Help Wifi Speed with Nexus 5

[Android Question]

I have a Nexus 5 and am quite confused by the speed tests I've done when on wifi. At home, I have a SBG6580 gateway (802.11n) that's far "faster" than my Comcast Internet speed of 105Mpbs. When I do a speed test (Ookla site), with my laptop on wifi the results vary from 50 to 80Mbps, which is fine. I know that 105 is a theoretical max and I'm apartment building so there's lots of network overlap.

When I do the test with the Ookla app on my Nexus 5, it is never faster than 5Mbps.

I turned off wifi and run the same test on my phone in an LTE area, I get over 30Mbps.

Is wifi over the phone just that much slower?

If I bought an 802.11ac gateway would I likely see any improvement with my phone?

The reason I'm asking is that I enjoy using Chromecast via my phone and HD shows on Netflix/Amazon/whatever need at least 5Mbps. As that's the max speed I'm getting now, shows are sometime a bit choppy. If I could just get my phone up to a consistent 10Mbps I'd be happy. Though, I'd really like to understand why I don't see the same speeds on my phone ad I do on my laptop.

Thanks!

 

[Crashdamage]

Yes, the theoretical speed of 802.11n is far faster than your Comcast limit of 105Mbps. Theoretically, 802.11n can do up to 600Mbps and 802.11ac up to 1300Mbps. But you never see anything close to theoretical speeds achieved in practice.

Here's what you can realistically expect from 802.11n and 802.11ac:
802.11n - 40-50 Mbps typical, varying greatly depending on configuration, whether it is mixed or N-only network, the number of bonded channels, etc. Specifying a channel, and using 40MHz channels can help achieve 70-80Mbps with some newer routers. Up to 100 Mbps achievable with more expensive commercial equipment with 8x8 arrays, gigabit ports, etc.
802.11ac - 70-100 Mbps

So you can see that you should get a nice speed bump on any 802.11ac-capable devices you have, which does include your Nexus 5, by changing from 802.11n equipment to 802.11ac stuff.

Now, back to your problem...why does your phone only achieve 5Mbps? I have a Nexus 5 and regularly get 80-100Mps both up and down on 802.11ac equipment so it's certainly capable. With what info you provided it could be many things. An app could be misbehaving and mucking up your WiFi. Uninstall any WiFi boosters/optimizers, if any. They're worthless. You could be getting incorrect speed test results. It could be that the laptop typically has a better signal, either stronger or with less interference. 50-80Mbps on the laptop is very good, but the phone may not be happy with the signal it's getting. If your router has 5Mhz capability try that instead of 2.4Mhz, 5Mhz is typically faster and less crowded. Try giving the 5Mhz band and 2.4Mhz bands different hostnames. You can try changing the router setup to use different channels. Install WiFi Overview 360 to help pick the best channels. The free version should work fine.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.android.wifiscanner

 

[kwalla]

Thanks for the reply.

I am using 2.4Mhz as that's all the Chromcast will support. I've found that if I have my phone on 5Mhz it won't connect to the Chromecast, so, until a new Chromecast comes out I'm stuck at 2.4Mhz.

I did a little digging and came across the below thread. Using most (if not all) of the settings in it, I'm getting 30Mbps, which is good enough for me. I've no idea if it's the combined effect or the changes or just one that made the difference.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/35874-42-best-settings-sbg6580-docsis-modem

 

[Crashdamage]

Glad you got it working better. I have no way of knowing which of the changes did the trick either, but really doesn't matter too much as long as it's working.

FYI I realize the Chromecast is 2.4Mhz-only, but there's no reason you can't use 5Mhz on the phone and still use the phone to cast to the Chromecast. I do it all the time. I leave 2.4Mhz and 5Mhz both enabled on the router and all is well. I do recommend that you give them different hostnames though.

 

[kwalla]

Interesting.. I'll have to revisit having my phone on 5Mhz and using the Chromecast. The two wouldn't connect months ago when I first tried.

Thanks!