Solved! Slow WiFi on Laptop - Fast on iPhone

[mrpond]

Hi - I have 30Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload internet from Cox.

I am using a TP-Link Archer CR500 16x4 DOCSIS3.0 AC1200 Wireless Wi-Fi Cable Modem Router

When I run speedtest my iPhone SE is showing 35Mbps download and 3.2Mbps upload

My Dell Inspiron 5758 is showing 8Mbps download and 3.2Mbps upload (on WiFi)
If I connect with an ethernet cable then I get the promised speeds.

I think I have all the latest Dell and Intel drivers and the laptop is clean and healthy (I use CCleaner and Malwarebytes)

Anything you can suggest to improve my laptop's WiFi download speed?
Ethernet is not an option as the router is in another room.

Would a new WiFi card help??

Many thanks
Kev

 

[Greeko85]

I'd say its more than likely a driver issue with the built-in wifi module of your laptop. Id be experimenting by unistalling the current drivers and reinstalling the new ones again. You can always try older revisions of the driver in case the newer ones have broken something.

 

[mrpond]

Hiya - thanks very much. How do I do that?

Device Manager > Network adapters > Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 > Driver > Uninstal the device from your system (Advanced)...

Then it gives a warning that I am going to uninstall.... if I go ahead and do that, how do I install it again? Won't I then be offline?

Many thanks

 

[Greeko85]

Download the driver package beforehand. Just do a Google search for intel ac 3160 and it should come up.

 

[mrpond]

Hi - I downloaded the Intel PROSet driver - uninstalled the current one and installed that - no better

Then I scanned my system on the Intel site and it said to upgrade to a slightly newer version - still no better

I rebooted in between each time

Anything else I can try?

 

[Greeko85]

Im out of ideas-the only thing I can do is link you to some intel threads with users having the same issue where hopefully you might find a solution.
https/communities.intel.com/thread/120140

 

[mrpond]

FOUND IT! After a lot more digging, it turns out that software called 'smartbyte' on Dell laptops is causing this. I uninstalled and voila! 35Mbps.