[WiMAXATL] Tweak Your Router to Boost CLEAR WiMAX Download Speeds

[William Higgins]

As a CLEAR WiMAX reseller I help a lot of people get up and running on the service. So far I find CLEAR WiMAX to work very well out-of-the box. But, on occasion I do run into a few configurations that don't seem to work as well initially. One problem that pops up from time to time is when download speeds seem to drop dramatically if you connect to the CLEAR WiMAX modem through a wireless router. If you connect directly to the modem (USB or Ethernet) the speeds are fine, but connect through the router and speeds seem to drop off. I decided to dig into this a little deeper to see what I could find out.

In running some network tests I found some strange behavior in relation to packet sizes. It seems like the CLEAR service may have some specific issues with how your router is supporting larger packet size settings. I am not a hardcore networking expert so I will not dive too far into those details, but I do have some information on what worked for me.

** PLEASE NOTE, be careful when changing your setting on your router or PC. It is always good to do a back-up of your settings to make sure you can roll back if needed. ***

1. Upgrade the router firmware - This is the most common fix to this issue I have seen. Newer routers don't seem to have this issue but older ones do. So one of the first things I would try is update the firmware on the router when you see this issue.
2. Change the MTU settings on your router. (MTU is the maximum size of a single data unit.) Check out this link for some details there: http://bit.ly/6wG9Pw This post helps you find out what your best MTU setting should be based on your specific Internet connection. It may be different for different people so give it a try to see what you come up with. Once you have the value you want to try, you will need to go into your router firmware settings and see if there is a place for you to manually set your MTU value. Make sure you remember what your current setting is so you can set it back if it doesn't work.
3. Try running a program called TCP Optimizer (http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php). The TCP Optimizer is a free, easy Windows program that provides an intuitive interface for tuning and optimizing your Internet connection. There is no installation required, just download and run. The documentation is here: http://www.speedguide.net/tcpoptimizer.php.

I hope this information helps. I am very interested in hearing what works or doesn't work for you. Please leave a comment with your experience or advice. If you are still having trouble I will try to respond to your comments with other ideas. Good luck.

Sponsored by:

--
Posted By William Higgins to WiMAXATL at 10/26/2009 09:17:00 PM