Alfa Long Range - Slow Speeds

Discussion in 'Wireless Networking Cards' started by akashi, 28 Oct 2012.

  1. akashi

    akashi Member

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    Hi,

    I would very much appreciate any suggestions to my problems below.

    I purchased an Alfa AWUS036H from Amazon to connect to an AP about 20 meters away through 2 walls. I was able to connect to the AP with a full signal (5 bars) However, browsing the internet was painfully slow and some websites did not load. The AP is connected to an ADSL line with 24Mb/s download and 1.5Mb/s upload.

    I tried 2 different AWUS036H. I tried them on 2 different computers and 2 laptops. I tried with a dual USB cable also but nothing worked. Even if it connected to the AP, it would sometimes show limited connection and would also disconnect randomly.

    I tried using it on both Linux and Windows 7 x64 and had the exact problem.

    I later purchased a newer Alfa AWUS036NHA and I have experienced the same problem. If it is connected when my computer is booting up, the POST freezes and resumes once it is removed from the USB port.

    Below is a speed test I did comparing the Long Range AWUS036NHA to the built-in card inside my laptop:

    The AWUS036NHA connects at 135Mbps
    Download: 0.26Mbps
    Upload: 0.12Mbps

    The Centrino Wireless-N 2230 connects at 26Mbps
    Download: 6.54Mbps
    Upload: 1.38Mbps

    Can someone please tell me if these cards are just like this or I am simply having bad luck with them? I need something that will give me good throughput speed as the built-in card.

    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. Mr. Penguin

    Mr. Penguin Administrator
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    The H is very old and very slow, but that is no excuse for the NHA. It must be much faster than the H but not necessarily as fast as your built in card. Perhaps you have the built in card connected and the NHA connected at the same time. Disconnect your built in and run the speed test again with the NHA.

    • The network you have is a N network?
    • Ensure you have the latest drivers (not from ALFA but the Atheros website)
    • Also check the device settings in device manager. Maybe a setting is the issue
    • How many USB ports are in use and are they USB1.1 or USB2.0 or USB3.0?
    • Attention Crackerz Wave TCB13 Fantasma what speeds do you guys get?

    If you are still having issues I would contact ALFA with proof, those speeds are unacceptable: [email protected]

    I have seen you also posted here as well: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2077105
     
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  3. akashi

    akashi Member

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    Thank you for your input.

    I disabled the built-in card before I connected the Alfa device.

    I have 4 USB 3.0 ports on my Dell 17R 7720 and only the AWUS036NHA was connected. My other computer has USB 2.0 and the AP supports wireless b/g/n

    The driver on the Alfa website was version 2.0 which I first tried and got the problems. I updated the drivers to version 9 but the problems remained.

    I even though maybe the device wasn't getting enough power so used a dual USB cable.

    I did post on the ubuntu forum to widen the chance on a solution.

    Thanks.
     
  4. vampiricbunny1800

    vampiricbunny1800 Well-Known Member
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    AWUS036NHA need special drivers for backtrack?
     
  5. Crackerz Wave

    Crackerz Wave The Dictator

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    weird, i have awus036nha, it great, although the signal is weak, i get one bar, but the speed like FULL BAR.............it like strength 10% and quality 90%
     
  6. akashi

    akashi Member

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    Crackerz Wave: Can you please say what kind of speed you get from your AWUS036NHA?

    I am going to email Alfa and see what they say about the problems I am having.
     
  7. Crackerz Wave

    Crackerz Wave The Dictator

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    what kind of speed? it depend on the network
     
  8. vampiricbunny1800

    vampiricbunny1800 Well-Known Member
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    and tell me if you need special drivers (i'm not sure if i got a disk or not )
     
  9. akashi

    akashi Member

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    Are you able to get reasonable speed from the network that you connect to? Are you able to browse the internet quickly?

    e.g. If the network you are connected to has a speed of 30Mbps, can you get at least 10Mbps?
     
  10. Mr. Penguin

    Mr. Penguin Administrator
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    • Like Like x 1
  11. Crackerz Wave

    Crackerz Wave The Dictator

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    Ok, about the speed, i tested it in my neighbour wifi ( he ask me to repair his laptop ) he subscribe to 10mbps connection, and he use DLINK ROUTER ( the weakest and sux router) even i use it it my house, only get one bar......but when do speedtest i got 9.3 mbps + although get one bar and sometime no bar. I will post the speedtest

    [​IMG]


    If in backtrack or ubuntu, u just need to plug in, but in windows, if you buy from genuine distributor, you will get
    1-adapter itself
    2-the usb
    3-accesorries like mount and clip
    4-driver for windows and mac
    5-sometimes it give xiaopan/beini/backtrack cd

    if windows, first insert the cd, when it ask to plug you NHA, the u plug, and installation successfull
    First it depend on the coverage area. If you subscribe to 30mbps and u area can only get 15mbps, NHA cannot get more than 15mbps...
    Based on my experience, if it get one bar, u can get 15mbps speed or something like 14.5+ mbps.....buying extra antenna will make you happy, outdoor antenna will make you extremely happy:)
     
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  12. akashi

    akashi Member

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    Thank you Crackerz Wave for testing the speed for me.

    This confirms the AWUS036NHA can achieve faster speeds than what I am getting.

    I have emailed Alfa and waiting for them to confirm it my device is genuine. The device does appear to be the real thing with the hologram sticker changing size when it is moved around.

    I think I will return the AWUS036NHA and buy from a authorised reseller: http://www.crucialwifi.co.uk/AWUS03...OS_AR9271_CHIPSET_29_dBm/p740998_3945754.aspx
    --- Double Post Merged, 28 Oct 2012 ---
    Crackerz Wave: Can you please tell me if your hologram sticker displays the TAIWAN in colour or silver?

    Thanks.
     
  13. Mr. Penguin

    Mr. Penguin Administrator
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    I do not think that there are copies floating around. It is quite an expensive chipset. Hopefully ALFA can cover you under warranty.
     
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  14. Crackerz Wave

    Crackerz Wave The Dictator

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    i have put the picture
     
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  15. vampiricbunny1800

    vampiricbunny1800 Well-Known Member
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  16. akashi

    akashi Member

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    I put the AWUS036NHA about 0.5 meters away from the AP and done another speed test on my 24Mb/s ADSL line:

    [​IMG]

    And here is a speed test I did with my computer connected via a 100Mb/s Ethernet cable:

    [​IMG]

    Interestingly the AWUS036NHA gave better speed than a wired connection! However, as soon as I move it away 10 meters it becomes un-usable whereas the other devices still provide decent speeds.
    --- Double Post Merged, 29 Oct 2012 ---
    I have been experimenting with different settings and I think I have made it work.

    My brother lives 2 houses away through 2 solid walls. I changed his router from Wireless-N to Wireless-G. I also removed the latest driver and used the one found on Alfa's website (2.0.0.57)

    His internet speed is connected at 17Mb/s and I was able to achieve 14.92Mb/s

    [​IMG]

    This setting also works perfectly for my router being 10 meters away.

    I still have 1 annoying problem, the device seems to disappear after about an hour. Reconnecting the USB brings it back on.

    Thank you all for your help, it is very much appreciated.
     
  17. Fantasma

    Fantasma Well-Known Member

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    Well, i'm getting this speeds using the Alfa NHA connected to an AP located at + - 10mts and behind 2 solid walls...
    Speedtest.png
     
  18. TCB13

    TCB13 Be great

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    I'm digging this old post of out of the dirt now. Speed issues with AWUS036NHA are usually caused by a bug in the Atheros driver. One option is to disable hwcrypt:
    Code:
    Select All
    echo "options ath9k nohwcrypt=1" >> /etc/modprobe.d/ath9k.conf
     

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