Why is my Belkin 11b router wireless router so slow?

[dannyual767]

I've got a Belkin 11b router and corresponding wireless notebook card hooked into my cable modem. My old pc (with newly added Windows XP Pro) is wired into the router. My laptop is an older Compaq Presario with Windows 98. The router is on a bookshelf almost 5 feet off the ground.

When I go to any of the internet speed test sites (i.e. Speed Test ), my pc has speeds that are 3 to 4 times faster (about 2200kbps) than my wireless laptop. What is making the laptop wireless connection so slow? My brother has the same router but a much newer more powerful laptop and it's speed is pretty close to his wired in pc. Why is my laptop 1/3 to 1/4 the speed of my pc?

My brother thought that maybe my distance from the router had something to do with it but I get the same slow speed whether I'm 3' away or 25'. Not only that, but I don't get any real distance. If I try to go into the next room, service disappears. In fact, if I go around the corner, service gets iffy . When I did a search on this topic, I read where some people can access other peoples wifi network from outside their apartment buildings ! I don't think that mine can transmit through the wall much less outside my house and down to the street . Could I have bought a bad unit from Circuit City? Please help with any advice. Thanks!

 

[mikesgroovin]

Could be. This isn't the first time that I heard something a little sketchy about Belkin routers. If your brothers works great with his laptop, then bring his laptop over and connect to your router and so the speed test and check out the results. This way, you can at least localize the problem a little more. I just setup a new wireless router as well and the first thing I did (while the Comcast guy was still here) was goto dslreports.com and ran their speed tests. Wired was 3348k and Wireless was 3247k or something like that. They should be around the same if the wireless card is reatively close to the router/AP. Have you tried to place the router in a different spot?

-Mike

 

[dannyual767]

Mike, for reception problems I did move the router. I moved it up higher (it used to be on my standard height desk) so it could transmit "a little better."


originally posted by mikesgroovin

This isn't the first time that I heard something a little sketchy about Belkin routers. If your brothers works great with his laptop, then bring his laptop over and connect to your router and so the speed test and check out the results.

Yeah, I was worried that something like this might be the problem. I wonder how much hassle Circuit City is going to give me if I try to take the router back? Unfortunately my brother lives in SC and I'm in FL but there is one other thing I can do. I guess I'll have to uninstall my Belkin wirless card and install my Siemens wired card and hook the laptop to the router via one of the wired ports like my pc. If it's still slow, then I know that it's the laptop. If it's fast, then I know that it's the router.

BTW, a while ago, I tried to install both wireless and wired cards into my laptop. It wouldn't work. It was one or the other.

 

[dannyual767]

I just tested my laptop with the wired Siemens ethernet card. I thought that I'd have to reinstall the software to use it. However, after inserting the card with the power off and then turning the computer on, the card was operable . Maybe I never uninstalled it way back when . Anyway, I reran my speed tests both on my pc and laptop in wired configuration through the Belkin router. pc-2166kbps and laptop-640kbps. This is less than 1/3 the speed of the pc.

I reinstalled the wireless card and retested and the fastest speed I got was 609kbps with most tests coming in at 590kbps. In any case, I think that the old laptop is the problem.

 

[HoLoCroN]

I just tested my laptop with the wired Siemens ethernet card. I thought that I'd have to reinstall the software to use it. However, after inserting the card with the power off and then turning the computer on, the card was operable . Maybe I never uninstalled it way back when . Anyway, I reran my speed tests both on my pc and laptop in wired configuration through the Belkin router. pc-2166kbps and laptop-640kbps. This is less than 1/3 the speed of the pc.

I reinstalled the wireless card and retested and the fastest speed I got was 609kbps with most tests coming in at 590kbps. In any case, I think that the old laptop is the problem.

I think your right my friend...

If you have multiple PC's running off the same connection and your laptop is the only one experiencing problems.... It might be the laptop.