Networking troubles, New adapter?

ADT

ADT

ADT

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Hampshire
Hi guys,

I have just moved into a new flat (used to live in a house). In my old house my room was located on top of the living room (where the router is located) and I used to get decent speeds using wireless with Virgin's router and a belkin USB 802.11g adaptor.

So today I had my internet installed by virgin (same package as before, up 50Mb fibre) and now my room is about 20-25 meters away from the router and I am getting a really bad connection (even though Windows is showing 4/5 bars). This includes having to constantly reload my browser, steam downloads are maxing out at like 1.5mb/s and being very unstable (speed constantly going up and down with long periods of downloads at as low as ~70kb/s).

Now before I call up Virgin all guns blazing I want to make sure that my equipment is not the problem. I have noticed that the new router installed today is dual band. After some digging I have understood that it's best for me to get a dual band adaptor and connect via 5ghz? If so would a £15 budget suffice? :D

I don't think PCI-E adapter would be viable as I have an old MTX mobo and the slot is already occupied by my graphics card :(


Edit: something like this?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-147-LS&groupid=46&catid=1600&subcat=2033
 
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If the connection is over a telephone line*, there will be a period of line training.

But, it could also be a matter of simply changing your Wireless Channel...

*unsure if there is any training on connections via Cable as I've never been in a cable area.
 
swinnie said:
If the connection is over a telephone line*, there will be a period of line training.

But, it could also be a matter of simply changing your Wireless Channel...

*unsure if there is any training on connections via Cable as I've never been in a cable area.
Click to expand...

The connection is not over a telephone line and I have tried changing wireless channels with no joy :(
 
I will try that and report back.
I have noticed that when I connected my iPhone using 5ghz and doing a test on the speed test app I still get results of 45-50Mb/s!!! (in my room and next to the router).
 
Wireless is a poor method for transferring data, test with a cable.

The usb one you linked looks fine..
 
Right so I have done some tests using Steam and Speedtest.net, wireless and wired were both done while being next to the router using an Asus Netbook:

Wired:
- Steam: ~6.0 Mb/second
- Speedtest.net: down: 54 Mb/s up: 3Mb/s

Wireless:
- Steam: 3 Mb/s
- Speedtest.net: down: 48Mb/s down: can't remember.

Don't know if this helps, but shows how it's congested around here:

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This one is from my PC (which is is in my bedroom, wireless connection). Shows how the download speeds fluctuate:

rfLj0tL.png
 
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If wireless is a must I'd definitely get an N dongle rather than the old G one you have. You'll get much better throughput as a rule, especially over the less congested 5GHz spectrum. The only slight issue with 5GHz is it doesn't reach quite as far as 2.4GHz but in most houses this isn't a problem.

Also are you using the VM-supplied SH2? Double check, as they're starting to give out a modified SH2 AC with - as you might guess - AC wireless. This would give you much more room to stretch out and it would be worth you picking up an AC dongle if so.
 
Rainmaker said:
If wireless is a must I'd definitely get an N dongle rather than the old G one you have. You'll get much better throughput as a rule, especially over the less congested 5GHz spectrum. The only slight issue with 5GHz is it doesn't reach quite as far as 2.4GHz but in most houses this isn't a problem.

Also are you using the VM-supplied SH2? Double check, as they're starting to give out a modified SH2 AC with - as you might guess - AC wireless. This would give you much more room to stretch out and it would be worth you picking up an AC dongle if so.
Click to expand...

Just checked the router mate and at the bottom the model is SH2 AC. Would I benefit from an AC dongle with my internet speed? (50Mb package)

bremen1874 said:
Do you know who it is on channels 3 and 10? There're always some idiots that don't understand the system and think they know better.
Click to expand...

Well idiot on channel 3 is me and idiot 10 I don't know who that is :p
I only changed it to 3 today as suggested by swinnie above. How does the system work? as I just chose channel 3 by random
 
On 2.4GHz you should stick to channels 1, 6 and 11. If you look at yourself on channel 3 you're overlapping everyone that's using channels 1 and 6. It's likely to cause issues for yourself and your neighbours.

If you're manually setting channels rather that letting the router manage it you should pick the least congested option from 1, 6 and 11.
 
bremen1874 said:
On 2.4GHz you should stick to channels 1, 6 and 11. If you look at yourself on channel 3 you're overlapping everyone that's using channels 1 and 6. It's likely to cause issues for yourself and your neighbours.

If you're manually setting channels rather that letting the router manage it you should pick the least congested option from 1, 6 and 11.
Click to expand...

Just reverted it back to auto, made my internet completely unusable!
I might just take the hit and get a new dongle at this rate :(
 
Powerline adapters can work very well, but only if they 'like' your mains wiring.

It's a bit of a lottery so it's worth making sure you buy from a supplier that's easy to deal with for returns. It's also worth spending a bit extra for more recent models of adapter as they'll likely perform better. TP-Link TL-PA6010 are/were a decent option.

If you do try them make sure you follow the instructions to set your own encryption keys. With the default keys you can end-up connected to your neighbour's network, and it'll be more likely to happen with flats.
 
bremen1874 said:
Powerline adapters can work very well, but only if they 'like' your mains wiring.

It's a bit of a lottery so it's worth making sure you buy from a supplier that's easy to deal with for returns. It's also worth spending a bit extra for more recent models of adapter as they'll likely perform better. TP-Link TL-PA6010 are/were a decent option.

If you do try them make sure you follow the instructions to set your own encryption keys. With the default keys you can end-up connected to your neighbour's network, and it'll be more likely to happen with flats.
Click to expand...

To be honest mate I haven't got time to take chances at the moment. Got exams coming up in 3 weeks so I'm just trying to get myself going. I might pick some up in summer to toy around with.

The block of flats I live in is made out of concrete as well so I think this is another reason why I'm having trouble?
 
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