PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Fibre to the door speed - variation
View Single Post
Old 25th Jul 2021, 20:35
  #6 (permalink)  
Thirsty
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Depends
Posts: 122
Received 79 Likes on 25 Posts
Rule: The fastest speed you will ever get from your Internet connection is dependant on the slowest portion between yourself and the remote destination. No point in having a gigabit connection if you are connecting to a dialup modem in Kazakhstan! The fastest the data transfer will happen will be at dialup speeds.

If you have a WiFi link, then that may be the slowest link portion. It may be a function of how fast your laptop can process the arriving data too. How much memory and how many other pieces of software are running at the same time on the Lenovo? They can be full of garbage bundleware when they arrive from the factory, most of which can be safely uninstalled without losing any functionality at all. The performance boost can be astonishing.

Have you cleaned up your hard drive, emptying out the recycle bin and defragmenting the drive. The first time you do this is probably the one that is of most benefit.

Have you checked for any driver updates from the manufacturer of the WiFi card, or from Lenovo support website for your particular laptop model? BIOS updates too? Is Windows 7 up to date with known patches? Do you have any malware running in the background, stealing precious CPU cycles and bandwidth? In Hardware Devices in Control Panel is your network device flagged with a yellow question mark signalling driver issues?

Have you checked for interference, say from close-by emitters like microwaves, Zigbee hubs, or neighbours WiFi routers using the same WiFi channel? Restarting your WiFi router can often have it select a better channel automatically. Does the signal to the WiFi router have to pass through any more walls for the Lenovo than the Apple devices?

SamKnows measuring box can be installed to keep your ISP honest.

Ookla speedtest is universally accepted as a fairly reliable way to measure throughput. Versions for any platform can be found fairly easily, and they even have versions that run directly in your browser without having to install anything. Comparing results from different devices is usually accurate.

Process of elimination can be both frustrating and rewarding. Methodically rule out each possible issue till you arrive at the solution. Call out for more ideas if you get stumped.
Thirsty is offline