Intel Dual Band Wireless - AC 3186 upgrade

[dmag-5555]

I am paying for 800mbps with my cable provider and I can't get speed above 150mbps.  Performing speed tests with my cell phone at the exact same location in my house nets speeds over 300mbps.

What wireless upgraded adapter would solve this issue?

Also, are there any other adjustments to current adapter would help?

Thanks

[BeemerBiker]

There is a discussion of the N band and how to speed it up here 

Are you using the same encryption as the phone?  Same band?

You cell phone is probably using the 5ghz signal.  See if there is an option on your desktop to force 5ghz.  That band is usually less crowded 

WinStart => device manager => network adapter => Wireless n => properties => advanced => preferred band

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, @dmag-5555 

Does your PC has an Intel processor and chipset?

If so, you can replace the Intel 3168 AC with this dual band AX card...

Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 ax 2×2 + Bluetooth 5.0 MU-MIMO non-vPro   HP part # L35282-005

You can find this card on eBay.  Search by the HP part number, not the model of the wifi card.

Regarding the 3168...The card has a maximum connection speed of 433 MBPs with an excellent signal on an AC/AX router on the 5.0 GHz wifi band.

The first thing to do is to check the actual connection speed you are getting from the wifi adapter.

Go to the windows control panel>Network & Internet>Network & Sharing Center>on the right side of the window (View your active networks section), click in your PC's wireless connection and it will show you the speed your Intel wifi adapter is connecting at.

The speed usually fluctuates a little based on the wireless signal it is receiving at that exact moment.

As far as improving the connection speed...not much you can do since you have a fixed antenna system inside the PC's case, so you can't re-position the antennas to see if you can get better wifi reception.

You can see if updating the wifi driver to the latest version Intel has makes any difference.

Windows® 10 and Windows 11* Wi-Fi Drivers for Intel® Wireless Adapters

The default settings for the adapter in the device manager usually don't need any changes.

Just make sure the transmit power is set to 'Highest.'