Wifi strength 100% but very slow

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jusjay · #1 Post by **jusjay** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 1:41 am

My wifi strength is usually at 100% (excellent) but the internet is very very slow at most of the times especially if its like logging in to something like a pop email etc. I also cant use ethernet for some reason after downloading a new driver. So what could be te problems? and more improtantly what are the best solutions?

thanks so much for your time.

yossarian · #2 Post by **yossarian** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:19 am

Internet speed will depend on more than just wifi signal. For example, a wifi ap connected to a 56k dialup aint going to give you hot speeds.

You'll need to provide more info regarding that.

If ethernet driver breaks ethernet, then use windows to rollback the driver to a previous release.

rcrooks · #3 Post by **rcrooks** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:19 am

I have the opposite problem actually... ever since I undervolted, my range is terrible in picking up routers, but the speed is still good.

I figured if I kept notebook hardware control from booting that it would fix it, but alas even when not undervolted or underclocked my signal strength sucks on my T43 now, which leads me to believe that either notebook hardware control changed some value permanently in the registry, or else something is defective.

When I first booted up this baby new, I got like 6 routers in my range, now I only get two, one I cant connect to because the signal is too low, and the other I could turn off while typing this topic because its 3 feet away, and the strength is still yellow

christopher_wolf · #4 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:30 am

rcrooks wrote:I have the opposite problem actually... ever since I undervolted, my range is terrible in picking up routers, but the speed is still good.

I figured if I kept notebook hardware control from booting that it would fix it, but alas even when not undervolted or underclocked my signal strength sucks on my T43 now, which leads me to believe that either notebook hardware control changed some value permanently in the registry, or else something is defective.

When I first booted up this baby new, I got like 6 routers in my range, now I only get two, one I cant connect to because the signal is too low, and the other I could turn off while typing this topic because its 3 feet away, and the strength is still yellow

Is this using AC or the Windows wireless handler? In either case, the transmit power can be modulated through the driver. Perhaps it is set to the low, i.e. Powersaver, mode?

rcrooks · #5 Post by **rcrooks** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:03 am

This is through windows, I tried access connections and set the power saver to low to maximize performance, but had no improvement, so I cancelled all that stuff and returned to using windows.

I found one spot that looks like it would change signal strength, but it is already set to the highest performance, so Im stuck and dont know what else I could change.

Any help or ideas?

davidspalding · #6 Post by **davidspalding** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:43 pm

Signal strength and quality can be the two factors effecting your connection to the router. My Cisco, and the software utilities designed for it, perform about 4-5 different kinds of throughput tests, link tests, performance analyses, and even a sort of wardriving site survey tool, which graphically show variances in wifi throughput. As mentioned, though, if the router is crap, or the router is shared with others, your Internet performance will go up and down like a Wheel-O.

Try going to www.dslreports.com and use one of their free speed tests to measure your overall speed. Try from 2-3 different router/APs to see if it's your card, or that router.

Website · #7 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:49 pm

rcrooks wrote:This is through windows, I tried access connections and set the power saver to low to maximize performance, but had no improvement, so I cancelled all that stuff and returned to using windows.

I found one spot that looks like it would change signal strength, but it is already set to the highest performance, so Im stuck and dont know what else I could change.

Any help or ideas?

Have you checked to make sure that the antenna cables are still firmly connected to the wireless card? They can sometimes come loose after being moved around quite a bit.

rcrooks · #8 Post by **rcrooks** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:23 am

tfflivemb2 wrote:
rcrooks wrote:This is through windows, I tried access connections and set the power saver to low to maximize performance, but had no improvement, so I cancelled all that stuff and returned to using windows.

I found one spot that looks like it would change signal strength, but it is already set to the highest performance, so Im stuck and dont know what else I could change.

Any help or ideas?
Have you checked to make sure that the antenna cables are still firmly connected to the wireless card? They can sometimes come loose after being moved around quite a bit.

This is what Im afraid of, I was going to go ahead and open it soon if I cant get any improvement. I carry it around in my backpack, but its only a month old, so I dont really see the antenna falling out.

I really cant be the only person with this problem... Before I crack it open, can someone go through all the spots in IBM and windows utilities that I could change to improve wireless strength?

Website · #9 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 11:19 am

Just realized that the Mini-PCI slots in the T4x's aren't as easy to get to as the T2x's.

Still it might be worth taking a few minutes to check it.

EDIT: Just realized that in your first post you said "ever since I undervolted". So does this really mean that you had excellent signal before hand? It sounds like the card might not be getting the power that it needs. Can you reverse the undervolting to test it? I have never undervolted a system, so I am clueless in that regard.

rcrooks · #10 Post by **rcrooks** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:47 pm

I have a program that runs at startup that undervolts the computer. However, even when I disable it from booting at start or change the undervolting properties to give it the same power pre-install, the wireless signal still remains weak. I really have no clue what would fix it besides a clean formatting, which I really dont want to screw with.

davidspalding · #11 Post by **davidspalding** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:43 pm

Have you confirmed that you have your wifi power-saving mode set for max performance?

rcrooks · #12 Post by **rcrooks** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:01 pm

yep, gone through IBM apps, windows settings, changed every power setting in every application I can find.

Im going to reformat once school is out when I put in a bluetooth card, I give up

davidspalding · #13 Post by **davidspalding** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:45 pm

Great, but really I was thinking of this...

http://tinyurl.com/hdu4c

nutjobox · #14 Post by **nutjobox** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:08 am

make sure your wifi card isnt overheating (or quite possibly your modem)

CRSO · #15 Post by **CRSO** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:16 am

when I have my firewall up (windows or zonealarm), the wi-fi performance is SLOOOOOOOW. If I am at home, I disable it. Nobody's gonna mess with it here...

If I disable it, it is blazingly fast.

davidspalding · #16 Post by **davidspalding** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:09 pm

Just so it has been said, don't run both. If you have a Zonealarm firewall, I would guess turn it on, and leave the Windows firewall off.

Firewalls aren't just about preventing external intrusion. Good ones also monitor outgoing activity, watching for worm or Trojan-like behavior.

Frankly, your wifi speeds shouldn't be significantly slower with a software firewall enabled. I suspect something else is causing your perceived speed differences.

Wifi strength 100% but very slow

Wifi strength 100% but very slow

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