2 pc's with completely different MBPS broadband readings....

Can someone help me with this problem please? I bought a new Lenovo Z70 Laptop in October 15. I have experienced intermittent broadband results from low to dropped connections. Buffering YT videos drive me crazy. This is using my WIFI. I am only 8 metres from my router. I also have super fibre broadband. The Lenovo is Windows 10.

I have done speed tests after speed test. I get the highest reading of approx 8 mbps down to 2.5mbps 0.5. I have been speaking with TT support who suggested I change my wireless channel which I am currently doing but to no difference.

Now I also have an old Acer Aspire approx 5 years old. It's using Windows 7. I have never had any broadband issues using this laptop. The speedtest is consistently 36/38 mbps.

So what's going on with my Lenovo? If I place the laptop directly next to the router the readings shoot up to 36/38 mbps and when I return it to the next room 8/10 metres away it drops down considerably.

Any ideas please? Is there some setting I am missing?

Thanks, any help would be appreciated.

Is your Acer also using wireless?

Have you got an Ethernet cable you could connect the Lenovo to the router with, to see if it is OK wired? That will tell us if it is anything to do with the Lenovo wireless set up, or something else.

Assuming that this has always been the problem and has not suddenly got worse, it could be a problem with the wireless adapter in the laptop. One possible cause could be that the antenna are not connected properly. There are two antenna cables that have very small push on connectors to the card. Sort of very mini versions of the plus terminal on a pp9 battery. If one or both are not pushed on correctly then it will have a very weak signal, which would be improved by moving the laptop next to the router, as you have indicated. There may be a small panel on the underside which if removed, you should be able to see the cables (black & grey usually I think, one is called "aux"and the other "main") and check if they are really secure. If I remember correctly the cables from the antenna (which are usually up the side of the screen) are hard wired, so can't become disconnected. However if it not easily accessible, as the laptop is new, you will need to contact the supplier/manufacturer. Course, it could be the wireless card itself, but that is quite unusual. Any software setting wouldn't be affected by distance from the router.

Edited by deleted (Sat 19-Dec-15 20:36:25)

In addition to the other replies, have you tried the ACER in the same position literally as where the Lenovo has problems.

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Is the Lenovo using the same WiFi band as the ACER which is likely to be the 2.4GHz, rather than the newer 5 GHz.

The 5 GHz band has greater difficulty penetrating solid walls.

My 5 GHz band is usually 10 dbs worse than my 2.4 GHz, ie if my 2.4 is showing -56 db, the 5 GHz is around -66 db, ie a decidedly weaker signal.

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I came across this, which has similarities to your problem-

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-P-Y-and-Z-series...

Yes the Acer is in the same position as the Lenovo. I switch one or the other off when I'm conducting a test so that there is no wireless conflict. Now I wouldn't know how to find out whether the Acer or the Len are using the same WIFI band. Would I find that information in the TalkTalk wireless settings?

Thanks

In reply to a post by eckiedoo:

In addition to the other replies, have you tried the ACER in the same position literally as where the Lenovo has problems.

-------------

Is the Lenovo using the same WiFi band as the ACER which is likely to be the 2.4GHz, rather than the newer 5 GHz.

The 5 GHz band has greater difficulty penetrating solid walls.

My 5 GHz band is usually 10 dbs worse than my 2.4 GHz, ie if my 2.4 is showing -56 db, the 5 GHz is around -66 db, ie a decidedly weaker signal.

----------------

I came across this, which has similarities to your problem-

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-P-Y-and-Z-series...

How old is the TalkTalk router? Can you see a model number? I'm not familiar with their routers but somewhere in the wireless settings there might be be a reference to 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands depending on the router. Older routers only had 2.4Ghz, later ones you could use either/or, and the latest you can broadcast both channels simultaneously. First you need to establish if both channels are available to connect to.

In reply to a post by rogerfp:

How old is the TalkTalk router? Can you see a model number? I'm not familiar with their routers but somewhere in the wireless settings there might be be a reference to 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands depending on the router. Older routers only had 2.4Ghz, later ones you could use either/or, and the latest you can broadcast both channels simultaneously. First you need to establish if both channels are available to connect to.

The router is approx 2 years old. It's a HUAWE model nos HG533. I started changing the channels a few days ago starting at 11 and working my way up. I am on ch6 at present and no improvement as yet. I will find an ethernet cable and test it that way. But I know if I place the laptop directly in front of the router it
works far better ...38mbps approx.

Being a TalkTalk customer and with the recent hacking scandals I have been advised that I can have a free upgrade and a home visit from an engineer who could look over my wifi settings. It's their way of trying to keep their clients happy!!

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated.

Apparently its is not dual band router, so 2.4Ghz only. So its not a case of one laptop being connected to a different slower signal.
Using a cable won't prove anything because as you say, when it is next to the router you get excellent speeds.
It's definitely a wireless signal strength problem with the Lenovo, because as both are connecting to the same SSID (2.4Ghz) one is fast and one isn't, at a distance. So its looking more like a hardware problem on the Lenovo along the lines of what I described previously.
If Talktalk are offering a free upgrade and engineer home visit its probably worth taking up their offer just to see if he can help, although its not something they would neccessarily be conversant with. If, after that there is no improvement, then I would contact the supplier or Lenovo direct about getting the wireless card checked out and making sure the antenna are connected, if you are unable to do this yourself due to it being inaccessible.
If you look at this link it will give you an idea waht you are looking at:-
http://cnet3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2013/06/06/c304f...

Edited by deleted (Sun 20-Dec-15 00:55:23)

A tonne of Lenovo and other branded laptops use really poor wireless cards. I'm sure if you google your laptop model eg "Lenovo u310 poor wifi" you will see a tonne of people with similar issues.

It's really not uncommon, it's actually the reason I returned a Lenovo u310. The problem with Lenovo is they whitelist the bios so you can only use that wireless card.

If you got the laptop from Amazon return it. If it's from currys you'll have a nightmare getting anything done as their test will be to load up Google and claim it's perfect. Ideally return the unit and do lots of research on the model you buy. It's very hard to find a flawless Windows laptop nowadays, it's why I'm on a MacBook right now, every Windows laptop had a tiny niggle such as this.

Thats a very fair point. Years ago we had to patch IBM/Lenovo bios's with a 3rd party utility to remove the block on using or even booting with another make/type of wireless card. However even if possible, not something you can do whilst under warranty.
Even if it is Amazon, it might still be difficult to return after 2 months. They will probably insist he contacts Lenovo under warranty after all this time. but worth a try.

Not sure if helps, but take a look at this:

https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/documents/ht077344

In reply to a post by rogerfp:

Using a cable won't prove anything because as you say, when it is next to the router you get excellent speeds.

Yep, I agree. I realised that after posting but came back and found your post about it, so expected the OP to ignore my suggestion.

It's definitely a wireless signal strength problem with the Lenovo ....

Yes.

In reply to a post by rogerfp:

Apparently its is not dual band router, so 2.4Ghz only. So its not a case of one laptop being connected to a different slower signal.
Using a cable won't prove anything because as you say, when it is next to the router you get excellent speeds.
It's definitely a wireless signal strength problem with the Lenovo, because as both are connecting to the same SSID (2.4Ghz) one is fast and one isn't, at a distance. So its looking more like a hardware problem on the Lenovo along the lines of what I described previously.
If Talktalk are offering a free upgrade and engineer home visit its probably worth taking up their offer just to see if he can help, although its not something they would neccessarily be conversant with. If, after that there is no improvement, then I would contact the supplier or Lenovo direct about getting the wireless card checked out and making sure the antenna are connected, if you are unable to do this yourself due to it being inaccessible.
If you look at this link it will give you an idea waht you are looking at:-
http://cnet3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2013/06/06/c304f...

Thanks for that valuable information. I know what I'm dealing with here, this Lappy has wifi troubles. I bought it from John Lewis so hopefully they will take it back and I may look at an Apple Mac book etc. I have been a wndows man since 1990 so there is a learning curve.

Thanks agin, I appreciate it.

Ahh Intel wireless...

Intel are great at processors but in wireless (and even worse in graphics) they are, errm, not so good.

What amazes me is that IBM/Lenovo had this problem with as you say, rubbish Intel wireless cards 10 + years ago and if this I still the case haven't learn any lessons. At that time the company I was with spent £millions with IBM on product and on site support throughout the world and therefore had the clout to really have a go at IBM about this issue. In fact senior engineers and management were summoned to their UK head office. Their stock answer was "its a chipset incompatibility problem with the wireless routers/access points you are using". As we were using Cisco gear throughout the world and our staff were getting the same issues with multiple different home routers, supplied by their ISPs, this didn't go down too well. Funny how changing to what I think it was Realtek chipset wireless card removed all the problems. Of course this would invalidate the warranty, as fitting any other card would cause the laptop to not post as it was locked in the bios to the Intel. Hence the bios patches to remove the block which are available. Happy days.

In 99% of Internet connectivity issues using wireless, testing using a network cable is the most sensible first step in any troubleshooting. No problem with that at all. Makes perfect sense.

Indeed rogerfp Intel have shown a failure getting into the wireless business - this is well known in the semiconductor industustry where I work. Their most recent attempt was to buy the former Infineon wireless group in Munich. Despite rumours of up to 1000 people working on modem technology for end customer Apple, AFAIK they have little or no market share compared to the likes of Qualcomm, Mediatek, Spreadtrum etc.

But I had read and forgotten the close up wireless working, at the time I posted. That was an error. Unless the OP happens to have a longgggg Ethernet cable .

When speed reading posts it so easy to miss some relevant info, as I have done many times. It's still a perfectly valid troubleshooting step.

As there's some doubt to the quality of the wifi card in the Lenovo, you could always try a USB wifi adapter instead like this one www.amazon.co.uk/300MBPS-Wireless-Adapter-802-11-Network/dp/B00VHPZBF6

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

As there's some doubt to the quality of the wifi card in the Lenovo, you could always try a USB wifi adapter instead like this one www.amazon.co.uk/300MBPS-Wireless-Adapter-802-11-Network/dp/B00VHPZBF6

Unbranded adapters can be of questionable quality too. I'd probably spend a few quid more and get something branded, like: http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-TL-WN823N-300Mbps-Wi...

Fair point and if it doesn't help then you can return it for a refund. It's a Realtek chipset rather than Intel which is really good news. Course it does beg the question as to why you should have to spend your money resolving a design problem from a major manufacturer, but then it is only £4.36. If would however, if proved to be successful. be ammunition against Lenovo as to the cause of your wireless problems.

In reply to a post by rogerfp:

Fair point and if it doesn't help then you can return it for a refund. It's a Realtek chipset rather than Intel which is really good news. Course it does beg the question as to why you should have to spend your money resolving a design problem from a major manufacturer, but then it is only £4.36. If would however, if proved to be successful. be ammunition against Lenovo as to the cause of your wireless problems.

I am overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of help you guys have shown. It's fantastic thank you all so much

Yes I'll buy the TP-LINK TL-WN823N 300Mbps now and see if it makes any difference. If it does, John Lewis can have the laptop back as you say its ammunition against Lenovo.