Get better WiFi Speeds on iPhone 3G
Like everyone else, I was getting pathetic speeds (120kbps) from my 2mbps ADSL connection over WiFi, so I tweaked my router a bit and I get around 1.6mbps consistently now.
Backup or write down your current settings first so you can revert back anytime. So, here’s what to change:
Channel ID: Channel 9 (2452 Mhz)
Beacon Interval: 50
RTS/CTS Threshold: 2305 (Also try 1500, 2305 works better for me though)
Fragmentation Threshold: 2304 (Also try 1024, 2304 works better for me though)
DTIM: 1
Protocol: 802.11 b (This is the most important bit. 802.11 b works better for iPhone, for some reason)
Reboot router and reconnect.
Note: The max data rate of 802.11b protocol is 11 Mbit/s, if your connection speed is less than or equal to that speed, you’re good, if its greater (which is highly unlikely, unless you’re in France, Japan, or Singapore etc..), then your speed will be capped at 11 Mbit/s. My connection is 2mbps, so its not a problem for me.
Hope it helps! Let me know in the comments how it worked for you.
I run Time Capsule. Never could find those settings there. I got Netgear router attached to TC. Neither couldn’t find any settings above there.
Hi Peter,
Not all routers allow modifying those values. Hmm…which Netgear router have you got?
I would love to try this but I’m wondering what the effects are on non-iPhone devices on my network. Any ideas?
it worked for me. Thanks.
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hi, I have tested this set up on 2 (jailbreaked) iphones (my an my girlfriend’s). I have D-link router set for settings you gave above. The only one thing I couldn’t change was setting B mode. I have only 2 option: mix mode and only G mode, so it’s on mix mode right now. I measured time for 1MB download in MXtube program (I always started measuring after 3 or 4MB downloaded because those first megabytes are usually going much faster). Hera are results:
Before: 1MB takes aproximately 12-15 sec
After: 1MB takes aproximately 5-7 sec
I repeated test about 15 times so the scores are aprox.
So YES, IT WORKS !!! I’m wondering if I could change the mode for B, would it be faster ? Maybe someone could try this.
I also tested speed in Safari and unfortunately with new setting the speed was little bit slower almost not noticable.
For speed test I used website: http://www.iphonespeedtest.com
Other website: http://i.dslr.net/iphone_speedtest.html crushed my iphone twice so I don’t recommend it. Besides the results were different than on first site.
czaras,
802.11b works best on iPhone and its confirmed. b more will give you 10x speed.
Ebrahim
Ebrahim what about speed on my laptop which is connected to the same router ?
Max data rate of 802.11b protocol is 11 Mbit/s, if your connection speed is less than equal to that speed, you’re good, if its greater (which is highly unlikely, unless you’re in France, Japan, or Singapore), then your speed will be capped at 11 Mbit/s.
My connection is 2mbps, so its not a problem for me.
uh comcast provides 16Mbps in the US, not to mention Verizon FiOS with 40-50Mbps or more.
Also downgrading to B will force all your computers down to the lower bandwidth even if they’re just talking to each other over the wireless network.
naysayer, I think its a fair trade off if you use your iPhone equally. :-)
Well 802.11b/g only has 3 free channels, so if you go for 1, 6 or 11 doesn’t matter as long as your neighbours wifi doesn’t overlap yours you’ll be fine. And if no neighbour uses wifi then you can use any channel because there wont be any overlapping issues, which can be loss of speed, connection failures, packet loss etc
Hi there,
I am getting terrible speeds on my brand new iphone over my home network (not tried 3g yet as no connection at home) despite all my other devices being fine.
Unfortunately there is no where to change any of the settings you said on my router page - just mac control, password settting, etc. I am using a crappy cheap Sweex LC70UK tho :/
What router do you recommend to get a nice speed on iphone, or to be able to change the settings you said?
Wow, its unfortunate that I have to limit my FIOS connection over wireless to 11 mbit, but its well worth it because the 802.11g is so damn slow. FU apple. TY qelix guy.
Here’s another question. Is there any way to force the iphone to use 802.11b when both are available?
Michael, no unfortunately not since it is the *router* that dictates the Wifi-mode in use. So the clients (e.g. the iphone or a laptop) need to be configured to use whatever the router is configured to use.
The suggestions of switching from 802.11-N or G to B is unfortunately ridiculous for people not resiging in development nations.
I’ve got a 100MBit symmetric connection to the internet and naturally don’t want to cap my network to 1/10th of that speed. Even if I was living in an undeveloped country, I’d still not want to have my entire network capped to a lousy megabyte per second, especially not when transferring files between computers (a typical HD video at 1.5 GB would take 19 minutes to transfer. Assuming it’s 40 minutes in length, it would not even be possible to watch it by streaming either.
On The iPhone 3G overall as a product..
I forked out ~ $900 for an iPhone 3G 16GB and I’ll definitely be returning it first thing monday, since it’s a real shitty piece of hardware and software offering. Some of the reasons include:
- Unacceptable Battery capacity / power management which means the device can’t even be used for a day (like phones in the mid -80ies)
- piss-poor connectivity (slow, horrible latency)
- useless GPS (no offline storage for maps == unusable in many parts where cell coverage is not available)
- No way to sync calendars using standardized calendar formats (e.g. sync with lotus notes calendar not possible).
- Copy-Paste not implemented which means I can’t copy text from an app / web page / mail / SMS etc. and use it in another, or even within the same app to avoid having to re-type the entire thing by hand.
- Shitty camera, useless for capturing white board drawings.
- Can’t play standard video formats without jail-breaking (AVI, Matroska containers with H264, DIVX or XVID video or Microsoft video) and no way to add extensions for formats not provided by Apple.
I won’t put the dependency on ITunes as a con since most phone manufacturers are idiots, requiring proprietary programs instead of open standards to move data to and fro the device.
Next I’ll have to see what Nokia or SonyEricsson has to offer. At least on their products I can add TomTom or similar off-line GPS mapping software, which makes the GPS feature more than just a marketing gimmick.
PS. Yes, I’m obviously very disappointed by the iPhone 3G product, especially since it was the most expensive phone I ever bought. It doesn’t incorporate *a single standard phone feature* (as of 2007) correctly, except for the browser which works surprisingly well on such as small device. It is beautiful though, at least until you you’ve used it for 5 minutes (hint: finger prints), but for me a Phone my second most important tool for work (after laptop) and it *must* survive for more than a day, be quick and reliable for calling with and have a calendar synchronized with standard corporate calendar infrastructure. All else is just gravy for fun or “nice to have”.
Thanks, this worked for me!
I didn’t have to change the channel number though (channel 2 works fine). I didn’t even have to restart the router (NB9WMAXX).
Thanks for this. On my billion I got the best results with
Beacon: 100
RTS: 2305
Fragmentation: 2304
Dtim: 1
Protocol: b+g (didn’ try b only)
Thax for the nice tip it works perfect for me and it became 100% stable. Its a fact: if you want fast wifi connection you have to setup your router.
And for them who dont want to change settings etc. in the hardware you have…try buying a second cheap router and plug it into your network and configure it for use with your iphone.
Thx again sooo much… see my speed result on wifi here: http://www.speedtest.net/iphone/15797384.png
its amazing how fast a phone can become :)
DON’T use channel 9.
Use ONLY channel 1, 6, or 11.
Otherwise you will screw up all the other wireless networks in your neighborhood.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! my speeds on Wifi at home were so bad that I was using 3G instead of connecting to my Wifi. After applying these settings, I am good to go!
Thank you so much for the solution. I am back at a normal speed and can enjoy wifi again, reducing my 3G data plan usage.