Also, I suspect it would take more than 30 feet.
Gotcha. Even so – how long ago did you get it? @Joey_P mentioned that a 2.4 gigahertz router is slower than a 5.0 gigahertz router; if your router is older, it may be only 2.4 ghz.
I suppose it’s also possible that the wifi radio in your laptop is weird or not functioning properly, but in my experience, such an issue doesn’t usually lead to a slow connection – it usually causes you to not be able to connect over wifi at all.
Years ago. Before I ditched the landline phone.
They make them longer still – a 50 foot cable is still only about $14.
Just (temporarily) bring the laptop into the same room as the router, then (temporarily) connect the laptop directly to the router.
It’s just a test to see if the actual wifi is implicated.
Question–would updating my Firmware help?
Firmware on the router? Probably couldn’t hurt, but I would suspect it to be lower on the list of potential fixes.
OK, but I’m not going to be able to get anything done tonight–I gotta get up extra early tomorrow.
This is a Thursday project, & I’ll start with the speed tests.
You’ll want to run the speed test on:
- The desktop computer that is currently connected via cable to your router
- The laptop computer in its current location, using wifi to connect to your router
- The laptop computer, while it’s in the same room as your router, using wifi to connect
- The laptop computer, while it’s connected to your router via a cable (as @MindsEye_Watering suggested, unplug the cable from the back of your desktop, and plug it into the Ethernet port on your laptop)
#2 vs. #3 will tell you if the distance to the next room (or something in the wall between the rooms) might be impeding your wifi signal. #2 vs. #4 will tell you how much faster you could get your performance with a hard-wire connection. #1 vs. #4 will help determine if there’s something about your laptop, itself, and not just the wifi, which is causing it to have a slow/unreliable internet connection.
My thanks.
You are welcome!
Based on what you’ve shared in this thread, my suspicion is that the issue is one or more of the following:
- The programs which you’re running on your laptop are bandwidth-intensive – you noted that one of them is graphics-intensive, and that you have to run several of them at the same time
- You have an older, slower router, which is need of an upgrade
- You have a fairly slow internet speed coming from AT&T (especially if you are on the same internet plan that you bought from them years ago, when they gave you the router); that, too, may be able to be upgraded (though likely at a cost)
If the WIFI signal has to go thru the same wall, this could be the source of your problems.
I suspect nothing you could change within your four walls would change anything. This kind of latency is often your network provider’s network or the complicated handoffs through the Internet.
FFS It is a laptop: you can just pick it up and move it to the router.
That happened to us when we had too many devices trying to connect. “To many” being a description of what happened, not being some defined number that I read somewhere.
I have used a separate receiver, which I could plug into the laptop. (Many small hotspots can work either way). It was small, and did not have any input for connecting an external antenna. In my case the separate receiver did not work any better than the receiver in the laptop: it worked worse.
There may be interference on the router frequency, this would cause the symptoms you describe as the interference would cause packets not to be received and requests for retransmission - thus the lag and in that inconsistency which is likely the reason you are being dropped. (I doubt you are being dropped for consistent lag, but inconsistent lag, I think that’s called flutter). If you have neighbors this is a likely suspect as to why, but can also be if you are alone in the sticks.
In the router’s settings you should be able to switch the channel to another one. As mentioned above you can try 5 or 2.4 ghz if your router has that, try either, and try different channels on each.
I skimmed through the posts rather quick so I may have missed a couple pertinent points. To me it sounds more a computer problem than an internet connection problem. If you have trouble running multiple programs the culprit is often not enough RAM (random access memory). Additional memory can be had cheap these days and is easy to install. I use 32 Gb’s memory. Likely more than necessary, but it’s cheap so . . .
As others suggest, first try connecting offending computer directly to the router. Or maybe you need an upgraded (faster) internet package.
Also, a lot of internet providers are famous for not delivering near what one is paying for.
I think the OP is talking about running a program on their work computer, probably through Citrix or something similar. Those connections are very network dependent, but not to heavy on the local computer being used basically as a dumb terminal.
Is this “proprietary software” you’re running a VPN into the company network? You said it’s confidential, so it’s possible. IME, VPNs can seriously slow down work, so if your speed tests show that the wifi speed is OK, it will come down to a VPN issue. There’s not much to be done about that unfortunately.
You said when you are in office, “there are no dragging issues, & it all runs great” - is that with the same laptop? How is it connected when you’re in the office, wifi or hardwired?
Also, maybe power over the ethernet, and then connect access points to them.