View original (French)

My PC has poor Wi-Fi reception.

Celia-D Posted messages 71 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -  
brupala Posted messages 111176 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -

Hello,

I have fiber with Sosh, and currently about 40 Mbps for the download speed (I won't mention the upload speed because it's always higher than the download speed, and it doesn't bother me too much) on a computer (a family member's) and a smartphone (Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G). My laptop (an old Asus from 2014 running on Win10) has a speed ranging from 4 to 7 Mbps (4.88 precisely right now, I'm crying) according to speedtest.net.

So I contact a Sosh advisor, who tells me that the box is working perfectly, with over 300 Mbps in both directions. He insists that the issue is a distance problem; I know that's possible, but my PC is at the same distance from the box as my phone... (Also, it's old, its battery is dead, to test if it works better when closer or with an ethernet cable, I have to turn it off, unplug it, move it, plug it back in, turn it on, wait for it to start properly otherwise it will lag (but normally as long as I give it time to start up well it works fine, a bit slow but it's manageable), and then I have to reverse the operation to put it back in my room about 10m away from the box, because anyway I don't intend to use it daily close to the box which is located in a communal area.) Yet, even if my PC and phone are both the same distance from the box, the phone receives Wi-Fi better, and the advisor can't explain to me if that's normal. Bringing my phone close to the box, I reach about 70 Mbps.

And I ask the advisor whether it’s normal for the devices not to reach the 300 Mbps of the box (I can understand that it may decrease if multiple devices are connected at the same time), but he neither confirms nor denies that...

So, several questions:

1 - Is the advisor messing with me when he says "Yes, everything is normal, the box works at 300 Mbps"?

2 - Is it normal for devices not to have 300 Mbps but around 40 if multiple are connected? (I think so, but I prefer to be sure.)

3 - Is it normal for a device next to the box to only have 70 Mbps? (Again, I think so if there are several devices, but the advisor can't seem to say “Yes, don’t worry, everything is normal,” which makes me distrustful.)

4 - Is it normal for two devices at the same distance from the box to have such different speeds?

5 - Could the age of the device play a role? I suspect it does, but again, apart from the internet, the computer works very well, so I'm dubious that this is the only explanation.

6 - I suspect that in my case, distance and equipment indeed play a role, but sometimes my PC receives the internet much better (I need to check its speed during those times), so I think it’s not just that, and even if I bothered to bring it closer to the box for testing (or buy a repeater), the connection would probably still be barely acceptable, and not on par with a fiber connection... So, the real question: what makes my PC in particular receive the Wi-Fi poorly, and how can I get it to have a good connection please? (Ideally, one at 300 Mbps as promised by the box when it's the only device connected...)

Thank you in advance, because this is unlivable!

3 answers

  1.
    brupala Posted messages 111176 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   14 456
     

    Hello,

    to get the full bandwidth of a fiber connection, you need to connect via an ethernet cable to the box; Wi-Fi, unless you have recent Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6 cards (which is probably the case with your smartphone), will always lag behind.

    For now, your PC has an old card capable only of Wi-Fi n (Wi-Fi 4), which was sufficient for an ADSL connection but is lagging on a fiber connection.

    And there you have it....

    But darn, those line spaces are annoying!!

    1
  2. quentin2121 Posted messages 9010 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   Ambassador 1 313
     

    Hello,

    Can you take a screenshot of the Device Manager, expanded tab of the wifi network card!

    When multiple devices are connected to the same router, the connection is shared among them, resulting in lower speeds, which is logical! An old PC has a less efficient browser, and the operation in "https:" is less performant!

    0
    1. Celia-D Posted messages 71 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   6
       

      Hello, is that right?

      And thank you for your response, it seemed logical to me too, but the advisor who couldn't manage to answer "yes" when I asked the question made me doubt... ^^'

      0
      1. quentin2121 Posted messages 9010 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   1 313 > Celia-D Posted messages 71 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
         

        Everything is normal with your network card, perform tests with only one device connected to the Wi-Fi and let me know the internet speed result!

        0
      2. Celia-D Posted messages 71 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   6 > quentin2121 Posted messages 9010 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
         

        Thanks! It won’t be possible today; I have family members currently working from home, but I’ll keep you updated as soon as I can!

        But, would you happen to have a hypothesis explaining why my PC takes such a hit when the connection is shared?

        0
  3. Pierr10 Posted messages 13851 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention   5 853
     

    Hello,

    As brupala told you, the first thing to do would be to connect the box to a computer with an Ethernet cable and then measure the speed. You should be close to the 300 Mb/s promised by Orange.

    Then, it should be noted that your box probably broadcasts 2 Wifi signals: one at 2.4 GHz and one at 5 GHz.
    The 2.4 GHz signal has better range and is less sensitive to obstacles. However, it corresponds to an older standard and only ensures a low speed.

    It would be essential for these 2 signals to be clearly identified by different names (SSIDs) in the box configuration so that you know which network your devices are connected to.
    I refer you to the Orange page: https://assistance.orange.fr/livebox-modem/toutes-les-livebox-et-modems/installer-et-utiliser/piloter-et-parametrer-votre-materiel/le-parametrage-du-wifi/livebox-4-configurer-deux-reseaux-wifi-distincts_188772-720614

    Regarding your equipment:

    * Your screenshot shows that the old computer can only receive the 2.4 GHz signal; the wifi card is old (protocol 802.11bgn) and therefore the measured speed is low. This is normal.

    * The smartphone should receive both signals; if it is connected to the 5 GHz network, the speed should be high.

    To clarify: I measured with my Galaxy A52 2m away from my Freebox: 30 Mb/s on 2.4 GHz and 245 Mb/s on 5 GHz.

    In summary,

    • Measure the connection speed with a wired connection. If you are not close to 300 Mb/s, complain to Orange.
    • Check your Wifi configuration and identify the 2 networks. Connect to the 5 GHz network if your equipment allows it.

    What is well conceived is clearly stated,
    And the words to express it come easily.
    (Boileau)

    0
    1. Celia-D Posted messages 71 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   6
       

      Thank you very much for your reply,

      So with an ethernet cable, it gives about 250 Mbps, which is very good and more than sufficient, but maybe still far from the 300 that they assured me I have?

      I have "dissociated" the two SSIDs, thank you! So I put my phone on the 5 GHz signal and I will tell my family members to switch to it, I imagine that logically it will free up a bit more space for my old PC on the 2.4 GHz signal and that it could speed up the connection a bit? Well at least it should improve on the newer devices, and that's good enough, thank you very much.

      However, for my PC, is there any way to "adapt" it to receive the 5 GHz signal? I guess it's possible to change the wifi card for a more modern one, but I don't see myself doing it myself (and I don't really know who to contact to do it for me, plus I don't want to pay a lot for modifications on a device that is functional but at the end of its life...), but is there a way to plug in an external wifi card or something like that? Because even by bringing my PC next to the box, the connection remained just as bad, so I wouldn't be against an alternative...

      0
      1. brupala Posted messages 111176 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   14 456 > Celia-D Posted messages 71 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
         

        It's not the wifi/usb adapters that are missing, you can't get much easier to install.

        0