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Ridiculously slow Wi-Fi with fiber

Yanbsn -  
brupala Posted messages 111174 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -
Hello,
I need some advice. I recently switched to fiber at Free, and since I noticed that my download rate and even my browsing weren’t great for speeds up to 1 Gb, I did some digging here and there. Obviously, the maximum speed can be reached only via wired connection, i.e., Ethernet. But even over Ethernet, I never exceed 95 MB/s in download. I learned that this is because my PC’s Ethernet card is limited to 100 Mb. So I either need to replace it or buy an adapter, I guess...

But the core issue I’m writing about on this forum is my Wi-Fi speed, which sits between 15 and 30 MB/s in download, and oddly always a bit higher in upload (25 to 40), which I had never seen before. I should note that I tested on several sites and with several different browsers. Result always the same. Free tested my line, which works perfectly. In the meantime, my flatmate, with his MacBook Air (2014) gets around 170 MB/s in download and 80 in upload. That’s still more comfortable... Do you have any idea why my PC’s Wi-Fi would be so slow, on a HP Pavilion (a 2016 gaming-type computer that should be fairly sturdy)? Are there software or even hardware solutions to this absolutely ridiculous Wi-Fi speed?

Thanks for your help!

Yan

3 answers

  1.
    brupala Posted messages 111174 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   14 455
     
    Hello,
    first, you should learn that a data rate is indicated in Mbit/s, not in MB (Megabytes); that’s what you should talk about, but you write it badly.
    Download software usually shows MB/s because they deal with data volumes rather than rates.
    1 MB is a data volume.
    For Wi-Fi,
    you should check what Wi-Fi card you have; your roommate has an 802.11ac card which allows much higher speeds, close to fiber, whereas 802.11n was sufficient for ADSL but lagging behind fiber.

    --
    and … Voila Voilou Voila!
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    1. Yanbsn
       
      Thank you Brupala,
      my sincere apologies, yes sorry, I indeed wrote poorly, it is Mbps when I talk about the speed in my bandwidth test.

      In my device manager I find as Wi-Fi card a Broadcom BCM43142 802.11 bgn Wi-Fi M.2 Adapter

      Is that what explains why I never exceed 30 Mbps in download bandwidth?

      And by the way, why is my upload bandwidth always higher (last test, I was almost at 50... for 23 download)?

      Thanks again for your help!
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      1. brupala Posted messages 111174 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   14 455 > Yanbsn
         
        OK,
        so with wifi n, you’ll never get much more, you need an ac card to go further.
        or ax (wifi 6), but that’s much more expensive and not much more effective.
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      2. Yanbsn > brupala Posted messages 111174 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
         
        Ok, so if I understand correctly, it would be better for me to invest in a new Ethernet port (mine is limited to 100Mb) that would allow me to benefit from 1 Gb to make the most of the Freebox Pop capabilities?
        Or should I order a 1 Gb Ethernet adapter that plugs into USB? What do you think?
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      3. brupala Posted messages 111174 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   14 455 > Yanbsn
         
        yes,
        a gigabit/usb3.0 or usb-c adapter is very good and it’s easy to install on another machine if needed.
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      4. Yanbsn > brupala Posted messages 111174 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
         
        I bought this yesterday: https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B0871ZL9TG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
        But I just realized it's USB-C, and I don't have a USB port on my computer. If I use a USB-C/USB adapter, will it risk reducing the power for the Gb Ethernet?
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  2. bazfile Posted messages 58527 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention   20 283
     
    Hello.
    WiFi isn’t the best way to fully enjoy fiber speeds.
    What WiFi network card do you have on your PC? You’ll find its specifications in the Device Manager.
    Does this WiFi network card support WiFi 5GHz or only 2.4GHz?

    --
    bazfile
    Moderator/Security Contributor.
    A hello, a reply, and a thank you always please.
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    1. Yanbsn
       
      My Wi-Fi network card is: Broadcom BCM43142 802.11 bgn Wi-Fi M.2 Adapter
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      1. bazfile Posted messages 58527 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention   20 283 > Yanbsn
         
        Change your WiFi network card if your PC is a laptop the simplest is to take this type of USB WiFi adapter.
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      2. Yanbsn > bazfile Posted messages 58527 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention  
         
        I bought this small Wi-Fi dongle and indeed, my bandwidth has increased to 130 Mbps download and 170 Mbps upload. Considerable improvement. Thank you very much for the advice. I also invested, to be able to use the full power of my Freebox Pop when needed, in a non-barred Ethernet adapter at 100 Mbps like my internal Ethernet port. I just made a mistake: this UNI-branded adapter, which therefore has a Gb Ethernet and three USB ports, actually plugs into my PC via USB-C... and I don’t have USB-C on my HP Pavilion. Am I at risk of speed loss if I put at the end of it a USB-to-USB-C adapter?
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      3. brupala Posted messages 111174 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   14 455 > Yanbsn
         
        no,
        if you take an adapter usb3.0/usb-c you should not lose throughput
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  3. Pierr10 Posted messages 13848 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention   5 850
     
    Hello 

    my roommate, with his MacBook Air (2014) manages about 170 MB in download

    Aren’t you mixing up MB/s and Mb/s a bit? Free generally offers 1 Gb/s maximum which is about 125 MB/s.

    If you reach 15 or 30 MB/s on wifi, that's not at all ridiculous. It is compatible with 5 GHz wifi.

    --
    What we conceive clearly is expressed clearly,
    And the words to say it come easily.
    (Boileau)
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    1. Yanbsn
       
      Hello and thank you for your reply,
      yes yes sorry I’m getting confused, I was talking about bandwidth in Mbps when I said 170 for my roommate and 15 or 30 for me.
      Yan
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      1. Yanbsn > Yanbsn
         
        When I download, I maximize around 2 to 5 MB per second, which I don’t find funny at all...
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