New AC laptop slow on N66U

[Barkhaven]

I have an ASUS RT-N66U with Merlin 380.70, the last version for this router. My Rogers package is 150Mbps. My old Dell laptop was getting ~80Mbps. I bought a new Dell laptop with an AC 7265. It is getting ~15Mbps.

I have read "old router, old cpu" in other threads, and I am looking at new routers, but in the meantime, is this normal or can I fix it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Val D.]

is this normal or can I fix it?

This WiFi adapter should be able to connect at 300Mbps N on 5GHz band when close to the router.

- make sure you use 5GHz band whenever possible
- make sure you update the drivers for AC 7265 (I see some reports for driver related issues)
- check WiFi channels availability (WiFi Analyzer, Acrylic WiFi) and select less used channels

Your router is still good for 150Mbps ISP connection speed if the WiFi clients are not too many, are located relatively close to the router and connect to 5GHz band. You may find Rogers provided router offering better connection speeds, if it supports AC wireless standard (CGN3ACR or newer). You may not need a new router. Most Rogers customers use Rogers provided WiFi routers.

 

[heysoundude]

Your router is still good for 150Mbps ISP connection speed if the WiFi clients are not too many,

this is more likely than not the problem; there are more devices trying to connect with a router than most people stop to consider (especially in an urban environment where people are close to their neighbours and their devices).
hiding/not broadcasting SSID(s) may help
That said, while the laptop's wireless is backwards compatible with 802.11n, it was built to function optimally for 802.11ac; it's probably time to upgrade routers, OP. As Val has said, the ones shipped out by most ISPs are pretty functional and tuned to deliver maximum throughput. Fear not: your venerable n66 isn't destined for the recyclers just yet - you can set it up as a media bridge or access point to further/enhance your wireless coverage.

 

[Makaveli]

I have an ASUS RT-N66U with Merlin 380.70, the last version for this router. My Rogers package is 150Mbps. My old Dell laptop was getting ~80Mbps. I bought a new Dell laptop with an AC 7265. It is getting ~15Mbps.

I have read "old router, old cpu" in other threads, and I am looking at new routers, but in the meantime, is this normal or can I fix it?

Thanks in advance.

Which model Laptop?

and which Model rogers Modem?

If you are on the 150Mbps package they may not have given you the White Coda modem they tend to keep it for the 500+ mbps packages.

so its either

Rocket Wi-Fi Modem (CGN3ACSMR, CGN3ACR and CGN3AMR)

Rocket Gigabit Wi-Fi Modem (CGN3552 and CODA-4582)

 

[Barkhaven]

This WiFi adapter should be able to connect at 300Mbps N on 5GHz band when close to the router.

- make sure you use 5GHz band whenever possible
- make sure you update the drivers for AC 7265 (I see some reports for driver related issues)
- check WiFi channels availability (WiFi Analyzer, Acrylic WiFi) and select less used channels

Your router is still good for 150Mbps ISP connection speed if the WiFi clients are not too many, are located relatively close to the router and connect to 5GHz band. You may find Rogers provided router offering better connection speeds, if it supports AC wireless standard (CGN3ACR or newer). You may not need a new router. Most Rogers customers use Rogers provided WiFi routers.

Thanks for the quick reply. I had tried all of that, just neglected to post it. Lesson learned. That said, I did completely uninstall the wifi driver, which was the latest, then downloaded and reinstalled it again. The 2.4GHz band is now at ~60Mbps, but the 5GHz is just under 200Mbps (on my 150Mbps plan). Not a bad jump from 15. Thanks very much for the suggestions!

 

[Barkhaven]

this is more likely than not the problem; there are more devices trying to connect with a router than most people stop to consider (especially in an urban environment where people are close to their neighbours and their devices).
hiding/not broadcasting SSID(s) may help
That said, while the laptop's wireless is backwards compatible with 802.11n, it was built to function optimally for 802.11ac; it's probably time to upgrade routers, OP. As Val has said, the ones shipped out by most ISPs are pretty functional and tuned to deliver maximum throughput. Fear not: your venerable n66 isn't destined for the recyclers just yet - you can set it up as a media bridge or access point to further/enhance your wireless coverage.

Thanks for the reply. Reinstalling the same driver seems to have worked. The modem/router from Rogers has a very weak range. I had tried it but later reconnected my router.

 

[Barkhaven]

Which model Laptop?

and which Model rogers Modem?

If you are on the 150Mbps package they may not have given you the White Coda modem they tend to keep it for the 500+ mbps packages.

so its either

Rocket Wi-Fi Modem (CGN3ACSMR, CGN3ACR and CGN3AMR)

Rocket Gigabit Wi-Fi Modem (CGN3552 and CODA-4582)

Thanks for the reply. Reinstalling the same driver fixed things. I do have the white Hitron CODA-4582 Gigabit modem. It's flying now.