Hardware Laptop Wifi Question

[Skeet1983]

I recently upgraded my internet speed with my ISP, but the tech guy said my wireless is not able to pick up 5G. Is there anything I can do? My laptop is a Sager NP9377 and it has realtek rtl8723ae wireless lan 802.11n pci-e nic. Thoughts/help GREATLY appreciated

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

You can try upgrading your wireless card, which is generally easy for most laptops. However, I've never seen Sager laptops myself so I dunno if the wireless card will be easily accessible or not.

You can always get a USB wifi adapter, they're pretty cheap nowadays so you should be able to easily find one. Dual band support might be a bit more expensive, but meh.

Also, 5GHz =/= always faster speeds, it depends more on the standard your wifi adapter uses. 802.11ac > the 802.11n your laptop uses, so if you do go for an upgrade, make sure it's using 802.11ac. Something like this http://www.amazon.com/Intel-3160-HMWG-R-Wireless-Bluetooth-Supports/dp/B00MY9EVHI/ should work (but again, I would suggest opening up the laptop first to make sure the wifi card is easily accessible and changeable).

 

[Skeet1983]

I upgraded to 100Mbps, but only getting 50mbps. Is 50Mbps still decent/good? Should I upgrade wifi card if possible, or would the USB adapter do the job? I want to be able to use the 100Mbps since that is the speed I am paying for...

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

I mean, 50mbps isn't necessarily bad, but you should be getting the full 100mbps with the wifi card you have now, I assumed you had faster internet than that.

How far away from the router are you? Do you have any devices connected via ethernet to test to see if you're getting the full 100mbps over wired? Try connecting the laptop itself via ethernet, just to see if you're actually getting 100mbps.

 

[Skeet1983]

Wait a sec, my card DOES support 100Mbps? The ISP tech said I am not getting 5G or something. I am confused...

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Your card theoretically supports 300mbps, if you're not getting at least the 100mbps (or higher) there's some issue elsewhere. This can be related to distance, interference, the number of people connected to your network, the router is poor quality etc.

If it is interference, then upgrading to 5GHz would definitely fix the problem. I assume this is what the tech might have been referring to.

Also, do note that while you might be paying for 100mbps, your ISP might not be giving you that speed. Pretty much all ISPs have a statement in their contract stating that the advertised speeds are only the maximum of what your plan supports, it doesn't mean you're guaranteed to consistently receive that speed. This is why I suggested doing a test with a direct connection to the router, if you get the 100mbps that way, then we know it's simply a problem with the wifi signal.

 

[Skeet1983]

I did a speedtest, wireless download speed is about 30mbps...

 

[izy]

Looked up your rtl8723ae Card
its complete trash people porting only getting like 45mb/s MAX speeds from it so yeah try wired speedtest

where did you get the laptop from that realktek card shouldnt even be an option with that model.

they mostly came with an intel 7260 as standard

 

[Skeet1983]

My laptop is a Sager NP9377. Speed tests are as follows:

Wired: About 100mbps
Wireless: About 30mbps

Not sure how to proceed

 

[izy]

easy get a better wifi card not the dogshit one you somehow got bundled with

 

[Skeet1983]

How/where can I get a better wireless card for a Sager Np9377?

 

[izy]

How/where can I get a better wireless card for a Sager Np9377?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...wireless+card&rh=i:aps,k:laptop+wireless+card

Wwait why the hell do you own a Sager if you dont even know that much
man some rich people have no clue

 

[Originality]

For ease of upgrading, pick a WiFi card with the same number of antenna as the one you currently have. How to find out? Open up the laptop and look for the WiFi card.