n600 Wifi Dual Band USB Adapter slow connection to 5g

DavidVYPark

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Jul 5, 2015
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Hello, I know this type of question has been beat to death but I've been looking around and could not find a solution to my problem.

I just bought a Netgear N600 Wifi Dual Band USB Adapter because my old usb adapter could not detect the 5g network. I have it connected to my PC and it is running at about 6-7Mbps download. The weird thing is, my laptop (macbook pro) is in the same room as the pc and connected to the same network but it is running at ~70mbps.

So far, the only answer I've seen that might help is that USB adapters are just no good and that I should just throw this away and get a pci card. Is there anything else I can try before I go this route?

I have ASrock extreme 4 mobo and running Windwos 7 ultimate sp1 x64

Thanks
 
What drivers are you using ? The ones windows installed or the netgear drivers?

I had a similar prob here (I'm using Tplink usb adapters). I couldnt connect to the 5ghz channel either. Because it didnt appear in the connections that came up.

BUT, after I updated the drivers (thru device manager) with the Tplink drivers off the site. Thats what fixed it

The drivers Win 8.1 installed only brought up the 2.4 ghz connection to connect to

Nothing wrong with USB adapters. I'm using 3 WDN3200's no prob at all. All are connected to 5 ghz at the mo
 

DavidVYPark

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Jul 5, 2015
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Thanks so much for the answer Paul. I can connect to the 5ghz channel but the speed is slow. First, I just plugged in the USB and the driver automatically installed. Then I tried going to the netgear website and downloading + installing the driver from there.

After you response I went to the device manager and tried to update the driver but it says that the driver is up to date.
 
You have to extract the file you downloaded and go to the device in device manager.

Driver tab / update driver / browse my computer / let me pick / Have disk. Then point it to the inf file in the file you extracted

If it's compatible it'll let you install it

And is the N600 modem / whatever you using up to date with its firmware?

The speed may also depend on how far you are from the modem as well.

Because 5 ghz has a shorter range than 2.4, if you're too far away from it. You may get a weak signal




 

DavidVYPark

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Jul 5, 2015
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I went through all that but nothing yet. I am about 10ft away from the router (through a wall). My macbook is right next to my pc and working fine at ~70mbps but maybe the USB is not as good as whatever wireless card is in the macbook?

Here's a new interesting development. I got something called Netgear genie for monitoring the connection and it says that I am connected to the interet at 54mbps but my speed is still around 7mbps on ookla
 

DavidVYPark

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Maybe I mispoke. I'm not too familiar with the technology. I am connected to a network that has a -5G at end.
The Netgear says "N600 Wifi Dual Band USB Adapter" on the box
 
Looks like your adapters and the modem are dual band, but I have a feeling the settings are wrong in the modem. Why youre only connecting at 54 mbps. This is wireless G speeds, not wireless N speeds. Thats why it's slow

It should show 300 mbps (or somewhere around 300), with wireless N

Hmm is this it?? Doesnt sound too popular with some people lol

You could try this from the above site (if this is your modem). If all of your devices are wireless N.

You'll (probably) need an ethernet cable to get back in). Since you're disabling the wireless

As one of the customers said

There are definitely issues with this cable modem. For those who are trying to get the optimal settings from this modem, I have them listed below. I am supposed to get 200 down and 20 up, but was only getting 35 down and 20 up on the wifi. After 4 technicians comming out to my property to try and fix this issue, the optimal settings can be reached by doing the following:

1. Turn OFF the 5Ghz line, and remove all options for the 5Ghz.
2. Set the router to "N only"--only if you have "N" capability on your devices.
3. Enable WMM
4. Enable AP Isolation
5. Turn off the firewall


After these setting were changed to the above values, the down speed went from 30 to 80, and the up speed increased from 18 to 22. The problem with these routers is that if you have extreme speeds, you will not, for most people, see download speeds faster than 80 down, which is not what it should be getting. The acceptable minimum should be at least 100 down and 20 up, on wifi, if you have the 200/20 package. The problem is that ARRIS does not have the proper firmware upgrades yet installed to these cable modems that allow for wifi speeds over 120 down. Your speed will vary, but according to multiple Timewarner techs, these modems "have issues." The problem is that Timewarner will not admit the problem, or are hoping that the general population doesn't notice until they can fix the firmware. Either way, I was told that the only way to get the wifi speeds equal to the hardline speeds is to by a separate router and run it hard-lined to the cable modem; and this will give you your 200/20 over wifi. Anyway, I hope this helps someone. Talk you to later.
 

DavidVYPark

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Jul 5, 2015
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Ill try this out but what im still confused about is that my other devices (2 laptops and phone) are all connected and working at normal speeds. It's only the desktop with the dongle that is slow. This makes me think the problem is with the dongle or pc