![]() ![]() If so, power off the modem, wait a minute, power it on and wait another minute before testing. Note that when you first connect directly to the modem, you may not get on-line at all. If you have your own router, your ISP will probably want you to run speed tests with your router disconnected. They may have their own speed test web page that they will want you to use. If the speed is not what you are paying for, contact your ISP. That is, you may find that certain times of the day are consistently slower than other times. ![]() If, for example, your download speed should be 200Mbps (mega bits per second) and the speed tests are around 180Mbps, all is well. It is unrealistic to get the advertised speed all the time. I suggest using some combination of, , and. There are dozens of websites offering speed tests. I say this because it has a Guest Mode which pretty much insures that no software is running in the background to complicate the testing. An excellent computer for this is a Chromebook. Look for one that is USB 3 rather than USB 2 and one that supports Gigabit Ethernet (1,000Mbps), not the slower "Fast" Ethernet (which is 100Mbps). If you do not own a computer with an Ethernet port, you will need a USB/Ethernet adapter. Verifying the Internet connection is best done using a computer connected via Ethernet to one of the LAN ports on your router. Most people, most of the time, are concerned with the download speed. Fiber optic connections tend to have similar download and upload speeds. Cable Internet connections have a download speed that is much faster than the upload speed. The speed from you out to the Internet is known as the "upload" speed. The speed from the Internet to you is known as the "download" speed and its the one being referred to whenever a single number is offered. Note that Internet speeds are measured in two directions. The wireless/Wi-Fi speed will never exceed the wired speed.ĭo you know what your speed should be? If not, ask your ISP. Just like you don't build a house on quicksand, you also don't worry about wireless speeds until you have verified the wired speed. All too often, this fixes a problem.īefore worrying about Wi-Fi, it is a good idea to verify the wired speed of your Internet connection. Then power on the router and, again, wait a couple minutes. The lights on the modem should indicate its status. Then power on the modem and wait a couple minutes for it to start up and phone home to your ISP. If you have a separate modem and router power off each device and wait a minute. Square Twoīefore attempting to fix any computer related problem, many techies suggest turning the problematic device off and back on. Devices using the 6GHz band will be the fastest available, but very few people need that speed or will even will be able to tell the difference. The data speed of the 2.4Ghz band is slower than that of the 5GHz band. The 6Ghz band has an even shorter range, so it may well be useful in only one room. The range of the 2.4GHz frequencies is farther than that of the 5GHz band. As I write this (March 2022) this can be ignored as so few devices support it. The most recent expansion of Wi-Fi was to add some frequencies in the 6GHz band. 5GHz is also faster than 2.4GHz (assuming a similar signal strength). Later, Wi-Fi was expanded to also use the 5GHz frequency band which is wider and thus has more channels (numbered 36 through 160). ![]() In the US, there are 11 channels on the 2.4Ghz band. The range is cut up into slices called channels. This is actually a range of frequencies around 2.4GHz. In the beginning Wi-Fi used the 2.4 Ghz radio frequency band. On this page, it is assumed the modem and router are separate devices. I think having two devices is the better approach. They can be combined into a single box, often called a "gateway". The modem and router are not always two separate physical devices. The router also creates Wi-Fi network(s). The router shares this single Internet connection among all the devices in your home/office. The Ethernet port in a modem is connected to the WAN (Internet) port of a router. Modems do not do Wi-Fi or VOIP telephone service. The input to a modem is a wire from your ISP. ![]() The modem is the device that connects to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). To start at the very beginning, every connection to the Internet consists of a modem and a router. This page offers an overview of the various approaches to extending the range of a Wi-Fi network. Why is this page here? To counter the many miserable articles on the subject produced by the Art History majors that make up much of the tech press. The range of a Wi-Fi network has nothing to do with router security (one exception would be trying to keep your Wi-Fi signal from leaking into your neighbors home). ![]()
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