How to increase laptop WIFI speed

[Gjac]

My Iphone MBPS is 14 MBPS while my laptop is only 4 MBPS at the same distance from router. How do I increase the speed of my laptop? I need a speed of at least 4 MBPS to use the internet. Ipad is usually in between the laptop and Iphone usually about 7 MBPS. Laptop is an old HP pavilion, Ipad is an Ipad air and phone is an Iphone 7.

[Gjac]

Gdetrailer wrote:

Gjac wrote:
Ed and Gdtrailer, checking with ethernet cable I get 14 MBPS out of router from Frontier, I am only paying for 12. This will vary throughout the day seems lower in the morning. As long as it stay above 6-8 everything works fine. Yes I have tried turning off the wifi on phone and Ipad but that does not increase speed on laptop. The real question is even when I get max MBPS from the router the I phone will read 14 MBPS while the laptop only reads half that. Laptop has a Broadcom BCM43142.802.11bgnWiFi-M.2 adapter and a Realtek PCLE FE family Controller #2.

Roger that.

Do you get full 14Mbps with the direct Ethernet?

If so, then it is possible the Broadcom WiFi adapter is failing, a setting on the adapter has recently changed or driver has been updated/changed recently via MS updates.. That Broadcom from the model number gives me the feeling it is a M.2 interface adapter, M.2 interface can be problematic with drivers and Win10.

A quick search netted this complaint on the same broadcom model having speed issue from back in 2018..

HERE

Found another speed complaint on same card HERE Marked as solved but it is temporary since they seem to have to reinstall the drivers often..

Seems to be a common complaint which seems to be driver related..

Broadcom at one time used to make very solid netwroking products but its looking like driver stability is an issue now days.

Personally, for what it is worth for the hassle, you can buy a USB wireless WiFi adapter pretty cheap and most likely fix the issue for good. Plenty out there for $20 and up..

Yes I get a full 12-14 MBPS from my ethernet cable. when I check for drivers in network apapter it just tells me I have the best on for my laptop. Besides a WiFi adapter is it possible that the laptop uses a different frequency than the Iphone and Ipad and that Frontier can adjust the frequency to increase speed on the laptop?

[Gdetrailer]

wa8yxm wrote:

delwhjr wrote:
I had an HP Laptop that used that wireless adapter. It had many issues over its life and one was slow speeds. I replaced it with an external adapter and all was right with the world.

Am using an HP laptop Though it Wi-Fi's at 5 Gig.. The speedometer wrapped the needle round the pin when I plugged in a CAT 5 adapter and hard wired it.

Yeah, I prefer leaving all of my PCs hardwired when possible, much, much faster and reliable. The 5ghz Wifi specs boast of UP TO 1300 Mbps they often will never achieve a fraction of that.

It is hard to beat a hardwired Gigabit Ethernet card, but many buy laptops to not be "tethered" via a wire so I do understand why folks want the WiFi to work and work well.

OP needs to determine if they had a recent Windows update or a driver update happen. If the WiFi Radio has a newer driver then rolling back the driver may fix the problem. Alternately they can also search the Broadcom website to see if there is a driver with a different date and build to try..

Trying to update through Windows update often doesn't work, it will simply tell you that the driver is the "newest" and won't allow you to forcefully change it. Windows manages the drivers versions which makes it a real pain in the behind when it insists on using it's own broken drivers. To forcefully replace the driver it often takes a driver package which uses a installer.. Sometimes if you take the PC offline you might be able to switch drivers, but it is not guaranteed it will work.

Something else to consider, with many security updates, they are not 100% fully tested and as implied, security updates are designed to increase the security of your PC.. This sometimes leads to new issues with breaking things that used to work by not allowing (removing) or hiding certain security settings..

[wa8yxm]

delwhjr wrote:
I had an HP Laptop that used that wireless adapter. It had many issues over its life and one was slow speeds. I replaced it with an external adapter and all was right with the world.

Am using an HP laptop Though it Wi-Fi's at 5 Gig.. The speedometer wrapped the needle round the pin when I plugged in a CAT 5 adapter and hard wired it.

[Gdetrailer]

Gjac wrote:
Ed and Gdtrailer, checking with ethernet cable I get 14 MBPS out of router from Frontier, I am only paying for 12. This will vary throughout the day seems lower in the morning. As long as it stay above 6-8 everything works fine. Yes I have tried turning off the wifi on phone and Ipad but that does not increase speed on laptop. The real question is even when I get max MBPS from the router the I phone will read 14 MBPS while the laptop only reads half that. Laptop has a Broadcom BCM43142.802.11bgnWiFi-M.2 adapter and a Realtek PCLE FE family Controller #2.

Roger that.

Do you get full 14Mbps with the direct Ethernet?

If so, then it is possible the Broadcom WiFi adapter is failing, a setting on the adapter has recently changed or driver has been updated/changed recently via MS updates.. That Broadcom from the model number gives me the feeling it is a M.2 interface adapter, M.2 interface can be problematic with drivers and Win10.

A quick search netted this complaint on the same broadcom model having speed issue from back in 2018..

HERE

Found another speed complaint on same card HERE Marked as solved but it is temporary since they seem to have to reinstall the drivers often..

Seems to be a common complaint which seems to be driver related..

Broadcom at one time used to make very solid netwroking products but its looking like driver stability is an issue now days.

Personally, for what it is worth for the hassle, you can buy a USB wireless WiFi adapter pretty cheap and most likely fix the issue for good. Plenty out there for $20 and up..

[thomasmnile]

Gjac wrote:
Ed and Gdtrailer, checking with ethernet cable I get 14 MBPS out of router from Frontier, I am only paying for 12.

From the OP's earlier post.

[enblethen]

Which provider? Who's modem? Make and model of modem? What type of wiring from provider to modem?
Have you tried connecting with ethernet cable?
Is the modem in a well-ventilated location?
Connect laptop to modem/wireless router and check speed.
Sitting here on laptop I am getting 42 MBPS.

[thomasmnile]

14 mbps with a device tethered to the router via ethernet cable; the OP's words. How is WiFi gonna be faster? Does anyone read a response before answering? Just saying.......

On Spectrum broadband, I get download speeds of 175-200 mbps tethered to the router, 35mbps sometimes faster through the Wi-Fi. If the OP is only getting and paying for 12mbps "through the pipe" how is that gonna increase on Wi-Fi?

[Gjac]

Gdetrailer wrote:

enblethen wrote:
What virus protection?
Did you check for Win 10 updates?

I think there is bigger problems than just being a old laptop with Win10 on it. Generally Win10 updates can cause a lot of issues and attempting to download and install those updates on a slow or inconsistent connection just may make things worse to the point of a corrupted update that breaks the OS to the point of not booting.

Drivers do not just slow down or stop working, they will continue to work fine unless you have allowed MS to automatically download and install new unproven drivers it finds.

That Iphone7 at 14 Mbps connection is telling, it is far more capable than that speed.

The laptop speed is just a symptom of possibly something else happening with the AP and or local RF noise.

Not sure what is being used for Internet connection and just how much other devices using the same frequency spectrum could be causing interference to reduce the speeds of all devices..

If OP is using their own cell to WiFi router, the problem may be stemming from that that router since all of their devices are not functioning at speeds greater than 14 Mbps..

Understand that I am only paying for 12 MBPS so Iphone cant go over what is coming through router, usually 14 MBPS comes through. With no other devices being used Laptop is half the speed of Iphone. I had a similar issue last year and Frontier changed frequencies and all was well for about a year. Laptop read the max MBPS that I was paying for at that time. However in the last several months I have been having trouble only with laptop speed. All updates have been performed and I have Avast virus protection.

[delwhjr]

I had an HP Laptop that used that wireless adapter. It had many issues over its life and one was slow speeds. I replaced it with an external adapter and all was right with the world.

[wa8yxm]

There are several things that affect Wi-Fi Speed
However if you are talking two different devices (I-Phone and laptop) on the SAME router at the same distance or better yet side by side the MOST likely is...
Frequency
I'm gueesing as Gdetailer did that the I-phone is connecting at 5GHZ
and the laptop at 2.4

If you really need the higher speed you have two choices. New 5GHZ laptop or
Cick here for a list

I'd go with one of the smaller ones.. I saw a link for "Free install" one one ad when I googled and dang near fell off my chair lauging (To install. Plug it in, Windows 10 will auto-configure than you may need to turn the internal adapter off but that's about it)

[thomasmnile]

DSL internet service? 14MBPS from router to device via ethernet cable sounds like DSL.....

[Gdetrailer]

enblethen wrote:
What virus protection?
Did you check for Win 10 updates?

I think there is bigger problems than just being a old laptop with Win10 on it. Generally Win10 updates can cause a lot of issues and attempting to download and install those updates on a slow or inconsistent connection just may make things worse to the point of a corrupted update that breaks the OS to the point of not booting.

Drivers do not just slow down or stop working, they will continue to work fine unless you have allowed MS to automatically download and install new unproven drivers it finds.

That Iphone7 at 14 Mbps connection is telling, it is far more capable than that speed.

The laptop speed is just a symptom of possibly something else happening with the AP and or local RF noise.

Not sure what is being used for Internet connection and just how much other devices using the same frequency spectrum could be causing interference to reduce the speeds of all devices..

If OP is using their own cell to WiFi router, the problem may be stemming from that that router since all of their devices are not functioning at speeds greater than 14 Mbps..

[Gjac]

Ed and Gdtrailer, checking with ethernet cable I get 14 MBPS out of router from Frontier, I am only paying for 12. This will vary throughout the day seems lower in the morning. As long as it stay above 6-8 everything works fine. Yes I have tried turning off the wifi on phone and Ipad but that does not increase speed on laptop. The real question is even when I get max MBPS from the router the I phone will read 14 MBPS while the laptop only reads half that. Laptop has a Broadcom BCM43142.802.11bgnWiFi-M.2 adapter and a Realtek PCLE FE family Controller #2.

[enblethen]

What virus protection?
Did you check for Win 10 updates?

[Gjac]

enblethen wrote:
Gary;
What operating system on the laptop?
Have you checked for updates for the "network adapter"?
How are things going?
Bud

Hi Bud, I have windows 10, I checked network adapter and no problems found. Did not see any updates.