Computer Related > Wireless "N" Computing Issues
Thread Author: Old Navy Replies: 17
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New Sat 16 Jul 11 10:49 
 Wireless "N" - Old Navy
I have just set up a wireless "n" router for the network at home, it replaced a "G" router. It was a half price clearance at Argos. It has speeded up the internet on my netbook considerably but Mrs ON's laptop is a "G" machine. Would an "N" dongle speed up her internet and do they work "out of the box"?
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New Sat 16 Jul 11 11:09 
 Wireless "N" - Zero

>> Would an "N" dongle speed up her internet

No. --- 802.11G supports a maximum of 50Mbps, 802.11N supports a maximum of 100Mbps

Both are considerably faster than your adsl speed, so there will be no improvement in internet speed. You *may* get better range with "N" and its better in bad RF interference spots.



and do they work "out of the
>> box"?

Yes. But in my opinion its not worth expense. Or the pain of having to use a dongle.

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New Sat 16 Jul 11 11:58 
 Wireless "N" - rtj70
I wonder if the laptop with wireless G has been set to wireless B and therefore restricted to 11Mbit/s. Still probably as fast as most ADSL connections though.

Having the dongle sticking out would be a pain in my opinion.

What I would do is go to a site like Speedtest.net and actually check how fast the connection is from the laptop and netbook.
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New Sat 16 Jul 11 12:28 
 Wireless "N" - RattleandSmoke
Try updating the drivers on the G machine, sometimes I've had this problem, where an 80211.g NIC gets confused when it tries to connect to an N router and reverts to B at 11mbps.

Updating the drivers usually cores it so it run at upto 54mbps. Oddly enough if all the machines are 80211g I have had great results by downspeccing the router to run in 802.11g mode.

N does often run faster for the internet, but as Zero says that is because they deal with interference better. The latest N systems run at 300mbps, where as the fastest internet speed you're likely to get is 40mbps and that is only if you're in certain areas. Sorry Zero :p:
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Sat 16 Jul 11 at 12:30
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New Sat 16 Jul 11 12:34 
 Wireless "N" - Zero

>> fastest internet speed you're likely to get is 40mbps and that is only if you're
>> in certain areas. Sorry Zero :p:

No idea why you thnk I should be sorry Rattle, I seem to recall that at 15Mbps mine is faster than yours?
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New Sat 16 Jul 11 13:54 
 Wireless "N" - rtj70
Virgin Media have Internet available over their network at 50Mbps (I could have that) and have 100Mbps in some areas.

Although Wireless N with MIMO can in theory reach 300Mbps it will get nowhere near that theoretical maximum. And if you have some wireless G systems connecting then the top speed you get will drop because it has to maintain backwards compatibility.

Apple's Airport Extreme is quit a good wireless router (you'd need a modem that goes with it though) because it uses both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies simultaneously. So you could keep wireless N and G separate.

My BT HomeHub 2 sits on the desk next to my Mac. If I were to connect wirelessly I get a 130Mbps connection to the hub. I don't use wireless in the office because I have a NAS so connect with Gigabit Ethernet.

EDIT: Just checked and my area now has 100Mbit/s Internet with Virgin Media. But I can't go for that because Z would definitely come round and do something to my computers. It's also £45pm (£35 if you have a phone with them) and I get a good enough service from BT for only £25pm.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sat 16 Jul 11 at 13:58
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New Sat 16 Jul 11 19:46 
 Wireless "N" - Zero
I wouldnt, If I were you. I now have access to a Virgin Media van with flashing lights on the roof, and a key to your network cabinet!
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New Sat 16 Jul 11 21:28 
 Wireless "N" - rtj70
I'll stick with BT for now then Z :-)

I wonder if ON has determined the actual speed he's getting on the two computers. Like you I wouldn't think he'd improve his Internet speed by upgrading to Wireless N on the laptop.
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New Sun 17 Jul 11 04:06 
 Wireless "N" - RattleandSmoke
According to my router, I am getting a poxy 23Mbps. I really ought to complain, but BT tell my very sell I should be able to get above 40mbps, just a damn shame I am locked into a contract. But then I am only paying £8 a month my broadband with a so called unlimited limit (In reality 100gb per month)

I am so sorry to mention such high speeds, I know it always caused such jealousy :p

That said when I was given the 24mbps I thought what is the point, but it is so much better than the old 8mbps connection I had.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Sun 17 Jul 11 at 04:07
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New Sun 17 Jul 11 19:10 
 Wireless "N" - Fursty Ferret
How're you getting "up to 40mb" broadband for £8 a month?

BT Infinity costs me £25/month + line rental, though it does run at the full quoted 40mbit.
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New Sun 17 Jul 11 20:04 
 Wireless "N" - rtj70
I thought the same too Alfa Floor - I suspect Rattle is not on BT Infinity but their ADSL2 service but could get BT Infinity if he paid for it. If he was on Infinity then he'd be close to a street cabinet and get close to 40Mbps.

But he does say: " but BT tell my very sell I should be able to get above 40mbps, just a damn shame I am locked into a contract." which I take to mean he could get BT Infinity but he is locked into another contract that is ADSL2 based but only £8pm.

If I had only 24Mbps from BT Infinity I would be complaining.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sun 17 Jul 11 at 20:05
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New Sun 17 Jul 11 21:03 
 Wireless "N" - RattleandSmoke
I am with bog standard ADSL 2.0, but because I live close to the exchange I get 23mbps connection speed to the exchange.

Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Sun 17 Jul 11 at 21:04
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New Sun 17 Jul 11 21:40 
 Wireless "N" - rtj70
So Rattle, you won't get better than 23mbps until you get either VDSL (e.g. BT Infinity or another product based on the Openreach VDSL product) or Virgin Media broadband? Distance to the exchange not a problem with VDSL as it's Fiber to the Cabinet. (FTTC).
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New Sun 17 Jul 11 22:35 
 Wireless "N" - RattleandSmoke
Basically yep. Its more than fast enough though for my purposes. Iplayer is the biggest use really, and when my sister moves out I should have nearly all that bandwidth for myself, as the websites my parents use don't use that much.

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New Sun 17 Jul 11 22:43 
 Wireless "N" - lancara
"..I live close to the exchange.."

Isn't the local contention ratio also a big factor?

We use streamed British TV on a 6mb line and it was fairly acceptable watching the Open Golf and Tour de France today.
Last edited by: lancara on Sun 17 Jul 11 at 22:46
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New Sun 17 Jul 11 22:55 
 Wireless "N" - RattleandSmoke
Yep, it is a bit of an issue, when I had 8mbps (around 7.8mbps on the router) sometimes Iplayer would get jumpy, but very often but occasionally, yet 8mbps should be more than enough for Iplayer.

I could pay more for better quality broadband but it is reliable and fast enough so I am happy with it.
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New Sun 17 Jul 11 23:52 
 Wireless "N" - rtj70
To a fast website I have 38-39Mbps download speed. But for some downloads I'd like fast (e.g. Microsoft) it is an order of magnitude slower - the other end is throttling downloads.

Would I upgrade to Virgin Media 100Mbp? No. Because (a) downloads seem restricted at the other end and (b) I want fast upload when working from home and I get over 8Mbps upload.

An alternative might be driving to the office. Where I'd get poorer Internet access (believe me) and pay the petrol/diesel there and back.
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New Wed 3 Aug 11 12:51 
 Wireless "N" - Bagpuss
I upgraded to 50Mbps VDSL a while back. I regularly measure 51Mbps download and 11Mbps upload. On some sites the difference compared to my previous 8Mbps DSL is astonishing and uploading photos to my .mac (sorry MobileMe) site is massively quicker. On some sites though, e.g. Microsoft, there is no difference - as mentioned above.
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