USB wireless adapter after years of hard wire - slow speeds

pfpf

hi,

my main PC has always been hard wired to the net, its been convenient to do so and my preferred method.

for a few months I have been using powerline adapters and they too have worked well.

I now have need to make my PC wireless so have connected a Belkin USB wireless micro adapter N300.

speeds wired: 850KB/s ish
speeds USB: 200KB/s ish - speed test actually only shows about 55KB/s.

I have lots of other gadgets connected to the wireless (ipad, NowTV, phones etc etc) and they have always worked well. I realise they may not be as demanding as my PC needs so maybe I just didn't realise wireless was poor.

taking my PC close to the router would be quite tricky but if I have to to see if its ok close up I will.

PC is on same floor as router about 10m away with 2 doors and a hallway between them, although the 2 doors are usually open.

any suggestions please? thank you.

p.s I have used provided disc to install drivers for USB adapter. using W7 HP.

p.p.s I have a piece of software called Network Meter installed. it tracks usage/speeds etc. as I have now added the USB wireless it now displays "wireless signal strength". this is currently showing as 88% but it was 96% earlier but ive been moving the PC around as much as i can in its current location to see if things improved.

enfield_freddy

borrow an android device and install wifiexplorer , this will show if you are close/interfering with local wifi spots , you can then set your router wifi to use an unused local channel .


most UK routers seem to be on the default channel 6

pfpf

my router is a speed touch 585 - I have no idea what "channels" are all about.

chances of a wifi hotspot in the rural area I am in I think is zero.

thanks.

enfield_freddy

not wifi spots , neighbours close by that are using the same wifi chanell

Nilrem

How big is the antenna on your adaptor?
I'm guessing if it's a nano one it's going to be internal and tiny, if that's the case you may do better with an adaptor that has a larger antenna, as the bigger antenna usually means it'll get a better signal (I've tried a few different models and the best one I've got at the moment has a pair of antenna about 2-3 inches long).

bluesnake

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technology share this spectrum and will often be located in close physical proximity to one another, there is concern for how they may interfere with one another. My old bluetooth mouse worked great, but killed my wifi.

Other possible culprits are old microwave ovens, microwave remote door bells, microwave security cameras. Non of these will show up on netstumbler, and you will have to ideally get a spectrum analyser, or if you are lucky a 2.4G radio may work too.

pfpf

decided to stick to wired, not as bad as I thought to have to keep it that way.

thanks for the input.

forgotmyname

Want to see your speed really drop? Switch your microwave on..

My microwave causes my wireless speed to plummet.

spud17

forgotmyname wrote: »

Want to see your speed really drop? Switch your microwave on..

My microwave causes my wireless speed to plummet.

I'll take your word for it.

I'm not going out to buy a microwave to test your theory.