Help urgently needed with Wi-Fi network!

hughythomas

hughythomas

hughythomas

Associate
Joined
11 Oct 2006
Posts
1,404
Location
Reigate
Hi guys

I will do my best to keep this as concise as possible so bear with here!

I have the following:

Netgear Wireless-N Access Point WNAP210 Linky

plus a computer fitted with this Edimax Wireless LAN Client PCI Device:

Linky

Now, even with the Access Point literally sat next to my PC with the Edimax card installed I am constantly getting variable Network speeds as reported in the Network & Sharing Center from Windows 7 (64-bit btw!).

I am at a total loss as this is my first foray into wireless networking having always been on wired previously!

I am keen to get the full 300mbps theoretical speed from the devices as they are replacing a full Gigabit wired network which I can't carry on with in my recording studio as the cable is getting trapped in a door currently!!!

Things I have tried:

  1. Upgraded firmware to latest on Access Point
  2. Updated drivers of Edimax card to latest from Edimax site

But still, the speeds are AWFUL! As in, not even the internet is running at full speed as the reported speeds frequently drop to even as low as ~1.0mbps.

Here is a picture of the Wireless settings which are currently applied on the Access Point:

Untitled-2.jpg


Hope you can see that ok!

Is there something obvious which I am doing wrong? I am literally at my wit's end trying to get these things to play nice together!!

The annoying part is it seems to mostly report speeds of 270.00mbps which I am happy with but then it will suddenly drop to 130.00mbps and below for NO REASON - am I missing something here???

Many thanks for ANY help which you guys can give on this!!

Tom
 
Also, I should mention that I have manually set IP as the following:

192.168.0.6
255.255.255.0
gateway: 192.168.0.1 (my router)

DNS: 192.168.0.1

Cheers!
 
Are there any other wireless networks broadcasting in the area? You could try changing the channel it's broadcasting on and see if that helps.

Wifi technology as it stands certainly isn't a replacement for a Gb wired network though. Pretty much all consumer equipment will fluctuate connection speeds and getting 270 Mbps at all is pretty good going.
 
I don't know if there are any other wireless networks broadcasting in my area - we live in a fairly unbuilt up location (certainly not the middle of modern suburbia).

What I dont understand is the Access Point is literally a FOOT away from my computer right now and I have FULL bar signal and yet STILL it is dodgy in terms of the speeds.

I have tried different channels with no luck. Any other suggestions?

Tom

EDIT: Just found that changing the "Channel Width" to 20Mhz gives me STABLE 130.00mbps - WTH?

As in, it doesn't fluctuate AT ALL at 20Mhz but at 40Mhz its all over the place. I am not willing to lose half the speed I supposedly paid money for but this seems to be the culprit - what now?

Many thanks again in advance for any advice you can give!
 
Last edited:
Its impossible to reach the theoretical max of a wireless network, Wireless g theoretical max 54Mb/s real max around 24 I believe this also carriers over to Wireless n. Also having the ap and the receiver to close will cause problems
 
I appreciate this but I have tested the Wireless Access Point in the house as well and exactly the same problem irrespective of where it is.

Come on there must be someone here who knows what is going on??!!
 
Is it a well known fact that Netgear Access Points only work with Netgear adapters?

I installed the latest Edimax driver from their site over the default Windows one which made no difference (but did give me some more options under the advanced section of the configure device menu).

Also, there is a Edimax Wireless Utility which I did not install - I went for the drivers only. Maybe this utility has some hidden option which I need access too?

I will do the install again now and report back.
 
No deal - Studio is on seperate circuit and I am unwilling to spend any more money on this.

There must be a solution to this problem I am experiencing?
 
Most N class networks will only boost the speed they need if necessary. For example if you're transfering a big file then the speed will increase if required and once the transfer is complete the speed will drop down. I'm not sure there's any way to force on the fastest available speed constantly.
 
hughythomas said:
No deal - Studio is on seperate circuit and I am unwilling to spend any more money on this.

There must be a solution to this problem I am experiencing?
Click to expand...

A guy at a store said they have probs. reported all the time with Netgears. We got 1 a few months back & the wireless died in a few hours. I know this isn't exactly your prob. it might help though link.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the replies guys - the channel width seems to be causing the issues on my particular setup. 40Mhz causes the instability whilst 20Mhz is completely fine but obviously only capable of running securely @ 130.00mbps which is not what I paid for!!! I want the full 300.00mbps dam it! I think the best thing I can do is record a video and post on the tube to show you guys the problem otherwise it's kinda ambiguous as my knowledge of wireless is so limited and there is no guarantee I am explaining it properly! T
 
You shouldn't really enable 40mhz with only a 2.4GHz AP as this takes up all available channels and cause interference with neighbours networks etc. This is probably the reason why your connection is so unstable, too.

If you really want 270mbps+ (which is pretty shoddy IME) then buy a 5GHz AP.

[edit] Even with my 5GHz AP (wrt610n) and a decent N adaptor, speeds in Network manager fluctuate all over the place. It may be down to what MissChief said earlier, that the adaptor 'downgrades' when there's little activity? Have you tried FTP transfers from a wired PC to a wireless one, for example? AT 40mhz I peak at 8MB/sec, which is strange when I peak at 7MB running 20mhz.
 
Last edited:
Benftl thank you so much for your informed reply now that you have explained it to me I understand the issue! I will try to return the access point to he retailer I bought it from as 130.00mbps is not worth giving up a wired gigabit Ethernet for (even if I am shutting a cable in the door!).

Cheers for the help guys but wireless just ain't for me if it's going to be this slow in the file transfer department!

Tom
 
40MHz channel width on 2.4GHz frequency occupies 2 out of the possible 3 independant channels. All kit compliant with N (or draft 2.0) is required to continuously scan for other networks using the same channels and if detected, automatically downgrade to using a single channel (i.e. 20MHz width) for a predefined period. To prevent one person from hogging the 2.4GHz spectrum the spec mandates that users are not able to turn this feature off. Don't worry too much about the signalling rate as the actual throughput is what matters anyway.

Wifi will typically only manage a real-world 20% shared throughput i.e. real 60Mbps on 300Mbps signalling rate. Wired Gb can achieve more than 500Mbps (full duplex, switched)without difficulty. Wifi is miles behind wired performance so definitely go wired Gb if possible and your kit is fast enough to notice the difference. What you would have spent on a shiny WAP will pay for the parts to neatly and permanently wire your home.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom