| Why is the actual Wi-Fi data rate shown on my wireless device slower than my router's advertised data rate? |
A router's advertised maximum data rate (such as 300 Mbps for a single band wireless router or 1200 Mpbs for a dual band wireless router) is the highest data rate that the router can support. The actual Wi-Fi data rate on your wireless device is affected by a number of other factors such as your broadband bandwidth, the highest data rate supported by your wireless device, the highest data rate supported by your router's WAN port, and environmental factors that affect Wi-Fi signal strength.
1. If your broadband bandwidth is 100 Mbps, the data rate on your device cannot exceed 100 Mbps. Similarly, if your broadband bandwidth is 20 Mbps, the data rate on your device cannot exceed 20 Mbps.
2. The highest data rate of your router's WAN port will also affect the data rate on your device. For example, if the highest data rate of your router's WAN port is 100 Mbps, the data rate on your device connected to the router cannot exceed 100 Mbps.
3. The highest rate supported by your wireless devices will also affect the data rate. The number of antennas on your device and the Wi-Fi protocols that it supports will affect the data rate that it can achieve when connected to your router's Wi-Fi. For example, if your wireless device only has one antenna, it will only be able to achieve a maximum data rate of 150 Mbps when connected to your router's 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. If your device has two antennas, it will be able to achieve a maximum data rate of 300 Mbps when connected to your router's 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Some wireless devices do not support 5 GHz Wi-Fi and therefore cannot connect to your router's 5 GHz Wi-Fi network
4. Your router's Wi-Fi is also subject to signal interference from other nearby Wi-Fi networks and other signals on a similar frequency band, causing a reduction in data rate on your wireless device. Most homes are exposed to signal interference from nearby Wi-Fi networks.
In summary, your router's advertised Wi-Fi data rate is the highest theoretical data rate that the router is able to negotiate. However, actual data rates for wireless devices connected to the Wi-Fi network are affected by a number of other factors, which is why the two values are not the same.
The advertised highest data rate of 2976 Mbps is calculated by adding the highest data rate of 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi (574 Mbps) to the highest data rate of 5 GHz Wi-Fi (2402 Mpbs).