@ArcherC8 They are on the same network, yes. Looking now I notice there's a "2" next to my network name on my laptop. Whereas on my phone and iPad there's just the name without the 2. Yes, I use them all from the same distance as my router. Firmware is up to date on the router and also on my network adapter on my laptop. The wifi adpater on my laptop is - Ralink RT5390R 802.11bgn 
 

My laptop (HP Envy m4) was bought in 2012 so it's pretty old. I'm thinking the adapter might not support the frequency?

thebalconyfool wrote

Hello,

 

I'm having an issue with my laptop and using the A7 router. I noticed the speed on my laptop using wi-fi is signifigantly slower than on my phone and my iPad. 40mbps download on my laptop vs 114 mbps download on my phone and my iPad. Not sure why this would be. Any ideas on settings I can change and why this would be happening? 

@thebalconyfool 

Since your Laptop has a speed rating on the adapter of a/g/n, it should have no problems getting down 100Mbps. Same speeds and the other wireless devices.

You are connecting the Laptop on the 2.4Ghz SSID and the others on the 5Ghz SSID, either should provide the same top speed.

Note that 5Ghz will provide a stronger signal at distance (quite a bit away from the router, in some cases however as low as 50Ft) that the 2.4Ghz but that 2.4Ghz signal will go further.

If you really do have an OLD Adapter though, it could be the Security you have set, some devices work better with the lower levels of Security on the signal. Easy to check, set it to NONE and test to see if there is a speed increase. Also some use TKIP and not AES or just WPA, not WPA2. You'll have to change these and test.

By the way, interference is more of an issue on the 2.4Ghz SSID and it too can degrade performance. The 5Ghz band is much less susceptible to that.

@IrvSp Thank you so much for your reply. Just to clarify, my wifi adpater isn't a/g/n, it's b/g/n. So am I right in thinking it can't connect to 5g? 

thebalconyfool wrote

@IrvSp Thank you so much for your reply. Just to clarify, my wifi adpater isn't a/g/n, it's b/g/n. So am I right in thinking it can't connect to 5g? 

@thebalconyfool 

Sorry about quoting the speeds wrong... I don't think any a or b adapters are even sold now, so long ago that they came out, but routers are backward compatible.

N alone is capable of 300Mbps theoretical speed. 200 - 250 would be the actual speed you could reach. However there are many 'N Speed' adapters and some are not capable of 300Mbps.

The true question becomes:

1. Is the Adapter DUAL BAND or not? If it isn't DUAL BAND it can't see the 5Ghz signal.
2. What is the actual adapter rated at?

Well, I did get one answer Googling for the spec's of the adapter:

===============

@IrvSp Thank you so much for all your help, info, and suggestions. I really appreciate it and will look into everything. I don't think I'd be comfortable opening the laptop (I'm not tech savvy enough) to make changes, but I'll see what I can do with the other options. :)  

@thebalconyfool 

The Laptop shouldn't be needed to be opened if you do have USB ports. Ones with a 'blue bar' in the connector are USB 3.0 (you might not have these but could due to the year it was made) or if a 'whute bar' it is USB 2.0. In either case, a USB wireless adapter will match the speed of the other wireless devices. Cheap fix relativitly.

If your Laptop is 'portable', that is you take it places and do not move it, there are other units:

https://www.amazon.com/Cudy-WU1300S-1300Mbps-Wireless-Compatible/dp/B084FS7BWF/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1HRAKHDULIEJM&dchild=1&keywords=usb+wifi+adapter+for+pc&qid=1603385654&sprefix=usb+wifi%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.com/Cudy-WU1300-1300Mbps-Wireless-Compatible/dp/B07XXQTW27/ref=sr_1_20?crid=1HRAKHDULIEJM&dchild=1&keywords=usb+wifi+adapter+for+pc&qid=1603385654&sprefix=usb+wifi%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-20

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-1200Mbps-Techkey-Wireless-Network/dp/B07ZP4YSDM/ref=sr_1_14?crid=1HRAKHDULIEJM&dchild=1&keywords=usb+wifi+adapter+for+pc&qid=1603385654&sprefix=usb+wifi%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-14

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AC1300-Wireless-Supports-10-9-10-14/dp/B07P6N2TZH/ref=sr_1_6?crid=1HRAKHDULIEJM&dchild=1&keywords=usb+wifi+adapter+for+pc&qid=1603385654&sprefix=usb+wifi%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-6

They are all about the same and even the top 2 I can't really see the difference looking at them quickly, other than cost?

None of those would have large 'protrusions' sticking out to be broken off like the ones in my message above.

@IrvSp Oh yes, I was referring to the link to the new card in regards to opening the laptop. I do have 2 usb 3.0 ports and 1 usb 2.0. I think I'm going to go with one of the dongles you linked. That seems like the quickest and easiest solution. I was not aware of them before, so thank you so much for all of your help. :)

@thebalconyfool best and speed laptop is Probook 4530s