How to troubleshoot slow Wi-Fi

Question

I regularly experience slow Wi-Fi on my PC, generally for a few hours every few days. Other devices on the same network are fine. If I try using my phone as a hotspot for the PC (i.e., using cellular data) then I have no problem. I try the easy stuff (power cycling everything, turning all other devices off, rebooting the PC) with usually no effect. I'm looking for advice on how I can better isolate the cause of this problem.

I had this issue for about 12 hours last night / this morning, but now things are back to normal.

My slow PC setup (<1Mbps):

Windows 10 PC -> TP-link T-WN722N USB dongle -> wifi -> Apple Time Capsule -> ethernet -> D-link 2750-U router -> Internet

But my phone doesn't have the same problem (~11Mbps):

Android phone -> wifi -> Apple Time Capsule -> ethernet -> D-link 2750-U router -> Internet

And using my phone as a hotspot works (~15Mbps) so the PC/TP-link dongle seem fine:

PC -> TP-link T-WN722N USB dongle -> wifi -> Android Phone -> Cellular Data -> Internet

Another thing worth mentioning is that I am running Ubuntu Server 16.04 in a VirtualBox on this PC, although that's not new and I have the same problem even if I close the VirtualBox.

As I mentioned, this problem is not happening right now for me. I'm looking for advice to prevent this or more likely troubleshoot this for next time.

• What steps should I take to isolate the problem when it happens next time?
• Is it possible to troubleshoot this with my budget wifi dongle and router, or is it impossible without spending some cash on upgrading one or both of them?
• Should I install anything (Windows or linux) to help monitor my network to help troubleshoot this next time? How would I use this?

Answer 1

1.Perform a clean boot to avoid software conflict impact.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

2.Update Wireless driver from the official website of the manufacturer.

3.Turn off the network card energy Saving mode.

4.Device Management>Wireless driver>right click it and choose Properties>Power Management tab>uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".

5.Change Router Channel.

On Windows, a tremendous number of tools can identify crowded out channels. One of the best options comes from the Windows Store: WiFi Analyzer. If you don’t have access to the Windows Store, NirSoft’s WifiInfoView could work.

The articles below could be helpful for you. Analyze the wireless network report

https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/4000462/windows-10-analyzing-wireless-network-report

Tools and apps

https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/4000463/windows-10-wifi-tools-apps