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Resolved Question

Need help diagnosing slow download speed on wireless router.

Dec 30, 2011 5:24AM PST

I am getting very slow download speeds on my wireless router (Linksys model#WRT160N). I measured it on speedtest.net. with my ASUS laptop, ASUS Transformer Prime tablet, and 2 Ipod touches. All similar speeds.

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jasonmac73 has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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The reviews on the 160 are not good.
Dec 30, 2011 5:32AM PST
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Works better on 802.11g
Dec 30, 2011 7:19AM PST

I tried to lock it into 802.11g and it is now getting better speeds. About 13.00 Mbps down. I put it back on mixed mode just to measure it and got about 9.00 Mbps. Could the severe drop off during the evening coincide with all my neighbors using their wireless also? I can pick up 6 to 7 networks at my house. Is it normal for download speeds to drop off if there are numerous networks in the area or could it just be my modem.

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Yes.
Dec 30, 2011 10:20AM PST

It's normal for network speeds to drop with a lot of neighbors. I would defer to a non-mixed mode for very simple reasons.

For now go back to 802.11g and now that we have the router defaults with the simple SSID broadcasting and the WPA2+AES security we can try channel 2 then 7 and 9 to see if that helps.
Bob

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Not so good.
Dec 30, 2011 1:28PM PST

I tried all three channels and they equally turn out horrible performance. Less than 1.0 Mbps. Since I get great performance during the day but horrible at night, I am assuming that I have neighbors that have their wireless running non stop downloading stuff. Is there a way to limit the interference or do different routers handle it better than others?

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The recurring advice is
Dec 30, 2011 1:37PM PST

To get wired when possible. Wifi is shared space so to get more speed, get more of our stuff wired.

If you can find an app to sniff out what channels are in use then you may find which channels are less cluttered. Some routers do this automatically.

Bob