Best wireless Wi-Fi network adapter?

Buttson · Aug 29, 2016

I want to improve my internet speed without spending a bunch of money, and I have a little wireless Wi-Fi adapter that I use, would buying a new one improve my internet speeds? I have a Netgear WNCE2001, and I'm not sure how good it is compared to what else I could be using. I'm just fed up with my internet going out weekly and slow speeds daily, any wireless adapter recommendations or is mine not the problem?

I'll try to provide all the info I can if any more is needed.

(Canada)

hang-the-9 · Aug 30, 2016

Are you sure the issue is with the WiFi adapter? Is this the only computer with the slowness issue? What router do you have? How far away from the router is the system? Are there walls in between? Signal strength OK on the signal?

Buttson · Aug 31, 2016

hang-the-9 :

No, I'm not sure if that's the issue for sure, This is the only computer affected when this particular problem happens, I have a pace 3801hgv router, my computer and adapter are roughly 15 ft apart on the same level, and in separate rooms, so between 2 doors and a hallway. And how can I check my signal strength?

hang-the-9 · Aug 31, 2016

Buttson :

Look in properties of the WiFi adapter, you will see the signal strength. It should go from Excellent to Poor along with a 5 bar rating.

Test the system in the same room with the router, see how that works.

It may be your modem/router, that Pace got 2.5 stars from 11 reviews on Amazon. Looks like it's the standard setup for AT&T DSL, check with them if you can configure it as just a modem and then get your own router to use.

If you are after good speeds and on a budget, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320240

This will be my next router I think, AC speeds are good, but I'm after more distance and stability rather than speed, a good AC router is about $50 or more over the N66W (there is also the U model which is black, but they are the same).

James Mason · Aug 31, 2016

So... one thing to note, your wireless devices may be limited/capped if you have a slow/old wifi security type (WEP) device on the network.

It'll be capped by offering support for older security devices.

Like I could get faster wifi speeds if I setup my wifi network to only allow WPA2 connections, but that would prevent my Nintendo DS (or whatever) from accessing the internet at all.

Your adapter the WNCE2001 is also limited to the 2.4 ghz network, which can be clogged by ALL the other 2.4 ghz traffic in the area.

there's also these things from the FAQ of your adapter:

Why do I get lower throughput? I also have some dead spots at my home.
Make sure the WLAN LED is green. If it is not green color, move WNCE2001 closer to your AP.
Make sure you don’t have other wireless interference at the same location like 2.4GHz DECT phone, Blue tooth devices, 2.4GHz baby monitors, etc.
Make sure you don’t use the same channel as your neighbors. If there are many APs in the air, try to find the channel with less AP’s and less signal strength in your neighborhood and use that channel.

Why can’t I play HD files smoothly over wireless?
Make sure your AP is not set to legacy B or G mode.
Make sure your 11N AP is set to 20MHz or 20/40MHz.
Make sure there is no other wireless interference in your home like a 2.4GHz digital phone, baby monitor, or microwave.
Make sure WLAN LED is green light. If the WLAN LED is amber or red color, please move it closer to AP.

Buttson · Aug 31, 2016

When I was looking around my taskbar I saw that OneDrive was syncing files although I've only used OneDrive on my computer 2-3 times, Do you think that could be the problem? Maybe an error was causing it to sync files constantly or something? I disabled it and now my ping and down/up speed is good. If my lag persists I'll keep trying to diagnose it but do you think that could have been the problem?

James Mason · Aug 31, 2016

Yes, onedrive syncing can be a cause of slowdown.
https://support.office.com/en-US/article/Turn-off-or-uninstall-OneDrive-f32a17ce-3336-40fe-9c38-6efb09f944b0

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