Wireless range extender throughput extremely slow

I've got a Belkin 54G router connected to the internet, and a Belkin range extender model F5D7132.

I can get the range extender connected to the parent router SSID no problem, in repeater mode as opposed to access point mode. My Windows 7 laptop connects to the extender, which has a different SSID, and it connects with the full 5 bars.

The issue is that when going through the extender internet performance is murderously slow, even getting the config pages of the extender or router is bad. When I connect directly to the router, all is well.

Alan B

Posted 2010-07-30T09:18:24.250

Reputation: 1 260

Answers

On an extender you are going to have about 50% speed reduction - half the wifi bandwidth is used to talk to the base router.

JNK

Posted 2010-07-30T09:18:24.250

Reputation: 7 642

Thanks. With a 38mbps connection though that still leaves 19mbps ... it's slower than dialup. – Alan B – 2010-07-30T10:27:48.120

Are you sure you are getting 38mbps throughput? Run a speed test on the machine through the extender and see what kind of speed you are actually getting. It could be fast but with a high rate of packet loss or other interference. – JNK – 2010-07-30T12:50:51.967

JNK is right, speed will drop because half the time is used to talk to the base WAP. This is not nessecary half the speed though.

If you have bad luck then you get something like this:

Your laptop   (short range) Repeater           (long range)      Base WAP

If your laptop is close to the repeater it will show good signal strenght andit can communicate rapidly with the repeater.

But that does not mean that the repeater can forward this at the same speed to the base WAP. That might be much slower, depending on range and objects (e.g. walls) in between.

Hennes

Posted 2010-07-30T09:18:24.250

Reputation: 60 739