WiFi performance capped at 7mbps... need assistance, please!
WiFi performance capped at 7mbps... need assistance, please!
Hello, I've faced this problem for a few weeks now. The Wi-Fi speed drops to around 7 Mbps unpredictably. For instance, when I briefly turned off the laptop, there was a noticeable drop in activity. The issue seems to fix itself when I switch Wi-Fi on and off. I've reinstalled the drivers, updated the antivirus, and ran a scan—everything appears normal. I also removed my university account, which had changed system settings, but the problem persists and gets worse. Any suggestions or solutions? My laptop model is HP 15-bw014la with AMD A9 9420, running Windows 10 Home version 1909.
You can adjust the wireless channel your router uses. Your WiFi card only supports a single band, which is 2.4 GHz. Many devices operate on this frequency, causing interference. It’s likely there’s some overlap or too many connected devices. You might resolve the issue by switching to a less busy channel, possibly one with fewer users.
Also, kindly check your connection speeds via speedtest.net or dslreports.com.
Donut417 helped clarify things. I tested the internet speed on my phone and laptop, and it matched the laptop’s performance until now. It seems the issue started recently. I suspect a bad connection in the socket caused voltage drops and flickering on my TV, which affected both devices. I plan to fix the router and the socket, as it’s likely the speed changes are due to that. The laptop’s reported speed is probably adjusted for display purposes.
@Falcon1986 appreciates the response. I clarified a few points from my previous reply...
What rates are you receiving from your ISP? Is there another device connecting between your computer and the ISP equipment? Can you link directly to the ISP device via Ethernet and verify more stable speeds? That channel report is incomplete without the accompanying graph. Please share that as well. Also, if your WiFi card supports 5GHz connections, include the results. How far is it from the wireless source? Are there any obstacles like walls or floors?
The rating system has major issues because it doesn't consider overlapping channels. Performance problems can occur even when you're on channel 1, due to interference from channels 2 and 3. The same applies to channel 11. Channel 6 appears the cleanest, but you still can't see what's actually active or interference from non-WiFi sources. Remember, avoid channel 4 entirely—stick with 1, 6 or 11.
@Falcon1986 well.. 1. we are paying for 20mb 2. you mean the devices connected to the router? 4 smartphones, my laptop, and a smart TV connected via ethernet 3. the ethernet connection works perfectly but I use my laptop in my room and I don't have a long enough cable, which I would like to have by the way 4. the only device at home with 5GHz is smart tv, my laptop and phones are only 2.4GHz 5. there is only one wall between my laptop and the router and the distance is around 7 meters, it always shows a very good signal here's the graph, this is how it works in my room right now, @Alex Atkin UK (thank you for answering as well) I experienced this recently! now I'm always looking at wifi speed on my phone so this afternoon it started showing that 7mb limit and the laptop was working fine at the time, a few minutes later the laptop showed the limited speed too
The 2.4GHz band is heavily used in your area, causing significant interference with other networks. Speed drops are common during busy periods. Switching to 5GHz can resolve this by allowing more channels without overlap. However, coverage may be limited if you're far from your router. If your router has a dedicated 5GHz port, consider upgrading your laptop's Wi-Fi adapter to support it. Smartphones don't have this option.
What a chaotic situation, those SSIDs on channels 4, 7 and 9 are causing issues and disrupting the spectrum efficiency. You're really caught in this mess.