Relatively slow wireless speed with Linksys router

I've got a Linksys BEFW11S4 router and Comcast high-speed internet. I
have one PC wired into the router, and it consistently tests at 7000 -
8000 Kbps (screamin' fast). However, I have four other PCs and an iMac
all connected wirelessly, and they test at 2500 - 3000 Kbps. I plugged
one laptop into the router, and the speed jumped to 6000+. Unplug it
and the speed drops to 2600 Kbps, even though it s only five feet from
the antenna.

I've fiddled with darn near every wireless parameter and nothing
changes it. Tried different channels - no change. Turned off WEP
encryption, no change. Is this as fast as I can expect to go,
wirelessly, with this particular router?

Any thoughts welcome. Thanks.

Michael W.
Chicago, IL, USA

keybdwizrd wrote:
> I've got a Linksys BEFW11S4 router and Comcast high-speed internet. I
> have one PC wired into the router, and it consistently tests at 7000 -
> 8000 Kbps (screamin' fast). However, I have four other PCs and an iMac
> all connected wirelessly, and they test at 2500 - 3000 Kbps. I plugged
> one laptop into the router, and the speed jumped to 6000+. Unplug it
> and the speed drops to 2600 Kbps, even though it s only five feet from
> the antenna.
>
> I've fiddled with darn near every wireless parameter and nothing
> changes it. Tried different channels - no change. Turned off WEP
> encryption, no change. Is this as fast as I can expect to go,
> wirelessly, with this particular router?
>
> Any thoughts welcome. Thanks.
>
> Michael W.
> Chicago, IL, USA
>
Could be interference from another AP using the same spectrum as yours.
Try using channels 1, 6 and 11 and see if things are better on any one
of them.

Also do a survey of other networks - secured and unsecured - and note
what channels they use. YOu want to avoid those channels (and ones that
overlap them).

I no longer have an 802.11b router and cannot remember the max
throughput I ever got. But it will be less than when hard wired.
Buffalo pre-N router.



Hope this helps.

Bob

"keybdwizrd" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>I've got a Linksys BEFW11S4 router and Comcast high-speed internet. I
>have one PC wired into the router, and it consistently tests at 7000 -
>8000 Kbps (screamin' fast). However, I have four other PCs and an iMac
>all connected wirelessly, and they test at 2500 - 3000 Kbps. I plugged
>one laptop into the router, and the speed jumped to 6000+. Unplug it
>and the speed drops to 2600 Kbps, even though it s only five feet from
>the antenna.

I also have a BEFW11S4v4. It hangs every few days.

The BEFW11S4 is 802.11b only. That's 11Mbits/sec connection speed.
You'll get about half that in thruput, which is what the online speed
tests show. Typical for an 11Mbits/sec connection is about
4.5Mbits/sec. A table of absolute maximum (theoretical) thruputs is
at:
| http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FAQ_for...ance_and_Speed

However, your 2.6Mbits/sec is rather slow. It's about what I would
expect if you had a 5.5Mbits/sec wireless connection. If you have the
speed fixed to 5.5Mbits/sec in the BEFW11S4 setup, that's about what
you'll get. Check your connection speed and if it's 5.5Mbits/sec,
check the wireless settings in the router.
| http://www.linksysdata.com/ui/BEFW11...s_settings.htm

Getting stuck at 5.5Mbits/sec can also be caused by RF interference.
If the access point hears garbage from another network, which
increases the BER (bit error rate) for your connection, it will reduce
the wireless connection speed in an effort to improve the sensitivity
and therefore the S/N ratio. Try temporarily removing the antenna
from the BEFW11S4 and run the test from a close in laptop. That
should reduce the amount of pickup from other networks.

Note that even if everything was working perfectly, the best you can
do with 802.11b is about 5.5Mbits/sec thruput. That's less than your
7 to 8Mbits/sec. If you want the full speed of your cable modem
connection, you'll have to replace the BEFW11S4 with an 802.11g
wireless router.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558