Internet Speed

[trb46]

I have 60 Mbs Internet service from Spectrum when I connect the cable modem directly to my desktop computer. When I connect the cable modem to my Belkin wi-fi router, all my wireless devices drop to about 18 Mbs. Is my router slowing things down, and if so, would a newer router help. My existing router is about three years old. Thanks.

[Smitty77]

When shopping for a router/wifi today, also pay a few extra dollars and get at least 2X2 MIMO capability. If you read comparison between the top 5 performance router/wifi's, you'll also see how more sophisticated/faster/and expensive units also can break down individual pathways for different user's. Up to 5 is common. (This means Laptop 1 is on I'll say pathway 1; Roku is on pathway 2, Tablet is on pathway 3; Etc.)

All of these improvements costs more money... But since I usually keep a primary router/wife for 4+ years - I pay up to get a top tier one.

Opinions vary:)!
Best to all,
Smitty

[jodeb720]

If you connect your router to the cable modem, and then connect via an ethernet cable from the router to your laptop/PC then run your test.

This will tell you if your router is able to keep up with the speed of your cable modem.

If you find out it's your wireless that's slowing you down (which I'd bet it is, then invest in a new router, and do some research on the model you're looking at before you jump the gun and purchase it. read the reviews, look at the tests performed on them.

FYI - Linksys was sold to belkin a couple of years ago - so just be aware the brand name may not carry the same performance and reliability of years gone past.

[T18skyguy]

Make sure your not using an old Docsis 2 modem. Docsis 3 is the current standard for the best speed.

[shastagary]

everybody should be logging into there routers interface and checking for firmware updates that can help how well the router works and adds the security updates to help prevent the hacking of your router. are you all sure somebody else is not connected to your router and using your bandwidth. passwords can be cracked that will slow it down.

[Bill_Satellite]

If you are using speed testing sites they will all give results using the same terminology. So, if someone is saying they are getting 20 MB down or 20 Mb down it really does not make a lick of difference as they are simply reporting the news and everyone here (well, almost everyone here) understands what the poster meant. Now, if we were talking KB or MB or GB (Kb, Mb, Gb) comparisons, the first letter would make a very big difference.

[docj]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Is it really that important when we are all talking about the same thing? Few know the difference (or care). Internet speeds are going to be Mb while storage is going to be MB or GB so if we are talking speed and I say MB....so what, we all know what we are talking about.

Bill:

IMO I think it matters if someone is posting something quantitative, rather than qualitative. If you post that your connection was blazingly fast and your "download speed was ginormous", no one is going to ask if it was ginormous in "bits" or "bytes."

But OTOH if someone goes through the trouble of stating specific speed test results, then I do think that some degree of accuracy is expected. Otherwise, why bother to cite data if it has no meaning? JMO

For the specific post in this thread, wa8yxm was making a point about how fast his internet connection was at a restaurant. But because his terminology was garbled it is impossible to know how fast it really was. As a result, the significance of his post is lost--was it just a reasonably fast connection of a few Mbps or was he at a restaurant that had a fiber connection that was truly very, very fast. At present we have no way of knowing.

Joel (AKA docj)

[Bill_Satellite]

Is it really that important when we are all talking about the same thing? Few know the difference (or care). Internet speeds are going to be Mb while storage is going to be MB or GB so if we are talking speed and I say MB....so what, we all know what we are talking about.

[neal10a]

To keep things more conformal. Use MB for megabytes and Mb for megabits 🙂 using upper and low case B or b is more acceptable in the Ethernet world to define Bytes and bits.. 🙂

[docj]

wa8yxm wrote:

Had breakfast at a Denny's with a 5GHZ router and high speed interned. .Hit 4516 EG BYTES Files loaded faster than from the hard drive on my Windows machine (I was using an Android that day and a Chromebook later) Amazing

There are a few things wrong with your statement. I'm sure your connection was fast, but it can't have been "4516 EG BYTES". Bytes is a measure of data, not a data rate. "EG" isn't a measure of anything.

If you meant 4516 GB Bytes, that still wouldn't be representative of a possible data rate. If you meant 4516 GB per second that would be a physically impossible rate since the fastest network speeds with fiber are on the order of a gigabit.

What you probably meant to say was that the rate you measured was on the order of 45.16 Mbps (megabits per second--not bytes per second because that's not the way data rates are measured). It's possible, but not likely, that you measured 451.6 Mbps but that would assume that the restaurant had a fiber connection.

I mean you no disrespect, but I'm sure you can see how things can get very confused very quickly if people don't use technical terms correctly.

Joel (AKA docj)

[wa8yxm]

First: Can a newer router help.
Yes. especially if it is a 5GHZ job (THey are amazing story follows(

Second: You said "Wireless DEVICES" (Plural) so you are sharing your Maximum speed when you Wi-Fi but not when you hard wire. So if you have 10 devices connected to your router.. divide by up to 10 Or more if the thing vectors

The story:
Had breakfast at a Denny's with a 5GHZ router and high speed interned. .Hit 4516 EG BYTES Files loaded faster than from the hard drive on my Windows machine (I was using an Android that day and a Chromebook later) Amazing

Does slow down when more folks are using it.

[trb46]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. Updating my router will probably help.

[RinconVTR]

This single image explains a lot about Wifi degradation and it doesn't even include interference from outside the home!

[1492]

trb46 wrote:
My existing router is about three years old. Thanks.

Most likely, yes. Claimed wireless router speeds tend to be highly exaggerated, and dependent on many factors. Possibly, a more updated router may give better continuous speeds, though still won't be anywhere near your cable Ethernet speeds.

[Johno02]

probably need a newer router.