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So when I'm wired to either the modem itself or through my router, I get 33Mbps. When I'm wireless, I only get 15Mbps.
Here is my router.
http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-WNDR34...s=Netgear+N600
What could the possible reasons be for not being able to get wired speeds? Seems like it's perfectly capable of delivering full speed and then some? Even on Wireless-G, I should still get 54Mbit/s right? Isn't that higher than 33Mbps? Or no?
They make this intentionally confusing, I just know it.
801.11g supports a maximum of 54Mbit/s.
801.11n supports a maximum of 600Mbit/s.
Do not confuse Mbit/s with MByte/s. 1MByte/s = 8Mbit/s. "Baud" is a somewhat obsolete term, but 1MBaud basically = 1Mbit/s (in this context, anyhow).
I'm assuming you don't have "noisy" local EMI/RFI problems which reduce signal strength to 5%. I doubt you have 17 leeches dividing your bandwidth down to only a 1/18th share for your own use, and you can lock em out with secure encryption anyhow.
Your device (laptop?) might have a cheap WiFi part or incorrect version/configuration in the firmware or software which can't exceed 33Mbps. Your router might require some sort of configuration ... 33Mpbs seems like a nice round factory default to me. Your actual network performance might be bottlenecked somewhere outside the WiFi link.
The sad reality - which I think it should be somehow illegal or regulated - is that many low-cost consumer gizmos barely squeak through their FCC and WiFi compliance tests, even when they're inferior junk which can't actually meet the spec under real conditions. Slapping that WiFi-G brand sticker on the package is more important than actually engineering a product with the right part, so many devices are compatible with the protocols (can connect to) of high-speed networks but they are not actually capable of achieving or sustaining the high-speed data rates. Specifically, you might have a "WiFi-G" laptop which can cannot reach 54Mbps. I'm guessing HP or Acer lol, sorry.
My laptop has Wifi-N, technically. I was just using the G for an example to get a better understanding of terminology used.
My roommates PC is also N and gets the same speed. We also tried another router (N300) and we get the same speed. But again, when wired to it, full speed. It's weird.
We're only like 5 feet from the router, too. Though, we live in an apartment, so maybe it's interference from other wireless routers or something?
Interference is always possible, but it seems very unlikely if you're only a few feet away in the same room with direct line of sight. Unless you live in a commercial microwave antenna tower or are surrounded by industrial electromagnets.
It's possible your router supports multiple WiFi protocols, but when mixed WiFi types are present it slows every connection down to the worst speed. Other than that, or a hoard of leeches, or a defective unit, or cheap parts somewhere along the chain, or device misconfiguration ... I can't see any reason for it to be so slow. You've read the manuals and docs?
If you have a droid phone, I highly suggest downloading the wifi analyzer app. It'll show you how many wireless networks are there.
Here's a bit more: Stick to these channels: 1, 6, 11. Due to the way the wifi spectrum, there are 11 channels available in the US. 1, 6 and 11 have the least amount of interference from the other 8 channels (it becomes a study of factor of five to properly describe how this works).
If you have cordless land line phones, a garage door opener and/or baby monitors, stay the hell away from channels 1 and 6, as these devices use the same frequencies and usually use the lower end of the spectrum. Stick to channel 11 if you can.
Edit: There are a LOT of things that can hamper wireless connectivity. Case in point: My router is on the west end of my house (1260 sq ft). If I am in the kitchen and either a) the fridge compressor kicks on, or b) the wife decides to vacuum, I can say **** any wifi connection in the east half of the house for that timeframe.
Cat5e LAN cable runs (about the best you could plug into a standard laptop, and overkill) cost maybe $1-2 per foot. If your router is in the same room then it's not such a big hassle to plug in a 10-foot cable when max bandwidth is needed.