the driver. I can't find the option on the driver to set N-only. Just N-on and N-off ahahaha

Its a long shot, but try bring the router's UI up in MSIE. Probably works with other browsers thats just one I know how. Go to the wireless settings pages, then go to View (press alt if can't see view) > Style > No Style. Many times firmware developers find it easier to hide features instead of just removing them. 

 

As for the Intel adapter on the dell, first make sure the drivers are up to date. I couldn't find info on it's advanced settings, but try Windows + R > NCPA.CPL > Right click NIC adapter and click properties > Configure > Advanced. Most times the wireless does the negotiation, so I don't think this will work, but worth a try.

 

Last, try using this on the Dell. It's a diagnostic tool to test your wireless adapter.

[Noyu]

52 minutes ago, Trikein said:

Its a long shot, but try bring the router's UI up in MSIE. Probably works with other browsers thats just one I know how. Go to the wireless settings pages, then go to View (press alt if can't see view) > Style > No Style. Many times firmware developers find it easier to hide features instead of just removing them. 

 

As for the Intel adapter on the dell, first make sure the drivers are up to date. I couldn't find info on it's advanced settings, but try Windows + R > NCPA.CPL > Right click NIC adapter and click properties > Configure > Advanced. Most times the wireless does the negotiation, so I don't think this will work, but worth a try.

 

Last, try using this on the Dell. It's a diagnostic tool to test your wireless adapter.

Noted: Long shot + ProSET Diagnostics

Re: Driver update, not sure but I think it's already up-to-date. I'll recheck and confirm.

1 hour ago, Razor512 said:

Set the channel width to 40MHz mode only (20MHz devices can still connect, but it will avoid having the router randomly drop to 20MHz mode when ever it does its periodic scan and sees another AP in range with no other non overlapping channels available.

 

Also be sure to test each channel. Under good conditions with n300, you should be able to get a little over 100mbit/s for a decent distance.

 

If your WiFi adapter also has a 20/40 coexistence function, then you can also disable it in the device manager.

 

<snip>

 

Other than that, also check how many other APs are in range of you, if your 2.4GHz band is getting too congested, then it may be time to upgrade to 5GHz

Noted: Force to run on 40MHz. Although, I actually just need 150Mbps speeds. AFAIK, opening it up to 40MHz will introduce interference and will affect WiFi reliability.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong 20MHz ~~ 150 Mbps, 40MHz ~~ 300 Mbps

 

Re: how many APs, ALOT. The 2.4GHz band is very congested but I doubt it's the one causing the Dell to default to 802.11g. If I do upgrade to 5GHz, the PC and the Dell will still stay on the 2.4GHz (because of their cards), unless I also upgrade them.

 

For the Dell, I am not willing to spend money on it anymore since it's just my torrent box.

So, 5GHz is not an option unless it can offer better speeds. AFAIK, it can only offer less interference and more reliability for the cost of range.

[Razor512]

From my experience, reliability is not impacted (unless the signal is very weak to begin with), though the overall noise floor will go up slightly if many APs use 40MHz mode. Keep in mind that at best your actual throughput will only be about around 50% of the PHY rate, thus speeds will top out at ~75-80mbit/s under ideal conditions with a PHY rate of 150mbit/s.

 

As for dropping to 802.11g mode, a router will not automatically do this, as it is worst across the board. with 802.11n, the upload and download PHY rate it negotiated separately, this is why compared to 802.11ac, 802.11n sees an even larger download speed boost when you increase the transmit power.

 

In my current location, the 5GHz band offers around 20% more range than the 2.4GHz band, even though it has a better transmit power

 

(currently about 240 APs in range)

 

Though at 40MHz mode, I can still pull close to 200mbit/s on the 2.4GHz band with a -50 dBm signal on a 3 stream WiFi adapter.