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Linksys Wireless G Router Faster than N

Hi Experts,

I just recentley replaced my Linksys WRT54G broadband router with WRT150N home router, it is connected by a wire to one Pc and wirelessly to one laptop (sony VIAO) a couple years old with a WPC300N notebook adapter, the installation went fine pretty much, I had some issues with the adapter picking up the signal (could see the network but not connect) looking at some forums, I followed some steps to disable the wireless zero service and that solved it, now the notebook always connects. However it seems that the connection is slower now on both the PC and laptop than it was with the old router. I have a wireless N router installed at another home and it worked great. What could the problem be? is it the provider or the router?

Make sure that your firmware is up to date with that wireless router. If it isn't I would update that as it can increase the performance, especially with that model.

ASKER

ok I have another comment, I actually switched back to the old router and it was faster, this doesn't make sense. Doesn't WRT300N mean 300Mb per sec?

ASKER

How can I check what firmware is installed?

you can connect up to your router using the default gateway IP something like 192.168.1.1. Then check on the main information page it should have that information for you. Please look at the links below, they may help you.

Sorry for the long links, this is the user guide.

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=Content-Type&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DWRT150N_ug.pdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1193768812096&ssbinary=true&lid=1218384378B07

This is the firmware information and upgrade

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_CASupport_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1169671597537&packedargs=sku%3D1175233984378&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=9753784378B03&displaypage=download

let me know if this helps.

ASKER

ok will try that and post back. Thanks

ASKER

That didn't help, I downloaded the latest firmware (based on the site) and installed it, actually after I was done it looks like the one I installed might have been older then what came with the machine. The machine firmware installed before was 1.51 something and now it is 1.09 something..

So now what? There is very noticable difference in the performance of this new router and the old one

If there is really a huge difference perhaps you should return that router and try another one -- or just stil with the old router. I know its probably not the solution you want to hear, but theres not much else to try at this point unless you want to trade out the antenna

In Network Connections, select the wireless N adapter and at the bottom of the upper-left menu, click Change settings of this connection.
Then click the Configure button on the wireless card's properties dialog. Next pick the Advanced tab.
Many 11n drivers actually install with the 'n' functions disabled by default (possibly because it's not a ratified standard yet). Look through them and see if 'a/b/g ONLY' is selected somewhere.
Also choose 40MHz bandwidth for 11n instead of the default 20MHz if that option is available.
Don't make wholesale changes to the Advanced settings, though. If you have questions on them and they're not documented (typical), they can usually be found with a google or 2... or feel free to ask EE. :-)

ASKER

maskedweasel:, thanks for the feedback, the store where I bought it won't let me return or exchange. i tried then found out they only return/exchange specific inventory and this router does not happen to be one of them. Is there anything else I can try, I saw on some forums that the Linksys firmware is really bad but that there is third party linux firware that sometimes fixes the problem with this router. What do you think?

Darr247,
not sure I got what you mean exactly, do you mean on the laptop machine with the adapter on it? or on the PC connected to the router, if you meant the laptop adapter, please note that the connection is slow with both wired and wireless connection, which made me think something was wrong with the router itself and not the wireless settings, what do you think?

Thanks

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Do some comparative speed tests at places like SpeedGuide (http://www.speedguide.net/speedtest/).
You should not notice a difference in speed from your provider between routers, because very few connections will max out even 802.11b, let alone a/g or n - a T1 line provides only 1.5mbps; a T3 line ($thousands per month) gets about 45mbps, and most (I said ''most''' I'm not seeking arguments) cable connections don't go above 5mbps... and if they don't max out the wireless they shouldn't come close to maxing out the cat5 connection.

There are test programs that can give you local measurements, too. I use NetPerSec. I downloaded it free using a code from PCMag, but I guess without the code you have to pay to download it (I don't have the magazine anymore to tell you the code - sorry).
If the new router is really slower, the difference should be much-more distinct on the LAN side.

ASKER

maskedweasel:,

Thanks I will try those settings, so change it to N only since all the adapters I use support N anyway right?

As for the firmware, I was under the impression I could reinstall the Linksys firmware if needed? was I mistaken? uh-oh...maybe should clear that up.

I was going to call them, but I have also heard reports now they make you pay for support calls

When you install an incompatible version of firmware you can run the risk of ruining the hardware altogether. I would double check that the firmware is compatible -- like you may consider calling linksys and asking them. Especially if you can't return the router, you do NOT want to make it inoperable.

I do not remember ever having to pay for support. Try the online chat if you can.

http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksys.cfg/php/enduser/live_request.php?lid=4965377881L07"%20target="new

Ask them if you have to pay for further support. Most importantly just be careful with the firmware updates.

ASKER

O, thanks, I will ad then I will post back soon

ASKER

Dear Experts, I just want to apologize for the delay, the computer I was working on has a motherboard issue now that I need to fix before I can get back to the router issue. Please bare with me as I do not normally take this long to close questions. I will get back to you as soon as I can and as soon as I have tried your suggestions

Sorry Again

ASKER

ok, I resolved the othermachine issues. My motherboard got fried and I was in a mess to get my hard drive working again, now I am back up, I tried the Linksys chat, they asked me if I had done a hard reset after installing the firmware. I said no, so then they advised I should reinstall the driver and do the hard reset, and if that didn't work to try brining down the MTU to 1400. Did both those things with no use.

Now what, should I go back to support?

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ASKER

Dear Experts,
I am extremly sorry to get back to you at such a late date, I have been having so much trouble with my computer (if you see all my open questions about harware issues) that I have not been able to get back to this. So if you don't mind I would greatly appreciate your continued help to close this issue

ASKER

Darr247,

to answer part of the question, the settings on the WRT150N:

Network Mode- Mixed
RadioBand Auto
Wide Channel Auto
Standard Channel Auto
SSID Broadcast Enabled
Wireless Security Tab: Disabled for now
Wireless MAC Filter: Disabled for now

Advanced Wireless Settings:
AP Isolation Disabled
Frame Burst Enabled
Authentication Type Auto
Basic Rate Default
Transmission Rate Auto
N Transmission Rate Auto
CTS Protection Mode Auto
Beacon Interval 100
DTIM Interval 1
Fragmentation Threshold 2346
RTS Threshold 2347

Internet Connection Type PPPoE
MTU Manual 1492
DHCP Server Enabled

ASKER

Also you might try tweaking the TCP/IP settings. e.g. you might need to open the receive window somewhat... what size is your receive window (RWIN) now? http://www.speedguide.net/analyzer.php

Have no idea what you are talking about

ASKER

Cordless phones, microwaves, baby monitors, et al, can cause interference on the 2.4GHz band, of course.

But those never affected the older Router so I assumed they were not the cause

> Have no idea what you are talking about

If you follow the link I provided, and that you quoted, one of the items it examines and displays is the receive window (RWIN) size.

ASKER

ok will do

ASKER

Hi experts, I think I have kept this open too long, my appologies, it took some time to fix the computer and also the chat support refused to help seeing as I am living outside the US, so I haven't fixed the issue, but you have all made a great effort so I will split the points based on that. Thank you

I found a link for NetPerSec on ZDNet's Asia site, which doesn't charge you to download it.

http://www.zdnetasia.com/downloads/pc/swinfo/0,39043052,39429189s,00.htm

Works great for measuring transfer speeds locally (e.g. between your computer and another device on your LAN).