Unable to to obtain the advertised wireless speeds....

[bzborowski]

Hi There,

Our house has lot of devices when you add them all up, AppleTV (x2), laptops (x2), Computer(x1), Apple Watch(x1), eReader(x1), and two cable boxes.  We are currently on the Telus 150 plan is it is the max available provided by Telus in our area.  The issue that I am having is that I am completely unable to obtain anywhere near 150 mbps for WIFI using for any of the devices.  I ran the test in the router admin and can confirm speeds of 130/30, however when I run the Telus speedtest [using Ookla] from devices I average speeds between 35-55mbps.  That is substantially lower.  Those numbers were tested using an iPhone 11 Pro, a Macbrook Pro (2020), and a Lenovo work laptop.

We have the ActionTec 3200M router in our home.

[BigShaq]

This is normal, especially for 2.4Ghz WiFi. There are too many points of interference for WiFi which result in lower connection speeds. To achieve faster wireless speeds try disabling "smart steering" in the Telus router and connecting your devices to the 5Ghz WiFi. 5Ghz WiFi does not only have more bandwidth than 2.4Ghz it also has more channels, resulting in less interference. The only downfall of 5Ghz WiFi is its slightly shorter range in comparison to 2.4Ghz.

To determine accurate speeds for you internet connection:

1) Run the speed test embedded in the Telus Router (as you did)

                                or

2) Connect a computer via Ethernet to the Telus Router and run an Ookla speed test

The results you see from these two options should ensure connection speeds you are receiving from Telus.

[bzborowski]

Thanks for the advice and I have tried to clean up the wireless signals by changing the channels they operate on.  I don't believe that 33.5-50 Mbps is the best Telus can hope for from a Telus 150 plan using a modern device (iPhone 11 Pro).  I like Telus, have used them for years, but there is no way that is the standard.  I have a friend who uses Rogers out of Vancouver and is receiving 96 mpbs on their 100 plan.  Maybe it's a router issue?  Do a lot of Telus customers have to purchase 3rd party wireless routers to achieve the wireless speeds?

[Nighthawk · Accepted solution]

2.4GHz wifi is limited in speed. If you want faster wifi, you need to be using 802.11ac on the 5GHz band specifically. You'll also need to tweak one or two settings as well. Just be aware that 5GHz has much shorter range than 2.4GHz and can be more impacted by environmental factors like walls.

Firstly, do you have two separate networks showing for your T3200? (ie is SmartSteering disabled?) If not, disable SmartSteering in the wireless settings on the T3200M.

1. In the T3200M settings, go to Wireless Setup > SmartSteering
2. Select Disable and then click Apply.
3. Click on Basic Settings in the menu on the left. You should now see settings for both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks. Configure as needed.
4. Next, click on Advanced Settings on the left menu
5. Ensure 5GHz is selected at the top of the page then make sure Compatibility Mode shows 5GHz (A,N,AC) 
6. Change the Channel Width from 20MHz to either 40 or 80MHz and then hit Apply.
   1. Additionally, you could enable Scheduled Optimization if you want the T3200M to optimize things every 24 hours.

Once done ensure whatever device you're using is capable of 802.11ac (which most modern ones should be with some exceptions). Connect to the 5GHz network on the T3200M and re-test speeds. The further from any router, the weaker the 5GHz signal will get, especially if it has to travel through walls or floors.

[bzborowski]

Thanks for your response.  I am wondering if the issue isn't necessarily the home wifi but at the source?  The reason I ask if I use the default TELUS server in Ookla Speedtest I receive 40/40/mpbs.  On the other hand, if I change the server to TELUS calgary, it's 120/38.  What gives?

[Nighthawk]

Some speedtest servers can give different results based on a few factors including their own network congestion. I usually do tests to a few different places just to be sure. Fast.com is also a decent one to try. It's Netflix's speed test and it's ad free.

[Albert12]

This is normal, especially for 2.4Ghz WiFi. There are too many points of interference for WiFi which result in lower connection speeds. To achieve faster wireless speeds try disabling "smart steering" in the Telus router and connecting your devices to the 5Ghz WiFi. 5Ghz WiFi does not only have more bandwidth than 2.4Ghz it also has more channels, resulting in less interference. The only downfall of 5Ghz WiFi is its slightly shorter range in comparison to 2.4Ghz.