Linksys WRT54G – getting wired speeds on wireless

By Dan Nedelko

March 24, 2012


I've got a LinkSys WRT54G wireless router. It's a little older and been great but lately I've been getting disconnected every few hours and had to reset the router. Annoying at best, then I ran a speed test and was sad to see my download speeds stank relative to sitting at my desk and wired right into the router.

I did some digging and after a little bit of work, my wireless speeds equal my wired speeds. Here's how I did it:

Wired at Home: http://www.speedtest.net/result/1853602685.png
Wireless at Home: http://www.speedtest.net/result/1853606059.png

WRT54G Linksys 2.4 Ghz

  1. Upgraded firmware to 8.0.0.8 from the WRT54G Cisco product page. Make sure you check your hardware model number on the bottom of the router first.
  2. Prevented wireless channel switching (selected channel 11 as I was getting knocked offline by another router).
  3. Changed from wireless network mode to G-only from Mixed.

Next login to the setup page of the Router:

  1. Under Wireless tab change the Wireless channel to 11

Advanced wireless settings:

  1. Change the Beacon Interval from 75-100 (my optimal interval was 100)
  2. Change the Fragmentation Threshold to 2304 through 2375 (my optimal was 2375)
  3. Change the RTS Threshold to 2304 through 2375 (my optimal was 2375)
  4. Change "Basic Rate" from Default to All.
  5. Click on Save Settings.

Wireless speeds now equal wired speeds in 95% of my home.

The End.

Dan Nedelko

About Dan Nedelko

A human being spinning around on this big blue marble with the rest of you, interested in Digital Marketing // Music // Art // Family // Business // Founder of http://hny.pt

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