Why does the Internet load slowly on my brand-new laptop?

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Are you using a wireless router? What is the bandwidth? What is your Internet connection?

If using a wireless router, what frequency (channel) are you using? If a lot of your neighbors are on the same one (never changed the default), that might slow things down. You can find WiFi analyzers* that will show you who else is on each channel.

Even though you plug in the ethernet cable, the laptop might still be using WiFi. I don't know enough about Windows to advise you how to check. On linux, you could use "ip -a", and it would show you the connection status. Wired will have a name starting with "enp", wireless with "wlp". Lots of info, but the important one here is state UP or DOWN.

*Looking at my tablet just now, I see me on channel 8, neighbors on 4, 6, and 11.

[Xist]

Apparently I installed an adblocker. It is not the first thing that I have forgotten, but Brave blocks ads, and my Hosts file is supposed to help.

I downloaded WiFi Analyzer and it indicated that our current channel is stronger than the others. NetSpot does not show anyone on channel 4. We are 6+1. Three neighbors are on 6 and one each on on 7, 8, and 9.

What does any of that mean?!

Some mysteries are impossible to solve!

In the 2.4 GHz band, 1, 6, and 11 are the only non-overlapping channels. Selecting one or more of these channels is an important part of setting up your network correctly. Currently, many wireless routers automatically select the channel for you upon initial setup, where depending on your wireless environment, it could lead to slow WiFi speeds and interference.

https://www.metageek.com/training/re...ls-1-6-11.html

Yes, but I grew bored trying to figure out the +1. What is this, an invitation-only activity?

I am trying to download NetStumbler, but my WiFi grew tired again. I think that it has been downloading for half an hour or more. The only information that I have about a bandwidth is the 500 kbps.

I was able to download NetStumbler with Vivaldi.

It says that it cannot find my wifi adapter and I cannot find any setting to help locate it.

[hamsterpower]

It was probably as simple as windows downloading an update in the background. Sometimes even just checking for an update while their server is being hit by a ddos attack can slow a windows machine to a crawl.

[Xist]

According to C-Net, the next update may delete your documents folder.

https://www.cnet.com/news/windows-10...some-upgrades/

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Xist

Apparently I installed an adblocker. It is not the first thing that I have forgotten, but Brave blocks ads, and my Hosts file is supposed to help.

I downloaded WiFi Analyzer and it indicated that our current channel is stronger than the others. NetSpot does not show anyone on channel 4. We are 6+1. Three neighbors are on 6 and one each on on 7, 8, and 9.

What does any of that mean?!

Hosts file doesn't help with anything but name resolution (translating a computer name into an internet address). There's usually no need to muck with the hosts file unless you are trying to get computers on 2 different networks to talk to each other.

Many wifi access points default to channel 6, which is why choosing channel 1 or 9 is usually best. Pick the least crowded channel. It matters because a channel can only support 1 conversation at a time, so overlapping with neighbors shares/fights for that single conversation space.

This is the brilliance of cell phones. The "cells" are the communication range of each tower, with each adjacent tower utilizing different wireless channels so as to not interfere with each other. The limited range of a cell tower is actually a feature, as it allows channels to be reused on towers that are outside of the interference range. For example, if a cell tower had a 100 mile range, other towers couldn't utilize those frequencies unless they were well outside of that range. By having a 2 mile range, cell towers can reuse the same frequencies at much closer distances.

I use INSSIDER to evaluate the radio landscape, but I think the latest versions are not free. Simply torrent an older, free version.

I'd like you to disable wifi, and try plugging in the ethernet cable again. We need to isolate the problem. Report back what you find.

BTW- The 5 GHz channels(802.11 a and ac and some n) and are best because they are less commonly used, faster, and the range is much more limited, so you won't get as much neighbor interference. The downside is the range is more limited, so large homes won't get a strong signal everywhere without having repeaters.

Your new laptop should have an 802.11ac wifi adapter. If it does, you should get an 802.11ac wifi access point with multiple antennas. Lots of good options starting at about $40 for a T-mobile AC1900. That's what I run at 2 different homes.

[Xist]

I was able to download INSSIDER 3.2.3.1 here. It says channel 6 + 10. Dual channels?

INSSIDER recommended that I changed to channel one. I ran a bandwidth test, changed, cleared my cache, and tested again.

It dropped from 1 Mbps to 800 kbps. Strangely, both tests were over 2 Mbps upstream, so I looked into that.

Someone on Quora said that if that is your situation, you should replace your router. They are not the boss of me!

My 4.5 year-old phone in desktop mode got an even faster upload speed, but 28.35 Mbps down--from the same spot!

My $300 two year-old laptop was 28.24 Mbps.

I feel like I have done far more troubleshooting than should be necessary on a new computer and should make this Lenovo's problem.

This guy said he had this problem until he disabled WMM under QoS, but he reported that all of his devices using WiFi were affected: https://www.ybrikman.com/writing/201...t-fast-upload/

He explained that Comcast marked everything 8--Priority--the second lowest. He changed his firewall to make everything 0, best effort, and it was much better, but not as fast as 46, Expedited Forwarding.

I still think this is the laptop, not the router.

Windows says this is the latest driver, but I found a more recent one at Lenovo.com--but I could not download it, not in Brave, not in Vivaldi, and not in Internet Explorer, or at least I did not wait around to download 15.6 MB at 10 kbps.

I disabled the WiFi and got 88 MPH with ethernet. I reenabled WiFi and got 87.99 with ethernet. I downloaded and installed the driver, but Windows still shows the old one. I rebooted and tried in three different browsers. Brave is the fastest, then Vivaldi, and Chrome came in last.

I do not know why they vary so much, but the slowest was still dozens of times as fast as before.

I wish that I had figured out this a day or two ago, you know, before that test.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Xist

I disabled the WiFi and got 88 MPH with ethernet.

Did it disappear into the past, in a streak of flames?

[oil pan 4]

Ads will slow you down more than anything.
That's why I did ad free for life on here.

This site loads and searches faster than anything

[Xist]

I do not remember if the wifi worked adequately, but I did not manage my time adequately to balance work, school, and my family, so I dropped out. I signed up for one class for this semester and did not receive eleven clients in eight days like last term. I have plenty of clients, but too many cancellations.

I usually try to reschedule, but it almost never happens.

I am having wifi problems again, although it is possible that I struggle more trying to tune out Mom, my brother, and The Hallmark Channel. I will be watching a lecture in my room with the door closed with headphones and then call out to warn Mom that she is watching a Liberty Mutual commercial.

She screams when she hears the jingle.

So, soundproofing and finding a solid door is a completely different issue, but I need to find my noise-canceling headphones, too.

I sometimes have problems with pages not loading, but mostly I struggle with my lectures buffering. However, I only had fifteen minutes for my third quiz because I could not get the page to load.

I have been taking quizzes on my desktop because the Internet does not act much better even on ethernet (with wifi disabled).

The problem is that if I am in the kitchen, Mom just thinks that I am playing on my computer, and keeps trying to talk to me.

I am taking a quiz!

Move out? If anywhere is available for rent, whether it be one bedroom or three, it starts at $750 a month, and I am barely able to afford my room.

I am pretty much just trying to endure until I can get into grad school.

That is why I am taking on-line classes.

Craigslist shows a two-bedroom apartment for $390 a month, but that does not include gas, electric, or Internet.

That is tempting.

Anyway, I installed a program to keep my drivers up-to-date, but it says "More updates found! 13 device drivers and components need to be updated by Pro Edition!"

When I close that it says "Hooray! All drivers are up to date!"

"Upgrade to Pro Edition to update 13 more drivers and components!"

It sounds like I need a new utility. It has updated fourteen drivers, so it does the job about half of the time?

This is a Lenovo and this time when I went to their website looking for drivers it had me download Lenovo Service Bridge, which shows it my drivers. Even though Windows said I had the latest wifi driver, Lenovo showed me a newer one.

It did not make a difference.

It showed me eighteen other drivers that needed to be updated, so that utility did not even catch everything.

I tried different troubleshooting steps that I found on-line and finally downloaded Ashampoo Windows Accelerator 3. Two seconds later it told me to reboot and I did another speed test.

I went from .27 Mbps to 89.6 Mbps and things work great--for the most part.

Some of the lectures still buffer, while everything is absolutely fine on my desktop. I just went to bed at 9pm, woke up at 3:30am, and am trying to not bother Mom and my brother.

I am not a big fan of this class and how the professor set it up, but that is a different issue.

Do you have any idea why the Internet buffers on my laptop, even on ethernet, but not on my desktop?

Have a great day!

[freebeard]

Windows says the driver is up-to-date.

So, did you get antivirus protection on before you connected to Internet?

https://hal2020.com/2011/05/12/how-l...out-5-minutes/

Internet Explorer or Edge?