Topic 'Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.' in forum 'Charter Internet/TV' - dslreports.com

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:40:55 EDT

cork1958 posted :

said by cork1958:

In your case you don't have an option then, if iphone is only wireless g, so, naturally, your wireless N is "clear" like that makes any sense!! :p

Believe it or not, wireless was made for sharing (your own connection with yourself, that is). If you want a clear N, then simply don't use anything at the same time!

Also, did I mention that the N band is at 5ghz(it is a dual band router), while the g band is 2.4ghz? The iPhone would not connect to the 5ghz band. It's easier to keep straight this way, since there is only 1 network that shows up to my iPhone, and the second network shows up to wireless N devices(well, most of them anyways).

Edit:I say I want the N band clear because there is over 100 wireless G networks that my laptop picks up, and around 25 that my iPhone picks up, and that causes quite a bit of air clogging on the 2.4 bands, while there are very few 5ghz networks(only 2 others). It's a pretty crowded area.

Uh, no, you didn't mention that although I sort of figured that.

What does over 100 wireless g networks that your laptop picks up have anything to do with keeping the N clear and of course you aren't going to pick up nearly as many 5ghz networks as that frequencies range is much more limited.

Regardless of any of the above, if that's what works best for you, enjoy it then!! :)

As far as recommending a "cheap" router, I use the Linksys E2000, which is DD-WRT compatible. For me, it has awesome range and is very dependable. Not THE cheapest, but cheaper than a lot of others.
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Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:43:47 EDT

Chubbysumo posted :

said by Xanadu:

Can you guys recommend a good _cheap_ router (refurbished models would be fine, too)?

Define cheap. I think the lowest I would recommend going is around $50, and refurbished is never a good idea with routers because it came back to them for some reason or another, and your just asking for issues to come back. I would suggest the netgear WNR3500L. Its a step down from what I have(the 3700, with samknows firmware), and it supposedly performs the same. Its got Wireless N, gig ports, and according to reviews, it performs very well. Its $70, but probably can be had for cheaper if you look around locally or shop around, or if you are willing to go used, Amazon has some used ones listed, starting at $40. I would recommend new tho, but thats me. Also, here is the newegg listing, and online retailers are all the same(amazon prime shows that I get about $10 off, if you have an amazon prime account, and free 2 day shipping). »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···33122334

and heres a review. it performs well against others, and accepts opensource firmwares nicely.
»www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless···with-usb

it does the job. I would suggest tho, that you try and flash it back to factory firmware first, and try again, because you should get better thruput with g.

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:19:04 EDT

Xanadu posted :

said by Chubbysumo:

have you tried the routers original firmware to see if the speeds improve?

No, but I did just hookup my old Netgear 614 v6, and it was achieving wireless speeds on par with network speeds -- which, at the time where ~22 mbps. Reception on the Netgear is slightly better, but I don't like the Netgear because it has issues that I don't feel like discussing. I was under the impression that putting dd-wrt firmware on my Linksys would have it perform better; but that don't seem to be the case.

Can you guys recommend a good _cheap_ router (refurbished models would be fine, too)?

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 06:12:40 EDT

Chubbysumo posted :

said by cork1958:

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:50:46 EDT

cork1958 posted : In your case you don't have an option then, if iphone is only wireless g, so, naturally, your wireless N is "clear" like that makes any sense!! :p

Believe it or not, wireless was made for sharing (your own connection with yourself, that is). If you want a clear N, then simply don't use anything at the same time!
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Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:59:01 EDT

Chubbysumo posted : because i want a clear N band, and the iphone is only wireless g, so, why not connect it to the g band? my laptop is wireless N, and can easily push 100mbps with my ultra 100, and with internal transfers, it has hit 300mbps or more. kinda nice.

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:46:53 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by Chubbysumo:

something is wrong with this, overall. My iphone can get 38mbps on a speed test(ultra100 tier) on my router. I have a dual band router, and the Iphone connects on the g band, and its easily able to get 30 or more. Also, when i use my laptop and connect on the g band, I can get 50mbps internal and external transfer speeds. I suspect that hes getting lots of interference, or the routers firmware isnt allowing him his full transfer speeds. OP, have you tried the routers original firmware to see if the speeds improve?

Why would you connect your iphone on the G band?

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:45:10 EDT

Chubbysumo posted : something is wrong with this, overall. My iphone can get 38mbps on a speed test(ultra100 tier) on my router. I have a dual band router, and the Iphone connects on the g band, and its easily able to get 30 or more. Also, when i use my laptop and connect on the g band, I can get 50mbps internal and external transfer speeds. I suspect that hes getting lots of interference, or the routers firmware isnt allowing him his full transfer speeds. OP, have you tried the routers original firmware to see if the speeds improve?

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:35:20 EDT

Darkk posted : WiFi routers use FEC on the data streams.

That's Forward Error Correction. It means that the data is actually sent twice at times slightly shifted in the stream time stream. Old data sent again is interleaved with new data. This gives the receiving wireless adaptor the chance to recover one good packet out of 2 (it is able to detect mangled packets) and not need a request for retransmission of damaged packets so often. This means that since every packet gets sent twice, the actual real speed of any data transfer with any stream using FEC will be at least half of the advertised raw data speeds for the WiFi device.

And this is what folks are telling you that you are seeing. Any interference or weak signals of the access point will decrease this further.

If you want to use all of your bandwidth from Charter as was mentioned you are going to need wireless N adapters and a wireless N router.

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:55:25 EDT

whoaru99 posted :

said by cork1958:

Haven't you learned it's inappropriate etiquette to quote the post you're replying to if it's immediately above your reply yet? :p

I do it, particularly if I think someone might change their tune through editing their post.

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:21:10 EDT

nunya posted : No. I use an old Dlink DIR655, N devices run at N speeds, and G still run at G speeds.
I'm sure newer routers would be the same or better.
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Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:05:29 EDT

Xanadu posted : Thanks to you and everyone for the help.

Hey, I have a 2nd gen iPod touch that only operates in wireless G. How well will my router work in wireless G and N mode? Will the wireless network still be boggled down to wireless G speeds?

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:14:24 EDT

anon posted : Yeah cork1958 pretty much hit it.. Even though it is stated that Wireless G can handle up to 54Mbps, the MAXIMUM speed you will see (with other conditions factored in like walls, distance from router, wireless interference) is about 24-25Mbps.. Thats the best Ive personally seen on Wireless G.. Wireless N is the way to go. You can get a cheap USB wireless N adapter for your laptop if it doesnt have N built in.

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:25:38 EDT

cork1958 posted :

said by Xanadu:

You state that I should be able to get a constant max of 20-22mbps with wireless G. Why is my router not providing me that speed when it's moved to the room with the router? Do you recommend I get a better router, or adjust a setting in dd-wrt?

Yes,
You SHOULD (I NEVER said you WOULD) be able to get 20-22Mbps, but if you are using wireless G on any device, you WILL NOT connect at maximum speed dependably, even if you could with wireless G.

Simplest solution would be upgrade any and all devices to wireless N, period!
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Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 02:01:25 EDT

nunya posted : Real world wireless G speeds tend to be from about 11 to 18 Mbps.
All residential wireless devices are subject to interference. That interference varies from location to location. Even if you set the devices right next to each other, there is interference coming from other sources (atmospheric, neighbors wifi, phones, microwave ovens, etc...).
Back in the day, when internet speeds were 1.5 - 10 Mbps, nobody ever noticed because the radio speeds were still faster than the WAN speeds. Now that WAN speeds exceed the radio speeds, people start to notice.
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Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:55:41 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by cork1958:

Haven't you learned it's inappropriate etiquette to quote the post you're replying to if it's immediately above your reply yet? :p

Just because you were only able to get 12-13Mbps on an 18Mbps connection doesn't mean OP should have the same bad luck either. Heck, we all know you're still behind the times anyway, with your Docsis 2 modem.

A simple yes or no, is all that was really needed and partly why I said OP SHOULD be able to get at least 20-22Mbps.

That's a no brainer to suggest that MAYBE OP would like to get the whole 30Mbps and that OP needs to upgrade wireless card to N.

I mean, duh, do ya think?!!

WTF is your issue with me? Seriously, It's always something. So since you like being a wise guy say hello to my ignore list. Now you can talk to yourself.

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:54:39 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by Xanadu:

You're router is wireless N I would suggest upgrading your adapter to N.

Before you do that do you have close neighbors? See what channel they are using and compare that to what you are using. You could be getting interfernce. Probably not but checking that out doesn't cost you anything.

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:37:02 EDT

Xanadu posted : You state that I should be able to get a constant max of 20-22mbps with wireless G. Why is my router not providing me that speed when it's moved to the room with the router? Do you recommend I get a better router, or adjust a setting in dd-wrt?

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 23:54:14 EDT

cork1958 posted : Haven't you learned it's inappropriate etiquette to quote the post you're replying to if it's immediately above your reply yet? :p

Just because you were only able to get 12-13Mbps on an 18Mbps connection doesn't mean OP should have the same bad luck either. Heck, we all know you're still behind the times anyway, with your Docsis 2 modem.

A simple yes or no, is all that was really needed and partly why I said OP SHOULD be able to get at least 20-22Mbps.

That's a no brainer to suggest that MAYBE OP would like to get the whole 30Mbps and that OP needs to upgrade wireless card to N.

I mean, duh, do ya think?!!
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Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 23:22:23 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by cork1958:

So, you're saying you were able to get 12-13Mbps when the speed was 18Mbps, or about 2/3 of the plan speed? That is basically why I said OP SHOULD be able to get at least 20-22mbps on the notebook anyway.

just because I was able to get 12-13 on the 18 meg tier doesn't means I'd get 2/3 on the 30 Meg tier. Because in fact when it was 16 meg I was getting the same 12-13 Meg. So it stayed the same dispite the speed increase. And even if he got 20-22 meg on the 30 meg tier maybe he'd like 30 meg on the 30 meg tier. The best solution is to upgrade the wireless adapters to wireless N since the router is already wireless N.

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:09:02 EDT

cork1958 posted : So, you're saying you were able to get 12-13Mbps when the speed was 18Mbps, or about 2/3 of the plan speed? That is basically why I said OP SHOULD be able to get at least 20-22mbps on the notebook anyway.
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Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:03:15 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by cork1958:

As far as the devices, I see no reason why ANY of them can't connect at full speed, if capable, and I know NOTHING about Android stuff or Ipod stuff. The notebook shouldn't have any issue though. Even on wireless G, you should be able to get a constant max of 20-22mbps.

Back when the 30 meg tier was 18 Meg I never got that on wireless G. Closer to 12-13 Mbps. Even if the device was just feet away and LOS. I used a WRT54GS. As soon as I switched to wireless N router and wireless N adapters I did. Even though wireless G is technically capable of 54 Mbps real world speeds are much lower.

As far as the smartphone I can't say. I have a lower end smartphone. Even close by I get about 15 Mbps on the 30 Mbps plan but upload is normal.

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:59:31 EDT

kvn864 posted : This is normal, speeds could be a tiny bit higher but depending on a device and where the router located I am pretty sure you are seeing true G speeds.

Re: Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:04:39 EDT

cork1958 posted : Well,
24 views without a reply, so I'll add my opinion!!

As far as the devices, I see no reason why ANY of them can't connect at full speed, if capable, and I know NOTHING about Android stuff or Ipod stuff. The notebook shouldn't have any issue though. Even on wireless G, you should be able to get a constant max of 20-22mbps.

Now watch the replies!! ;)
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Just go Charter internet; have question about wireless.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:37:54 EDT

Xanadu posted : Hello,

I'm a new customer with the 30mbps service. I have a Linksys WRT160N v3 with dd-wrt firmware operating in wireless G only. Thru ethernet, my speeds are what they should be; however, wherever around the house, my wireless speeds hover around 11-13mbps (devices: notebook, android phone, ipod touch.).

Is this normal, or is it because my router is broadcast in wireless G mode?