Another broadband speed question

bouicca21

I have just upgraded to TalkTalk’s 35 fibre offer.  I did so because the internet seemed so slow ...

Using my laptop near the router gives me a speed of 37.  My desktop (admittedly ancient) in an adjacent room is getting speeds of 3.4.  It’s not the walls blocking the speed as if I sit my iPad next to the system box it gets the full 37; ditto the laptop.  So the problem is the pc.  

A possibly related issue is that wifi often drops out altogether.

I’ve  run malware bytes and scanned with McAfee, no problems reported.  

Do I just accept that the pc is failing, or is there something else I can do to improve speed?

Neil_Jones

If the PC is wireless, replace the wireless with a more modern one.  Or hardwire it if possible (homeplug or cable or similar).

Mickey666

Many people don't realise how rubbish wifi connections really are.  Sure, they're very convenient but that's about it - performance-wise they are highly unreliable, which makes accurate comparisons between different devices very difficult.

debitcardmayhem

Add a usb wifi adapter, or a wired connection via homeplugs. Usb is going to be the cheaper option. Oh and are you running W10 on your PC if so I would ditch MacAfee. Just for mickey666 I get 67Mbps which is my routers connection speed to the line. using wireless , not all Wifi is pants

bouicca21

thank you all.  I do have home plugs but they are even older than the desktop and of late the desktop refuses to recognise the Ethernet connection - just says unidentified network, but will connect to wifi, albeit at incredibly low speed.  Is the failure to see the Ethernet connection likely to be related to the struggling wifi?

wifi adapter?  Is this something I can plug into the system box without opening it up (possibly usb)?  I had a look at YouTube for a video on replacing the wifi card internally but I’m not too confident about trying.

flashg67

USB adapter is easy and cheap - there's loads around - ebay example - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4-5ghz-600Mbps-USB-Dual-Band-Wireless-Adapter-WiFi-Dongle-802-11-AC-Laptop-PC/224239177456?hash=item3435b24ef0:g:hRkAAOSwl6RftPd3

Heedtheadvice

To be fair debit, mickey did not say all wifi is pants! If it's good it can be very good but it can be a bit flaky too. Being flaky results in slow or very slow! (I guess we all presume 37 and other speeds mentions are Mb/s???)

Older wifi tx/rx in PCs can be of poorer or declined quality and it would appear so in this case but it should be able to connect via ethernet ok so there is maybe a setting up issue or home hubs not communicating properly or similar.

I agree though the quick and easy solution might just be to go with a new usb wifi "dongle" provided it is a compatible usb standard and compatible with the users operating system version..a check of the specs should answer that.

I also think "old" is a very subjective term too!! Is that one year or twenty and which operating system again how "old" is that!

bouicca21

I am going to try the USB adapter solution. As for ‘Old’ I think I bought it 6 or 7 years ago from PC Specialist and way over specified it thinking it would last longer than my previous desktops - which it has.  It upgraded to windows 10 but had problems with the first update which it persistently installed and the uninstalled, but magically is now happy to update.  

I mainly use it for Microsoft office programs plus FileMaker and Tropy, but I do a lot of online searching and everything is backed up to OneDrive or Dropbox.  So good internet speeds are really important to me.

thank you all.

Chino

Heedtheadvice said:

To be fair debit, mickey did not say all wifi is pants!

I suggest you re-read Mickey666's post, because that's exactly what he said:

Mickey666 said:

Many people don't realise how rubbish wifi connections really are.

Biggus_Dickus

bouicca21 said:

I have just upgraded to TalkTalk’s 35 fibre offer.  I did so because the internet seemed so slow ...

Using my laptop near the router gives me a speed of 37.  My desktop (admittedly ancient) in an adjacent room is getting speeds of 3.4.  It’s not the walls blocking the speed as if I sit my iPad next to the system box it gets the full 37; ditto the laptop.  So the problem is the pc.  

A possibly related issue is that wifi often drops out altogether.

I’ve  run malware bytes and scanned with McAfee, no problems reported.  

Do I just accept that the pc is failing, or is there something else I can do to improve speed?

Just a shot in the dark:...One possible cause of your “ Wi-Fi drops out altogether” problem could be your microwave oven....maybe??

Some have dismissed microwave-oven Wi-Fi interference as nonsense but I can assure you it isn’t.

I had an expensive National Panasonic microwave oven that would clobber my Wi-Fi to a standstill. It would stop downloads, browsing, Netflix etc in their tracks. Microwave ‘On’... Wi-Fi effectively disabled;...Microwave ‘off’... Wi-Fi springs instantly back to life. It did it every time, no if’s or but’s.

It’s a frustrating and mystifying Wi-Fi problem when you don’t know what’s causing it,...it’s still frustrating though even when you know what it is!

I wasn’t too displeased when that National Panasonic microwave failed quite early in its life. My  present microwave oven causes no Wi-Fi issues. 

cooltt

bouicca21 said:

I have just upgraded to TalkTalk’s 35 fibre offer.  I did so because the internet seemed so slow ...

Using my laptop near the router gives me a speed of 37.  My desktop (admittedly ancient) in an adjacent room is getting speeds of 3.4.  It’s not the walls blocking the speed as if I sit my iPad next to the system box it gets the full 37; ditto the laptop.  So the problem is the pc.  
A possibly related issue is that wifi often drops out altogether.
I’ve  run malware bytes and scanned with McAfee, no problems reported.  

Do I just accept that the pc is failing, or is there something else I can do to improve speed?

Nothing to do with your router, the answer is in your post. Your "ancient" desktop is using a network adapter card which is physically not able to handle the higher wifi speeds. To demonstrate this, plug the desktop directly into the router via the ethernet cable, if the browser speed increase's dramatically, then yes the NAC is the problem and needs to be upgraded.

This will be where the fun and games begin of trying to find a compatible card for an ancient desktop. Tech moves on very quickly and brands / manufactures drop support for components equally as quick.