Unstable internet speeds.

[dansbarking]

I recently put together a new computer.

On my old computer, using the cisco valet connector with the cisco m20 router i had over 5mb/s consistently, in fact it was never any lower when tested.

I have two of the valets, i've tried using both in various usb ports, and the speed did seem to change accordingly, in fact in one instance it grew to over 6mb/s and held.

I'm just not quite sure what's causing this problem, and it doesnt make sense to me. I thought the asrock Xfast lan program might be interfering and removing it has seemed to help, but i'm still getting very low speeds in contrast to my normal speeds.

In fact, at this very moment the connection jumped to 4/5 bars in quality and tested at 5mb/s, second test i just performed revealed over 6mb/s again. By the time I was done typing that I was back to 3/5 signal strength with
speeds barely holding 3mb/s.

What could be causing this fluctuation?

 

[nhasian]

try changing the wireless frequency that your router broadcasts on.

 

[jamesmcuk]

Move it and your PC away from any other electrical items and place router as high as possible. Mobile and House Cordless phones and base stations can also cause major issues. Like Nhasian said too change the channel on the router to see if that helps as it may just be congested in your area. A program such as http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider can help with this so you can see which chnnels are in use and which are not.

PS: How are you testing your speed?

 

[dansbarking]

yeah, i've tried to troubleshoot accordingly, the only other device in the room is my cellphone but it's never been a problem before. i have inSSIDer 2.1 and i AM in fact running on the same channel as another wi-fi connection on my street.

Myself not included the used channels currently are 1, 6, and 11. I tried changing the networking mode to G and had to hard reset my router after being unable to login to the router's configuration page following the network mode change. Currently, the router is running on stock settings with the exception of a new SSID/WPA2 password.

I've also changed the channel to an unused one before to no avail, although im going to try to change it now. What channel should i run if 1/6/11 are taken?

At the beginning of this post my posted speeds were above 6 mbs(according to http://www.pcwelt.de/speedtest/). I also ran a test at speedtest.net to see if maybe that would help. Oddly enough it records me pulling down about 2.3mbs, but putting up 6mbs.

My router is in the same place as it was before these issues, my computer as well. Thank you for your help, and thanks to anyone else who answers in advance. I can't seem to wrap my head around the issue.

 

[jamesmcuk]

Just reading your post again - are you saying one Valet is consistent good speeds and the other is not?

 

[dansbarking]

Just reading your post again - are you saying one Valet is consistent good speeds and the other is not?

Not anymore, at the time i posted this one of them was hanging around 6mbs down. Just tried the same one in the same usb port; no luck. In fact fight now i've got 4mbs. I'm just trying to convey how much the network seems to be fluctuating, as it's never happened before.

 

[jamesmcuk]

That fluctuation is not that great and here in the UK our good old virgin media does indeed halve bandwidth at certain times of day and after a certain amount of data. Perhaps this is nothing more than a new policy by your ISP. May be worth giving them a ring?

 

[dansbarking]

That fluctuation is not that great and here in the UK our good old virgin media does indeed halve bandwidth at certain times of day and after a certain amount of data. Perhaps this is nothing more than a new policy by your ISP. May be worth giving them a ring?

I will absolutely try that. If signal strength does anything to help, my signal went from 2 bars when i started typing this to 4 bars, and is now sitting at 3. I feel it's something in the setup of it all, as Comcast is pretty consistent.

 

[jamesmcuk]

its a tricky one but I can't think of anything other than disabling AV and firewalls to see if it stabilises. If i think of anything more to try I will post back. If you get a solution please post so we know.

 

[dansbarking]

the connection seems to be decent for the moment. half strength is better than none i suppose.

any input on the channel situation? my neighbors dont seem tech savvy, im guessing theyre using auto for the channels, but 1/6/11 are in use.

 

[jamesmcuk]

Just try one thats not in use - however some of my devices won't connect at all when I set certain channels. Not sure why and never bothered to look at it because it works on auto.

 

[kbafewx]

yeah, i've tried to troubleshoot accordingly, the only other device in the room is my cellphone but it's never been a problem before. i have inSSIDer 2.1 and i AM in fact running on the same channel as another wi-fi connection on my street.

Myself not included the used channels currently are 1, 6, and 11. I tried changing the networking mode to G and had to hard reset my router after being unable to login to the router's configuration page following the network mode change. Currently, the router is running on stock settings with the exception of a new SSID/WPA2 password.

I've also changed the channel to an unused one before to no avail, although im going to try to change it now. What channel should i run if 1/6/11 are taken?

At the beginning of this post my posted speeds were above 6 mbs(according to http://www.pcwelt.de/speedtest/). I also ran a test at speedtest.net to see if maybe that would help. Oddly enough it records me pulling down about 2.3mbs, but putting up 6mbs.

My router is in the same place as it was before these issues, my computer as well. Thank you for your help, and thanks to anyone else who answers in advance. I can't seem to wrap my head around the issue.

Ethernet that. So much better... Always. Find a long Ethernet cord and make it work!