# Internet wifi modem question



## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

What with all the home theater gear being internet connected these days its a bummer we dont have a section for internet related questions (that I could find anyway). Figured this area would be as good as any... 

Anywho, just got new internet to replace comcast, speeds on the wired desktop (also from the linksys router) are consistently 30 meg down and 7 meg up, very happy, but why (if I have full signal strength) do I only get half that speed on my laptop using wifi? Its a linksys g router Im using, would I benefit in speed by upgrading to a N router? From what I had read N (which my laptop does indeed already have built-in) only improves the _range_ of your network, wireless speeds are unaffected when upgrading from g to n. Is that true?


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

You have discovered the very nature of wi-fi, and why a wired connection is always better from a performance perspective: 

Why Is My 802.11g Network Running Slower Than 54 Mbps?
Neither 54 Mbps or 108 Mbps numbers fully represents the true speed a person will experience on an 802.11g network. First, 54 Mbps represents a theoretical maximum only. It includes a significant overhead from network protocol data that Wi-Fi connections must exchange for security and reliability purposes. The actual useful data exchanged on 802.11g networks will always occur at lower rates than 54 Mbps.


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

Agreed. Theoretical maximum and what you really get are two different things. I use Speakeasy to check my speeds.

http://speakeasy.net/speedtest/


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## jazboy (Jan 12, 2011)

As per my understanding whether its wired or wireless connection the difference shouldn't be much. You can run speed test using speedtest.net. IF you are still getting much less speed (as you said its half from wired connection) then there could be different problem which you might be overlooking.


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

Thanks for the input guys. Guess I should have mentioned that, theoretical or not, I thought a 50% drop in performance was a little severe. Thought maybe my good install, strong signal strength and few other transmitters in the house would keep that kind of wifi performance drop to a minimum, hence wondering if upgrading to an N router might help (but I kinda doubt it). Thanks again.


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

In theory, yes. Wireless N should give you a speed boost, but there's only one way to know for sure.


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## darktweak (Jan 14, 2011)

Try to reset / restart the router beginning from modem restart. It will solve the problem. let me know if you still have the problm.


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

darktweak said:


> Try to reset / restart the router beginning from modem restart. It will solve the problem. let me know if you still have the problm.


To none the surprise the tech did have to reset the existing router while he was here but tried this suggestion anyway. Speakeasy test went from consistent 15/7 to consistent 20/7. Wouldnt think re-resetting a new system would make a diff but hey whatd ya know. 5 loss is easier than 10, only paying for 25/7 and a solid 30/7 at the desktop makes me grin. 

Interestingly I have such a strong db signal at the pole that I triple the _max_ db signal at the modem, actually have a db limiter on my coax before the modem to keep it no more than 3db.

Disappointed its not my 'first fiber internet and cable service' as I was anticipating and posted in another thread, fiber terminates at the pole actually. 20 minutes away in panama city beach is fiber to the door. Still a nice speed increase over comcasts 7/2 and actually a cheaper package, even in the long term. Thanks again for the help.


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