Why Is My Desktop Wi‑Fi Much Slower Than My Phone?
Asked by
MellowCedar47
My desktop has an RTX 5070, an i5-14400F, and a B760M-C motherboard with built-in Wi‑Fi. I'm using the included screw-on antennas, pointed generally toward the router, which is located somewhere in the attic. My iPhone 14 gets around 400 Mbps in the same area, but the desktop only manages about 3 Mbps—and sometimes drops to roughly 100 Kbps. Ethernet works perfectly at around 800 Mbps to 1.5 Gbps, but I can't use a cable right now. The desktop is connected to the 5 GHz network. What could be causing such a huge difference, and what can I try to fix it?
Answers
The antennas can also affect reception. Typical dipole antennas radiate strongest out from their sides, not from the tips, so if the router is above the computer, try positioning the antennas roughly parallel to the floor. Also make sure both antennas are firmly attached and that their internal connections haven’t come loose.
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Since other devices get several hundred Mbps from the same location, the internet connection and router are probably fine. The first thing I’d check is the motherboard’s Wi‑Fi driver. Download the correct driver for the wireless chipset installed in your board—Intel, Realtek, or MediaTek—and install it manually. An outdated or incorrect driver can cause extremely poor speeds.
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Check whether Windows reports strong signal strength but poor link speed, or weak signal strength overall. That helps separate an antenna or placement problem from a driver or wireless-card problem. You can also check whether the adapter is connected over 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz. A USB Wi‑Fi adapter with a modern standard can be a fallback, but I’d update and troubleshoot the built-in adapter first.
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Being far from the router and having it in an attic can introduce interference or weak coverage, even if the other devices happen to perform well. Restarting the router is worth trying, but the fact that multiple nearby devices get full speed points more strongly toward the desktop’s driver, wireless adapter, or antenna setup.
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MellowCedar47: That ended up being the fix. I installed the motherboard drivers and the newer Intel wireless driver, and everything is working normally now.