Low WiFi throughput

Sean_Whalen · April 20, 2022, 11:44pm

I ran some WiFi tests in three different areas of my home, with three different devices, and the Framework Laptop had the overall worst performance, which surprised me, being a WiFi 6E adapter. I wonder, does this align with your experiences?

Hardware

Device	Network Adapter
Phone	Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G
Framework Laptop	Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210
Dell XPS 13 9365	Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
Access Point	UniFi U6-LR

Internet bandwidth (Fiber over Ethernet)

Downstream: 1 Gbps
Upstream: 250 Mbps

Additional details

The WiFi Access Point is located in the basement
All tests were conducted on the ground floor
All tests used the 5 GHz band
The Office and Bedroom test locations are only a few feet away, separated by a wall
The latest drivers/software was used in all devices
Despite the differences in throughput, unloaded latency consistently stayed under 6 ms on all devices in all locations

Fast.com results

Office

Device	Downstream Speed (Mbps)	Upstream Speed (Mbps)
Phone	500	180
Framework Laptop	370	270
Dell XPS 13 9365	360	260

Bedroom

Device	Downstream Speed (Mbps)	Upstream Speed (Mbps)
Phone	200	180
Framework Laptop	82	78
Dell XPS 13 9365	190	110

Kitchen

Device	Downstream Speed (Mbps)	Upstream Speed (Mbps)
Phone	300	73
Framework Laptop	82	180
Dell XPS 13 9365	260	210

Fraoch · April 21, 2022, 12:57am

Not at all. Pardon the formatting:

AX210 on AX AP (TP-Link EAP620 HD)

[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 57138
[ ID] Interval       Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]  0.0-10.0 sec   682 MBytes   569 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 57140
[  4]  0.0-10.0 sec   686 MBytes   573 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 57142
[  4]  0.0-10.0 sec   686 MBytes   575 Mbits/sec

These are 3 repeated iperf tests to a gigabit server using an AX AP in the same room.

Of all the devices I have, the Framework is by far the fastest.

I have 5 standardized locations in the house. Test results at locations A-F with RSSI listed in dB:

A: -60

[  4]  0.0-10.2 sec   307 MBytes   253 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35524
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   375 MBytes   311 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35526
[  4]  0.0-10.0 sec   316 MBytes   264 Mbits/sec

B: -46

[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35528
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   333 MBytes   278 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35530
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   417 MBytes   346 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35532
[  4]  0.0-10.0 sec   511 MBytes   427 Mbits/sec


C: -66

[ ID] Interval       Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   140 MBytes   116 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 41976
[  4]  0.0-10.2 sec   183 MBytes   150 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 41978
[  4]  0.0-10.2 sec   186 MBytes   154 Mbits/sec


D: -58

[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 41980
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   225 MBytes   187 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 41982
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   275 MBytes   228 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 41984
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   225 MBytes   188 Mbits/sec

E: -63

[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35534
[  4]  0.0-10.2 sec   198 MBytes   163 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35536
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   184 MBytes   152 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35538
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   206 MBytes   172 Mbits/sec

F: -60

[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35540
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   205 MBytes   169 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35544
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   216 MBytes   179 Mbits/sec
[  4] local 192.168.1.77 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.10 port 35546
[  4]  0.0-10.1 sec   198 MBytes   164 Mbits/sec

For brevity I won’t list the other devices (I have 20-30 of these files) but the Framework is the fastest.

Also E and F are distant locations, essentially the furthest away I can get, and the signal strength is still excellent. Oddly closer locations A and C have about the same strength.

Anil_Kulkarni · April 21, 2022, 3:36am

What OS are you using? Intel’s linux drivers for the AX210 have been full of bugs, specifically on AX mode (Wifi 6). Supposedly things are better on the 5.17 kernel but it’s very early in that release to say for sure the improvement

A_A · April 21, 2022, 4:12am

The OP is on Windows 11 Pro. (According to his other threads)

Sean_Whalen · April 21, 2022, 11:59am

Correct. I upgraded to Intel’s latest drivers (22.120.1.9 2022-03-10) as soon as I set up the laptop. When I get home, I’m going to try downgrading to the version in the Framework Laptop Driver Bundle.

Gary_S · April 21, 2022, 12:08pm

Using Windows 10 21H2 I get about 460 Mb/sec over my wireless network when sending files from my Framework to my server, and about 550 Mb/sec when pulling files. I don’t have much strength variation as I live in a small apartment. My Wi-Fi channels are set to be as far away from my neighbors’ channels as I can get them.

Sean_Whalen · April 21, 2022, 7:02pm

No change after downgrading the drivers. I changed from a low 5 GHz WiFi channel (64) to a high channel (128) and that improved performance on all devices. The Framework is still not up to par with the rest of the WiFi clients on my network.

D.H · April 22, 2022, 12:58pm

Have you checked to verify your WiFi antennas are very securely attached to the card?

I had poor throughout on WiFi 5 / 5ghz to my R7000P AP during my first day setup of my DIY. However, reseating those took the F.w from laggard to my fastest device in LAN iperf3 testing by a factor of 2. Bluetooth range when streaming audio is stellar also.

EndeavorOS (arch Linux based), kernels 5.14 through 5.17 have all had no issues for me. Then again I don’t have a WiFi 6 or 6E AP to test against, so …

Sean_Whalen · April 22, 2022, 1:22pm

It very well could be poor seating of the antennas. I just wanted to rule out everything else first. Sounds like that’s what I need to look at though. I have cerebral palsy, which makes my hands super tight, which makes working with those tiny connectors pretty much impossible for me. When putting connecting the antennas the first time, I had to recruit a family member who had never done it before. Now I’ll have to bribe my boyfriend (who has done it before) with dinner.

MidnightMatter · April 22, 2022, 6:27pm

Probably a long shot, but check your QOS setting in your router.

My router prioritizes certain services/applications and NOT specific devices, and that can sometimes take a chunk of bandwidth away from certain devices.

When everyone is asleep in my house, my internet speed tests are above what I pay for. LOL

Fraoch · April 22, 2022, 6:46pm

Also - iperf tests are better than Internet tests. If iperf test numbers are low, they clearly indicate a hardware or software problem dealing with the network. If Internet speed tests are low, they indicate all that OR issues with your network (AP, switch, router) OR issues with your ISP, which you can’t control. Routing, QoS, network congestion, latency, blocking, traffic prioritization, etc. etc.

Sean_Whalen · April 24, 2022, 8:17pm

I’ve tried reconnecting the antennas, using a Xubuntu 22.04 live image, and even put in a different WiFi card with no change in performance.

I just ran some iperf3 tests, and now I’m even more confused. I ran the iperf3 server on a Linux device that is connected to my local network over a gigabit Ethernet connection. I ran htop before and during the the tests to ensure that the host had sufficient free memory and CPU usage.

Then, as a client benchmark, I used the desktop in my office, which uses an Intel AX200 WNIC, and is located on the one floor directly above the access point. This system regularly gets Fast.com results of 700+ Mbps down (sometimes as high as 800 Mbps), with 240 Mbps down, 2 ms “unloaded” latency, and 18 ms “loaded” latency. Netflix (which operates Fast.com) runs the tests from CDN nodes located on my ISP’s network that my systems reach in 4 hops (including my own gateway. My ISP is net-neutral, and my firewall/router is an enterprise product that I control, with the same policies for all of my devices.

When I ran the iperf3 client for Windows from that desktop, the results were less than half of the usual Fast.com results, which surprised me, because of course traffic over my LAN should always be faster than external traffic. Does anyone have any idea what is going wrong with these iperf3 tests?

[  4] local 192.168.1.22 port 19429 connected to 192.168.1.111 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]   0.00-1.00   sec  43.0 MBytes   360 Mbits/sec
[  4]   1.00-2.00   sec  45.5 MBytes   382 Mbits/sec
[  4]   2.00-3.00   sec  46.4 MBytes   389 Mbits/sec
[  4]   3.00-4.00   sec  43.6 MBytes   366 Mbits/sec
[  4]   4.00-5.00   sec  42.8 MBytes   358 Mbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]   0.00-5.00   sec   221 MBytes   371 Mbits/sec                  sender
[  4]   0.00-5.00   sec   221 MBytes   371 Mbits/sec                  receiver

Still, I went ahead and completed iperf3 on my phone and the Framework Laptop is the same three locations I used when testing using Fast.com a few days earlier.

Framework Laptop

Office

Connecting to host jump, port 5201
[  4] local 192.168.1.9 port 57287 connected to 192.168.1.111 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]   0.00-1.00   sec  38.0 MBytes   318 Mbits/sec
[  4]   1.00-2.00   sec  46.2 MBytes   387 Mbits/sec
[  4]   2.00-3.00   sec  41.8 MBytes   350 Mbits/sec
[  4]   3.00-4.00   sec  43.6 MBytes   367 Mbits/sec
[  4]   4.00-5.00   sec  42.5 MBytes   356 Mbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]   0.00-5.00   sec   212 MBytes   356 Mbits/sec                  sender
[  4]   0.00-5.00   sec   212 MBytes   356 Mbits/sec                  receiver

Bedroom


Connecting to host jump, port 5201
[  4] local 192.168.1.9 port 62016 connected to 192.168.1.111 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]   0.00-1.00   sec  27.9 MBytes   233 Mbits/sec
[  4]   1.00-2.01   sec  28.0 MBytes   233 Mbits/sec
[  4]   2.01-3.00   sec  10.6 MBytes  89.9 Mbits/sec
[  4]   3.00-4.00   sec   256 KBytes  2.10 Mbits/sec
[  4]   4.00-5.01   sec  20.8 MBytes   173 Mbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]   0.00-5.01   sec  87.5 MBytes   147 Mbits/sec                  sender
[  4]   0.00-5.01   sec  87.5 MBytes   147 Mbits/sec                  receiver

Kitchen

Connecting to host jump, port 5201
[  4] local 192.168.1.9 port 50269 connected to 192.168.1.111 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]   0.00-1.00   sec  24.9 MBytes   208 Mbits/sec
[  4]   1.00-2.00   sec  22.8 MBytes   191 Mbits/sec
[  4]   2.00-3.00   sec  26.5 MBytes   223 Mbits/sec
[  4]   3.00-4.00   sec  24.4 MBytes   204 Mbits/sec
[  4]   4.00-5.00   sec  26.1 MBytes   219 Mbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bandwidth
[  4]   0.00-5.00   sec   125 MBytes   209 Mbits/sec                  sender
[  4]   0.00-5.00   sec   125 MBytes   209 Mbits/sec                  receiver

Phone (Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G)

Office

Connecting to host 192.168.1.111, port 5201
[  5] local 192.168.1.38 port 47976 connected to 192.168.1.111 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr  Cwnd
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec  40.5 MBytes   340 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec  32.5 MBytes   273 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec  42.5 MBytes   357 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   3.00-4.00   sec  30.0 MBytes   252 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec  26.2 MBytes   220 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr
[  5]   0.00-5.00   sec   172 MBytes   288 Mbits/sec    0             sender
[  5]   0.00-5.04   sec   169 MBytes   282 Mbits/sec                  receiver

Bedroom

Connecting to host 192.168.1.111, port 5201
[  5] local 192.168.1.38 port 53278 connected to 192.168.1.111 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr  Cwnd
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec  15.7 MBytes   132 Mbits/sec    0   3.88 MBytes      
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec  18.8 MBytes   157 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec  16.2 MBytes   136 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   3.00-4.00   sec  16.2 MBytes   136 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec  17.5 MBytes   147 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr
[  5]   0.00-5.00   sec  84.4 MBytes   142 Mbits/sec    0             sender
[  5]   0.00-5.11   sec  83.0 MBytes   136 Mbits/sec                  receiver

Kitchen

Connecting to host 192.168.1.111, port 5201
[  5] local 192.168.1.38 port 58504 connected to 192.168.1.111 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr  Cwnd
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec  23.3 MBytes   195 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec  16.2 MBytes   136 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec  15.0 MBytes   126 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   3.00-4.00   sec  17.5 MBytes   147 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec  17.5 MBytes   147 Mbits/sec    0   6.00 MBytes      
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr
[  5]   0.00-5.00   sec  89.5 MBytes   150 Mbits/sec    0             sender
[  5]   0.00-5.08   sec  87.4 MBytes   144 Mbits/sec                  receiver

Finally, to eliminate my network entirely, I ran speedtest.net tests (for some reason Fast.com tests were not reliable on my carrier) using my phone’s 5G hostpot feature, first with the phone itself, then my desktop and Framework Laptop, all in the same location (my home office).

Device	Latency (ms)	Downstream Speed (Mbps)	Upstream Speed (Mbps)
Phone	134	341	7.85
Desktop	90	360	15.02
Framework Laptop	118	337	4.17

Which makes me think it has something to do with with the way my access point is working and the antennas on the Framework Laptop. My M1 Mac Mini has very similar WiFi issues, and it’s right down the hall from the AP on the same floor. Oddly, every other device other than the Framework Laptop and the Mac Mini on my network is fine. Now that I think about it, those are the only to devices I have that have aluminum casing…

RandySyring · May 7, 2022, 8:35pm

FWIW, I’m having the same issue. The framework laptop has ~90 Mbps download throughput while my Pixel 3 has ~160 Mbps and my Pixel 6 has ~260 Mbps. However, I’m seeing the same problem with a Dell Precision 5550 and Lenovo T480. They have different wifi cards I believe but all Intel.

Another commonality between our situations is that I’m using UniFi/Ubiquity access points. I don’t have any solutions, just wanted to confirm the problem and add some additional context.

A_A · May 7, 2022, 8:55pm

I have 4 WRT3200ACM routers around the house with OpenWRT (19.07.9). I ran iperf3 on the router and on the framework laptop, get about 550Mbps up and down. (i.e. removing the routing speed and ISP variables)

RandySyring · May 8, 2022, 4:27am

A_A: thanks for the reference point. I switched to iperf and I’m consistently getting ~285 Mbits / sec on the Framework and my Dell to a server on the LAN. :o/