Need help improving internet speed in apartment

[Hero_X]

Hey beyond,

So the shit apartment I live in only has 1 cable jack (where my cable modem/router is), and it's in my living room. My desktop is in the office room, and so I can't get a direct ethernet connection.

I've got a wifi PCIe card in my desktop, but I'm getting less than 50% of my internet speed. I'm on Shaw 300, and am getting ~120mbps. It's decent but I want to get the full speed or as close as possible.

I've tried power line adapter, but the wiring here is crap, so I get even worse speeds (~30 mbps).

Any suggestions on how I can improve my speeds?

The router I'm using is Netgear R7000; the shaw modem is bridged. Thanks in advance!

[colsankey]

how close is 1 room to the other? Could you punch a tiny hole though the drywall and run a cable though and put a faceplate over the hole?

[jacky4566]

Wired is really going to be king and i would suggest you try that route. Even if you need to make some holes. no big deal.

What speed is your wireless adapter? You would need at least Wireless N to get full speed and should really be using wireless AC 5Ghz for best speeds.

I'm not surprised the power line adapters didnt work. They are terrible idea in apartments full of other appliances.

The important thing to note about cable Internet connections is that cable technology is based on shared bandwidth with many factors influencing a users download speed. So in an apartment setting you can really be limited by your neighbors.

[J.M.]

Buy a really long ethernet cable (50 feet or measure how much you need) and run it from your modem/R7000 to your computer lol that's what I ended up doing. I'm on Shaw 150 and I usually get ~170mbps.

[ExtraSlow]

Before you spend any money on a long cable. You could just plunk you desktop on the floor beside your current modem and hook up with a 2m cable to do a speed test. I'm always a fan of free testing before buying things.

But by all means, one way or another, report to us your speeds wlus8ng a wired connection before you try anything else.

[Hero_X]

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Before you spend any money on a long cable. You could just plunk you desktop on the floor beside your current modem and hook up with a 2m cable to do a speed test. I'm always a fan of free testing before buying things.

But by all means, one way or another, report to us your speeds wlus8ng a wired connection before you try anything else.

yep 318mbps wired in, using laptop.

[revelations]

You will have to invest in some ubiquity stuff .... as well as checking that your PCI card can actually support 300mbs.

[Tik-Tok]

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yep 318mbps wired in, using laptop.

Your laptop isn't your desktop though. You could be having a card problem.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[ExtraSlow]

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You will have to invest in some ubiquity stuff .... as well as checking that your PCI card can actually support 300mbs.

Two Asus aimesh routers is cheaper, and he could sit one beside his desktop and hardwire to that.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Are you on the 5Ghz band? Chances are all your neighbors aren't.

Also get an app that tells you what router channels are least saturated and try those.

I used to live in an all concrete/glass/metal construction condo with several units around me, basically a worst case scenario. I was able to get max speeds everywhere with the R7000 once I picked a good channel and used 5Ghz. Not saying that will solve your issue but it's the first thing I'd try.

You could also just run an Ethernet cable through channeling that you can paint the same color as your walls/ceiling/baseboards and it will look really clean. If it's carpet you can tuck the cable between the carpet and the baseboard with a screwdriver and it will be completely hidden.

[Tik-Tok]

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Two Asus aimesh routers is cheaper, and he could sit one beside his desktop and hardwire to that.

Instructions unclear. Bought two amish routers and still couldn't get wifi.

[ExtraSlow]

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Instructions unclear. Bought two amish routers and still couldn't get wifi.

Need to firmware update

[revelations]

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Two Asus aimesh routers is cheaper, and he could sit one beside his desktop and hardwire to that.

You can pull 300mbs off Aimesh setup?

[ExtraSlow]

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You can pull 300mbs off Aimesh setup?

Apparently yes.
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.digi...sh-performance

[Hero_X]

Yep using 5Ghz. The ethernet card in my desktop works fine; i was formerly directly connected and it worked fine. This new place I'm in doesnt allow me to have direct line.

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A tip from back when I used to slum it as a broke renter:

If your apartment is heated by boilers that pump heat through pipes in perimeter registers along your wall, you can usually squeeze an Ethernet cable through the wall alongside the pipe where it passes through to the next room.

Ok maybe this is a dumb question but using that route, isn't there chance of melting the network cable? Those water pipes can get hot.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Yep using 5Ghz. The ethernet card in my desktop works fine; i was formerly directly connected and it worked fine. This new place I'm in doesnt allow me to have direct line.



Ok maybe this is a dumb question but using that route, isn't there chance of melting the network cable? Those water pipes can get hot.

There is plenty of room under those registers, you don't need to wire it right up against the pipe. I had coax cable running all throughout mine for 7 years with zero issues. Just use it to hide the cable.

Or tuck it between the carpet and baseboard as I described above. Or get some thin channeling and paint it same color as your wall. Lots of ways to get a hard wire to your PC and not have to dick around with wireless.