Network issues
Network issues
I recently relocated into a shared apartment, which means using LAN isn’t possible. At the time of moving in, I ran a Ookla speed test and found speeds around 40 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up. I assumed the connection wasn’t reliable and moved on. However, over the past few days I’ve experienced very slow downloads, sometimes dropping to just 1-2 Mbps. This was frustrating because it made it impossible to use the internet effectively. I tested my iPad and phone, which showed stable speeds of 150 Mbps each during recent tests. My Asus ROG STRIX Z370-I gaming laptop has an external antenna that I’ve positioned on my desk. All tests were conducted from the same location, so there was no variation in interference or obstacles. I also observed that one cable’s sleeve appears slightly damaged and the internal wire is visible. Additionally, I don’t have access to the router’s admin password since the landlord changed it. My main concern is identifying the cause of this issue. Would anyone know what might be going wrong? I’m considering purchasing a Wi-Fi dongle compatible with USB 3.0, but I only have a mini-ITX PCIe slot and am unsure about its performance. I found a link to a compatible adapter here: https://www.netgear.com/home/wifi/adapters/a7000/. The price seems reasonable, though I’m worried about reliability and speed. Do you have any insights or alternatives? Or should I explore replacing the existing Wi-Fi module? Thank you all in advance. Apologies for any grammar issues. (not my first language)
Begin with a clear setup. Adjust the antennae to avoid any blockages or wall contact. Ideally, perform speed tests in the same spot as your iPad or iPhone. Then conduct a wireless survey using WiFiman (mobile app) or WiFi Analyzer (desktop). Capture screenshots of both 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels. This will help identify additional interference sources, mainly other WiFi signals. Unfortunately, you can't modify router settings to improve performance, so this data won't be fully helpful beyond what you see here.
You observed changes in your Wi-Fi speed when adjusting the antenna position and wondered if a loose connection might be the issue. It seems your signal remains weak even after moving it slightly or returning it to its original spot. The consistent speeds on your iPad and phone suggest the problem isn’t with those devices. Living in a large building with many people could affect Wi-Fi performance, but I’m not sure how that ties in. Consider checking for any loose cables or interference sources near the antenna.
You can check the thread here: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.ph...i-Problems. It might offer useful insights or workarounds. Consider trying it if you think it could help.
@KungFuWizardofJesus The wireless adapters on Apple devices tend to perform better than those on Windows computers. As to your channel analyses... It's good to see that you're connected to a 5GHz broadcast and the signal is actually pretty good. However, being in an apartment complex with many other WiFi broadcasts is going to cause congestion and reduced performance, more so on 2.4GHz networks (see how much overlap there is), but it can also happen on 5GHz despite the spectrum being wider. From your screenshot, it looks like your network might be co-existing with another on channel 40 and the signal quality is almost as good as yours. When this happens, traffic on both networks have to "take turns" so there's no data corruption. Unfortunately, this has the effect of variable performance for both networks involved. The only solution to this is to move your 5GHz antenna broadcast to another unoccupied channel, and since it's 5GHz, you can increase the channel width to 40-80MHz provided no channel overlap occurs. Your situation is unfortunate in that you can't access the router to make the necessary changes, but you can probably speak to the landlady and inform her of your suggestion. On many wireless routers in default setup, channel selection is automatic to avoid overlap, but they don't tend to work very well in my experience. Rebooting the router might trigger a new channel selection; if it doesn't, then manually changing the channel to another (preferably non-DFS) is the only other option. While your wireless adapter might have some defects, I don't think it's the cause of your current performance issue. You could spend money now on another adapter, but still get the same experience as before. Talking to your landlady is free; if doing the above recommendation doesn't work, then you can try buying a new adapter or at least a new antenna mount/cable.