Just got faster internet but wifi router still gives slow old speed. How do I fix this?

[Bleedingyamato]

20 minutes ago, Heavygun1450 said:

You could try resetting your Router back to factory defaults and see if that helps if you want. Your router and modem are more than sufficient for 60 MBPS. You are getting that 60 MBPS over a wired connection right?

The weird thing is I'm pretty sure aside from the SSIDs being hidden it should be on default settings.  But I've been tempted to try that just in case.  

 

 

Yeah.  If we connect a computer directly to the Internet modem we actually get around 70mbps. 

[Bleedingyamato]

@wkdpaul

@demonix00

@Windows7ge

@LAwLz

 

It looks like the problem got solved.  My idiot father stumbled across the answer with a lucky Google search.  

 

It seems the slow down was being caused by a media prioritization setting on the wifi router.

 

Idk what exactly it was supposed to do but once it was turned off we are getting the correct speed on most of our devices.  ?

 

Thank you all for trying to help.  It's very much appreciated.  

 

 

I'm rather annoyed my father was the one who came across the solution...

 

He's 100% non-techie and spent a little while lording it over the rest of us that he used a quick Google search to figure this out as if he was suddenly the smartest person in the world.  ? 

[Windows7ge]

7 hours ago, Bleedingyamato said:

It seems the slow down was being caused by a media prioritization setting on the wifi router.

 

Idk what exactly it was supposed to do but once it was turned off we are getting the correct speed on most of our devices.  ?

I can't verify this to be the answer but routers and switches can priorities what kind of network packets/data get sent across the network (or between networks).

 

In particular Media is very latency dependent meaning slow downs in transmission can cause distortions or buffering during video playback such as on YouTube, Vimeo, or on a TV video streaming service such as Netflix or Hulu. There are many different protocols used when information is transported to/from your computer to/from the internet and these protocols are used to identify a packet on a network (it also tells your computer what software it has to use to "read" the packets information which is called the Payload. A router if allowed permission can tell your network how to treat these packets as they traverse the network. Kind of a checkpoint like the US/Canadian boarder. They'll ask you where you're headed, then search your contents to see what you have (with the exception of the Payload which is generally encrypted) then send you on your way. However you can give protocols priority over others. The protocols needed for Media streaming (or any other protocols if the router supports it) can be given a VIP pass so in the instance one packet reaches the network at the same time as a Media packet the Media packet will be granted access before the other(s) causing a slow down in other protocol services if there's not adequate bandwidth (Internet speed) but will help Media streaming in that same instance (low Internet speed). Using services like SpeedTest.net use different protocols. What they actually are I'm not sure but they probably include the Ping protocol. You router has to check if the received packet is Media or not then send it on it's way. The slight delay can affect your score and show you a slower speed than you're paying for.

[Bleedingyamato]

1 hour ago, Windows7ge said:

I can't verify this to be the answer but routers and switches can priorities what kind of network packets/data get sent across the network (or between networks).

 

In particular Media is very latency dependent meaning slow downs in transmission can cause distortions or buffering during video playback such as on YouTube, Vimeo, or on a TV video streaming service such as Netflix or Hulu. There are many different protocols used when information is transported to/from your computer to/from the internet and these protocols are used to identify a packet on a network (it also tells your computer what software it has to use to "read" the packets information which is called the Payload. A router if allowed permission can tell your network how to treat these packets as they traverse the network. Kind of a checkpoint like the US/Canadian boarder. They'll ask you where you're headed, then search your contents to see what you have (with the exception of the Payload which is generally encrypted) then send you on your way. However you can give protocols priority over others. The protocols needed for Media streaming (or any other protocols if the router supports it) can be given a VIP pass so in the instance one packet reaches the network at the same time as a Media packet the Media packet will be granted access before the other(s) causing a slow down in other protocol services if there's not adequate bandwidth (Internet speed) but will help Media streaming in that same instance (low Internet speed). Using services like SpeedTest.net use different protocols. What they actually are I'm not sure but they probably include the Ping protocol. You router has to check if the received packet is Media or not then send it on it's way. The slight delay can affect your score and show you a slower speed than you're paying for.

I assume you're right about how all that works but I'm pretty sure I had tried starting a download from steam a few days before this was resolved and it was the same speed it's always been.  

 

So I don't think it was that the speed test was mistaken sorry.

 

But after it was fixed I tried again and steam showed the download peaked at 8.7MB/s.  (That's MB not Mb isn't that awesome?!) 

 

It was so wonderful I could cry.  ? lol

 

 

See?  I'm downloading the first Splinter Cell game on GOG.  It's so fast!  ?

[Windows7ge]

34 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

I'm downloading the first Splinter Cell game on GOG.  It's so fast!

I remember back when my parents were running off Windstream an ISP. Our download rate was around 375KBps. Then they upgraded to TWC.

[Bleedingyamato]

51 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

I remember back when my parents were running off Windstream an ISP. Our download rate was around 375KBps. Then they upgraded to TWC.

Ouch.  I think we were supposed to be getting 15mbps but I'm not sure we actually got that.  

 

But 375KBps that's even worse than what we had.  ?

 

 

We used to have TWC (still had a contract/service from them) but I think we officially switched to Spectrum now.  

[Windows7ge]

14 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Ouch.  I think we were supposed to be getting 15mbps but I'm not sure we actually got that.  

 

But 375KBps that's even worse than what we had.  ?

 

 

We used to have TWC (still had a contract/service from them) but I think we officially switched to Spectrum now.  

Yeah it was 3mbps

 

Yeah Spectrum has officially bought out TWC so it's in transition but it was previously the company that was our ISP.

[Bleedingyamato]

2 hours ago, Windows7ge said:

Yeah it was 3mbps

 

Yeah Spectrum has officially bought out TWC so it's in transition but it was previously the company that was our ISP.

Hopefully they're decent in your area and you get a decent download speed.  

[Windows7ge]

7 hours ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Hopefully they're decent in your area and you get a decent download speed.  

Windstream was garbage and I wonder if it was due in part to the fact it used the old telephone line as the Line In connection. TWC(Spectrum) uses hard coax which I scan't say can carry a faster signal or not but I would assume it can.

In terms of internet speed:

Down: 235.57Mbps (29.45MBps)

Up: 23.81Mbps (2.98MBps)

 

After overhead, other traffic such as other houses on the WAN, runt frames, server location etc. Those speeds aren't really achieved. Download speed from most websites cap around 25MB/s. To be honest it's way over kill for what I need. Streaming YouTube @ 1080p to my computer it's very compressed and doesn't require that much bandwidth. I do run my own custom built file server though which makes the upload speed nice when I'm not home and want to download files to my location.

[Bleedingyamato]

1 hour ago, Windows7ge said:

Windstream was garbage and I wonder if it was due in part to the fact it used the old telephone line as the Line In connection. TWC(Spectrum) uses hard coax which I scan't say can carry a faster signal or not but I would assume it can.

In terms of internet speed:

Down: 235.57Mbps (29.45MBps)

Up: 23.81Mbps (2.98MBps)

 

After overhead, other traffic such as other houses on the WAN, runt frames, server location etc. Those speeds aren't really achieved. Download speed from most websites cap around 25MB/s. To be honest it's way over kill for what I need. Streaming YouTube @ 1080p to my computer it's very compressed and doesn't require that much bandwidth. I do run my own custom built file server though which makes the upload speed nice when I'm not home and want to download files to my location.

Who's paying for that high of speeds?      That has to be expensive per month I'd think.  ?

 

 

Maybe you can answer this: why are upload speeds always crazy slow vs download speeds? 

[Windows7ge]

1 hour ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Who's paying for that high of speeds?      That has to be expensive per month I'd think.  ?

 

 

Maybe you can answer this: why are upload speeds always crazy slow vs download speeds? 

I think it's around $80/month. Kind of hard to say they're paying for a bundle deal (internet/phone/TV)

 

Most people don't upload very much information but download a lot. This type of internet service is most popular as I believe it benefits the ISP by saving bandwidth where it won't be utilized. When you upload speed is different from your download speed it's known as ADSL or Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line. You can request from your ISP to have a higher upload speed if the package is available. Some ISP's offer SDSL or Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line meaning the upload speed is the same as the download speed. Less popular with homeowners but seen in commercial environments are instances of ADSL where companies have upload speeds higher than their download speeds simply because they need it for the services they provide but don't need as much download speed.

 

As for the exact reason why homeowners are offered ADSL packages with slower upload speeds I cannot say my answer is the exact reason but it seems most probable.

[demonix00]

A download speed peak of 8.7MB/s would equate to a download speed of nearly 80Mb/s (I know this because my package has a max of 80Mb/s and my download spees in steam normally peaks around the 8.7MB/s mark and sometime goes over 9MB/s) which is higher then what you're paying for.

[LAwLz]

1 hour ago, demonix00 said:

A download speed peak of 8.7MB/s would equate to a download speed of nearly 80Mb/s (I know this because my package has a max of 80Mb/s and my download spees in steam normally peaks around the 8.7MB/s mark and sometime goes over 9MB/s) which is higher then what you're paying for.

80Mbps is 10MBps.

[Bleedingyamato]

5 hours ago, Windows7ge said:

I think it's around $80/month. Kind of hard to say they're paying for a bundle deal (internet/phone/TV)

 

Most people don't upload very much information but download a lot. This type of internet service is most popular as I believe it benefits the ISP by saving bandwidth where it won't be utilized. When you upload speed is different from your download speed it's known as ADSL or Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line. You can request from your ISP to have a higher upload speed if the package is available. Some ISP's offer SDSL or Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line meaning the upload speed is the same as the download speed. Less popular with homeowners but seen in commercial environments are instances of ADSL where companies have upload speeds higher than their download speeds simply because they need it for the services they provide but don't need as much download speed.

 

As for the exact reason why homeowners are offered ADSL packages with slower upload speeds I cannot say my answer is the exact reason but it seems most probable.

Maybe they're getting a better deal from the bundle?    I know we aren't doing a bundle since we used to have dish but now we just switched to direcTV so only our internet is through Spectrum.  

 

That makes sense the download speed would be higher.  There would be times where being able to send large files quickly would be nice but most of the time it's not needed.  

 

3 hours ago, demonix00 said:

A download speed peak of 8.7MB/s would equate to a download speed of nearly 80Mb/s (I know this because my package has a max of 80Mb/s and my download spees in steam normally peaks around the 8.7MB/s mark and sometime goes over 9MB/s) which is higher then what you're paying for.

I think the highest I've seen is 70mbps.  But I think even that might be faster than what we're paying for.  I'm pretty sure officially we have 60mbps.  So either we are getting better than we are paying for or our service is supposed to get up to 70.  

 

1 hour ago, LAwLz said:

80Mbps is 10MBps.

How does Mb convert to MB?    What's the ratio I mean.  

[Windows7ge]

57 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

How does Mb convert to MB?    What's the ratio I mean.

The ratio is 1:8 or 8:1 depending on how you look at it Mb:MB = 8:1, MB:Mb = 1:8

A Byte is equal to eight bits, such is binary

0 or 1 = bit

0000 or 1111 or anything in between = nibble

0000 0000 or 1111 1111 or anything in between = Byte

 

so internet speed in bits divided by 8 (1 Byte) equals the performance most applications will show you if your download speed is displayed as such

[LAwLz]

54 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

How does Mb convert to MB?    What's the ratio I mean.  

8 bits is 1 byte.

So you just divide by 8.

 

So your 60Mbps connection should max out at 7.5MBps download speeds.

When you are looking at things like download speed then you have to remember that there is also some overhead, so you will never get exactly 7.5MBps from a 60Mbps connection though.

[Bleedingyamato]

8 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

The ratio is 1:8 or 8:1 depending on how you look at it Mb:MB = 8:1, MB:Mb = 1:8

A Byte is equal to eight bits, such is binary

0 or 1 = bit

0000 or 1111 or anything in between = nibble

0000 0000 or 1111 1111 or anything in between = Byte

 

so internet speed in bits divided by 8 (1 Byte) equals the performance most applications will show you if your download speed is displayed as such

Thank you.  

 

3 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

8 bits is 1 byte.

So you just divide by 8.

 

So your 60Mbps connection should max out at 7.5MBps download speeds.

When you are looking at things like download speed then you have to remember that there is also some overhead, so you will never get exactly 7.5MBps from a 60Mbps connection though.

Thank you.  

 

So if the speed test has shown as high as 70 it seems we're getting faster than 60 sometimes.  

 

 

Is this overhead thing why I was only getting 28Mbps on my laptop earlier?

 

I was using a wireless AC adapter connected through USB 3.0 .

[LAwLz]

9 hours ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Is this overhead thing why I was only getting 28Mbps on my laptop earlier?

No. Overhead is not that high.

[demonix00]

On 16/04/2017 at 10:41 PM, LAwLz said:

80Mbps is 10MBps.

1. I said nearly and I also said max which is the highest speed my connection can be (although the short distance between the modem and the cabinet means that goes down to around 76 or there abouts, but I can't do a speed test since there are other people using it and that would give inaccurate results).

2. During steam downloads (game updates that run just after the client starts) checks of windows task manager show network usage speeds hitting at least 76Mbps which equates to my usual speed test results (which might be slightly inaccurate because there might be some upload included in the speed since the general data tab for apps doesn't show upload and download usage).

 

Regardless, the OP is still getting more download speed then what they're paying for (which could be down to tests on the line which might drop down over time).

[Bleedingyamato]

18 hours ago, LAwLz said:

No. Overhead is not that high.

Any idea what the problem might be then?

 

That's faster than I was getting so I can't complain too much but I'd still like to know why it's not faster.  ?

 

This is the wifi adapter I'm using btw: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FB45USW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

[Ivan Reynolds]

I also have the same problem with my wifi. i think it does not cover really the intended internet connection speed that we subscribed unless the laptop will be connected to the modem. We thought of changing our internet plan to solve the issue. It does not really speeds up even me and my brother were just the pc users and gamers in our house.

[LAwLz]

1 hour ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Any idea what the problem might be then?

 

That's faster than I was getting so I can't complain too much but I'd still like to know why it's not faster.  ?

 

This is the wifi adapter I'm using btw: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FB45USW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Do you always get ~28Mbps on your laptop?

It might be that the signal is poor in that area of the house.

 

Does your speed improve if you for example stand right next to the router?

[Bleedingyamato]

12 hours ago, Ivan Reynolds said:

I also have the same problem with my wifi. i think it does not cover really the intended internet connection speed that we subscribed unless the laptop will be connected to the modem. We thought of changing our internet plan to solve the issue. It does not really speeds up even me and my brother were just the pc users and gamers in our house.

Same here.  My brother and I have game consoles connected and I use Netflix and Hulu all the time so we're doing the most demanding things with the Internet in our house.  

 

12 hours ago, LAwLz said:

Do you always get ~28Mbps on your laptop?

It might be that the signal is poor in that area of the house.

 

Does your speed improve if you for example stand right next to the router?

I'm not sure.  We only got the new faster internet service earlier last week and got the wifi router issue solved a few days ago on Friday.  I only use my laptop for schoolwork on Sundays so I've only run a speedtest with the improved internet speed once so far.  

 

I'd have to try running the test again to see if it's still about 28mbps like it was a couple days ago.  

 

I know I got better speed by going upstairs closer to the router with my Nintendo Switch so it's possible my laptop would get faster closer to the router.  

 

I ran the test with my laptop right next to the router and I got 70mbps.  So I guess it must be a signal issue.

 

Would a wifi repeater solve that if I felt like getting one?

 

The only other idea I have is connecting a wifi router to my Ethernet switch.  

 

But idk if that would cause any problems would it?

[Bleedingyamato]

12 hours ago, LAwLz said:

Do you always get ~28Mbps on your laptop?

It might be that the signal is poor in that area of the house.

 

Does your speed improve if you for example stand right next to the router?

I forgot to mention that I just tried switching my Roku Premiere+ to a different Ethernet cable and port on the Ethernet switch.  

 

It still showed as a 10/100 connection so I thought to check Roku's site and found that it says it only has a 100mbps Ethernet port on it.  

 

https://www.roku.com/products/roku-premiere-plus

 

So unfortunately that doesn't explain why it would get around 30mbps or slightly less.