WNDR3400V3 Has a 90mbps wired connection and a 20-30 mbps wireless connection. Why so much less?

[rpeterman0519]

When my laptop is connected directly to my laptop, I test speeds at ~90mbps.  When I switch to a wireless connection, it drops to 20-30mpbs.  I have the most up to date firmware and my device is located right next to my router, so distance is minimal.  Why do I lose so much speed here?  I've check that all adapters are compatible for speeds up to 300mbps.  Called tech help.  They had me tweak a couple of things, and said to wait a day and see if it makes a difference.  I don't know why it would take '24 hours' to make a difference in some settings changes.  It should be working by now if it was going to work.  Any tips?  Thank you in advance.

[JSchnee21]

Hi rpeterman0519,

Wifi can be a tricky business.  Given the speeds your seeing, it sounds like you are on 2.4Ghz Wifi.  Unfortunately, the top speed / throughput reported by Wifi drivers are often erroneous / grossly exaggerated.

Here's a brief outline for best performance:

1) Verify that your laptop supports 5.8GHz

2) Make sure your Wifi driver is up to date (Intel on Win10?  Get driver direct from Intel.com).  If it is a modern laptop (<3yrs) it should support "ac" in addition to "n")

3) Determine whether your laptop supports 1x2 or 2x2 Wifi streams

4) Set the MR1100 to 5.8GHz only, 40Mhz, Long, "AC" or "AC and N" only, 

5) Use a tool like "inssider" or others to scan the 2. and 5.8GHz wifi channels in your area (aka your home Wifi and that of your neighbors).

6) Always try to choose non-overlapping channels.  But in general, you're liable to see lots of other networks.  In this case, find the weakest channel and choose that for your 5.8Ghz network.  (for 2.4, only ever choose 1,6, or 11)

If you laptop supports 2x2 5.8GHz AC, and you are within a couple feet of the hotspot, your PHY rate could be as high as 400Mbit.  Of this, you're real observable Wifi throughput will be roughly 50-60% of this.  So 200-240Mbit -- Assuming the LTE would suppor this.

So far, the fastest I've gotten from my MR1100 over Wifi has been ~90-110Mbit (using the settings above) -- but this was likely limited by my AT&T LTE connection.

Best,

Jonathan