WiFi Speeds

[londonblue]

I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out with an internet speed issue which I seem to be having with my PC. I've used various speed test websites and they all come to the same conclusion: that my PC is slow.

For example, I've put my wife's laptop right next to the computer and checked the speed. That is getting around 63Mbps up and around 19 down. My PC, however, is getting around 16 up and 13 down.

What could be causing that? When I bought the PC (about 8 years ago) I had to install a Wireless PC card. That is rated at up to 300Mbps so shouldn't be causing the issue, although I wouldn't rule it out.

My question is what can I do to improve the speed? Would a new wireless card make a difference, or should I consider adding a powerline and give up on WiFi?

Over to you...

 

[RHB]

Unless you really love your existing PC, I would buy a new one. Technology has advanced tremendously over the last eight years and the age of your PC probably explains the speed limitations.

 

[HypoTypo]

Agree with RHB, an 8 year old PC is going to be miles behind current technology. Even updating the hardware is no guarantee it will sort your issues out if the motherboard can't cope with the upgrades.
In the long run, a new PC will be more cost effective than upgrades.

I use Apple models but also have a custom built PC tower which cost a fair few pennies, but it should last me years even if I need to upgrade parts now and then

 

[londonblue]

As an update. I tried out a powerline. I'm now getting about 60 up and 20 down.

 

[Member]

As an update. I tried out a powerline. I'm now getting about 60 up and 20 down.

Do you mean 60 down and 20 up? your download speed should typically be faster than your upload speed.

An ethernet connection is likely to be faster than an old wireless connection. You'll need a more modern wireless card with the latest wi-fi channels to get better speed

 

[londonblue]

Do you mean 60 down and 20 up? your download speed should typically be faster than your upload speed.

Yes, I did!

An ethernet connection is likely to be faster than an old wireless connection. You'll need a more modern wireless card with the latest wi-fi channels to get better speed

I don't think It'll get any faster even with a new wifi card since my wife's laptop is relatively new and that has the same speeds.

 

[RHB]

If you're getting 60 meg download speed then that's more than enough to stream SUFC live..

 

[Smiffy]

I had this issue a couple of years ago and long story short it was the anti-virus software which was causing speed issues. I think it was Avast I was using. I removed it and hey presto speeds improved dramatically. Long shot but worth a try.

 

[londonblue]

I had this issue a couple of years ago and long story short it was the anti-virus software which was causing speed issues. I think it was Avast I was using. I removed it and hey presto speeds improved dramatically. Long shot but worth a try.

The issue I'm having now (having installed a powerline) is only on wifi, and mainly my phone. This is only since we had a power cut a few months ago. The impression (since nothing else has changed) is that something is now causing interference, especially as sometimes it works fine and other times it doesn't.

There's no problem connecting to the router, it's just the speed as awful, and that is intermittent. For example, I've just run a speed test on my phone and am getting 61.8Mb down and 17.5Mb up. I'll try it again later when it stops working and let you know what that's doing.

 

[southendkid]

If it's just WiFi that's the issue you could try downloading a WiFi analyser app which will show you if anyone else's WiFi is overlapping with your own signal, if they are you might be able to change channel to improve connection. (This is less of an issue with the 5ghz band newer routers output, but most people still have routers that are only capable of 2.4ghz).

 

[londonblue]

If it's just WiFi that's the issue you could try downloading a WiFi analyser app which will show you if anyone else's WiFi is overlapping with your own signal, if they are you might be able to change channel to improve connection. (This is less of an issue with the 5ghz band newer routers output, but most people still have routers that are only capable of 2.4ghz).

Tried that. I'm not 100% sure of what I'm looking at, but it seems that there's some interference, but nothing major. Most of the time I seem to be connected to a channel that isn't that congested either.

As an aside, I did read an article on the the BBC website a few months back where a whole village was having issues with their Wi-Fi. BT spent around £100,000 putting in fibre, but that failed to sort the issue. It turned out that one couple in the village had an old CRT TV that was in a bad state of repair and that was causing the interference. It became obvious when they all realised that dead on 9.00am every morning the entire village lost their Wi-Fi, and that was the time the couple - regular as clockwork - turned on their TV!