When I copy files between my computers over WiFi, I measure a consistent 1.2 Mbit/s speed. This is with a Pace 5031 WiFi access point provided by AT&T. The speed is far slower than WiFi should be. I suspect that the router is slowing all traffic to match the DSL speed (1.5 Mbit/s up). I cannot find any QoS settings in the router's menus.

The slow speed makes the WiFi router incapable of transferring large files. I use a separate wired network when I need to do that.

Is this typical? Is there any way to speed up the WiFi router on local traffic?
Ed

Howdy.

There is so much overhead on password protected wifi it isn't funny would be my guess to start. Set to open to see.

The method of moving it may be an issue.

The channel, spacing, and so forth an issue.

Interference, neighbors, lights, radar and so forth.

Power levels either too low or too high.

I used to use an android app to get some information about quality, your router may have some quality tools but many don't. Think the app was some router name like netgear maybe??

It could be QOS you have some voip running or other network traffic too.

Loading on some device.

Some manual online I'd think.

Thanks for the pointers!

I made a discovery: the 1.2 Mbit/s appears to be due to the USB WiFi dongle on my desktop computer.

My laptops can transfer files between themselves at 4-8 Mbit/s, and they are much further away from the Pace router.

I will think about how to push files from the desktop to the laptops more quickly.
Ed

Wirhout knowing anything about your hardware are your reported speeds of 4-8 Mbps actually MBps? That would put your wireless speed at 54 Mbps which is 802.11g and makes sense.

I am measuring 4-8 Mbit/s. The speed is not close to 54 Mbit/s, but the distance is approximately 35 feet with interior walls and a dozen of my neighbor's WiFi networks.
Ed

That sounds frustrating. I remember dealing with slow Wi-Fi speeds myself. Once, while trying to fix my Airtel My WiFi login issue, I stumbled upon some settings that might help.

It's possible your router is throttling speeds to match your DSL connection. Check if there's an option to disable any bandwidth limitations or QoS settings in the router's menu. Sometimes, tweaking these settings can make a big difference in local traffic speeds.

Also, ensure your devices are connected to the 5GHz band if available, as it typically offers faster speeds than the 2.4GHz band.