New router?

[Karbzee]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm just looking if anyone can give advice on why i would get such horrid speeds over wireless at night where i struggle to load a 144p video on YT. During the day over LAN i get 100mbps download and 40mbps upload. Wireless i get 20/30 during the day where it should be 100/40, and over night it is so unstable i get "internet is unavailable"

 

Getting real sick of paying for internet speeds i rarely get over wireless.

 

Thanks,

Karbzee

[Lurick]

What do you have now for a router?

Who is your ISP or what service do they provide? DSL, Cable, Fiber, etc.

[Karbzee]

So I forgot to mention I am from Australia, I get my internet done via a semi-local company that trade under the name "Southern Phone" they aren't the best ISP we could be with but I live with my mother and she cannot be convinced to go else where. 

 

They offer fiber plans (NBN) in Australia with speed tiers ranging from 12/25 to 100/40, we have the 100/40 speed which is only achieved over LAN. Even though we are the rare percentage that got a fiber connection directly to the house (fttp).

 

The router that is currently in use as a TP-Link TD-W8970 "capable" of 300mbps

[Donut417]

4 hours ago, Karbzee said:

Getting real sick of paying for internet speeds i rarely get over wireless.

 

ISP's only can guarantee wired speeds. Wireless has things that interfere with it. Your from Australia and I think I read some where you guys build houses out of concrete. Which is not WIFI friendly. But wireless could be affected by other wireless networks in the area, Microwave ovens(2.4 Ghz only), walls (how bad depends on building materials), weather, other devices (blue tooth uses 2.4 Ghz, baby monitors, cordless phones), cant forget distance from the AP. If you want full speeds I suggest investing in some Ethernet cabling.

[Karbzee]

2 hours ago, Donut417 said:

ISP's only can guarantee wired speeds. 

I call bluff there, about 3 months I ago i was able to get 70/40 over wireless, and its just been over the past 2 months where it has become a struggle.  Most older houses and/or appartments are made from concrete although the house im in is made out of bricks, with gyprock inside. Even sitting 1 metre away from the AP speeds are crap overnight

 

[Donut417]

9 minutes ago, Karbzee said:

I call bluff there, about 3 months I ago i was able to get 70/40 over wireless, and its just been over the past 2 months where it has become a struggle.  Most older houses and/or appartments are made from concrete although the house im in is made out of bricks, with gyprock inside. Even sitting 1 metre away from the AP speeds are crap overnight

 

You can call it what ever you like. Generally when wireless goes to shit like you described, it means some form of interference has presented its self. It could be another router near by on the same wireless channel, or another device. My advice is to use 5Ghz if you have not, because its less susceptible to interference. But I stand by my previous statement. Ethernet guarantees 1Gbps up to 100 Meters (Cat 5e, Cat 6) , while wireless is a crap shoot for distance and speed, which is what your ISP would tell you. 

[Karbzee]

1 hour ago, Donut417 said:

You can call it what ever you like. Generally when wireless goes to shit like you described, it means some form of interference has presented its self. It could be another router near by on the same wireless channel, or another device. My advice is to use 5Ghz if you have not, because its less susceptible to interference. But I stand by my previous statement. Ethernet guarantees 1Gbps up to 100 Meters (Cat 5e, Cat 6) , while wireless is a crap shoot for distance and speed, which is what your ISP would tell you. 

I agree with you there, but would the type of router make a difference with wireless signal and speed 300n vs 750ac etc?

[Donut417]

18 minutes ago, Karbzee said:

I agree with you there, but would the type of router make a difference with wireless signal and speed 300n vs 750ac etc?

Maybe. I have read some posts that suggest that AC wireless devices can penetrate a little better and do offer faster speeds. But you would also need AC devices as well. But its hard to say. I mean, I did not notice any signal difference going from a Wireless N 750 router to an AC 2600 router. 

 

If you have an Android device I would install WiFi analyzer on it. Check out the 2.4 Ghz environment and the 5 Ghz environment. Make sure your using wireless channels with the least amount of interference. On 2.4 Ghz it might be more difficult, so you will need to rely on 5 Ghz in that case. If 5Ghz is clogged, then your kinda boned. I would suspect that even a 5 Ghz signal should do okish penetrating brick walls. My house is built of wood, plaster and drywall, so I cant be sure on that. 

 

Also you might find that putting your router in a more centralized location could help in a big way. I know it can be hard, you could look in the buying a wireless AP and putting that centrally and just running a wire back to the router. Also consider putting it up higher as it helps the signal to spread. If all else fails, look in the Moca adapters if you have coax ran through out the house. 

[Karbzee]

3 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Also you might find that putting your router in a more centralized location could help in a big way. I know it can be hard, you could look in the buying a wireless AP and putting that centrally and just running a wire back to the router. Also consider putting it up higher as it helps the signal to spread. If all else fails, look in the Moca adapters if you have coax ran through out the house. 

No coax ran through the house, im 99% sure we don't use it over here. I'm semi-limited where i can actually place the router, only way i can put it else where is by running a longer ethernet cable as its tapped straight into the fiber junction box on the wall.

 

Had wireless extenders, but gave them to a mate as i didnt need them. Also discovered overtime the signal distance my router can output has decreased. Used to get sufficent signal like 20+ metres away from the router, its also only a 2.4ghz router. I should mention as well

[Donut417]

2 minutes ago, Karbzee said:

No coax ran through the house, im 99% sure we don't use it over here. I'm semi-limited where i can actually place the router, only way i can put it else where is by running a longer ethernet cable as its tapped straight into the fiber junction box on the wall.

 

Had wireless extenders, but gave them to a mate as i didnt need them. Also discovered overtime the signal distance my router can output has decreased. Used to get sufficent signal like 20+ metres away from the router, its also only a 2.4ghz router. I should mention as well

Only suggestion I could give. Buy a router that is dual band. 

[Karbzee]

3 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Only suggestion I could give. Buy a router that is dual band. 

Any suggestions? Dual band, AC? 750? 1200? Any particular brands to steer clear of?

[Donut417]

27 minutes ago, Karbzee said:

Any suggestions? Dual band, AC? 750? 1200? Any particular brands to steer clear of?

The TP Link Archer C7 didnt seem too bad when I installed one at my sisters place. Its what I would call a "Budget" router as its under $100 here in the US. I have the Synology AC2600, its nice. Though I wish the QoS options were easier to use, as I havent figured out how to really use them yet. But it cost me $199 USD. So its kinda expensive. Ive heard both ASUS and Netgear are solid, but Ive never used one of their routers. 

[BLVCKRIPPER]

Get an AP:

Ubiquiti UniFi AP AC Pro

it has a lot of features:Vlan;PoE;802.11 ac; TPC/DFS

 

[kirashi]

2 hours ago, Karbzee said:

--SNIP-- its also only a 2.4ghz router. I should mention as well

You will rarely see consistent speeds above 60mbps under normal conditions if it indeed is only 2.4GHz - it is amazing that you were able to get 70mbps download one time even. I work for a local ISP and this is something we get support calls about all the time. A 2.4GHz network caps out around 60mbps, give or take, unless you live in a faraday cage and your devices are using the same wireless chipset and antenna configuration as the router. If you had 5GHz on the router, you could theoretically get up to 600-700mbps throughput on it, but again, only under ideal conditions, and only if it was wireless AC technology, not the older wireless N spec.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11n-2009#Data_rates

Quote

Assuming equal operating parameters to an 802.11g network achieving 54 megabits per second (on a single 20 MHz channel with one antenna), an 802.11n network can achieve 72 megabits per second (on a single 20 MHz channel with one antenna and 400 ns guard interval); 802.11n's speed may go up to 150 megabits per second if there aren't other Bluetooth, microwave or Wi-Fi emissions in the neighborhood by using two 20 MHz channels in 40 MHz mode. If more antennas are used, then 802.11n can go up to 288 megabits per second in 20 MHz mode with four antennas, or 600 megabits per second in 40 MHz mode with four antennas and 400 ns guard interval.

 

My advice? Buy something like TP-Link's Archer C7 or Netgear's R7000 router, install a variant of OpenWRT, such as AdvancedTomato or DD-WRT on it, and teach yourself about managing your home network. Yeah, it's more work, but once you understand the ins-and-outs of network management, you really appreciate a solid connection to the net. Also, call your ISP and have them put your modem into bridge mode so it doesn't interfere with the router you buy.