Terrible internet speeds

[Hyperlethal]

As the title says, for some reason my internet speed is complete crap. The part that annoys me most, is that it was running perfectly fine a couple of weeks ago.

My internet speed is 2.2 MB/s, but I only get 50 - 200 KB/s wireless, and my brother gets 2.2 MB/s wired. We haven't moved the router at all, and when we called the ISP about it, they said it was the modem. My uncle gave us his old Modem, which he only used for a couple of days, and as soon as I hooked everything up, my internet speed went back to around 2 MB/s, then dropped back down to 50 KB/s. I also replaced my wireless USB thinking that was the problem, which it wasn't at all.

To add to that, my cousin and her boyfriend come over every now and then, and every time he comes over, he's constantly downloading crap on his laptop, and my mom's laptop. And the last time he came over that's when the wireless internet started having problems. Only reason why I add this, is because when I was looking up internet problems, someone said that infected computers/laptops can cause problems with internet speeds.

The only thing I can think of, if it's not the laptop, is the router. I haven't tried replacing it or anything. I just want some input or advice of what I should do before I go out and waste more money.

Router: Cisco N300
Current Wireless USB: Belkin N150 Wireless USB
Previous Wireless USB: Belkin Wireless-G 54 MBps

If anything sounds completely off.. Or weird.. It's cause I'm posting this when I'm tired as hell. So sorry if I sound like a complete moron lol.

 

[RubeSmench]

Alright, there are a lot of loose variables with this situation, so bear with me.

-First, wireless speeds very rarely will be able to keep pace with someone who has a wired connection. Many factors can deter the wireless speeds--distance from the router, misc electronics in the house, obstacles between your NIC and the router.

- The modem should not be the issue assuming there is at least one interface which can operate at the full 2.2MB/s. However, the difference from 2.2MB/s to 50KB/s is significant enough this may be a throttling issue, meaning that if you exceed certain bandwidth limits, your ISP will limit the speeds you are allowed for operate on a temporary basis. Can you describe a particular situation for which this occurred, that will help to narrow down the extenuating circumstances a little better.

- The more traffic generated by family members using the Internet at the same time will limit the share of the speeds you can set aside for yourself. If one of the computers were to be infected with a malware/virus, it is very possible your network is getting bogged down with the communications being sent and received associated with the infected machine. I would suggest disconnecting all active machines first though, and then performing speed tests periodically. Additionally, you can perform individual scans on each host.

- The router can very well be the issue as well. Most routers have the options to limit speeds for connections based on the host, a limiting effect of sorts. If someone in your household has adjusted the settings in their favor, the problem could easily be corrected. You can verify this by entering the router's configuration page--192.168.1.1 or similar--and locating a section known as "traffic management" or something of that nature.

 

[Hyperlethal]

First - the modem and router are in my brother's room, which is right next to my room. And they're both right up against the wall that separates our room.

Second - Wouldn't throttling go for everyone else? Or just the wireless?
I've been having to watch YouTube videos in 240p, nothing higher, if I do, it takes well over 2 minutes (or around there) for a 5 minute video to load. I used to watch videos in 720p HD without any issues. Games, I would just randomly have lag spikes, then it would go back to normal. A few times I would disconnect from Guild Wars 2, or in Team Fortress 2, I would randomly have my ping go from around 105 to about 500, then drop down slowly. And the YouTube/Game thing have been happening everyday for the past month or so.

Third - Just going to throw this out there, there are only 2 computers and a laptop that have been using the internet for the past 4 months or so since I've moved. And between that, and the 3 months, when my cousin's boyfriend started downloading crap, the internet ran perfectly fine.

Fourth - Only thing my brother really has done with the router was add the password and occasionally reset it, when I asked him to.

Forgot to add to the second part, when I downloaded Skype, iTunes, IrfanView, and a mod for Minecraft, my download speed was around 50 - 70 KB/s

 

[carnageX]

If the issue is only occurring with your system, I would troubleshoot your system first.

Try updating your wireless drivers. Have you tried hooking directly into the router via ethernet to see if you get issues still?

Have you run any virus/malware scans lately?

 

[Hyperlethal]

Everything on my computer is updated, and I recently reformatted my computer, about 10 days ago, but the problem still consisted after. My mom's laptop only gets about 20 - 50 KB/s, but I think it's partially due to placement as well as the same issue as I'm having.

 

[carnageX]

If it's happening to both laptops via wireless, then I would lean towards replacing the router.

Something you can try first is seeing if there is a firmware update available for the router. Sometimes just updating the firmware can fix issues.

 

[Hyperlethal]

I think the Firmware does need to be update. I'll try that, and if that doesn't work, I'll replace.

Thanks for the help ^^

 

[carnageX]

No problem, let us know how it goes.

 

[I am confused2]

Some thing that has not been said in all this is, what ever your ISP is providing in the way of down load speed (2-3mb), this will be close to what you may see in a WIRED connection, BUT in a WIRELESS mode the MAX you will see is much less.

That is the nature of wireless, and the more devices that you have connected the slower the speed at each device.

Think of the water line in your house. What happens when some one is taking a shower and then mom starts the washing machine, then the dish washer, then turns on the hose to wash to car. Bottom line is not much water any where. That is wireless

Also, all of these games and a lot of online movies are VERY large files and they take a LARGE amount of bandwith to down load.

If you down load all these games and movies and other stuff that you say you are down loading, then I would look into figureing how to run a either cable between your brothers room and yours and then go wired to the router.

 

[carnageX]

Some thing that has not been said in all this is, what ever your ISP is providing in the way of down load speed (2-3mb), this will be close to what you may see in a WIRED connection, BUT in a WIRELESS mode the MAX you will see is much less.

That is the nature of wireless, and the more devices that you have connected the slower the speed at each device.

Think of the water line in your house. What happens when some one is taking a shower and then mom starts the washing machine, then the dish washer, then turns on the hose to wash to car. Bottom line is not much water any where. That is wireless

Also, all of these games and a lot of online movies are VERY large files and they take a LARGE amount of bandwith to down load.

If you down load all these games and movies and other stuff that you say you are down loading, then I would look into figureing how to run a either cable between your brothers room and yours and then go wired to the router.

Yes, wireless bandwidth will be decreased, but it shouldn't be that huge of a drop. I have 12Mbit service, and I can sustain 1MB/s+ at times (crappy service...) over wifi. It shouldn't be dropping down to 50-70KB/s like it is for the OP.