I have a Dell XPS laptop running windows 8.1. I installed the USB 3.0 ethernet driver, and went over to my modem, plugged directly into the modem to check the speeds. While it is recognized, it fails to load a page. The green lights do light up showing connectivity, however it doesn’t work. I have a great wireless speed and thought I’d be able to get faster speed directly hooked up to my router, however, that appears to not be the case. It was my understanding the using direct ethernet would get me higher speeds, instead I’m getting nothing. The page starts to load then fails.
Hi Irma,
Thank you for posting your question about the USB3-E1000.
There are a couple of issues you have brought up. One is the fact it won’t connect, and the other is about the speed.
I’ll talk about the connection issue first. Modems often will only allow one device to connect with them a a time, so if you attach a new device directly, you often have to unplug AC power from the modem, wait about 30 seconds, then plug it back in again. When the lights have stabilized, try connecting again. If it doesn’t work, let me know and we can figure out why.
About speed, the biggest limitation is usually not wireless or which adapter you are using, but the maximum speed provided by your Internet service provider. Do you know the maximum speed you are being provided? I want to make sure the USB3-E1000 is going to help you.
Thanks!
David
Plugable Support
I’d like to thank you for your prompt and informative response.
- Connection issue has been resolved. I connected first to the NetGearNighthawkx6 router directly and this time did get a connection. I also connected directly to my modem after restarting as you suggested and also receive a connection.
- My speed is 100 mbps through my provider. Using the wireless router, I can obtain speeds of 91.18 Mb/s download and 92.82 Mb/s upload from my living room. Connected directly, the speed drops to 65 Mb/s and 5 Mb/s upload.
In essence, even though the speed is lower than anticipated when connected to my modem (it was my hope to get the entire speeds), the device is working abet not as I’d like it to. My laptop has all 3.0 usb connections and no 2.0, so that is not the issue. It appears as there is less speed when wired which is a disappointment.
Again, thank you for your assistance. If you have any idea on how I can get the top speed when wired directly, I’d appreciate your assistance.
!](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/1167455/speed3.5.15_inline.JPG?1425607646)](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/1167455/speed3.5.15.JPG?1425607646)
Hi Irma,
A couple of quick questions:
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Did you run the tests with the wireless and the direct connection at the same time and with the same test server? A lot of things can affect results at various times,
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Do you have different Ethernet cables you could try with? Also, could you try in different ports on your computer? 100 Mbps is right at the limit of what a standard CAT 5 cable can achieve, and if there were issues with a cable, it would definitely have an effect.
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Did you disable wireless when you tested the direct connection?
Since your service is 100 Mbps, the best you will likely see from any adapter is what you are seeing with the wireless, around 90 Mpbs. This is because even though 100 Mbps of data is being transferred, some of that data is used for headers and packet frames, and for control messages back and forth between the servers (called “overhead”). After the overhead is accounted for, typically only about 90% of what is transferred is actual data.
So although we may be able to get the adapter up to the same speed as you are seeing with your wireless, I don’t think we can beat it.
If you do need a wired connection, you could do just as well on this network with our USB2-E100 which is not quite as sensitive to some things that can affect USB 3.0, such as radio interference or USB 3 controller issues. It is also less expensive.
If it turns out that an adapter isn’t going to help you, I would be happy to help arrange a return and refund for you.
Thanks,
David