WiFi connection extremely confusing

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Pakos

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Jun 24, 2014
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Here's a tough one for you guys. I recently built a PC and to allow myself to connect to the internet I installed a TP Link TL-WN881ND into my computer. The connection has been simply terrible and there are so many bits of information I have I will put them in seperate points. My WiFi box is downstairs.
- My broadband connection, when tested downstairs, is 35Mbps (tested on a laptop).
- Upstairs, I receive a droppy signal between 0.5 and 8 Mbps however at some points I get less than 0.1 Mbps and then I disconnect completely.
- When another device has its speed tested next to mine (which is on) gets around 10Mbps but when my computer is turned off it gets the maximum 35Mbps.
- I brought my PC downstairs and got the max connection.
- We also tried moving the laptop close to and away from my PC (which was turned on and upstairs) and when it was close the speed got slower and when it was away it got faster.

I am out of ideas of whether it is a problem with the card, the PC itself or the broadband. Suggestions?

Thanks for any replies
 
Solution
razor512
Different devices will get different speeds at the same range. It all depends on the wifi radio and antenna. For example if your router uses horizontally polarized antennas and your laptop uses vertically polarized antennas, then you will likely get far less performance than another device which is only using horizontally polarized antennas.

You may also end up with a device that has a more sensitive wifi radio and is able to make better use of the weaker signal. Also consider antenna placement, the issue with PCI wifi adapters is that half of the antenna is blocked by a giant RF noisy metal shield (the case), It the computer case in the path of the wifi signal? (you will get far less performance if the signal has to go through many...
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drkatz42

drkatz42

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Apr 5, 2014
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I must say I'm a bit confused with your post. Question: does your router offer both 2.4 and 5.0 ghz? For instance, my router broadcasts on both bands and I can connect to either. My phone gets better performance using the 2.4ghz band while my tablet gets better performance using the 5.0ghz band.(this is obviously particular to the chipset of either device) If your router does also broadcast at 5.0ghz, perhaps try a different wifi adapter on your computer.

 
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razor512

razor512

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Jun 16, 2007
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Different devices will get different speeds at the same range. It all depends on the wifi radio and antenna. For example if your router uses horizontally polarized antennas and your laptop uses vertically polarized antennas, then you will likely get far less performance than another device which is only using horizontally polarized antennas.

You may also end up with a device that has a more sensitive wifi radio and is able to make better use of the weaker signal. Also consider antenna placement, the issue with PCI wifi adapters is that half of the antenna is blocked by a giant RF noisy metal shield (the case), It the computer case in the path of the wifi signal? (you will get far less performance if the signal has to go through many layers of metal and noise producing components)

If the positioning is getting in the way of the signal, than you may need to get antennas that can be moved further from the case.
 
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