use a wire

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-04-12, 13:41:

use a wire

Yes, I am going to get a long enough ethernet cable, so I can check if that fixes the problem, but I can't get into town until tomorrow. I thought I had one, but I can't find it (of course...).

And I will only be doing it to help pinpoint the problem, as I don't want to have to have the cable running across two rooms and the stairs, but at least it should help determine if the problem is down to the PC's wireless card or not.

i would get a wireless network analyzer app for your phone. i'm on android and use the app net analyzer.
choose the type of wireless you are using, 2.4ghz or 5ghz.
check your channel for strength and to see if there are other users on the same channel.
if there are other strong signal users on the same channel you are using, configure your router and try another channel.
that's just the basics which may or may not resolve your issue.

Kerr Avon wrote on 2022-04-12, 14:34:

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-04-12, 13:41:

use a wire

Yes, I am going to get a long enough ethernet cable, so I can check if that fixes the problem, but I can't get into town until tomorrow. I thought I had one, but I can't find it (of course...).

And I will only be doing it to help pinpoint the problem, as I don't want to have to have the cable running across two rooms and the stairs, but at least it should help determine if the problem is down to the PC's wireless card or not.

Legions of highly skilled and dedicated people since the mid 1800s have made great efforts to lay a cable from my room all the way to yours.
Don't just taint their legacy by going with unreliable, modern sorcery on the last few meters. Have some respect for the achievement!

If it's about neat looks, understandable.
One can use an simple angle grinder to cut a small groove from the wall next to the router to the room next to the computer, then make a circular hole at both ends of that. Fix a 2 x RJ45 socket in both and connect them with a single 4x2 shielded twisted pair category 6 ethernet cable. Then plaster up the sockets and the groove and give it all a new paintjob. There, a stable, elegant 2 x 100 Mbit connection for the price of an average lunch.
If god had wanted desktops to have Wifi, he would have kept the English from inventing the world "bullshit".

Sorry, I'm a bit old fashioned that way 😉

Wifi diagnosis, it's hard to know where to start without knowing you skill level. Not necessarily in that order:
- There are simple website-based speed tests for DSL
- check router in browser frontend:
- Mbit rating at least 11, better 54 MBit (and of course as fast as your DSL, if that's really up to date and past VDSL-50)
- No channel conflicts?
- Try using another channel manually
- check network adapter section of the Win control panel for same, but won't show you anything different than the router
- has the case or router been moved? sometimes it's as simple as the case blocking the signal, being made of metal and all. turn by 90 or 180 degrees and if that makes any difference, consider an antenna on a cable or an usb cable if using a stick
Best of luck.

wirerogue wrote on 2022-04-12, 14:37:

i would get a wireless network analyzer app for your phone. i'm on android and use the app net analyzer. choose the type of wire […]
Show full quote

i would get a wireless network analyzer app for your phone. i'm on android and use the app net analyzer.
choose the type of wireless you are using, 2.4ghz or 5ghz.
check your channel for strength and to see if there are other users on the same channel.
if there are other strong signal users on the same channel you are using, configure your router and try another channel.
that's just the basics which may or may not resolve your issue.

Assuming the app is affordable, that sounds like a good long-term investment.

wirerogue wrote on 2022-04-12, 14:37:

i would get a wireless network analyzer app for your phone. i'm on android and use the app net analyzer. choose the type of wire […]
Show full quote

i would get a wireless network analyzer app for your phone. i'm on android and use the app net analyzer.
choose the type of wireless you are using, 2.4ghz or 5ghz.
check your channel for strength and to see if there are other users on the same channel.
if there are other strong signal users on the same channel you are using, configure your router and try another channel.
that's just the basics which may or may not resolve your issue.

I searched, I couldn't find an Android program called 'Net Analyzer', so I downloaded two programs that I imagine are similar, but neither of them told me if anyone was using my wi-fi. Do you know of another Android (or Windows) program that can tell me if my router is being used by someone else, please?

I was going to try checking the router's wi-fi settings, but first I tried a long ether net cable, from the router to the PC, to bypass the wi-fi as a potential problem, and the download speeds are now back to normal again. So the problem was definitely wi-fi related, be it the wi-fi hardware in the PC, or some mysteriously altered wi-fisettings in the router.

I'm going to stick with the ethernet lead, as it works, and it's simple!

Cuttoon, thanks for both your technical and aesthetic advice, but regarding the latter I think I will just connect the cable to the wall via cable clips, and run it under the carpet. I'd only end up Frank Spencer-ing it (a British 1970s TV reference) if I tried to make an elegant and mostly invisible result, as you advise.

my bad. looks like i renamed it net analyzer on my phone.
it's actually network analyzer pro

Check on the machine for signal strength
Check on the router for what speed the machine negotiated with the router
If it's a desktop then check the antenna is connected properly, that it's pointed correctly and that it's not trying to punch a signal through lead 🤣
Place the laptop in the same location as the desktop and see if the behavior is the same.

Kerr Avon wrote on 2022-04-14, 20:03:

Cuttoon, thanks for both your technical and aesthetic advice, but regarding the latter I think I will just connect the cable to the wall via cable clips, and run it under the carpet. I'd only end up Frank Spencer-ing it (a British 1970s TV reference) if I tried to make an elegant and mostly invisible result, as you advise.

If there's one thing the Brits get right! 😀

Personally, I'd definitely need help on the "invisible" part, tbh. But, matter of fact, I ran an "solid wire" ethernet cable from a wall box in my place through the basement to another apartment and a wall box there.
(That's a dozen walls of reinforced concrete across, so well outside the reach of conventional wifi without a lot of repeater tricks that would have been hard to implement.) And while it was quite a bit of effort, it worked on the first try, although I have no formal training in network or high frequency equipment.
And of course, it cost about as much as a decent PCI wifi card - ethernet installation cable is dirt cheap.

So, my point being: Not rocket science. Just trying to keep the idea alive. The day printers stop being sold with RJ45 will be the day I stop buying new printers!

Back when I didn't have wired Internet, I used cellular data on my phone and PC and once I used a iron structure mounted on our balcony grill and the speed increased somewhat significantly.