ADSL Router 300mbps problems

[extrusion]

Hi guys,

I have recently bought a TP-Link W8960N ADSL router (after reading all the good comments here on MyBroadband).
The router works perfectly, has good range, no problems (when set to 20mhz only).

Thing is when I switch it to 20/40mhz mode, my Desktop PC has trouble communicating with the router. Packets get dropped a lot. The PC has a cheap PCI networking adapter, D-Link DWA-525 (150mbps). I was wondering if it is perhaps the network adapter that is the cause of these bad connections, or if it is the router, as I've read online that certain people do have problems with it in 40mhz mode (Some say the router doesn't switch between 20 and 40 mhz modes properly).

I tried testing with my cellphone and laptop (also wireless N), but they seem to only connect on 20 mhz, as the rate never exceeds 65mbps. Cellphone / Laptop has no wifi problems when the router is set to 20/40mhz, albeit at 65mbps max. My desktop pc's connection varies between 40 - 150 when the router is set to 20/40mhz mode. But packets keep getting dropped, sometimes it's so bad I can't even access the router login page. I have tried different channels with upper and lower sidebands, no luck, there's also only one other access point within range, so intereference is minimal. When switching back to 20mhz everything works fine again.

I have the latest D-Link adapter software installed, and the router is also flashed to the latest firmware (Hardware V3).
I'm thinking of buying a 300mbps TP-Link adapter, can anyone perhaps confirm performance using their adapters with their routers in 40mhz? Also how does PCI vs USB adapters rate ? Which one should I rather go for ?

Thanks for any replies in advance!

 

[Lukcydog]

Hi Extrusion,

I have that router as well as the TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND which is the 300mbps wireless switch. 300mbps only works on an open network, no security (WEP, WPA, WPA2 etc). I had precisely the issues you are experiencing now with your D-link, i just had it with two TP-links. I also have that D-LINK Wireless USB dongle thing and it won't connect to my TP-LINK when selected on N.

The thing with Wireless N to keep in mind is that it wasnt an official specification until this year sometime, so each company went an implemented their "own" version of it, and therefore compatibility is iffy in my experience.

What is it you want to do at 300mbps?

All i can say is, wireless is convenient to have, but it will never beat a piece of cable going directly to the router. PCI is slightly old, so i would go for USB. Another benefit of USB is portability.

LD

 

[extrusion]

Thanks for the reply Lukcydog.

I mainly want to use 300mbps for other reasons, such as streaming video to watch on the TV. But for that I'd need adapter(s) that actually work with 40mhz, otherwise the streaming won't work, and I also won't have internet access on my Desktop pc, since it doesn't work all that well with the router with 40mhz enabled.

Just a bit disappointed, if this is a general problem with the device, then I could've rather just bought a 150mbps ADSL router. Since effectively, this is what it is at the moment. I do not necessarily need 300mbps, but the reason I bought one is so I could use it in the future.

Thanks for your feedback tho, appreciated. Will try to get different types of test USB adapters and see if some might work properly with the TP-Link router.

 

[extrusion]

Does anyone else perhaps have feedback regarding the TL-W8960N ADSL router using 40mhz bandwidth wireless ?