So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

I recently asked which is the best router to achieve the best speeds for Virgin 10 Meg B.B. I was told either Linksys or Netgear was the best so I went and bought a Linksys WRT54GL . Although I am getting faster speeds(used to be on 4 Meg through an old Netgear router) I am only getting 5 to 6 Meg, But if I connect direct from the modem to pc via ethernet i get 9 to 9.5 Meg. So is there a setting on the router i am missing or has anyone got a similsir router and has any tips I would be grateful for any tips/help ?

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

Have you got full on wireless security set up?

I was getting slower speeds till I turned off wireless security and turned on access control, this allows you to specify which mac address can connect to your wireless.

I believ there is also a custom firmware available for this model which is very improved.

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

Inevitably, a router will have an impact on speed, simply because it adds an extra hop into any routing. But it shouldn't be that big a drop.

You can look to see that the router LAN ports are operating at the same speed as your PC's ethernet ports, and similarly the router's WAN port is at the same speed as the modem. Some times the "auto" settings on cards don't quite get it right i.e. duplex full or half etc.

Another area worth checking is the "MTU" settings (not exactly sure what this stands for). I think the default is 1500, but it might be worth experimenting with alternatives to ensure the cable modem is keeping up with it. The Linksys manual will have more details on that.

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

Sorry to sound a bit thick, but I aint too clever at this computer lark, could you talk me through where i turn the security off etc also if i do this wont other people(neighbours) be able to connect to my BB if they have a wifi point?
edit.
Cheers rob just read your post and i now have a headache LOL i changed the mtu to 1500 it was on auto ,but no joy

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

The won't be able to connect if you enable access control. Not sure about the settings on that router though but it 'should' be fairly obvious.

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

Ok i found the security tab on the router and turned everything off, but it made no difference to the speed. The MUT setting ,should i increase the amount ie. from 1500 to 2000 , or should i reduce it?

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

I think you reduce rather than increase. Does the manual give any guidance?

Ah try this: http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...hp?p_faqid=386

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

i have just tried the link and done what it says but i keep getting bad paramiter -7 when i input the value . i will keep trying thanks for your advice

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

If turning off the security does not help, make sure you turn it back on again ;-)

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

It 'might' be QoS interfering with things. eg Reserving a certain bandwidth for 'other' clients.
This page guides the setup of QoS - you could allocate 100% to your PC and see if it helps.

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

:confused: Surely that will impact the response time but not the download rate

---------- Post added at 12:27 ---------- Previous post was at 12:22 ----------

Make the following setting changes

Maximum Ports: 4096
TCP Timeout (s): 90
UDP Timeout (s): 90

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

yep i turned the security back on, thanks. aragorn i will give that a go,
ta. daft question but i checked the firmware and it is :Firmware Version : v4.30.2, Nov. 14, 2005
Is there an upgrade for this and if i do upgrade would that make any difference?

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

If you change firmware its worth looking at the DD-WRT firmware.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

this wont affect the warranty if it goes wrong will it + could this help the download speed?

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

it would void your warranty if you werent able to flash it back to the original firmware

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

tried this and no difference still 6meg . think i`ll try the firmware option now.....oh well i shall keep at it.
Thanks to everyone for your help any other ideas i would be grateful:tu:

---------- Post added at 13:11 ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 ----------

right . upgraded firmware(linksys site) and no difference. do you think its the router, not up to the job , should i take it back and try another?

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

What speed does your wireless network connection on your PC say it's connected at? If it's only connecting at 11mb due to poor signal then that'll explain why you're only getting 6mb real world performance.

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

where do i find that info ?
is it if i put my mouse over the wireless symbol in the taskbar if it is the info says :
Wireless Network Connection(linksys)
Speed : 54.0 Mbps
signal strength : excellent
Status : connected

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

What speed do you get if you connect the PC to router wired? Can you test the internal speed - eg ftp a file from a wired PC to a wireless PC (might not have two PC's)?

Re: So, I bought a Linksys router, but....
 

I found this post on Digitalspy, tried what the poster suggested and now i have got 9.7meg via my router!!!

"I had the same speed problem with wireless connection but had no problem from connecting direct to my cable modem (blueyonder). The problem was Windows settings that needed altering.

I was getting 4-6meg when connecting by wireless although managed to get the 10meg speed connecting direct (ethernet cable) to the cable modem. I found out that it was the settings on my PC that were restricting the speed and not the cable modem. I needed to change my RWIN settings to 64240 to resolve the issue. I then got 10meg speeds (tested by downloading games files from blueyonder site).


Download DrTCP - http://www.dslreports.com/drtcp

Set TCP Receive Window (RWIN) to 64240

Select your network adapter (wireless adapter in my case)

Set MTU to 1500 and leave other settings.

Hit Save, Exit and Reboot your computer."

Anyone in the same boat as me give it a go I couldn`t believe my eyes!

Thanks to everyone who made suggestions on this thread they were really appreciated:D