wi-fi speed oddity
 

I have (amonst others) a desktop, running W7 Pro 64 bit and an HP Envy laptop running W 11. Both are connected (with a further desktop) on the house network.The laptop is rarely used (don't understand W11 ! :sad:) so most activity is on the desktop. Until recently, a speed check on the desktop would show 70-80 Mbs, but shortly after my contract ran out, this slowed down to 30 -40 Mbs. Complaints to the SP produced lots of checks, including an engineer's visit, with little improvement. Decided to take new contract and, initially got 50-60 Mbs, but recent checks show 11-14 Mbs ! ! !. When the engineers were here, they checked by plugging in their laptop to the router and showed 70 +.
I powered up my laptop and placed it next to the desktop and did comparison checks (done on the 'Which' checker, as recommended by the SP)
Results
Desktop 11-14 Mbs
Laptop 74 -76 Mbs
Ditterent machines or different software ? :confused:
Thoughts appreciated

Is your desktop connected over WiFi? What happens if you connect it using cable?

Desktop WiFi antenna tend to be shielded by a big metal desktop case.

My wi-fi router has two frequencies and protocols - /g and /n I think. It's possible the older computer has only the older protocol and the laptop has the new one.

Certainly a direct connection with wires will have better performance by skipping the transmitting and receiving steps and I would try that to see if that's involved.There may also be interference from other users of wi-fi in the area leaving insufficient bandwidth for everyone to talk at the same time.

Thank you, both.
Unfortunately, I'm stuck with wi-fi as a cable hook-up would be difficult. I may try swapping desktops - slightly less painful !

Dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) usb WiFi6 adapters are cheap these days (less than £10), and with a extension cable would allow you to try a different placement. Tri-band and WiFi7 are more expensive, but pointless unless your router supports them too.

I personally haven't had much luck with the USB3 ones and find USB2 more stable. USB2 should be good for at least 20MBytes/sec (200Mbit/sec) in the real world.

Thank you Abrahn - will investigate , but not hopeful :(