tldr: disable WMM QoS in your router settings.
Symptoms
At home, I have the following setup:
- Linksys E1200 Wireless-N Router
- Macbook Air: OS X 10.7.1, Intel Core i7 1.8Ghz, 4GB RAM
- iPhone 4S: iOS 5.0
- Custom desktop: Windows 7, Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0Ghz, 2GB RAM
- ISP: Comcast xfinity
Whenever I used my laptop or phone, the Wi-Fi connection felt incredibly slow. Youtube videos took forever to load, Google Maps tiles filled in slowly, and even gmail felt unresponsive. On the other hand, my desktop, which was connected to the router via an ethernet cable, worked just fine.
Numbers
To confirm my observations, I decided to take some bandwidth measurements using bandwidthplace.com, speakeasy.net, and speedtest.net for the laptop and the Speed Test app for the iPhone. The results were pretty consistent across all app and device pairs and looked something like this:
Desktop
- Download: 24 Mbps
- Upload: 4.5 Mbps
Laptop
- Download: 0.65 Mbps
- Upload: 4.5 Mbps
iPhone
- Download: 0.58 Mbps
- Upload: 4.4 Mbps
Yikes! My laptop and iPhone download speed were more than 30 times slower than my desktop's download speed! On the other hand, the upload speed was roughly the same on all devices. What the hell was going on?
Failed attempts
After googling for solutions, I tried a number of tweaks commonly suggested around the web:
- Change DNS hosts
- Change wireless channel
- Change the wireless channel width
- Use a different security mode (WPA2 personal)
- Shut off firewalls
- Enable or disable IPv6 settings
- Reboot the router
None of these worked.
The solution
Out of desperation, I started tweaking random settings on my router and stumbled across one that finally worked. The directions for other routers may be a little different, but here's what I did:
- Go to http://192.168.1.1 and login to your router. If you've never done this, look for instructions that came with your router or do a google search to find the default username and password.
- Find a page that has QoS settings. For the E1200, you need to click on "Applications & Gaming" and select the "QoS" sub-menu.
- Disable WMM Support.
- Click save.
That's it. The second I disabled WMM support, the download speeds for my laptop and iPhone both jumped to 24 Mbps, perfectly matching my desktop.
What the hell is WMM?
WMM is apparently an 802.11e feature that provides higher priority for "time-dependent" traffic, such as video or voice. In theory, this should make things like VoIP calls and video chat (e.g. Skype) perform better. In practice, having it enabled destroyed my Wi-Fi download speeds. Since I disabled it, my Wi-Fi is blazing fast and I've seen no negative side-effects.
If anyone has more information as to why this would be the case, please share it here.
233 comments:
1 – 200 of 233 Newer› Newest»Interesting findings. Does it not sound like a bug in the router code?
Is your ISP Cisco or Comcast?
Just a note: on my Linksys WRT54G with firmware 8.00.7 WMM is disabled by default.
@JP: whoops, typo. ISP is Comcast, just updated the post to reflect that. It does seem like some sort of router bug, but I think I have the latest firmware.
@Geoff: good to know. Not sure why it was enabled on mine.
FWIW, I have a D-Link DIR-655, and WMM (which they call 'QoS engine', and 'WISH' [Wireless Intelligent Stream Handling]) is working pretty well on it... So this may well be a bug in your router.
Just checked, I get 21 down, and 4.3 up on a laptop that's 50 feet away from the router, and not configured as "high priority".
I use the QoS thing to give myself higher priority and be unaffected by kids watching Netflix for example. That will work for me for the next 5 years or so (older kid is 10) I figure. Right now, no one in the house cares about what speed/ping/latency they get besides me :)
Seems likely this is indeed a bug with the router. Some other reports of similar issues:
http://homecommunity.cisco.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/Slow-Internet-Connection-Linksys-e1500-Router/td-p/453719
http://brinet.net/linksyscisco-e1500-slow-wifi
http://forums.techarena.in/networking-security/1450964.htm
Thanks, it is a problem with the router. I went in and exchanged thinking it was a hardware problem, but it does seem to be a firmware problem.
Thank you thank you thank you!!! Could not figure out what the problem was. This was it!!
Had to comment and say thank you so much! Saved me a ton of headache and troubleshooting!
Great Help!! That was the problem!!
This worked on my router also. I had the same model router. I wonder why it affects mac devices and not PC devices?
You're my hero! I had the same problem with my Linksys E1200 with both Mac and Windows clients (but not with my iPhone 3GS) and this simple change got my download speeds back to normal. Thank you!
Thank you SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!
was buged by this issue for more than 3 days and all the other entries on Google always ask you change the channel blah blah blah, which never work.
Thanks for sharing, you really save the day
Thanks Jim! I was playing the same "change something and test" game when I stumbled on your post. Went from 0.61 mbps to 20+... Phew! Very much obliged!
Thank you so much. Went from 2Mbps to 24Mbps which is close to my wired connection. I was on the fence about upgrading my router, but now there's no need to.
I have Netgear WNR834B, once you enter routerlogin.net and your user name/password it's under Advanced/Wireless Settings/Enable WMM(Wi-Fi Multi-media) support
Thanks again!
Great Fix!!!! Thanks!!!!
I was tearing my hair out on live chats with Linksys/Cisco then I found this page and it solved it. I told them about the solution so hopefully they'll fix this up. This is unacceptable.
Thank you so much! I just upgraded to XFINITY and was having trouble isolating the problem.
jim, ive got the same setup as you i was getting 0.20mpbs on Wifi down. I disabled QoS and now I'm getting 30+mbps down!
Solved my problem. Thank you for the post!
Fixed my issues as well. Thank you for sharing your findings. I do think your issue was amplified due to wireless vs Ethernet connected rather than device manufactureror os.
Jim, thank you! You saved me a lot of time and frustration.
Thanks for solving my problem Jim, after wasting three hours talking to Cisco's "24/7 award-winning customer support." Their software led me to their site, that led me to a three hour backache. Then I searched and was directed here. I don't know why there database couldn't find the answer? I directed their follow-up to your blog's answer.
Thanks again,
Nicholas
Had the same problem with Linksys E900. Thanks for the help!
THANK YOU! My ISP is Comcast, I am using the e1200 and had the exact same problem. It's blazing now.
I am happy I didn't have to wait the 4 days it tool for Cisco to get back to me.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank you dude. This was so frustrating.
So glad I found your blog. Your solution had turned days of frustration into a few simple clicks! My download speed now works a champ. Much appreciated for sharing this, Jim!!!
Jim
Thanks so much. Download speed went from 0.5mbs to 25mbs... awesome!
George
Mucho Thanks Jim. I just got a HP Win 7 'puter a couple of days ago and been looking all over the internet to find a solution that would work for me. Hardwire would work ok, but not wireless. I have a Linksys WRT160N router and disabling WMM Support got my download speed back to a normal level. Phew! Thanks Again.
Fixed my Linksys E1200 instantly!
Thanks for posting this Jim! That was the fix.
YOU. ARE. A. GENIUS.
Thank you a million times and again. I was seriously about to return this router because my download speed was only .6 mbps. Brilliant.
This solved the same problem with my new Linksys E900 right away. I knew the router was okay, because my older Mac mini could connect via Wireless-G much faster than anything else could. I also got an original Droid to connect faster, also with Wireless-G. Three Wireless-N devices would always connect slowly.
The upload speeds for all devices were okay, and my MacBook Pro had fast download speeds when wired.
Dude thanks a ton! Couldn't figure out why my download was <1MB/s and upload was over 20MB/s on a comcast business grade line. Your suggestion fixed the issue. Thanks so much!
Does anybody have any idea as to how to do this on an Arris Gateway TG862G for Comcast? I can't find any setting that allows me to shut of QoS or WMM.
Help!
Rock n Roll brutha! Absolutely amazing. Thanks a ton for this!
thank you so much! i just got a new MBP and linksys router and started reading the SAME EXACT results u were getting. your instructions are perfect in this case and now my download speeds are back to normal.
one thing though- in toying around i used terminal to turn IPv6 OFF. if you do this and the WMM fix, you lose your network connection. re-enabling IPv6 in the wi-fi system prefs makes everything work again.
Thank you so much! Your fix was easy and it worked flawlessly.
I have Comcast as my ISP and my router is the Linksys E1200, wireless N300 (purchased in June 2012).
I spent 3 hours with the Linksys on-line chat and she gave me instructions that did not work; change MTU setting to manual and 1400 then save, set channel to 1, enable mac address clone and click "clone my PC's Mac", then save. She also told me to "just change the channel to 1, 6, or 11 if I had any more speed issues. FOLLOWING THESE INSTRUCTIONS LEFT ME WITH NOT ONLY A SLOW CONNECTION, BUT NO CONNECTION!
If you have this problem, do yourself a favor and follow Jim's instructions instead of dealing with any Linksys customer support.
Thanks again!
Brilliant. Many thanks from San Francisco.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share this. I had the same problem with Netgear WNR3500Lv2 on Comcast in the SF bay area.
Man I love you for this, it happens on Windows devices as well.
Thank you for taking time to publish this!!! Your advice worked great. I'm on a Dell Win7 PC with the Linksys E1200 router on a cable modem. -Frederico Garza
You my friend are officially my favorite person of the day. I was tearing my hair out over and this solved my issue. Thanks!
Thank you, Jim! I bought the e1200 yesterday and so so disappointed and baffled. After much trial and all error I was ready to return the unit...then I found your fix. Amazing! Instant and amazing!
Thanks Jim! I've been messing with my new E1200 for the past 2 hours before I found your solution! Now it finally works! Yay!
Thank you! Tried several other things, but this was the thing I needed to do. I also had to change my router to run in mixed mode for this to work on all our devices.
The same fix saved my Belkin router from being returned to the store. Thanks so much!
Thanks, finally the right solution!
Thanks for the help. We were pulling our hair out. Glad we google searched before we called tech support!
Hey guys, I'm having the same problem with a Nokia M1122 router. I'm trying to find the option to disable WMM support but I just can't find. Can anyone help me?
that did it! thanks so much for posting a fix. i owe you a beer!o
Thank you!!!!! Absolutely genius, saved me from another trip for new router! Thank you a million!
just worked on my Belkin n150. Weird. Thanks! For others with a Belkin N150 the WMM qos settings are under Channel/SSID at the bottom.
I am using a Netgear WNR834B on Mac powerbook running 10.6.8 and an iphone 4S iOS5. I was geting 16 Mbps on my wireless laptop and .6 on my phone. As soon as I took this suggestion my laptop DL speed jumped to 36Mbps and my iphone to 16! Man you are like an angel--I was just about to trash my router and buy a new one.
Spot on! Thank you!
Thanks Jim! That worked!
Excellent fix Sir. saved me much work and a return to the electronics store... I have a different computer but the same router... had the same symptoms and they were fixed in a flash with your solution! BIG BIG KUDOS!
Unbelievable find. I gotta admit I didn't hold out much hope but worked exactly as described. I had 1Mb down, 3Mb up on Comcast cable w/ Linksys e900. Made the change and went to 24Mb down, 4Mb up.
Give yourself a pat on the back.
Great help! I had the same problem with my E1500, your solution brought my download from 0,25 Mbps to 43,3 Mbps!!! My upload stayed stabile at around 4,5 Mbps. Your help is very much appreciated!
Thank you so much, man. I just got the exact same setup, and I knew that .4mb wasn't right. You're a lifesaver.
Thank you so much. I had been on the phone with comcast and the router company all day and no one could help me. I even bought another router just to make sure that wasnt the problem. This completely fixed my problem. Thanks again.
Thanks a ton! I was about to go and return the router, called the proqvider etc etc. my download speed went up from 0.5 MBPS to 18MBPS. Whoa!!! U r the best!
OH MY GOSH!!!! If I could jump through the screen and give you a kiss right now, I would (no homo)! I have no idea how I even stumbled upon your blog, but I did it, and I, too, can attest that my download speed went from 0.65 to 24 mbps! YOU, my friend, are the best. This is what the internet was made for. I just googled "Cisco linksys e900 router slow download speed" and somehow I got to your site. I was going bat crazy just about every night waiting for just a FREAKING youtube or ESPN video to upload. Just like Rakesh above, I was about to return the router or maybe have to go through awful customer service in a foreign country, but no! You, my friend, saved the day! +1 to you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Linksys E1200, new Dell laptops and an old Dell tower. Wired got 24-27Mbps common down. Wireless got .5Mbps down. Tried everything including returning the first E1200. Changed the setting and bingo. All good, thanks!! You da man!
you are the MAN ! thanks Jim
Unbelievable. Had the exact same problem and fixed it immediately! Thanks much. How is there no mention of this anywhere on Cisco/Linksys's online support pages?
Holy cow I'm glad I Googled "download slow upload fast"! E1200 on Comcast Xfinity, with the Arris router in Bridge mode. All Apple and Windows devices working beautifully now. Thanks so much for your legwork, Jim.
I had exact the same problem, spent hours to google, chatting with ciscos technician, but failed!!!. Your solution perfect WORKS!!!!!
I have E900 wireless router (Comcast provider).
Thank you Jim, you are the man ^-^
I've been having this issue last week. I have Comcast too like everyone else here and a Cisco E1500. I think it may be an issue with them too. Thanks for the tip, worked like a charm.
Just wanted to say this post saved me a trip back to the store!!!! I came it across it in a google search, just wanted to say thanks a bunch
Thank you! I have been searching all over the internet for a solution to this problem. My download speeds were .23. I took your advice and im reaching 17megabits per second. which is fast considering i have the cheapest internet available.
Thank you! Worth noting that at first it seems to kill the connection, but if you give it five mins everything comes back and works nice and fast! Went from .5 to 23.5!
Dude, thank you so much. I was about to punch babies I was getting so frustrated with this new router. How this is enabled by default is beyond me.
Thank you thank you thank you.
Thank you so much for your research. Went from 400kbps to over 22mbps. Lifesaver!
THANK YOU!!!!
We bought a new router, and went through all the hoops with damnable Comcast, and THIS is what saved our speeds. We we were at LESS than 1 mbps!
NOW WE'RE BACK TO 20+ and ECSTATIC!
Thank you!
I am yet another satisfied customer. Thank you so much for publishing this page. Clearly you've saved many of us!
Add me the list of many satisfied customers. You've made my day and saved me many $$!
Thanks, Jim
I was on with Apple Tech Support yesterday for 1 hour and they could not figure out the problem. I had a appointment with the Genius Bar tonight and then I came across this fix. As soon as I disables WMM my download speed on my computer went from 1.5 Mbps to 28Mbps. Thanks!
Comcrap couldn't help me, but you could. I want to have your babies.
Superb post.. precise and really helpfull..
Was having troube with my comcast connection wireless speeds..
the fix raised speeds from .7Mbps to 25 mbps
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! You just saved me from bashing my head into the wall! We just connected to cable internet with super fast speeds but could not figure out why our supposedly decent router (the same one you list in your blog) was abysmally slow. You nailed it. Thanks. I never would have figured that out on my own!
You lost me at the part where you posted the IP address as an http. is that supposed to be a website? How do I change things on my router?
@Tuck: you type http://192.168.1.1 (or 192.168.0.1, depending on you router) into your web browser. It should take you to a webpage where you can manage your router's settings. You may need a login: check your router's documentation for details.
I just went through a series of Cisco routers due to drops, finally the Cisco EA4500 seemed like a keeper, no more drops. I had been paying for 8 down & 1 up. I was getting just under that. Then, I brilliantly changed internet providers three days later as part of a Comcast cable package, in hopes of further improving my internet all around. I was suppose to be getting 12 down & 2 up, speed tests showed I was getting 1 down, 2 up. I have been horrified since I've had nothing but problems with my internet for 2wks. Comcast had me directly connect and it was fine, so I knew it was a router problem. Dreading going through another tech support call with Cisco, this morning I decided to search online. Followed Jim's directions and now Speed test shows 18 down, 2 up. I had set up Cisco cloud with the media prioritization turned. Click on that box and you will find the WMM setting. I turned it off, dragged my two prioritized items out, turned off media prioritization and all is well! A million thank-yous!!!
YOUR THE MAN! Spend 2 days of my life trying to troubleshoot the E1200 which I had previously working for months. Bought a new modem to get comcast's new DOCSIS 3.0 and it was doing that same problem you described with fast upload and slow download on wireless. Enabled by default with latest firmware, why they would do this I have no idea, but THANK YOU!
Thanks very much. I was pretty baffled: (wireless) speeds within the LAN fine, uploading to the internet fine, downloading from the internet while wired to the router fine... downloading over wireless <1mpbs. lol wut
This seems pretty bizarre. As far as I can tell, I had this problem on my router (Netgear N300 WNR3500Lv2, now running Tomato 1.28) starting when I let it upgrade its firmware (it continued when I installed Tomato, which defaults to having WMM on). Furthermore, I got the problem both with a 4+ year old laptop's wireless card, and a just-bought USB wireless adapter, so it's not just that some specific wireless card doesn't agree with it. When writing the firmware, did they just not test the wireless at all, or something?
YOU ARE A GOD!!!
YOU'RE THE MAN!
THANKS BROTHER!
just did this very step with my router ... still testing at 1Mbps after doing this "fix". Do I need to reboot my computer?
The problem seem to be the conjunction of three things, the Linksys E1200 router, Comcast and a Mac. And I know this because with a different provider I had abroad in Brazil the router worked perfectly, it was not until I got to the US and had Comcast as my provider that I began having these problems. Total nightmare, nobody is willing to help and everyone, literally every (except Apple, didn`t contact them) wanted to charge me extra for the phone support. Cisco wanted 30 bucks to help me on the phone, that's the damn cost of their crappy router, which was still under the 1 year warranty. Called comcast and linksys no less than 12 times and invested about 8 hours dealing with them.
Lesson for me is, I guess the US is no different than any developing country out there in terms of service from corporations. Plus not to mention the Saveology tech rebate scam out there.
The good, guys like you that help each other.
Thanks for the help man.
Holy GOD! Thank you so much Jim.
I'll join the chorus in saying thanks. Tearing my hair out trying to figure out the problem with my mother-in-law's setup and finally found this after much searching. Fixed it in a flash
Thanks a lot for the tip. The Internet speed went up from 0.6 Mbps to ~25 Mbps. I already wanted to cancel the contract with Comcast... :-)
Thank u so much Jim. I had the same problem and google led me to this post. Nice and thorough instructions. Wei from Houston
Wow. Thank you so much for this! Much appreciated. Dan in Oregon
I just got a belkin N300 yesterday and was completely dumbfounded by why the router wasn't giving off a very strong signal. After looking everywhere online - at least so I thought I had, for some reason putting anything related to "n300 poor wireless signal" didn't yield the results I wanted - the belkin site pointed to the reason being either the channels should be changed due to too many signals in the area (i'm in an apartment complex with like 10 different ones so that's feasible)or there is interference from either the TV, computer or a wireless phone, all 3 which happen to be right next to the router so once again another feasible reason.
So I change the channels and nothing works. After almost giving up someone gets a friend over and he does something to the MAC address that causes the download speed to work as intended. But for some reason shortly after he leaves the speed once again drops down to fractions of what the normal speed should be.
Then I noticed a pattern.
I saw that the upload speed for some reason maintained the same speed whether if the computed was hard wired or wireless, so from there I googled "wireless download speed slower than upload" and boom, I got this.
I was never a big fan of wireless (but usually could get away with avoiding major issues) but it's always nice to get a answer to some crazy frustrating computer after working with them for so long (12 years) - always something good to have in your back pocket.
I have Verizon FIOS and an ActionTek rev I 802.11n router. My Philips Avent video baby monitor always killed my download speed. Disabling WMM QOS helped a ton! Thanks man.
oh my god, thank you! i couldn't figure out why my wifi was so slow. i freaked when i found your page and we have essentially the same setup. thank you!!!
Thanks very much. This solved the problem with my iPad running via a netgear n300. One thing to note is that this Download speed problem only happened with some distance from the router. I guess that the MMS setting causes a problem when the device is more distant or has some interference. When upstairs from the router, I was getting great upload speeds but terrible download, and turning off the MMS setting fixed it.
Jim, you're a lifesaver!!! My girlfriend always tries to watch the news in the morning on our MAC and I could never figure out how to get the download speeds anywhere close to my laptop. I'll be posting your link on my FB page for all my friends. Thanks!!!
Just bought a brand new cisco EA4500 and was getting very frustrated.
your simple fix returned everything to full bandwidth.
i love you so very much.
The same thing happened to me. I turned off the wmm thing and I am now downloading at 25mps. Thanks for the fix.
Running MacBook Pro and Belkin N300. Increased speed by 16 times! Thanks!
Jim,
Thanks much. Had same problem. Linsys e1200 and sudden atrocious download speeds(like a quarter mbp), but normal upload), on my wireless PCs, while ethernet PCs were fine. Your solution worked. Don't know how you did this, but amazing.
Steve Kaufman
Boston, MA
Your solution worked great for my e1500 and 2012 Macbook Air. Thanks Jim!
Thanks! This was the problem I experienced after a firmware upgrade for my Netgear WNR3500Lv2.
YOU ARE THE MAN!! SAVED ME FROM MY POS CONNECTION. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Dude my ds was below a megabyte now its at 20mbps THANK YOU SO MUCH!
THANK YOU!!!! Whew! 1000 blessings on you and your heirs!!!
Jim you rock! Solved my problem as well. The manufacturer really should have fixed this, i'm writing this in Sept 2012, it's been a number of months.
Jim,
Appreciate the assistance with this problem. My IPad2 had great downloads of 20M+ until I upgraded to ios6 last night, and afterwards the downloads were clocked at 1M or less. Never had a problem on WIN7 laptop, BlackBerry 9650 or Android Moto Droid Bionic. They stayed consistent. Disabling the WMM did the trick. Not sure why the Apple device lost speed.
Anyone else have the same problem after the upgrade?
Thanks again. Cheers!
This worked on my Linksys WRT160N router. Only one of my three laptops had a slow download speed, it was running Windows 7 Premium.
This completely fixed my issue with my linksys e1200. Thank you so much for taking the time to post this!
Thank you so much! This worked the very first try.
Thank you so much for posting this! Solved my same problem with cisco linksys e900 router. Was driving me insane.
I can only change the WMM support if I have the network mode on anything but 802.11n, so I assumed 802.11g would work but that made things worse! I have a western digital N600 and when I first set it up my down speeds were great now they're at like 1.8mbps tops and its really annoying me.
OMFG. I am the happiest human being on the planet right now. I have the E1200 Linksys router, Comcast, and a Mac and I have been going insane dealing with my incredibly slow internet.
This fix worked instantly! I did a speed test before and it was 0.71 Mbps and now the speed is practically off the charts!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!
I'm trying to find an answer relating to my router and internet provider. I have Verizon Fios and have Actiontec MI424WR router. My download speed on my laptop (wireless) is .6 on a good day. Im' paying for 15. If anyone can help me figure out what settings I need to change, I appreciate your help.
I can't seem to find QOS settings (after clicking on the link in the article and typing in the router password).
Thanks!
I had that router and the same problem. Dude good cause my stuff is so much better now it was at .06 and now im gettin what I paid for 23-25
Thanks for the tip, was driving me nuts.. Also thanks for the poster who pointed to settings in Belkin n150
Thanks! Struggled with this for a while. Disabling the WMM setting restored download speeds to normal.
Thanks a lot,u saved so much time.
Was thinking to buy new router , increase speed etc.
THANKS!!!!!!
Oh god, thank you. I just recently switched from DSL to Cable, and have been fighting with slow connections for months. I was about to lose my mind. You're awesome!
Hi Jim,
I'm using an SMC Barricade 7004AWBR router. My upload speeds are 2 mbps, and my download speeds are pretty much the same. I've got a comcast 25 mbps connection. Is there any way you can help fix this?
Thank you so much for posting this - had the exact problem, and this worked. Was losing my mind trying to fix this.
To
Yevgeniy Brikman,
I,Like the many others before me would like to thank you for your time and insight. I am just a couple of rungs above computer illiteracy and would have been totally lost to spend an eternity finding a solution to this problem.
I've also read stories of people spending hours with Cisco Tech Support, without being given this solution.
Thank You Very Much,
Trams
I had the same issue with an E900 and disabling WMM solved the issue - thank you.
Cisco now have a firmware upgrade (1.0.03) which fixes the QoS and I now have no issue with WMM enabled again.
Presumably Cisco also have upgrade for other products
Thanks! Had the same issue. Worked perfectly.
This did the trick, thanks!
Anyone know how to access QoS settings on a Comcast provided ARRIS TM502G/CT I can access the device but don't see the QoS in any of the menus.
Wow, thanks a lot man! Thankfully I was able to find this page after my first google search for "wireless download really slow wired fast". Otherwise I would have been at this for a while. I had the same router and had the same exact experience.
Thanks for sharing your findings on this with the world.
I had similar issues with wired & wireless traffic. Using a NetGear N300 I was getting ok download but terrible (80Kbps) upload. I turned OFF WMM and also QOS on the Router and improved the upload speed to 500Kbps. Took me 5 hours to work that one out.
I had similar issues with wired & wireless traffic. Using a NetGear N300 I was getting ok download but terrible (80Kbps) upload. I turned OFF WMM and also QOS on the Router and improved the upload speed to 500Kbps. Took me 5 hours to work that one out.
GOOD NEWS: Cisco fixed the problem with the firmware. Now my E1200 on the newest firmware (2.0.04)can get wifi n with WMM enabled and full subscription speed (20mps).
People still having problem can just go to Cisco's support site and download and upgrade the new firmware for your routers. I think it should work.
Still deeply appreciate your blog. It is the best work-around for me for three months until today. Thanks a lot.
Disabling the Qos on my Linksys WRT150n router did it!!!!
before- 0.43Mbps downlaod
after- 14.79Mbps download
Thanks!!!!
Great thanks. I got Comcast and Linksys N300 today and suffered from this annoying problem exactly the same as you did. You really save my day. Really appreciate that you can pos this message around and help people a lot!
THIS IS INCREDIBLE INFORMATION THAT NEEDS TO BE SHARED WITH THE WORLD!!!! THANKSSSSS!!!!!!
I love you. That is all.
I WAS RIPPING MY HAIR OUT -- thank you :)
THANK YOU!! I have been living with completely unacceptable download speeds for months. This did the trick. Using Belkin N300.
OMG Thanks a ton!!!! I spent over 2 hours with tech support fo the N300 Belkin router. After a long endeavor I figured out that the only thing wrong with my laptops were the download speed. I did a quick search, this came up and presto! All devices are now running at or near their full capability! Thanks again! You rock. P.S. We need to tell the world! :o)
Thank you!!! This fixed my issue as well. I just got a Belkin 300N router, and I'm glad I searched online and found your blog before doing anything else! Fixed it right up.
Thanks again =)
Thank you Jim! We had an older D-Link DIR-615 that we were constantly having to "reboot". I finally got around to getting a replacement - a Linksys E1200. All was fine until a book was downloaded onto the iPad. A speed test was run and we had those conflicting down vs. upload speeds. Your blog was stumbled upon through Google and your instructions were followed. Thanks for making this an easy fix - right down to finding the QoS settings under Applications and Gaming. Much appreciated!
HELP . . . . I have an ATT (2WIRE)router and cannot find these setting to alter to get the increased speed on downloads that I need for Macbook Pro
First - thanks. Six hours and taking my network completely apart and your suggestions put in the right direction.
For my Belkin Play, this was a two-step process. Step one was to disable QoS profiles from the QoS Profiles side bar menu. When this did not solve my problem, I found that under the Channel and SSID menu, 802.11e/WMM QoS had to be set to off for both the 2.4 Ghz and the 5 Ghz frequencies.
All I can say is THANKS! I having an E900 and was have the exact problem. I am not at all technical so I was convinced I would have to buy a new router to improve my speed. I just saw your blog when I was searching on line for information on the E1200. I was a bit nervous to get into the guts of the system to make changes - but chanced it and BOOM! I now have the speeds I had hoped for... This was great!
well you just solved my problem as well. EA4500 here. now my Note 2 is downloading at the same speed as my wireless laptop. Hopefully that will fix the sleep issue with my phone & wifi as well. if it does, you fixed 2 problems! thank you.
thx a lot man. For Asus router user, the WMM setting can be found on 192.168.1.1 --> Wireless --> 2.4g Professional --> WMM:disable. This is the greatest thing about internet, we're glad to share solution :) Cheers
Yes, it works (Linksys E4200): disabled QoS and download speeds are 10X better. Thanks!
Belkin n150 fixt! I was using this router with Verizon, and it only slowed down after switching to Comcast. So there is more to this than just the router setting, but it does fix the problem. Wondering if VOIP will now suffer?
Thanks so much for sharing your fix to this issue! I had recently switched my ISP to Comcast from AT&T, and there was a huge variation in download speeds between my ipad and desktop. My ipad was barely registering a download speed of 1mbps. After changing my router config as you suggested (router: linksys e1500), my ipad is now registering a Dl speed of around 20mbps. Thanks for the guidance...it is very much appreciated!!!
THANK YOU!!!!!! I bought a new router, new adapter, and spent countless hours on the phone with Comcast telling me my connection was fine. $80 and MANY hours later and this finally fixed it!!!!!!
O..M..G..
I've been looking for a solution for over a year. I've replaced routers, changed every setting possible, and still couldn't figure out why my iPhone and Macbook were seeing .5mb download while other devices on wifi were seeing 20mb+.
Finally, I have adequate speeds. THANK YOU.
my problem has been fixed by doing so.. I see same solution on cicso home community. I am wondering why this issue is not fixed by cicso?
Hey Jim - Really appreciate your help here. After exchanging 2 laptops, you were the survivor. Thanks again.
Thank you Very much... this has been bugging me for days
again . . . any guidance as to where to access these settings on my 2WIRE att router to change? I do not find these on my router "settings" to alter.
Thanks a lot sharing this blog, I've been looking for this a long time! really very nice and useful for us. Good work!!!!! Thanks Again
Visit Mt site ;- Linksys Router Support
Thank You!
On the Belkin N300 it's at the bottom of the Channel and SSID menu: 802.11e/WMM QoS.
This work immediately for me as well! Thanks!
Yeah! Thank you so much. Had the exact issue you described and found your blog and it worked!!!! 1 MBPS before and 30 MBPS now.
Also not router specific issue. Mine is Netgear.
Thanks, it is a problem with the router. I went in and exchanged thinking it was a hardware problem, but it does seem to be a firmware problem.
Linksys Router Setup
YES! It fixed my download problem. Thanks, Jim!
(I have a TR-WR1043N router)
Dude All I Can Say I thanks You Are my hero
Hey Jim - This was the exact same problem i had with the same router and the same numbers showed!! The WMM helped and we are back to decent speeds again...!!! Thanks man!! great stuff!
OMG thank you so much for posting this- it so works! I just moved and for 2 weeks I've been dealing with comcast saying it's not their problem and apple not knowing what to do. The modem and router when hard wired to the macbook pro ran fast speeds but once on wireless it slowed down to <1mbps but on a windows laptop ran just fine. I tried countless wireless routers and different modems and nothing worked; I somehow stumbled upon your blog and low and behold the problem has been resolved. I can not thank you enough for posting this! thank you thank you thank you!
Thanks so much! I spent all afternoon looking things up and trying things that didn't work before Google finally brought me to you!
Thank you so much for posting this! I purchased a Netgear WNR3500Lv2 Wireless N router as I was told that it would be faster than my Buffalo Wireless G router. When I got it all hooked up, I discovered my wireless speeds were under 1Mbps! I couldn't believe it as I was getting over 25Mbps on my old router. After going through numerous emails with Netgear tech support, it was escalated up to their Level 2 Tech support and I received a phone call to work out the problem. After telling me to change a few values and to check my speed (which was just as slow), the tech guy actually told me to return the router! I refused to believe it was faulty, did a Google search, and read this blog post. I found the setting, disabled WMM and voila!, my wireless download speeds are great! Thank you again for this post!!
YOU TOTALLY ROCK!!!!! I went out and bought 3 different routers after comcast came out for the upteenth time and found nothing.
Just stumbled on this article, changed the WMM setting and whamo FIXED!!! FINALLY!
You are the Man, can't thank you enough
Hats off to you, brikis98. If you ever come to Chicagoland I would be delighted to buy you a beer (or six) provided it doesn't interfere with your extreme crossfitness. :)
For the record: We have a Linksys WRT160N router, managed by a wired Windows XP SP3 workstation and supporting multiple Windows XP and 7 laptops via wireless with WPA2 AES. After switching service from AT&T copper DSL (modest speeds) to Comcast cable (voice/internet/cable) we were surprised: Wired speeds more than doubled (to about 25 MB/s download and 4 MB/s upload), but wireless performance was TEN-FOLD slower than wired for downloads (~2 MB/s) yet about the same as wired for up (4 MB/s). I was at risk of pulling out all of my remaining hair when your suggestion saved the day.
Thank you!!
@Yevgeniy,
I don't even know enough about these things to be dangerous (except to myself), but since you seem to be perpetually curious about things, and to give you something other than pain to think about while you're doing the second half of your 20-squat workout, here are some observations based on the many posts here and on personal experience.
1) The issue may be aggravated by marginal wireless signal strength and/or distance from the router, but can arise even when the client laptop is immediately adjacent the router. Also, there doesn't seem to be a pattern of particular WLAN settings associated with the problem, and Macs and PCs are both affected. Therefore, local factors like signal strength, channel, WLAN encryption method, client operating system, etc don't appear to be root causes.
2) The issue seems to be associated with Comcast. Whether this is because Comcast internet is just faster than many other connections, or because Comcast burst, packetize or otherwise meter their data transmissions in ways that precipitate a WMM-mediated slowdown, is not clear.
3) The download/upload asymmetry of the problem is intriguing. Is it because uploads are throttled to a speed that's below a critical rate (above which WMM can't handle the traffic correctly)? Or is that the ISP protocols for uploads and downloads are different, and the former are compatible with WMM while the latter aren't? It seems to point to a mis-match between the ISP's speed (or protocol) and the logic/algorithm powering the WMM function.
4) The problem applies mostly but not exclusively to Linksys/Cisco products. Firmware updates are not a solution ... at least for older routers, like the WRT160N, whose most recent firmware versions are several years old. (The E-series firmware may now have been fixed.)
Sure wish I could understand this. A call to a Comcast engineer I know shed no further light on the issue. Anyway, thanks again for your posting; even by the most conservative of estimates, you've saved the world many hundreds of person-hours of time and frustration.
Thanks! This post saved me a bunch of time trying to fix this issue.
Myself and all my roommates thank you!
I have the same router with the same issue, tried the fix yet my speeds are still dismal.
I have the same router with the same issue. I tried the fix to no avail. I wonder what my issue is...
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