Hi,

I have recently moved to a new house and my internet provider is now Suddenlink. I connected my laptop to the Wifi with no problem, and the signal strength is always excellent (whether downstairs, upstairs, right by router, etc). However, the wireless internet speed is incredibly slow (according to http://www.speedtest.net/, it is .06 Mbps). On Ethernet connection, it is fast at approximately 20 Mbps. The problem is, other devices such as my iPhone, other laptops, iPad have been tested and the wireless internet on those devices is about 20 Mbps; the internet is lightening fast. No recent changes have been made to my computer, no viruses have been detected, and my computer's wireless capabilities has never had problems at previous homes (Suddenlink and others as providers). This is not a router/modem problem, as other devices internet speeds are as they should be. I have tried to reset the router/modem, system restore, and updating wireless card drivers.

Computer specs:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit
Dell
Processor: Intel Core i5-2410M CPU @ 2.3GHz
RAM: 6 GB
Wireless Card: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030



I am not the most tech savvy in the world, so I would appreciate any directions being thorough and step by step (with the exception of bare basics.) Please help me if you can! If you need any more information, just ask.

Thank you,
Abbey

Hi yabby24,

My name is Saurabh and I work for the Social Media & Community Team at Dell.

If the driver of the wireless adapter is corrupt, merely updating it doesn’t do the trick. We need to uninstall the current driver from the device manager and then re-install it completely. Kindly follow the given steps to access device manager and reinstall the wireless adapter driver:

Click Start Icon > Click inside “Search Programs and Files” > Type “devmgmt.msc” (without quotation) > Hit Enter Key > Device Manager Page opens up > Expand option “Network Adapters” > Right Click Intel Wireless-N 1030 and hit “uninstall” > Follow-through with the uninstall process and restart the computer.

Kindly install the Intel Driver Update utility from this: http://intel.ly/kGGkP9

This utility will auto-detect and will give you the download and installation link for the most appropriate wireless card driver for your system. Please go ahead and install the same. (NOTE: Kindly make sure that you have your system working on Ethernet Connection while this process is taking place.)

I would also like to know about the performance of wireless in “Safe Mode with Networking”. Kindly tap F8 key repeatedly as soon as you power your computer back on. Select “Safe Mode with Networking”, which is one of the options in the menu. Use the down arrow key to navigate and hit the enter key, once it gets highlighted. Kindly see how the wireless performs in this diagnostic mode.


Please mention the security software installed. Kindly completely uninstall it from the computer and then check the wireless performance. Many security software(s) create filters in the wireless adapter. A corrupt firewall or an incorrect security setting may also be responsible. So, need to isolate that possibility.

If that still doesn’t fix the issue, would request you to check the router settings. If the channel setting is set as “Auto”, kindly change it either to 6 or 11. Also disable the router firewall, and then check the performance.

Kindly write back with results. Glad and Eager to assist. Kindly also feel free to ask for clarification in case of ambiguity.

Hi again,

The plan of uninstalling the wireless card driver and reinstalling it worked! My wireless internet speed is now around 20 Mbps. The software mus have gotten corrupt, like you said. I cannot thank you enough for your help.

Thank you again!

Hi yabby24,

Glad to know that the issue is fixed. Thank you for posting a response and letting us know about it. Do write again if you need any further support. Would be glad to assist.