Wifi much slower than ethernet?

[BrianJ844]

Howdy, I have had UVerse since moving to Houston about three months ago. I got the 6mbps service and have noticed for a good while now that the connection has been very slow. Using speedtest.net I was getting 0.5mbps speed over wifi. I figured it was UVerse just being slow but today I wired my laptop into the modem / router supplied by AT&T I was getting 5.2mbps. I kept it connected for about an hour, watching YouTube, surfing the web and the speed held. Disconnected it and connected the wifi and the speed fell back to sub 0.5mbps. I checked the setting of the router / modem and can't find anything to change to boost its wifi speed. I do have a linksys router I could wire in and use but don't want to run it and the modem (even if I turn off the AT&T wifi) if I don't have too.

The modem / router they gave me is an 3801HGV.

Thoughts?

Brian 

[texasguy37 ACE - Expert]

Please see the thread below:

http://forums.att.com/t5/Features-and-How-To/How-to-Minimize-Wireless-Interference/m-p/2303003

[BrianJ844]

What I get from the article is to make sure you choose the best channel. I use a mac so I cannot download InSSIDer but I do have a program just like that on my andriod. I can see 12 to 20 wireless networks besides mine with the program. Most are -75dBm to -100dBm with my signal being -60dBm to -40dBm (which is crazy cause I can see the route just across the room from me). 

The channel on the AT&T router is set to auto and therefore it chose channel 1. Looking at the graph on my phone I agree it is the best option besides channels 12-14 which the router can't hit. Channels 7 through 10 are incredibly tied up in my area. 

The router is set to the highest power setting (400mW), mode b/g, max connection rate of 54 Mbps, and DTIM period of 1. 

From what my WiFi Analyzer App is showing me, this is the best option I have for the space I am in. Am I therefore stuck with what I am currently getting? I can upload a few screen shots of the graphs if anyone would like to see them (I assume I would need to use like Flickr, I cannot upload directly to the forum?). I guess I could switch to a 5GHz system, anyway of know if my laptop can oppearte in that area?

Brian

[texasguy37 ACE - Expert]

You can insert images into a message on the forum using the icon that looks like a tree.

By the way, the signal strength of -60dBm to -40dBm indicates that your wireless network is working correctly and is stronger, not weaker,  than the other wireless networks that you see.  You might want to re-read SomeJoe's message in the thread found in the link of my first message.

[BrianJ844]

I do understand that -40 to -60dBm is stronger and normal for the in house router, I am just surprised it isn't in the 'higher' -40dBm range since it isn't going through any walls or anything like that. 

Below are screen shots from my app. The pink network called '2WIRE646' is mine naturally. Just to note, the screen shots were taken about 10 minutes apart but give a pretty good representation of the normal. From what I saw about the InSSIDer program, my app can do mostly what it can, besides filter out networks under -85dBm.

I honestly think my problem could be Wireless Interference but I also don't know how I could optimize it further. Hopefully more knowledgeable eyes can help. 

Thanks for everything,

Brian

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Expert]

With 27 different wireless networks within range, it's no wonder you're having issues. Since you've already tested on wired Ethernet and that works fine, we can definitely conclude that the wireless is having issues.

The only long-term solution for you would be to purchase an aftermarket 802.11n router and wireless adapter for the laptop that uses the 5GHz band vice the 2.4GHz band. The 5GHz band will have virtually no interference.

[BrianJ844]

I was worried that it would come to that. Thanks for the help!

Brian