I'm using my Android phone as a hotspot for my Windows 11 laptop (an Asus TUF). The laptop's built-in Wi-Fi isn't great, so I connect with a USB Wi-Fi dongle that can handle speeds up to 500 Mbps. My mobile data generally delivers around 250–300 Mbps to the phone. Here's the problem: when I connect to the 2.4 GHz hotspot, I get a stable 20–30 Mbps which is slow but consistent. However, on the 5 GHz hotspot, I start off with 150–200 Mbps, which is awesome, but after a few minutes, the speed drops drastically to as low as 0.2 Mbps. My phone's internet remains fast, so the slowdown seems to only affect my laptop. The dongle should easily handle over 100 Mbps, so it shouldn't be the bottleneck. Has anyone experienced similar throttling issues with 5 GHz hotspots on Windows 11 or using USB Wi-Fi adapters? What could be causing this, and are there any fixes?
2 Answers
A drop in speed like that after a few minutes is often a sign of throttling. The device may be prioritizing other connections or it could be an issue with the adapter itself. Making sure your drivers are up to date could be a good start!
You might want to check your Wi-Fi adapter settings. Go into the properties and explore the Advanced tab to see if there are any settings that could be adjusted. Sometimes, tweaking those can help improve performance.
I found some options there; should I turn off any specific ones to see if it helps?
Okay, but what's throttling? Is it just the Wi-Fi adapter or could it be something else?