This is a truly bizarre wireless puzzler, so I came here to ask the experts. I'm a knowledgeable user myself, but this is beyond me. The problem relates to truly terrible download speeds (with simultaneously excellent upload speeds!) using either of two different Wireless-N USB 2.0 adapters, even though the 802.11g connection to my laptop is outstanding and the wireless router seems to be working perfectly!?
My wireless router is a Linksys WRT160N, which supports 802.11b, g, and n. Yet while my laptop's 802.11g wireless connection is awesome (24 Mbps dowloads, 9 Mbps uploads), the download speeds of two different manufacturer's 802.11n USB 2.0 adapters is mind-bogglingly awful, usually around only 0.5 to 0.8 Mbps (while strangely they both provide upload speeds of about 9 Mbps, just like the laptop).
The laptop is a Dell 1526, and its internal wireless adapter is a Dell 1390 WLAN (see specifications here: Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini Card specifications). Note that this only supports 802.11b & g (which I first learned when I set my wireless router to use "n only", whereupon the laptop could no longer connect). It's running 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium. I use Win7's wireless zero config rather than any third-party (such as Dell's) software.
The two different, recently purchased, Wireless "n" USB 2.0 adapters I own and have tried are:
(1): IOGear GWU625 Compact Wireless-N USB Adapter. For the intended use under XP Pro, I previously used IOGear's wireless software/driver, but have since switched to Realtek's (both latest driver and management software).
(2): Medialink MWN-USB150N Wireless N USB Adapter. Under XP Pro, I use Medialink's driver and software.
Both of the Wireless-N USB adapters are rated at 150Mbps maximum send/receive throughput. Also, both of them support 802.11b & g (as well as n).
They both produce virtually identical (and bizarre) results on all computers. I've tried the two of them on different desktop computers (with Intel motherboards that lack on-board networking) running 32-bit XP Pro/SP3 as well as the very same Dell laptop (after disabling the on-board wireless) under Win7 and I get pretty much the same weird results: Terrible download speeds (less than 1 Mbps) with excellent upload speeds. Note also that I tested them all in exactly the same position, 10 feet from the router, so it's not a radio or interference issue. (However, every once in a while I can get about 6-8 Mbps downloads on the wireless n adapters for several minutes before it drops back down to less than 1.)
My router is a Linksys WRT160N Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router, hardware rev 1.0, with the latest firmware (Ver.1.02.11).
When I first discovered this problem, I tried to tweak many of the router's settings to improve performance, but the performance was unchanged (neither better nor worse). Afterward I reset them to the factory defaults, which is where they are now.
I then downloaded and ran TCPOptimizer and followed the suggested basic instructions, but the terrible download rates remain unchanged.
So my general question is: Why am I getting such ridiculously slow download rates with both of these Wireless-N USB adapters while at the same time the 802.11g laptop gets vastly faster download rates?
Does it have something to do with 802.11g versus n (which I thought was supposed to be faster)? Or is there something else that's behind this very strange situation?
I desperately need your help, folks - thanks!
===================================================
Here are some technical details that might be of interest:
Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector's Wireless Testing Results:
IoGear Wireless-N USB Adapter
25-Mar-2012
Adapter: Realtek RTL81891SU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter
BSSID: Cisco-Linksys 4B:6F:95
Channel: 1
Signal: -45 dBm
Mode: 802.11n
Default Encryption: AES-CCMP
Default Auth: WPA2/PSK
Vendor: Cisco-Linksys (Linksys WRT160N)
Frequency: 2412
Network Type: Access Point
Signal History Over Time: Extremely Stable (no visible changes over about a 40-minute period)
Download Speed: 0.63 Mbps (Xirrus uses speedtest.net)
Upload Speed: 8.94 Mbps
Quality Test/Ping Test
Grade: B
Packet Loss: 0%
Ping: 47 ms
Jitter: 9ms
------------------------------
This is the output from IPCONFIG /ALL:
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : xxx
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : hsd1.xx.comcast.net.
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82567LF-2 Gigabit Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx
Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : hsd1.xx.comcast.net.
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8191SU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.102
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : xxxx::xxx:xxxx:xxxx:xx%6
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : xx.xx.xx.xx
xx.xx.xx.xx
xxxx:0:0:ffff::1%1
xxxx:0:0:ffff::2%1
xxxx:0:0:ffff::3%1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, March 25, 2012 11:15:43 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, March 26, 2012 12:15:43 AM
Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : xxxx::ffff:ffff:fffd%5
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled
Tunnel adapter Automatic Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : hsd1.xx.comcast.net.
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Automatic Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : xx-xx-xx-xx
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : xxxx::5efe:192.168.1.102%2
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : xxxx:0:0:ffff::1%1
xxxx:0:0:ffff::2%1
xxxx:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled
-----------
Both computers I'm trying to use the Wireless-N USB adapters are running 32-bit XP Pro/SP3
Type: Cable Internet
My ISP: Comcast - 50 Mbps max
Modem: Motorola SurfBoard
Router: Linksys WRT160N
My wireless router is a Linksys WRT160N, which supports 802.11b, g, and n. Yet while my laptop's 802.11g wireless connection is awesome (24 Mbps dowloads, 9 Mbps uploads), the download speeds of two different manufacturer's 802.11n USB 2.0 adapters is mind-bogglingly awful, usually around only 0.5 to 0.8 Mbps (while strangely they both provide upload speeds of about 9 Mbps, just like the laptop).
The laptop is a Dell 1526, and its internal wireless adapter is a Dell 1390 WLAN (see specifications here: Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini Card specifications). Note that this only supports 802.11b & g (which I first learned when I set my wireless router to use "n only", whereupon the laptop could no longer connect). It's running 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium. I use Win7's wireless zero config rather than any third-party (such as Dell's) software.
The two different, recently purchased, Wireless "n" USB 2.0 adapters I own and have tried are:
(1): IOGear GWU625 Compact Wireless-N USB Adapter. For the intended use under XP Pro, I previously used IOGear's wireless software/driver, but have since switched to Realtek's (both latest driver and management software).
(2): Medialink MWN-USB150N Wireless N USB Adapter. Under XP Pro, I use Medialink's driver and software.
Both of the Wireless-N USB adapters are rated at 150Mbps maximum send/receive throughput. Also, both of them support 802.11b & g (as well as n).
They both produce virtually identical (and bizarre) results on all computers. I've tried the two of them on different desktop computers (with Intel motherboards that lack on-board networking) running 32-bit XP Pro/SP3 as well as the very same Dell laptop (after disabling the on-board wireless) under Win7 and I get pretty much the same weird results: Terrible download speeds (less than 1 Mbps) with excellent upload speeds. Note also that I tested them all in exactly the same position, 10 feet from the router, so it's not a radio or interference issue. (However, every once in a while I can get about 6-8 Mbps downloads on the wireless n adapters for several minutes before it drops back down to less than 1.)
My router is a Linksys WRT160N Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router, hardware rev 1.0, with the latest firmware (Ver.1.02.11).
When I first discovered this problem, I tried to tweak many of the router's settings to improve performance, but the performance was unchanged (neither better nor worse). Afterward I reset them to the factory defaults, which is where they are now.
I then downloaded and ran TCPOptimizer and followed the suggested basic instructions, but the terrible download rates remain unchanged.
So my general question is: Why am I getting such ridiculously slow download rates with both of these Wireless-N USB adapters while at the same time the 802.11g laptop gets vastly faster download rates?
Does it have something to do with 802.11g versus n (which I thought was supposed to be faster)? Or is there something else that's behind this very strange situation?
I desperately need your help, folks - thanks!
===================================================
Here are some technical details that might be of interest:
Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector's Wireless Testing Results:
IoGear Wireless-N USB Adapter
25-Mar-2012
Adapter: Realtek RTL81891SU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter
BSSID: Cisco-Linksys 4B:6F:95
Channel: 1
Signal: -45 dBm
Mode: 802.11n
Default Encryption: AES-CCMP
Default Auth: WPA2/PSK
Vendor: Cisco-Linksys (Linksys WRT160N)
Frequency: 2412
Network Type: Access Point
Signal History Over Time: Extremely Stable (no visible changes over about a 40-minute period)
Download Speed: 0.63 Mbps (Xirrus uses speedtest.net)
Upload Speed: 8.94 Mbps
Quality Test/Ping Test
Grade: B
Packet Loss: 0%
Ping: 47 ms
Jitter: 9ms
------------------------------
This is the output from IPCONFIG /ALL:
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : xxx
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : hsd1.xx.comcast.net.
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82567LF-2 Gigabit Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx
Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : hsd1.xx.comcast.net.
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8191SU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.102
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : xxxx::xxx:xxxx:xxxx:xx%6
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : xx.xx.xx.xx
xx.xx.xx.xx
xxxx:0:0:ffff::1%1
xxxx:0:0:ffff::2%1
xxxx:0:0:ffff::3%1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, March 25, 2012 11:15:43 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, March 26, 2012 12:15:43 AM
Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : xxxx::ffff:ffff:fffd%5
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled
Tunnel adapter Automatic Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : hsd1.xx.comcast.net.
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Automatic Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : xx-xx-xx-xx
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : xxxx::5efe:192.168.1.102%2
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : xxxx:0:0:ffff::1%1
xxxx:0:0:ffff::2%1
xxxx:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled
-----------
Both computers I'm trying to use the Wireless-N USB adapters are running 32-bit XP Pro/SP3
Type: Cable Internet
My ISP: Comcast - 50 Mbps max
Modem: Motorola SurfBoard
Router: Linksys WRT160N
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