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More speed/bandwidth from an 802.11n laptop<-->WiFi Router/Modem connection?

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IainB:
The rate seems to fluctuate  between 32 and 52mbps, regardless of whether you are up close to the router or 9 meters away and with two plasterboard and steel-framed walls in between. I have seen momentary peaks of 58.5 and 59.0mbps at the 9 metre point and momentary troughs of 23mbps.
Any other appliances involved? Probably not, because:

* Switching off/on a nearby TV doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference.
* Switching off/on IPv6 support for the Broadcom WiFi device doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference either.
I don't know which is the weakest link.
I could try:

* checking the performance of the ADSL2+ connection for any constraint.
* fitting a newer model WiFi device with "full" 802.11n support, in the laptop.
* installing a 150 or 300mbps router with "full" 802.11n support.
I suspect that it may be that you'll never get the 100+ mbps rates unless both the router and the WiFi device have identical or "full" 802.11n support, but that's just a guess. I don't know enough about this technology to figure out a fix.

Carol Haynes:
I have struggled with this in the past and came to the conclusion that only devices designed to work together (whether full or draft n spec) by the same manufacturer get anything like the advertised bandwidth.

In the end I just gave up worrying about it as there doesn't seem to be a manufacturer that produces a complete range of suitable device. In particular internal mobile adaptors (eg. laptop PCI or PCIe adaptors) seem rather difficult to find and mostly don't seem to achieve full throughput.

4wd:
The rate seems to fluctuate  between 32 and 52mbps, regardless of whether you are up close to the router or 9 meters away and with two plasterboard and steel-framed walls in between. I have seen momentary peaks of 58.5 and 59.0mbps at the 9 metre point and momentary troughs of 23mbps.-IainB (February 19, 2013, 02:13 AM)
--- End quote ---

I'd be tempted to try a cheap 802.11n USB adapter in the laptop, (to eliminate the Draft-n component).

FWIW, I've used this, this and this, (all of which are Realtek 8188/8192 chipsets), to connect a WDTV Live to my ASUS RT-N16 over 12-15m through two plasterboard walls, a 50cm CRT TV, a couch and a CD rack, they all connect at 150Mb/s.

After searching a bit, it seems to me that "802.11n Lite n" just means it's 150Mb/s as opposed to 300Mb/s - 600Mb/s, (ie. it's still full 802.11n compliant, just that because it's single antenna it's speed is limited).

IainB:
@4wd: Thanks for the suggestion, I might try one of those USB WiFi adapters, though I suspect I might just repeat @Carol Haynes' experience that:
...there doesn't seem to be a manufacturer that produces a complete range of suitable device.
--- End quote ---

Since making the OP, I have discovered that I was mistaken in thinking I had the latest firmware update to the TP-Link router. I had misunderstood the version numbering, which is apparently based on a short-form date:
The one in the router was Build 101206 = 2010-12-06 (v1.2.6).
I downloaded and installed Build 120406 = 2012-04-06 (v1.3.1).
The install eventually worked - I had to use IE to install it as the install kept failing in FFX (the install notes recommended to use IE, but I had to try).    :-[

I also DISABLED IPv6 (using MicrosoftFixit50409 - DISABLE IPv6.msi) and then ENABLED IPv6 (using MicrosoftFixit50440 - ENABLE IPv6.msi) just to be sure get everything back to "normal".

However, the router still seems to fluctuate mostly between 39 and 58.5mbps.

kyrathaba:
However, the router still seems to fluctuate mostly between 39 and 58.5mbps.
--- End quote ---

Mine does the same after much the same fiddling. I'd say Carol's conclusion above is pretty spot-on.

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