Identifying whether the wireless router is faulty or the wireless adapter is

Question

I have a persistent problem with my wireless internet connection. On the system (Windows 8.1) that I have, the internet is so unstable that it goes to limited every 15 minutes and then resolves itself in another 5 minutes.

The issue sometimes gets resolved by restarting the PC. But it doesn't resolve, if I put my PC to airplane mode(turn off all wireless adapters) and then switch back out of airplane mode.

When the connection is shown to be limited, I still am able to browse the internet via my mobile using the same wireless network.

But, even then, If I ping the router, the round-trip delay/latency varies a lot (from less than 1 ms to as high as ~2000ms), on any device I have checked with (including other PCs and an android phone).

I am unable to ascertain whether the issue lies with my wireless router or with my wireless adapter or my ISP itself.

Please suggest as to what steps can I take to pinpoint where the problem lies?

P.S. : Can it be a router heating problem?

Answer 1

It looks like your problem is your main pc. It is likely to create a lot of connections to the router where the pc stops working. The router will feel these connections which will affect latency and all.

The easiest way to verify this is to disable the wifi on the pc when this happens and immediately after test from another device.

If your router has a QoS (Quality of Service) set it right and see if that helps the problem. Additionally see how many ports are being opened from your pc to the internet. For example, if you use software like torrents, they can use a lot of connections which can clog your connection badly.

If you really think it is your router, disconnect all but one device, and see if it still is unstable.