not getting full wireless speed
avemaria92
Contributor - Level 1

Hello,

After 8 years using the old router that is limited to 25mbps wireless I finally got the new giga advanced router today.. (MI424WR-GEN3I)  Hooked it up and it's working great so far.. the problem is... i'm still only testing at around 24mbps wireless on my laptop.. wired i'm getting around 84 (i have 75Mbps).  Anyone know what is needed to get faster wireless on a laptop?  My computer is a Dell Inspiron from 2009 and my wireless card is Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card..  Is there some kind of upgrade required to take advantage of this new router that isn't doing anything my old router didn't?

Here's my device manager properties...

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Re: not getting full wireless speed
Hubrisnxs
Legend
Hi there. That's going to be an easy fix but it fits require a new wireless card. Fortunately they are very inexpensive. You can find them at any pc retailer but you will get the best deal on amazon.com

Search for a wireless n usb adapter. Under 20 dollars easy
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Re: not getting full wireless speed
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

I'm not a fan of USB wireless cards for laptops. That's clunky.

If this is a Dell laptop, the wireless card can often be found in the same door underneath the laptop where the RAM is found, or in a dedicated compartment. You can replace the Dell 1397 Wireless adapter with an Intel Centrino 6205-N which will fit just fine, and perform much better. The card is pretty inexpensive these days.

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Re: not getting full wireless speed
click4dylan
Contributor - Level 1

I recommend going the USB route if it's a laptop. Most manufacturers these days block out any unauthorized PCI-e wireless adapters. My HP from 2011 for instance, will refuse to boot until you remove a wireless card that is not preprogrammed into the bios's allowed list. Check your notebook's manual to see which wireless cards are supported. Technically any Pci express wireless adapter should be supported, but the companies lock you out

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Re: not getting full wireless speed
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

Chances are good Dell has not locked them out. HP was well know to do that because of their shoddy implementation of hardware switches for the radio. That was also the time where half of the HP laptops I came across overheated and broke a year later because of bad thermal design.

I *have* seen problems with machines having UEFI instead of BIOS as the system level firmware. That's a whole other bag of worms.

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Re: not getting full wireless speed
SinCara
Specialist - Level 2

Having a Dell laptop myself and ran into this issue myself I can say without a doubt replace the Dell Wireless card. Theirs are junk.

You might be able to find better 3rd party wireless cards to replace it (I couldnt find any for my model), but as others mentioned a usb one is the way I went. For my needs I got s simple Belkin N300 Micro adapter (Its smaller then the Dell plugs tip. Not the best adapter by all means, but I can easily get full wireless speeds with it except of course when there is network congestion or during peak times.  

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