# Realtek 8821CE Wireless LAN/Max Speed?



## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

I think I might have found my answer, but I could use some input just in case. I have a gig connection coming in, however my speeds have been drastically fluctuating, sometimes around 50mbps and have recently went back up to the 150-200 range. Comcast has done there thing, and say there is no line or router problems. I have a Realtek 8821CE Wireless LAN for my laptop WIFI connection. My wifi properties are showing a connection of 433.3. Is this meaning that the WIFI card has a MAX speed of handling 433.3 and there is no chance of getting closer to my gig speed? Even if this is the case, it doesnt explain why I am only getting 200 at best. FYI, when I hard wire in to the router, my speeds go anywhere from 50-300. My Galaxy S9 phone is clocking speeds at damn near 400 though......ANy ideas?


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

If your *Realtek RTL8821CE* 802.11ac wireless device is showing a connection speed of 433.3 Mbps, that's not bad.

What upload/download speed plan do you have with Comcast?

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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

Thanks for the prompt response! I pay for Gig, right now I am getting:
DL: 122.3
UL: 21.9
Latency: 45ms

I have purchased a AC1900 Netgear Nighthawk adapter if thats what I need to get the full potentional, but if there is something I can tweak with what I already have, I would rather do that


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

If Comcast tech support can't help you get stable wireless and ethernet speeds, you need some other expert help.
Be patient and wait until one of the networking experts here jumps in.
Good luck.

This appears to be the internet speed plans that Comcast has.










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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

Thanks Frank. Yes, that chart is correct. My package is the the Gigabit / $84.99. I went ahead and installed the Nighthawk and my speed showing in Network Properties is now 1.3Gbps, and my xfinity speed test shows 133.3Mbps, so still not much of a change even with the new adapter.


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

It's my guess you need to change one or more settings for your wireless adapter.
With the speed plan you have and the modem/router you have, it should have a higher speed.
Try using a different speed test site.
https://www.speedtest.net/

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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

Yeah, I tried multiple speed tests ans even download a programs cause sometime browsers are the problem. Hopefully someone can help me with changing settings


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

Your router is an *AC1900 *type:
https://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-routers/R7000.aspx

The page says it it capable of 1300 Mbps, typical manufacturer trick to trick users into thinking they will get that amount of speed!



> 802.11ac-class device wireless speeds are often advertised as AC followed by a number, that number being the highest link rates in Mbit/s of all the simultaneously-usable radios in the device added up


Below table shows the limits of your router:
According to table on wikipedia your router is capable of these speeds:
600 Mbit/s on 2.4 Ghz
1,300 Mbit/s on 5 Ghz

How ever this does not mean single device will get that speed!



> 802.11ac-class device wireless speeds are often advertised as AC followed by a number, that number being the highest link rates in Mbit/s of all the simultaneously-usable radios in the device added up. For example, an AC1900 access point might have 600 Mbit/s capability on its 2.4 GHz radio and 1300 Mbit/s capability on its 5 GHz radio. No single client device could connect and achieve 1900 Mbit/s of throughput, but separate devices each connecting to the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios could achieve combined throughput approaching 1900 Mbit/s. Different possible stream configurations can add up to the same AC number.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac#Data_rates_and_speed

Your adapter supports AC:
https://www.realtek.com/en/products/communications-network-ics/item/rtl8821ce

To get maximum configure both your router and adapter to communicate over AC on 5Ghz band.


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

Thanks! Actually thats not what I have, my gateway is a Technicolor CGM4140COM. My on board wifi is a Realtek 8821CE. I have purchased a AC1900 Netgear Nighthawk adapter , just in case I need to update my wifi adapter to get the desired speed*. *I am connected 5Ghz as well, but I am not getting anywhere close to the speed im paying for, so thats why I need help to see if there are additional settings I need to change.


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

Do you have web site link to that router?


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

I have only been able to find the links below.

https://fccid.io/pdf.php?id=3423783
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/broadband-gateways-userguides 
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1321801/Technicolor-Cgm4140com.html#manual


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

Right click on Windows button and select "Windows PowerShell (Admin)"
type or copy/paste bellow code into console and press enter:
`netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid`

identify your wireless network and tell on what bands does router operate
1. 802.11x (x is place holder here, if there are multiple entries, name them all)

Can you log in to router and confirm it operates explicitly on 5Ghz AND explicitly on AC band?
Let me know if you need help to log into router.


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

Thanks so much for the time and assistance!! I am logged into the router. Not sure if the screen cap below gives you the info you need, if not please let me know

Network type : Infrastructure
Authentication : WPA2-Personal
Encryption : CCMP
BSSID 1 : 3c:b7:4b:80:37:16
Signal : 100%
Radio type : 802.11ac
Channel : 44
Basic rates (Mbps) : 6
Other rates (Mbps) : 9 12 18 24 36 48 54


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

This info is helpful and it shows it's not adjusted strictly likely resulting in lower link speeds.

Note that if there are other devices in your house that are not AC capable these modifications may disconnect them for network, adjust these setting temporarily just to see if there is difference:

1. Mode: 802.11AC (if strict option available, could also be 802.11 ac/n)
2. Channel Bandwidth: 20/40/80/160

Save settings, reboot router

Next step:
1. Open device manager
2. locate your WI-FI adapter
3. right click it, select properties
4. look under "advanced" tab (or "Driver" tab)
5.take a look at what bands does adapter operate (set to AC explicitly - OR - n/ac explicitly)
6. what other options are there, take screenshots of all options.


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

zebanovich said:


> This info is helpful and it shows it's not adjusted strictly likely resulting in lower link speeds.
> 
> Note that if there are other devices in your house that are not AC capable these modifications may disconnect them for network, adjust these setting temporarily just to see if there is difference:
> 
> ...


Thanks! I cant seem to edit these settings. It notes that the settings are being managed automatically and the option to change to manual is greyed out


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

> I cant seem to edit these settings. It notes that the settings are being managed automatically and the option to change to manual is greyed out


I see it says you need an app to modify these things, so go get it to play around.

Additional settings you need to take care about:
I forgot but to possibly make use of 160mhz channel bandwidth you'll have to set channel to either of these 2 below, countries listed are not supported

1. *channel 50*: (China, Israel, South Africa, Brazil)
2. *channel 114*: (Russia, China, Israel, South Africa, Brazil, Bahrain)

Next step:

Make sure router operates on *5Ghz explicitly*, not AUTO and not 2.4Ghz


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

The app has the same access. I checked out some for the xfinity forums and it looks like they lock these down. I should have just bought my own.


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

pmc3944 said:


> it looks like they lock these down


Make sure you're logged in as Admin not User, take a look on router sticker for default username/password


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

> Open a web browser and go to the Admin Tool (http://10.0.0.1). This is the Wireless Gateway's administration site. The default settings to open the Admin Tool are:
> 
> *Username:* admin
> *Password:* password (case sensitive)


https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/view-change-wifi-password


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

zebanovich said:


> https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/view-change-wifi-password


Right, im in as admin, still dont have the access. Found a forum link thats from earlier this year where they talk about it being locked down. I would think there would be a back door to it,

https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Your-...el-from-automatic-to-manual-mode/td-p/3295337


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

I don't know if you get this router from ISP or you bought it your self, in both cases it's worthless piece of hardware.

If you bought it your self you have all rights to get replacements, otherwise you should read your ISP agreement between you and ISP and demand operational router if agreement permits.

I'm not 100% sure these changes will give you better speeds, so don't just go a buy another one blindly, good routers can be expensive, and at a minimum you should research gateways, their options and capabilities for what you need first.


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

zebanovich said:


> I don't know if you get this router from ISP or you bought it your self, in both cases it's worthless piece of hardware.
> 
> If you bought it your self you have all rights to get replacements, otherwise you should read your ISP agreement between you and ISP and demand operational router if agreement permits.
> 
> I'm not 100% sure these changes will give you better speeds, so don't just go a buy another one blindly, good routers can be expensive, and at a minimum you should research gateways, their options and capabilities for what you need first.


Totally understand, yes its from the ISP. Historically I havent used ISP equipment, but I did this time, and regret it for sure. Looks like some models still allow changes and some dont. Ill wait again for Comcast, thhis has been going on for 3 weeks now, so I was really hoping to beat them at their own game. I really apprecaite you taking the time to help out! If I end up getting access I will try what you said and let you know. Thanks again!


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

This has to be a comcast issue, reset the router to factor settings.....for a short time I was getting 500 down, now its back to as low as 25 and maybe up to 200 from time to time


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

Who is comsat?

There is nothing you can do, you can only demand ISP to give you hardware capable of data transfers that you are paying.

It could be router is automatically adjusted according to adapter driver in your PC.
I asked you for current driver options in my previous post, you can do some adjustments but it depends on driver.


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

Comcast / Xfinity is my ISP. Sorry I missed the driver question. Below are the drivers. I provided both Realtek being the onboard wifi connection and the Netgear being the adapter I purchased (thinking I might have needed to have an updated adapter to get both speeds, however I am getting apx the same speeds on both)


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

It's under "advanced" tab, number of settings depends on adapter and driver.

Are these 2 adapters are giving you exactly same link speeds?


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

Ok, here are the different options. I am currently getting 36.1 with Netgear and 20.4 with Realtek (the integrated card)


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

Set "Wireless Mode" to AC only (or ac/n or ac/ax if there is no ac only)
Set VHT 2.4G to disabled
Set "Preferred band" to 5Ghz
Set "802.11d" to disabled
Set "Qos Support" to disabled if not needed

Save settings restart PC
once it boots up, restart router

Try one adapter first (probably disabling the other) then another adapter



> I am currently getting 36.1 with Netgear and 20.4 with Realtek


Note that "Down/Up" is not the same as "Link Speed"

Download speed is what you get from ISP, link speed is network throughput between router and adapter.
you can see link speed by:
right click adapter in network and sharing center -> Status


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

Thanks. This made no change, except for that when Qos is disabled it brings like speed down 266


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## zebanovich (Mar 2, 2019)

There is nothing you can do, except connect with LAN cable to verify you get close to 1Gbps, you'll probably have turn off other devices to get maximum


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## pmc3944 (Sep 9, 2009)

Agreed, even LAN doesnt get exactly 500. The ISP tech was supposed to be here this morning, they somehow managed to screw that up, now supposed to be here this afternoon. This was been at least 3 weeks of this issue....probably been longer and I just started looking into it one day


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## irbrenda (Sep 12, 2003)

I have the exact same speed issues with the Realtek 8821CE card in my new HP Laptop. 
Wireless connection speed is slow to awful but it's not consistent, and ethernet could possibly be worse, believe it or not, so I blame Spectrum's equipment for that. Spectrum installed a new modem and the Sagecom SAC2V2S router two weeks ago and it is nothing but trouble. I also bought Netgear Nighthawk Extender to help bring the signal up , since my equipment is in the basement. Believe it or not, my issue is with the awful ethernet on the router. Nothing is stable, and I had to make my old desktop wireless now but at least it connects. My HP Laptop is another issue. I have speed issues with Spectrum and they've been out here 6 times and cannot figure out what is wrong either, including their supervisor who was stumped. I am not sure if it is the equipment or my devices anymore, but it can't be all of my devices as they would like to think, and I'm tired of troubleshooting. FIOS is starting to look better every day.


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